Shop Vintage, Shop Unique

December 5th-9th

This week in jade…

 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/269559914/jade-turtle-carved-jade-turtlenephrite?ref=shop_home_active_40

A simple pair of small jade turtles 🙂 a bright and happy gift, whether it be for yourself or someone else.  Beautiful shaping and color, high quality jade, a gorgeous little piece for a side table or desk.  These are both circa 1970s/1980s and are nephrite jade.

Simple and gorgeous: our favorite combo 🙂

❤

https://www.etsy.com/listing/228442657/jade-bottlesjade-snuff-bottleshand?ref=shop_home_active_63

Gorgeous antique jadeite carved snuff bottle.  For the friend who truly loves the old and priceless: this is a most beautiful piece of history.  It is carved on both sides; one side (shown) is a tree and the other side is two cranes.

The color and condition of this are beautiful.  One picture doesn’t do it justice: check it out on its listing page^^for more photos.

A priceless piece for a jade collector.

❤

https://www.etsy.com/listing/230891281/carved-jade-in-vintagecarved-jade-in?ref=shop_home_active_21

The most beautiful and intricately carved piece of jade…this is truly a special piece.  If you love and collect old jade, please check out this item’s listing (above photo).  This is a hand-carved vase with flowers and small birds all over it. It opens as well to reveal a small compartment– seriously fantastic! This was meant to hold small valuables so that they would be out of sight and out of reach.

Just a magnificently gorgeous piece.  Clearly unique and completely priceless to someone who appreciates hand-carved jade.  Please also remember that we offer layaway on Etsy for whomever truly appreciates this piece and who like to set up a layaway plan for it 🙂

You would definitely be the only one around to have this in their home–uniquely beautiful 🙂

❤

https://www.etsy.com/listing/464499262/genuine-jade-and-murano-necklace-jade?ref=shop_home_active_19

Not a vintage item, but hand-crafted using real and old jade, with a real gold murano bead at center. If you know someone who loves gold and jade, this is a uniquely beautiful piece that they won’t find elsewhere. We hand-knot the jade beads ourselves and feature a gold murano for a pop of brightness among the jade.

A great piece to wear for the holidays 🙂 a fresh and authentically upscale spin on “green and gold” 🙂

❤

https://www.etsy.com/listing/269025220/2-jade-dolphinsdolphin-mother-baby?ref=shop_home_active_54

Two jade dolphins mounted on granite.  A truly unique piece for the home of a jade and dolphin lover 🙂 Another example of hand-carved nephrite jade to admire.

Currently for sale in the shop.

❤

This week in unique jade pieces 🙂 Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by 🙂

Pearls of Wisdom: A History

    Intellectual Property of Olivia Stuard Jewelry

Enjoy the history!

     This is Part 1 of our history on pearls; stay tuned because later in the week, we will post Part 2, which includes tips on purchasing authentic pearls.

     Pearls have such a rich history because they were the oldest known “gem” according to some historians. It wasn’t until about the 16^th century that we learned how to cut and facet gem stones. One of the reasons Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 BC was to obtain freshwater pearls.  Since ancient times the pearl has been a symbol of unblemished perfection, a symbol of the moon with mystical powers. In classical Rome, only persons above a certain rank were allowed to wear pearl jewelry. In Latin, the word for pearl literally means “unique”, attesting to the fact that no two pearls are identical. The word “pearl” appeared in the English language in the 14^th Century. Pearls during the 13^th and 14^th century were very fashionable in Europe as personal ornaments, however, again only a certain rank of individuals could wear them. Teachers and lawyers, for example, could not.

     Incas and Aztecs prized pearls for their beauty and magical powers. Spanish explorers found natives in possession of rich pearl fisheries. For many years, European cities like Seville and Cadiz became known as the land where pearls came from.

     Native Americans of the Atlantic coastal areas and the Mississippi River were the first to collect and use U.S. freshwater mussel pearls and shells. Throughout history certain cultures have placed little or no value on pearls and have instead valued luminescent Mother of Pearl from mollusk shells. Before the 19^th Century Japanese shell divers who found pearls did not bother to keep them, focusing instead on Mother of Pearl. Polynesian children are said at one time to have used pearls as marbles.

     During Renaissance Europe, established trade routes made pearls more available than ever before. New trade centers in Lisbon and Seville overflowed with pearls from India, the Persian Gulf and the Caribbean.

     By the dawn of the 20^th Century people in Europe and the U.S. began wearing pearls for less formal occasions – a fashion that continues today. Japanese cultured pearls first reached European and U.S. markets in the 1950s. A handful of designers, most notably Gabrielle Coco Chanel, embraced them. Cultured pearls did not become as popular until the 1950s.