An ancient journey

Through the three lands whose symbols we keep.

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Costa Rica · Diquís

The eagle and the stone spheres

The journey begins in Costa Rica, home of the Diquís. They were master goldsmiths who also carved giant stone spheres so precise that archaeologists still don't fully understand how they made them. Their favorite symbol was the eagle, cast in gold and worn on the chest to carry the wearer's spirit above the forest and watch over the village.

Small golden frogs and lizards often hung alongside it, seen as guardians of rain and harvest. For the Diquís, gold wasn't currency. It was a way of holding sunlight in your hand.

Necklace with white bone beads and amethyst spheres, worn, with a gold eagle pendant — symbol of Costa Rica's Diquís

Panamá · Gran Coclé

The land of the golden frog

In what is now central Panamá lived the people of Gran Coclé. They worked gold and clay, and their painted pottery and cast pendants traveled along the coast from village to village. Their favorite symbol was the golden frog, believed to bring rain. Wearing one was supposed to keep drought and bad luck away.

Their sacred charms were called huacas: jaguars, eagles and frogs believed to hold a living spirit. People wore them close to the heart so that spirit would stay with them.

Red coral necklace with a gold frog pendant, worn — symbol of Panamá's Gran Coclé

Colombia · Muisca & Tairona

The children of the sun

The trail ends in Colombia, home to the Muisca and the Tairona. At Lake Guatavita the Muisca covered each new chief in gold dust and gave treasure to the water, and from that ceremony came the legend of El Dorado. The Tairona built stone cities in the mountains and cast talismans for their shamans, said to carry them between worlds.

Both peoples worshipped the sun, whom the Muisca called Sué. Gold was sunlight made solid, and a chief wearing a golden disc was thought to speak with the sun's own voice.

Model wearing a gold sun medallion necklace, symbol of Colombia's Zenú and Tairona

Gran Coclé · Panamá

The symbols, one by one

Every piece below carries a symbol the pre-Columbian peoples cast in gold. Tap a photo to enlarge it and read what it meant.

Necklace of raw amethyst, quartz and tiger's eye with a gold square-spiral pendant — Calima spirals

Faceted black onyx and Botswana agate necklace with a gold Holy Spirit orchid pendant — The dove inside the flower

Fine gold chain with a purple enamelled orchid pendant, worn — The purple orchid

Mustard jasper disc necklace with a gold crescent nariguera pendant — The Tairona crescent

Red coral and white howlite spike necklace with a Gran Coclé gold medallion engraved with a turtle — The Gran Coclé turtle

Faceted rose quartz necklace with a gold medallion engraved with a frog shaman — The saurian deity

Hessonite garnet bead necklace with a gold lizard pendant — The lizard

White cord necklace with a large gold disc engraved with a serpent — The serpent

Silk cord necklace with a smooth-filigree nariguera in gold — The nariguera

Fuchsia agate necklace with a gold filigree crescent pendant — Sinú filigree

Rigid gold collar with a medallion engraved with the golden frog — The golden frog — a symbol of Panamá

Green peridot bead necklace with a golden flower pendant — Flor del Espíritu Santo — a symbol of Panamá

Black cord necklace with a golden harpy eagle pendant — The harpy eagle

So many symbols to discover

Frogs, eagles, suns, jaguars, spirits. There are dozens of symbols, and each one tells its own story. Write to us on WhatsApp or come by the shop to discover them all.

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