Padauk Wooden Earrings

Handcrafted earrings in Padauk — also called African Coral Wood, and the only wood we work that is red straight out of the log.

Why Padauk  ▾

Padauk is naturally a deep orange-red, shot through with fine darker streaking. No dye, no stain, no tinted lacquer — cut a piece in half and the middle is the same colour as the outside.

That is rarer than it sounds. Most red jewellery gets its colour from something applied, which is why it chips, and why it fades. Here the colour is the material.

It will change, and that is not a fault  ▾

Padauk is the most dramatic of our four woods. It is at its brightest freshly cut and deepens over months and years toward a richer, darker red-brown, particularly with exposure to daylight.

We would rather say so in advance. Nothing is fading — there is no dye to lose. The wood is oxidising, the way a leather bag or a wooden floor does, and most people prefer where it ends up. Storing the pair out of direct sunlight slows it down.

Padauk is also open-grained, which means bringing it to an even polish takes more passes than a close-grained wood. On a curved surface any flat spot catches light differently — so a plain Padauk piece is harder to finish well than it looks.

Styling  ▾
  • Black, cream, ivory, mustard, indigo and olive: where the red does the most work
  • Tussar and raw silk: warm tones that echo the fabric's own texture
  • Festive and daytime functions: red reads warm in sunlight where metal tends to flare
  • Red drapes: it will read tonally rather than as contrast — lovely if intended, invisible if not
Common questions  ▾

Is the red wood dyed?
No. Padauk grows this colour. Nothing in this collection is dyed, stained or painted.

Will the red fade?
It will change but not fade. Expect it to deepen toward a darker red-brown over time. Since there is no dye, nothing is being lost.

What are the dark streaks?
Padauk's natural grain. They vary piece to piece, which is why no two pairs look identical.