the aya collection
inspired by the Adinkra symbol of resilience, the Aya Collection celebrates the beauty of perseverance.
Each piece is hand-knotted on silk with ethically sourced gemstones and made with acute attention to detail, longevity, and versatility.
gold fill 6mm clasp, 22in.
Nkrabea means 'destiny’ in Twi: unfolding and imperfect. Textured coin pearls for organic lustre. A real limpet shell gathered from the shore anchors this piece with reverence for the sea. Each pearl is hand-knotted on naturally dyed orange silk.
gold fill 6mm clasp, 15in.
Named for Owia, this high-grade citrine shimmers in a natural gradient of golden hues, revealing clarity and depth. Each gem catches and releases dawn-like light. Accented with a single radiant, organic pearl and gold-filled details.
gold fill 6mm clasp, 34in.
Obaatanpa heirloom strand honors the steady endurance of the nurturer. Wear it like a poem: the glow of amber, the grounding of garnet, the pulse of ruby, of turquoise. Scented with natural myrrh beads, it carries a ritual of protection and calm: an adornment that looks, feels, and smells reverential.
Wear as a single or double strand, a wrap bracelet, and as a bag or scarf charm. Meant to be shared and cared for.
gold fill 6mm clasp, 16in.
The Asɛm Nsu necklace embodies movement and clarity — the living voice of water, catching sunlight through a wave. One of a kind organic teardrop pearl sings in the center. Striking blue apatite against vibrant orange silk with real gold details.
14k gold fill chain, 6in.
The Anɔpa Bracelet captures morning light. Amber is fossilized tree resin and naturally contains succinic acid, which has been studied for its supportive effects on the body’s natural processes, including circulation and cellular energy. Here the warm, golden tones are alongside turquoise, a stone associated with clarity, protection, and expression, and a radiant coin pearl.
sterling silver 7mm clasp, 14-16in.
The Odo Tɔɔ Necklace, named for the fierce yet steady fire of love, features ruby accents knotted on warm tan silk. Ruby has long been gifted between lovers and is associated with courage, vitality, and emotional resilience. Delicate and subtle, this piece is a literal lace for the neck. Light and versatile, perfect for layering or wearing alone.
gold fill 6mm clasp, 15in.
The Anidaso Necklace, named for hope, features hessonite and apatite gemstones knotted on orange silk, split with a hand-carved mother-of-pearl pendant. Hessonite, known for its deep reddish-orange tones, is prized for its clarity, durability, and grounding energy, historically associated with stability and resilience. Mother-of-pearl adds natural luminescence and texture, transitioning to apatite like fire and water meeting in rare harmony.
$88
sold
Simple. Durable. Ritual.
gold fill clasp, 45in.
Nyansa means wisdom; this vibrant turquoise is adorned with a lustrous baroque pearl on tan nylon. Turquoise has been valued for centuries for its protective qualities, promoting insight, communication, and mental clarity. Baroque pearls, known for their irregular shapes and natural luster, symbolize harmony and calm. At 36 inches, the necklace can be layered or worn long, combining durability with ritual elegance. For insight and balance.
gold fill beads, clasp 23in.
Named after water prayer, the Nsuo Som Necklace features hishi-shaped Arizona turquoise on tan silk, prized for its one-of-a-kind pale blue color and natural veining. Turquoise has been valued for centuries for its durability, protective properties, and ability to promote mental clarity and emotional balance. The pearl cross sits just off center at the top of the chest, resilient and timeless.
Lapidaria
a hand researched and compiled collection of gemstone information by Kankisi Amber
Amber is not a mineral but fossilized tree resin, hardened over tens of millions of years and carrying within it the memory of ancient forests. It often contains small fragments of life—air bubbles, seeds, even insects—preserved as if in suspended time. Composed largely of succinic acid, amber has long been used in holistic medicine for its reputed anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. In metaphysical traditions, it is believed to draw out stagnation and promote vitality, aligning the body’s energy with solar warmth. Its golden tone recalls sunlight turned solid, a fragment of daylight preserved.
