Siem Reap: Chantrea Thorn and Ammo Jewellery, from bullet casings to jewellery
It was meant to be a stopgap until the pandemic passed. Six years on, Chantrea Thorn runs Ammo Jewellery. The Siem Reap social enterprise is now fully Khmer-owned and managed. It still turns spent casings into jewellery, with a design signature that is more Cambodian every year.
Ammo Jewellery and the Covid years
2020. Tourism in Cambodia stops dead. In Siem Reap, Ammo Jewellery watches its customers vanish. Its British founder, Madeline Green, has to return to the UK. Before leaving, she hands the business to Chantrea.
"I was grateful for her trust. But honestly, I was nervous. It was a big responsibility and everything was uncertain," she says.
With the team, she keeps the workshop running. She looks after her colleagues and searches for new ways to reach buyers. Most sales move online. Ammo holds on.
Jewellery made from bullet casings
Madeline Green founded Ammo in 2013. The idea was to handcraft jewellery from blank cartridges already fired in training. The company motto, "Beauty from Destruction", ties the craft to jobs for local women and young Cambodian artisans. Each piece is shaped, hammered, soldered, textured and finished by hand..
For Chantrea, the material matters. It recalls the country's painful history. Reworking it gives it a different meaning. "It also reminds me that we cannot change the past. But we can choose what we make from it," she says.
From the workbench to design
Chantrea joined Ammo in 2016. She learned the trade at the bench, made jewellery, then gradually took on more. She found that design is first about telling a story and knowing what speaks to customers.
In 2021, a US$3,000 grant from Nomi Network Cambodia helped her start her own label, Chan Alanka. Its gold-plated DECO collection draws on 1920s Art Deco, with geometric shapes and clean lines. The project gave her confidence as a designer and as a business owner.
A Khmer-owned business
In 2024, Chantrea officially became Ammo's owner and head. The company became Cambodian. Madeline Green stays on as an adviser. Chantrea runs daily operations.
The Khmer team handles everything: production, workshops, customer service, sales and admin. The more experienced staff train the others.
Angkor Wat, the moon and a fan
The Temple Collection is one of the best sellers. It turns the floor plans of Angkor Wat, the Bayon and Ta Prohm into jewellery. Chantrea also takes ideas from Cambodia's people, culture, landscapes and daily life.
Her favourites are three pairs of earrings. Moon plays on the beauty and mystery of the moon. Fan borrows traditional shapes and the movement of a hand fan. WOW, the most playful, is made to catch the eye at once. "When someone puts them on and says 'Wow', I know the design has done its job," she says with a smile.
L'avenir d'Ammo Jewellery
Pour Chantrea, faire grandir l'équipe passe par les compétences, la confiance, les revenus et le sens des responsabilités. Elle mise sur une croissance lente et durable. Elle veut qu'Ammo reste reconnue pour la qualité de ses pièces et l'originalité de son design cambodgien. Et elle compte créer davantage d'emplois pour les artisans locaux, dans une entreprise que l'équipe peut considérer comme la sienne.
Jewellery workshops in Siem Reap
Ammo runs classes Monday to Saturday:
Brass workshop, 1.5 hours:
Brass workshop, 2.5 hours
Silver workshop, 2.5 hours
Booking
Ask your hotel to call Ammo to check availability. Give your preferred date and class length (1.5 or 2.5 hours).
Tel: +855 92 298 560
Email: info@ammojewellery.com
Website: www.ammojewellery.com
Facebook: facebook.com/ammojewellery
Instagram: instagram.com/ammojewellerycambodia
D'après un texte de Vergielyn Cubol pour Ammo Jewellery. Vergielyn Cubol est rédactrice, éditrice et stratège de marque à Siem Reap : www.vergielyn.com
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