Whitecloud NZ Manaia Pendant, Manaia Necklace, Tribal Jewellery, Surfer Pendants, on Adjustable Waxed Cord. Handmade, in Fine Pewter, by William Sturt.

The manaia is a spiritual messenger between the Gods and the mortals and is always carved in profile, with one half of its body in the world of the living, the other in the world of the dead. It was traditionally carved with the tail of a fish, body of a man, and head of a bird. It represents spiritual power, a person's aura, and is seen as the guide that leads the spirits to heaven. By buying real pewter you are supporting a rural craftsman, whose every piece is hand cast and has a unique charm and character that is impossible to get with aluminium. Better still, there is no damage to the back of the piece from stamping, because our pewter is thick and delicious! We use exclusively eco-friendly Britannia Pewter which is 92% tin, 6% antinomy and 2% copper and has been the premium pewter mix since 1769 when it was discovered by James Vickers. It is of course lead and nickel free, food friendly and hypo allergenic. Many of our pieces make wonderful wedding or 10th (tin) wedding anniversary gifts and you have the reassurance that we guarantee them for life. Although our highly polished pewter looks like silver, it doesn’t tarnish like silver and can be cleaned with soapy water and dried with a soft cloth. When William makes a new piece, he first carves a master in wax then builds a silicone mould. Once a cavity has formed around the original piece, the hard part begins. Tiny ducts are cut into the mould to allow molten pewter to flow into each cavity, and air to escape during casting. The correct placement of these ducts is crucial. Once William is happy with a mold he will spend an hour or two testing and adjusting it, then start casting and the pieces produced are left to cool then cleaned up by hand to remove any roughness from the casting. The next step is to polish, dry and inspect each piece; box it and send it off to its lucky new owner.