Gold and silver

Algerian traditional jewelry has been built around a wide range of shapes such as rosettes, star, triangle and rhombus. Irrigated culturally by Andalusia, it also integrates the technique of cloisonné enamel, which makes the mark, in particular, of the Berber jewelery. Whether Aurès or Benni Yenni in Kabylie, it is very popular and immediately recognizable by its exclusive use of silver, brightly colored enamels (blue, green, yellow), contrasting with the bright red coral cabochon which crimp the pieces.

In the big urban centers, Algiers, Constantine, Tlemcen, it is the Ottoman influence which predominates, made of luxurious jewels, in gold, of oriental inspiration.

In the Far-South, a mythical dimension is added. Indeed, the goldsmith, most often a member of the legendary and very closed caste of the Inadin, who makes the jewel targui, is also the blacksmith who manufactures weapons warriors and tools of the farmer.