In ancient times kukui nut lei were only worn by royalty. The black and brown nuts are strung on ribbon to make a lei that is the traditional necklace given on many occasions in the Islands to express "Aloha" or welcome. Today they are worn by both men and women.
In 1988 our company (Oils of Aloha) started in business as the Hawaiian Kukui Nut Company. We were the only company in Hawaii making kukui jewelry. We had a great crew. The steps required to transform raw kukui nuts into beautiful jewelry was lengthy, but fascinating.
The nuts were gathered in the wild and brought to the factory where they were spread out on tables covered with mesh screens to dry and were sorted into black and brown tones. The nuts were then put into tumblers with coarse grit to begin the polishing process. They were drilled and the inside kernel was ground up, then blown out with high pressured air guns. The nuts were then polished by hand on small grinding wheels. The finished nuts were strung on ribbon to make a lei or made into ear rings or bracelets.
Unfortunately in the early 90's Hawaii was inundated with plastic and poor quality imports from numerous countries. At that time we had started to successfully produce bulk kukui and macadamia oils that were sold into the cosmetic industry. We also had started our own line of kukui skin care products and edible macadamia oils. So we decided to discontinue the jewelry and transition our employees into oil manufacturing.
The Kukui Lei Slide Show:
1 comment:
Some authentic vintage handcrafted kukui leis from the Hawaiian Kukui Nut Company are valued at $300.00 to $500.00 - especially the very rare all white kukui lei. The lustre, weight and "feel" of these nuts are different than the imports even though imported kukui leis are made with genuine nuts.
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