Beyond gold and silver
When you think of jewelry, you probably imagine gold, silver, shining stones, and gleaming display cases. This image, deeply rooted in our culture, comes from centuries of goldsmithing tradition. In Santiago de Compostela, the birthplace of goldsmith workshops since the Middle Ages, this heritage has left an indisputable mark on the city and its art.
However, there is another way to understand jewelry . At Curruchela, we pick up the baton from the workshops, but reinterpret it from a contemporary and sustainable perspective. We replace metal with wood, without losing the symbolic value, the beauty, or the dedication. Because a jewel can also be born from a tree, from a grain, from a living history.
Materials and processes: two ways of doing things
Traditional jewelry uses precious metals such as gold or silver, molded through technical processes that require welding, casting, and mechanical polishing. In many cases, production has evolved toward more industrial processes, seeking standardization and scale.
Wooden jewelry —like the kind we create at Curruchela—is based on manual techniques, slow processes, and unique pieces . Each piece is carved, sanded, polished, and treated with natural oils, using minimal machinery. The raw material, far from being melted, is respected in its form and essence.
This connects with the tradition of Galician woodworking workshops , present in villages and towns for centuries: carpenters, woodcarvers, and cabinetmakers who created art with everyday objects. We inherited from them not only the materials, but also the gesture: respect for nature and a love of craftsmanship.
Weight and comfort
An immediate difference: wood is much lighter than metal . This makes our pieces ideal everyday companions. Earrings that don't tug, necklaces that don't weigh you down, rings that you forget about on your finger until someone admires them.
It's the effortless piece of jewelry that wears naturally and feels comfortable from the first moment.
Aesthetics and texture: warm beauty
Gold shines. Silver reflects. Stone dazzles. But wood excites . Its warm touch, its subtle scent, its unique grain... everything about it conveys closeness.
Traditional jewelry often seeks immediate visual impact. Wood, on the other hand, invites you to look closely, to touch, to connect . It doesn't compete on shine: it wins on character.
Furthermore, since it's a living material, it changes over time. It darkens, softens, and gains nuances. It's a jewel that ages with you.
One-offs vs. mass production
Conventional jewelry often relies on repeated molds. Wood doesn't allow for that: each piece has its own design, shape, and rhythm . Even within the same collection, two bubinga necklaces will never be identical.
This uniqueness makes each piece of jewelry truly personal. As in the ancient workshops of Santiago de Compostela, where each cross, cameo, or medal was crafted individually, our pieces also bear the mark of human time and beautiful error.
Emotional and ecological cost
Not all jewelry is created equal in its impact. Mining for metals and precious stones carries a high environmental and social cost: resource exploitation, pollution, and precarious labor.
Wooden jewelry , on the other hand, can be a much more environmentally friendly option. At Curruchela, we work with wood from controlled logging, carpentry and cabinetmaking surpluses, and responsible suppliers. We are committed to circularity, to utilizing what already exists.
The result is a jewel with a smaller footprint and more soul. A jewel that, in addition to being beautiful, is consistent with your way of being in the world.
A jewel with another intention
Choosing a piece of wooden jewelry isn't just a matter of aesthetics. It's a way of seeing , of consuming consciously, of embracing something with history, human value, and roots. In a city like Santiago, where art and devotion have intersected for centuries, we want to pay tribute to that heritage from a different perspective.
Because jewelry is not just about decoration: it also tells who you are.
And if you're one of those who seeks beauty with depth, maybe you've found what you were looking for.
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