Buying Afghan Jewelry

The abundance of jewelry on the market for the tribal or fusion belly dance enthusiast is Afghani. Is it old? Is it new? Is it recycled? Is it reproduction? Why does some of it say "Made in Pakistan"? Why does Afghan jewelry contain so much Lapis Lazuli and Carnelian?

Afghanistan has been at war almost constantly since 1979 and decades of devastation created the need for many to sell their personal jewelry and traditional clothing. Struggling under two sets of UN sanctions in the early 21st century necessitated a lot of cross-border indirect trade. That is why many pieces of Afghan jewelry and textiles have "Made in Pakistan" stickers on them. The items are shipped to the US and elsewhere through the bazaars in Pakistan since there was formerly no direct trade with Afghanistan. There were formerly two main border crossings but now there are about twenty places to trade. Some of this is changing now due to joint ventures and intiatives like Afghan Friend International, Inc. where more direct trade is possible. Pakistan had set up a vast number of refugee camps to house the millions of displaced Afghanis, by far the world's largest refugee population. There they live in Peshawar and other Northwest Frontier towns making new items for export and recycling old ones. There were so many Afghanis in Peshawar that a city of the section is nicknamed Afghan Town. There is an entire generation of Afghanis who have never set foot inside Afghanistan. Turkmen Dagdan Amulet