Gem quality blue apatite is rare, though apatite itself is one of the most common phosphate minerals on Earth. The mineral form in our bones and teeth is hydroxyapatite, linking the stone to the body’s own living structure. Natural deposits are mined, processed, and used in fertilizers, returning essential phosphorus to the soil and sustaining growth. The name comes from the Greek apatáō, meaning “to deceive,” as it is easily mistaken for other gems like beryl or tourmaline. Yet apatite’s deception conceals a truth: it mirrors the inner composition of life itself. Iron inclusions create its striking blue, a color that speaks to clarity, calm, and communication. A mineral of renewal and elemental honesty.
Calcite is a calcium carbonate mineral that crystallizes in a trigonal system, forming rhombohedral or scalenohedral shapes. Yellow calcite owes its hue to trace iron impurities, reflecting the solar spectrum through its soft translucence. It is a stone of amplification, physically capable of refracting light twice through a single crystal. Geologically abundant yet energetically refined, calcite has been used since antiquity in building, purification, and ritual. Yellow calcite is thought to harmonize intellect and energy, radiating warmth, clarity, and willpower in balance.
Carnelian is a variety of chalcedony colored by iron oxide, producing shades from deep orange to reddish brown. Found in ancient Egyptian amulets and Roman signet rings, it was long associated with vitality, courage, and the animating spark of life. Chemically, its microcrystalline quartz matrix gives it strength and durability, while its translucence captures light like an ember caught in stone. A gem of endurance and creativity, carnelian grounds the will in warmth and motion.
Citrine is a transparent quartz crystal colored by iron within its lattice. True citrine is rare in nature; most on the market originates from heat-treated amethyst or smoky quartz. Natural specimens carry a subtler, honey-like hue. Historically, citrine has been associated with commerce and clarity, believed to attract prosperity and optimism. On a molecular level, its structure channels energy efficiently, dispersing light through perfect transparency. A stone of movement and renewal, citrine embodies radiance grounded in endurance.
Garnet is not a single mineral but a group of silicates with similar crystal structures and varying chemical compositions. The deep red variety, almandine, has long been linked to the root of vitality and protection. Its hardness and vitreous luster made it a favored adornment in ancient warrior armor and royal jewelry alike. In metaphysical systems, garnet is said to fortify the blood and rekindle inner fire. It represents the dense, fertile core of Earth—heat made visible, courage made tangible.
A warm orange variety of grossular garnet, hessonite carries an inner glow like resin or aged honey. Its name derives from the Greek hesson, meaning “inferior,” due to its lower density compared to other garnets, though its spiritual and aesthetic value has long surpassed that misnomer.Once worn as a talisman against illusion, hessonite was believed to sharpen perception and guide the wearer through cycles of transformation. Its subtle inclusions create a living texture. Imperfection is often where power gathers.
Jasper is an opaque variety of chalcedony, often patterned by iron oxides or clay impurities that create landscapes within stone. Ocean jasper, in particular, forms in spherical orbs, giving it an organic symmetry that mirrors coral or cellular life. Valued since ancient times as a stone of grounding and protection, jasper is both painter and archive: a record of sediment, water, and time. It invites calm presence and enduring connection with the natural world.
Moonstone belongs to the feldspar family and exhibits adularescence—a spectral sheen caused by light scattering through its layered internal structure. Chemically a sodium potassium aluminum silicate, it forms in igneous rocks and alluvial deposits. Associated with lunar cycles and intuition, moonstone has been worn as a charm for emotional equilibrium. Its shimmer is a natural interference pattern.
Mother of pearl, or nacre, is the iridescent inner layer of mollusk shells, composed of aragonite platelets bound by organic matrix. This biogenic composite material forms through a natural self-assembling process, stronger and more resilient than any synthetic equivalent.
Historically prized for its lustrous surface, it has adorned jewelry, instruments, and sacred objects across civilizations. Mother of pearl embodies the ocean’s alchemy, the transmutation of irritation into iridescence, patience into beauty.
