i. Tiznit, capital of silver

At the southern tip of the Souss, the town of Tiznit has been, since the late 19th century, the undisputed capital of Moroccan silver jewellery. Three hundred workshops are concentrated in the medina, around the jewellers' souk. The pieces produced — fibulae, pectorals, bracelets — adorn Berber women across the whole country.

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Silver has a fineness between 800 and 925 (925 is so-called "sterling" silver, an international guarantee). The Tiznit jeweller works with the hammer and chisel, sometimes in repoussé. The motif is rarely engraved: it is punched, that is, struck in relief with small punch blows.

ii. The filigree of Essaouira

Essaouira long sheltered a sizeable Jewish community, which held, until the mid-20th century, the bulk of the city's goldsmith workshops. Its hallmark: filigree, a technique consisting of drawing silver into a very fine thread, twisting it, and re-soldering it into plant-like arabesques. The result is airy, almost lace.

The filigree of Essaouira still sets the standard, even if the workshops have grown scarce after the migratory departures. The characteristic form is the worked khamsa (hand of Fatma), the star-motif medallion, the openwork bracelet.

iii. Berber jewellery

The fibula (khellal)

The mother-piece of Berber adornment. A long silver pin, often triangular, sometimes set with stones, used to fasten the dress (tikhlat) at the shoulder. It is worn in pairs, linked by a chain. Each tribe has its form: tabzimt among the Aït Ouaouzguite, a rounded khellal among the Aït Atta, a trilobed-head fibula in the Souss.

The pectoral (louh)

A large necklace of linked silver plaques, sometimes adorned with old coins, openwork pendants, amber and coral. A ceremony or wedding piece.

The bracelet (khellala)

Heavy, rigid, often worn on each wrist and each ankle. Its mass is a sign of wealth — historically, it was a mobile dowry, which the woman could take away in case of repudiation.

iv. Stones and symbols

Four stones recur everywhere:

• Souss amber — yellow-orange fossil resin, considered protective and soothing.
• Mediterranean coral — deep red, protection against the evil eye.
• Turquoise — blue-green, prosperity.
• Hajar yahūd ("stone of the Jews") — the black bitumen stone, a transition between amulet and jewel.

The engraved motifs repeat: six-pointed star, lattices, diamonds, crescents. The khamsa remains omnipresent.