This engraved jewellery represents a fraction of the wide repertoire of silver jewellery made, worn and exchanged by highland communities in northern Thailand. Several types of bracelets with coiled, plaited and twisted forms were worn. Silver was valued more highly than gold by many highland communities. Silver jewellery was a way of investing a family’s wealth to be passed down as heirlooms. It was also believed to have protective properties. Today, where security maybe a problem, silver is kept locked away whilst aluminium is used as a substitute.
