Diego, a master jeweler, specializes in crafting sacred adornments, at the crossroads of art and ritual. Each creation is born from a silent dialogue between the invisible and the material, between ancestral forces and the gestures of the present. Diego shapes objects that tell stories, capturing in gold, stones, and pearls the echoes of ancient memory. His jewelry is not mere ornamentation: it embodies presences, weaving bridges between the human soul and the spiritual world, offering each wearer a tangible fragment of mystery.
DIEGO DE OSHOSSI'S JEWELRY
It was during the Oshum festival that Babá Claudio introduced me to Anderson, a Brazilian fashion designer who, after living in Paris for ten years, returned to Brazil to create his own fashion house. Seeing my interest in objects used in Candomblé, Anderson told me about Diego de Oshóssi, a jeweler specializing in the creation of sacred adornments. And so, a few weeks later, the artist-craftsman and his wife welcomed me into their workshop, accompanied by a majestic Akita. "You know, this is the first time I've opened my workshop to anyone!" he exclaimed, as I entered his creative space where raw materials are shaped to be transformed into something sublime.
To my great surprise, the vast room was filled with various baths—could the jeweler also be an alchemist?—and necklaces and metal pieces hung on the walls. Leading me along, he showed me creations in progress: the double-edged axe of Shangô, the god of justice; the knife of Ogun, master of ironworking and technology; and the bow and arrows of Oshóssi, a symbol of hunting and abundance.
Diego shapes his works like a poet composes alexandrine verses, creating objects that tell stories, uniting the invisible with the tangible. He introduces me to Afro-Brazilian Creole jewelry, imbued with a powerful symbolism linked to the emancipation of the African diaspora in Brazil. These ornaments, which appeared between the 18th and 19th centuries, were worn by enslaved, freed, or emancipated Black women, embodying power, seduction, and magic. Creole jewelry is one of the oldest artistic expressions of Afro-descendants in Brazil. Among these objects, Diego shows me ring necklaces, formed of interlocking links, smooth or decorated, and the Penca de balangandãs, a mystical ornament worn by Black and mulatto women around their waist, featuring various symbols of African and European religions.
In the heart of this workshop-museum, a sculpture catches my eye: the Eyê bird. Diego explains that it's a ceremonial object associated with Ossain, the deity of plants and healing. In Yoruba tradition, this bird is a messenger that allows Ossain to interpret the world. The metal sculpture is composed of seven branches, representing a tree, and is surmounted by Eyê. The Orisha Ossain also carries a calabash containing medicinal plants and spells.
After cutting, soldering, and filing, each piece of jewelry undergoes a series of immersions in various electrolysis baths to remove impurities and prevent metal oxidation. This process has a rather technical name: rhodium plating. The final bath gives the piece a silver or gold finish.
It is with a heart full of gratitude and my head full of fascinating stories that I finally leave Diego and his wife's workshop, after spending the afternoon with the couple. I have discovered a true craftsman who, through his hands and his expertise, creates unique works imbued with genuine magic.