Satta Matturi’s Natural Diamond Legacy

Satta Matturi of Matturi Fine Jewelry designs with an eye for diamonds. Given her history as a rough diamond expert for De Beers, she understands what makes natural diamonds real, rare, and responsible better than most. “Diamonds play a really important part for producer countries and also for the citizens of those countries,” says Matturi, who has seen firsthand what “the wealth from mining and the sales of diamonds does for those countries.” Imbuing each of her natural diamond pieces with this knowledge makes them even more unique and valuable, ideal for treasuring for generations and passing down as heirlooms.

Born in Sierra Leone, a diamond-producing country, and raised in the UK, Matturi has been surrounded by jewelry and adornment her whole life. “Within the continent of Africa, wherever you go—north, south, east, west, central—jewelry forms a really strong part of the culture,” she shares with Only Natural Diamonds. “And women do adorn themselves and wear jewelry.” Seeing her mother and sisters always decorated with embellishments and bijoux, Matturi’s passion for jewelry began at a young age. “But nothing really spoke to me in terms of what I really wanted,” she reveals. “I think that’s what led me to start my own brand because I wanted something different that sought inspiration from the continent and from Africa.”

One of her latest works of art is a 13-carat natural diamond necklace in the form of a Nomoli Totem mask, one of the brand’s signature styles, named Mansa. Traditional African masks dating back thousands of years are deeply rooted in African history of animism—reverence of the natural world. These masks represent different spirits of nature, whether that be a river, a local animal or an ancestor. Matturi’s Nomoli Totem mask necklace features different shapes and sizes of rose-cut natural diamonds on the crown and a face of yellow gold dotted with more diamonds. “The Nomoli Totem is inspired by stone figurines from the western region of Africa but also African masks and masquerades,” Matturi explains. The diamonds themselves are sourced directly from the countries where they’re discovered, something Matturi is proud to say is true of all of the stones in her designs. “We work with partners who actually buy from the producer countries and the primary sources.”

“This particular design was created with enlightenment in mind,” she elaborates of the stunning natural diamond piece. “I was very keen to create something using different shapes and sizes of diamonds and really, sort of look at humanity currently.”  Using this sentiment, Matturi hopes her latest piece can be more than just an adornment or embellishment for its wearer, with the crown of diamonds, “just shedding a light and brilliance to everyone.”

The Nomoli Totem motif is available in many different iterations, including various styles of earrings and pendants, but all of Matturi’s pieces across the different collections are meant to bring images of the African content to mind. “The inspiration behind our designs is primarily from Africa,” she says. “So it’s about going back to the continent. It’s about telling your stories whether it be heritage or music or flora and fauna and many other things we try to bring in and tell those stories through fine jewelry.” Matturi’s story is one of African pride and a deep love of natural diamond stones. It started in Sierra Leone, looking at her mother and siblings adorned in jewelry but her diamond story began with De Beers, who operated in her home country of Sierra Leone in the 1970s and 1980s.

“After university, I decided to join the company,” she explains. “My father also used to work for De Beers so there is a link there as well.” It was through her work at De Beers that she became a true natural diamond aficionado, working as a rough diamond expert and in the sales department for 17 years. “But I wanted to sort of follow my passion for jewelry, so in 2015 I decided to leave and pursue my dream of starting a jewelry brand,” she remembers fondly. “And that’s how it started.” Still today, Matturi’s designs are informed by the knowledge she gained while at De Beers and seeing how the natural diamond industry works to ensure the locals see the benefits of natural diamond recovery as well. “I’ve been fortunate enough to see it firsthand,” she says.

“There are many examples:  things like providing free healthcare to the citizens, free education and these are all because of diamonds,” Matturi explains. The natural diamond industry indeed supports the livelihoods of 10 million people worldwide, the majority in local and indigenous communities in originating regions. “Botswana is known as a middle-income country,” she says. “A large majority of their GDP is dependent on the sale of diamonds. So they’re doing a lot to make sure that trickles through to every single citizen.” In fact, up to 80% of rough diamond value remains with these communities thanks to local purchasing, employment benefits, social programs, healthcare, and investment in infrastructure. Botswana in particular has the highest GDP per capita in continental Africa with 60% of its GDP coming from natural diamonds.

Soon, the brand will launch “a total service where we will start to manufacture diamond engagement rings at source,” Matturi reveals, adding that “a large majority of our larger and solitaire items are coming from this source. “We work very closely with one of our supplier partners in Botswana and I sit on the board of the entity and was responsible for the setting up of the factory in Botswana.” The offering will live under the MATTURI Fine Jewelry brand and accomplishes Matturi’s goal of always looking back to the continent not only for inspiration but also, for the actual manufacturing of her pieces.

“Botswana is really, really, rich in terms of biodiversity, in terms of natural beauty and I think the wealth from diamonds also goes into that,” Matturi shares, having seen that natural beauty firsthand when she lived in the country. The industry works hard to protect vulnerable species like the African elephant and rhinoceros from extinction. It also orchestrates biodiversity and conservation programs on preserved land across the continent the size of Paris, London, and New York City combined, equating to four times the land used for diamond recovery.

Matturi has witnessed the natural diamond industry’s commitment to the preservation of the land and uplifting of its citizens, and using only natural diamonds in her pieces allows Matturi to be a part of the bigger picture, an integral piece in the industry as a designer who supports the natural diamond mission. Almost 10 years after starting her namesake brand, Matturi has many incredible collections to be proud of and even more exciting natural diamond endeavors on the horizon. “There’s so much pride in using natural diamonds from countries such as South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia” she shares with a smile. “It’s your own little way to tell that story and bring it out into the world and share it with people.”