Myrrh is an aromatic resin obtained from the Commiphora tree, long prized in sacred rituals, embalming, and healing practices. Though not a gemstone, its solidified form is often treated as one in adornment for its scent and spiritual resonance. Chemically rich in sesquiterpenes and resins, it has natural preservative and antimicrobial properties. In spiritual use, myrrh represents purification through endurance, the sacred made material.
Onyx is a banded form of chalcedony, composed of microcrystalline quartz. The golden variety owes its color to iron oxide inclusions layered through slow sedimentation. Known since antiquity, onyx was carved into cameos and seals for its hardness and resistance to wear.
Symbolically, it represents structure and self-mastery. Each layer records a moment of mineral growth solidified into order.
Pearls are born from the slow accretion of calcium carbonate around an irritant inside mollusks, transforming discomfort into beauty. Their nacre layers refract light into an iridescent luster known as orient. Because they form through biological process rather than geological pressure, pearls occupy a liminal space between life and mineral. They have long symbolized purity and transformation. Each pearl carries the rhythm of tides and the patience of the sea.
Peridot is the gem-quality variety of olivine, a magnesium iron silicate that crystallizes deep in the Earth’s mantle. Unlike many green stones, its color comes from the iron intrinsic to its structure, making it an idiochromatic gem, meaning it is green by nature, not by impurity.
Ancient Egyptians mined it on Zabargad Island and called it the “gem of the sun.” With a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale and a greasy, vitreous luster, peridot carries a brightness untouched by artifice. It is a stone of clarity and renewal, radiant with natural essence.
Ruby is the red variety of corundum, colored by chromium within an otherwise colorless lattice of aluminum oxide. Its durability ranks second only to diamond, and its fluorescence under ultraviolet light gives it a living glow. Throughout history, rubies have symbolized vitality, protection, and nobility, stones of kings and warriors alike. The Sanskrit word ratnaraj means “king of gems.” Scientifically stable yet visually alive, ruby embodies the principle of endurance through intensity.
Turquoise is a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminum, forming in arid regions where copper minerals weather and react with phosphates. The finest specimens, like Arizona’s “sleeping beauty” turquoise, are prized for their even, robin’s-egg blue hue.
For millennia, it has been revered by cultures from Egypt to the American Southwest as a sky-stone, a link between earth and heaven. Scientifically porous yet enduring, turquoise darkens with the oils of the skin, merging with its wearer over time. A talisman of connection, both geological and human.
About
Kankisi is a design studio by Kankisi Apaak, West African-American jeweler, writer, and nonprofit creative director. Kankisi’s handmade, seasonal, one-of-one jewelry collections are made to last, slow curated with indiviudal knots between each bead. Every piece is a celebration in detail and intention, an ode to the journey in destination, and a reflection on the ancient life ritual of adorning oneself in gemstone jewelry.Ethos
Gemstones are more than aesthetic decadance; they are innate physical reminders of our past, present, and future. For every collection, Kankisi publishes a corresponding Lapidaria: a hand researched and complied archive of historical and physical gemstone information. The Lapidaria is a guide for intentional reverance and wear of every piece; a slice of knowledge that illuminates the intrinsic signifcance of each gem, connecting historical, physical, and metaphysical properties: a place to map your personal mythology against one of humanity’s most ancient artforms. As a logo, the Kankisi sanfoka heart is evocative of Ghanaian Adinkra symbology: decorative cultural symbols used to signify parables and ways of life. The sanfoka symbol is often paired with a phrase translated as “Go back and get it !“ Every collection will call on one Adinkra symbol as its’ principle guide, exploring the concept through design.
Policy
As is the nature with knotted beads, pieces must be strung tightly to ensure longevity and durability. Knotting beads can create a sublte texture in the finished product that will slowly fall out of the pieces with time, wear, or a very gentle tug. With roof of purchase, every Kankisi piece enjoys a lifetime warranty. Cover postage and handling costs to have any original piece repaired.
Email hello@kankisi.com