EMY Africa

EMY Africa profiled Erick Kraftsman within its wider editorial focus on African founders, creatives and innovators shaping business and culture. What made Erick Akonor’s practice significant was not simply that it produced premium jewellery, but that a self-taught British-Ghanaian artist was building an end-to-end jewellery house in Accra—rooted in Ghanaian production and designed for an international audience.

Erick translated a background in graphic design and Photoshop into CAD-led jewellery design, then developed the bench skills and handmade grillz techniques needed to control the work beyond the screen. That combination of digital thinking and physical craft became a distinctive advantage, allowing the studio to move from concept and 3D modelling to casting, stone setting, polishing and final wear with unusual control over detail.

The production model was another reason the work deserved recognition. Instead of sending key stages elsewhere, Erick Kraftsman kept the process in-house, combining handmade methods, modern technology and machine precision without middlemen. From detailed portrait pendants and custom grillz to pieces carrying Ghanaian symbols and stories, the aim was to prove that technically ambitious luxury could be conceived, made and finished in Ghana to an international standard.

The contribution also extended beyond individual commissions. Erick shared digital jewellery, casting and polishing knowledge with younger Ghanaian makers while his work reached clients across music, fashion and public life. The EMY Africa feature therefore captured a larger achievement: a Ghanaian founder modernising the Gold Coast jewellery tradition, strengthening the local craft ecosystem and giving contemporary African jewellery a confident global voice.