Wild Bryde & the Africa Jewelry Line
Wild Bryde is an American nature-jewelry studio known for finely etched, hand-hammered brass animals. This is an independent, collector-built census of its discontinued Africa wildlife jewelry line.
The makers: Mike Warner & Tracy Holzman
Sometime around 1980, artists Mike Warner and Tracy Holzman began making jewelry in a home garage in Richmond, California. The studio sat near the intersection of McBryde Avenue and Wildcat Canyon, and the name they chose was a mash-up of that address — Wild from the canyon, Bryde from the street.
Warner had studied art and botany at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, and that dual training shows in every piece: naturalist detail rendered in fine, photo-etched brass. The operation eventually outgrew the garage and moved to a larger workshop in El Sobrante. Over the years the catalog expanded to thousands of designs — birds, mammals, reptiles, marine life, wildflowers — produced as earrings, pins, necklaces and bracelets. Warner ultimately became the sole owner and lead designer.
Most pieces were finished in 14k gold plate, with non-tarnishing rhodium plating used for the silver-tone variants. On rare occasions, pieces were also produced in sterling silver. Gold-fill or sterling earwires were standard on earrings.
Wild Bryde wound down and closed around 2023 — phone lines were disconnected and the online shop went dark. Nothing new is being produced, so the pieces now circulate on the secondary market, with the occasional new-old-stock item still turning up from retailers who held unsold inventory.
Most Wild Bryde pieces carry a small copyright stamp on the reverse, usually marked “© Wild Bryde” or “© WB”. This is the easiest way to authenticate a piece. Earlier production may show slightly different markings.
How the pieces are made
Etched recycled brass
Each design is photo-etched from sheets of recycled brass, producing the fine open cut-work and interior detail seen across the line.
Hand-hammered
Every piece is individually hammered with a planishing tool, strengthening the metal and creating subtle facets that catch the light.
Gold, rhodium or sterling
14k gold plate accounts for the warm gold tone. Non-tarnishing rhodium plating produces the silver-tone variants. Very occasionally, pieces were also made in sterling silver.
Made in the USA
All pieces were manufactured in the United States. Earrings used gold-fill or sterling silver earwires as standard.
How this census is organised
This reference documents the underlying artworks rather than individual shop listings. When one design appears in several finishes or jewelry forms, it is recorded once with its variants noted. The line divides into three top-level groups:
Single Species
Multi Species
Inanimate
Tags, not categories
Descriptive tags like landscape, framed, face only, full body or family group let one piece carry many traits without forcing it into a rigid bucket.
Forms & finishes
Each design is recorded across its jewelry forms — necklace, pendant, bracelet, brooch, earrings, posts and pins — and its finishes. Wild Bryde pieces are made from 100% recycled brass, then either gold plated or rhodium plated, or crafted in sterling silver.
Confirmed identifications
Every artwork here has been matched against public resale listings. Pieces with an Ambiguous tag are borderline identifications — designs like certain flamingos that may belong to another Wild Bryde line but share strong visual overlap with the Africa series.
What pieces typically cost
On the resale market, brooches and earrings usually sell for about $10 to $40, and necklaces or bracelets for roughly $30 to $100. Full matching sets can go higher, but overall Wild Bryde Africa is an affordable, approachable brand to collect.
Beyond Africa: the wider Wild Bryde world
The Africa collection documented here was only one corner of a much larger catalogue. Over roughly five decades, Wild Bryde grew to thousands of nature-inspired designs across many themes — all in the same etched, recycled-brass style. This census focuses on the African wildlife pieces, but it helps to know the family they belong to.
Hummingbirds
Delicate hummingbirds in mid-flight — one of the motifs the studio is best known for.
North American Mammals
Moose, bears, wolves, foxes and deer from the forests and mountains of North America.
Marine Mammals
Whales, dolphins, manatees and seals — the studio's take on marine-mammal life.
Fish & Turtles
Sea turtles, fish and other aquatic life rendered in finely etched brass.
South American Rainforest
A tropical line of parrots, monkeys and other rainforest creatures, including a full "Rain Forest" necklace.
Amphibians & Reptiles
Frogs, lizards, geckos and snakes for the cold-blooded-critter enthusiast.
Celestial
Celestial and cosmic-themed pieces — sun, moon, stars and zodiac motifs in finely etched brass.
Birdwatchers
Pieces for the bird-watching enthusiast, with binoculars and field-guide motifs.
Butterflies
Monarchs and other butterflies with finely etched wings — like the Monarch Butterfly necklace.
Farm Animals
Barnyard favourites — horses, cows, pigs, goats and other farm friends.
Dogs
Breed-specific dog designs for the devoted dog lover.
Cats
Playful and elegant cats, a long-running favourite of the studio.
Horses
An extraordinary array of horse designs including full necklaces of linked horse silhouettes — among the studio's most ambitious work.
Bespoke & Commissioned
Custom and limited-edition pieces made for churches, California landmarks, and other one-off commissions — each one unique.
Note: the images above are photos of real Wild Bryde pieces from these other lines, drawn from public resale and maker listings — shown only to give a sense of the brand’s broader range.
These other collections are at real risk of disappearing from memory as the brand fades. If you’re interested in cataloguing any of them, I’d be eager to help — please get in touch.
A note on identification and borderline pieces
Because the Wild Bryde studio was so prolific, it is easy to mistake pieces from their other collections for the Africa line. The inclusion criteria for this census revolve around a specific African design DNA — here are a few common edge cases and why they may fall outside the scope of this guide:
Naturalistic vs. Graphic Silhouettes
The Africa line is characterized by a high-commitment naturalism — Mike Warner's background in botany and illustration is evident in the anatomically correct proportions of the lions and zebras. If you see a monkey with a more graphic or stylized silhouette, it is likely part of the South American line (often featuring Spider Monkeys, which are not native to Africa).
Beading and Mixed Media
The Africa line is almost exclusively focused on the metalwork itself, with very minimal use of beading. While some pieces may have a single stone or bead, heavily beaded items or those with vibrant Art Deco style frames usually belong to separate fashion-forward lines or the extensive Wings collections.
The Flamingo & Waterbird Paradox
While Flamingos are iconic to Africa and waterbirds like herons, cranes, egrets and storks are found across the continent, Wild Bryde produced a vast global bird collection that often used different framing styles. If a flamingo or waterbird piece features heavy beading or a stylized Deco border, it is categorized as a general Avian piece rather than an official entry in the Africa series.
Species Accuracy
A geographic filter applies throughout: if the species represented — like a Jaguar or a Macaw — is not indigenous to the African continent, it is not included in this census, even if the metalwork technique is identical.
The goal is to document the cohesive Safari aesthetic that defined the Africa line specifically.
A sample of the line
A rotating selection of representative designs from the families documented in the census — refresh to see more.
Rights & Credits
This is an independent, non-commercial reference created by and for collectors. It has no official association with Wild Bryde, its founders, or any successor, and is not endorsed by them.
All images shown here are drawn from public e-commerce listings on eBay, Poshmark, Mercari, Etsy, WorthPoint, archived catalog pages, and other resale and auction sites. They are used purely to document, identify and preserve a record of a discontinued line — not for sale. If you are a rights holder and would like an image removed or credited, that can be accommodated.