Buying Moroccan jewelry in Morocco or online can be exciting and daunting at the same time. There are so many designs to choose from, and with more and more imitation products claiming to be made in Morocco, it can be very hard to navigate the market. Suppose you are planning to shop for jewelry online or in Morocco. In that case, you can always refer to this article to learn about Moroccan jewelry including beautiful berber jewelry and amazigh Jewelry.

If you are visiting Morocco and planning to shop Moroccan jewelry, I highly recommend checking my ebook about shopping in Morocco to learn about Moroccan market dynamics and how to spot traditional jewelers in Morocco who sell genuine Moroccan jewelry at reasonable prices.

My love for Moroccan jewelry started in childhood. I used to accompany my mother to the Medina, our city’s downtown, to look for authentic Moroccan jewelry.

Back in the days, many Moroccan women shared a passion for checking new and vintage jewelry arrivals and acquiring pieces when the price of gold and silver was low. Banks weren’t very popular then, and women used to invest most of their money in authentic Moroccan jewelry.

But that’s not all. Moroccan women really love jewelry, and it’s not just materialistic. Every Moroccan woman and girl is proud of her jewelry box and all the jewelry pieces her mother or grandmother passed down to her, as well as those she was gifted or acquired throughout the years. There is a sentimental attachment because each piece of jewelry has a history of its own.

That’s how I spent my childhood, listening to my grandmother, mother, and aunts’ jewelry stories. Here I am, passionate about Moroccan jewelry and antique Moroccan jewelry designs. Put me in a traditional Moroccan jewelry store, and you won’t hear from me for hours!

Shopping for Moroccan jewelry online or in Morocco can be overwhelming for anyone who isn’t a Moroccan native or familiar with Moroccan culture. There are many factors to take into account during the search and buying process, and one can easily end up overpaying or buying a counterfeit piece of jewelry.

My contact with Moroccan jewelry since my young age grew my love for authentic vintage pieces and the history behind each emblematic design. Now, shopping for Moroccan jewelry is still one of my favorite things to do in Morocco. With all the imitations, I cannot imagine anyone shopping for authentic Moroccan jewelry without knowing the leading designs and emblematic pieces to look for.

Moroccan & Berber Jewelry Designs

For the connoisseurs, it is possible to guess where a Moroccan woman is from just by looking at her jewelry adornment. This is possible because each region of Morocco has its jewelry designs. There are dozens of Moroccan jewelry designs and variations, and it can take pages to go through them all.

 

 

1. Moroccan Berber Necklaces

One of Morocco’s most emblematic jewelry pieces is the Berber necklace. These necklaces are perfect for women who like stand-out pieces that add personality to their jewelry collection.

Berber necklaces come in different sizes ranging from massive pieces to daintier ones. Authentic Berber necklaces are made with silver and genuine stones like amber, coral, and onyx. They can be quite pricey, costing up to thousands of dollars depending on the materials used and the weight of the necklace.

If a Berber necklace price is too low, it’s probably not authentic. Unless you want a replica, genuine Berber necklaces cheaper than $100 don’t exist. And if you go for pricier stones like Amber and Coral, your Berber necklace can’t cost less than a few hundred dollars.

The necklace below with Amber beads is an example of a heavy traditional Berber necklace. You will find similar genuine Moroccan Berber necklaces here.

The necklace below is an example of a dainty Berber necklace handmade in Morocco. It is not antique, but it’s true to Berber ancestral jewelry designs and is pretty affordable. Very feminine and unique. I have the same, and I always get compliments when I wear it. You can get the same beautiful Berber necklace here.

 

2. Moroccan Silver Bracelets

Moroccan silver bracelets are very popular in Morocco. Usually, the more the better, they can be worn single or layered in sets to achieve a great thickness in the wrists. There are many designs to choose from, and they can be simple or heavily engraved. The most popular ones are made of 925 silver sterling, but many designs are made of gold.

3. Moroccan Hamsa Jewelry

Also called Khamsa, the Eye of Fatima or the Hand of Fatima, the Hamsa is a Moroccan-Jewish symbol representing a hand, believed to protect from evil and negative people. It is a classic in Moroccan jewelry.

 

You can find the Hamsa in almost every jewelry item in Morocco: Hamsa necklaces, pendants, bracelets, earrings, etc. Hamsa hand jewelry is a real classic, and most Moroccan women have at least a couple of pieces featuring this protecting symbol.

The beautiful Berber amber necklace below features a unique vintage Hamsa hand charm.

Buying Jewelry in Morocco

In Morocco, the best place I go to purchase authentic Moroccan Jewelry is the Medina, which is every Moroccan city’s downtown. This is true, especially for the Medinas of historical cities like Marrakech, Fez, Rabat, Chefchaouen, Casablanca, and Tangier.

Although quite overwhelming, the Medina is the perfect shop for jewelry and handicrafts. I don’t know anyone who didn’t feel excited in Moroccan Medinas! They are the heartbeat of Moroccan cities, where Moroccans shop for everyday necessities, the perfect place to shop, and be immersed in locals’ everyday life.

 

In most Moroccan cities, Medinas are organized in sections for each shopping need: Moroccan jewelry, spices, rugs, traditional clothes, etc. Hundreds of thousands of products are available, and hundreds of variations for each product.

As mentioned in the introduction, if you plan to do some shopping in Morocco, check my Morocco shopping guide. I love shopping in Morocco Medinas, and I know it has a crazy shopping potential, but it can also be overwhelming, and it’s best to know a few things before going there.

A couple of years ago, one of my cousins purchased a very expensive Berber necklace only to realize days later it was made of fake amber.

You shouldn’t be worried if you shop knowing what Moroccan jewelers to look for. You can acquire jewelry that you can pass down to the next generation, like my mother’s necklace that she got from her grandmother. It is extremely gorgeous and still in perfect condition—a true family treasure.

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