Nail Jewelry

Unusual "Body" Jewelry
Part 2 of 3

Nail guards are not a new phenomenon. Best known as a fashion assessory of high born Manchu women during the Ching (Qing) dynasty (1644-1912) in late 19th century China. Long finger nails were seen as symbols of wealth and luxury - these ladies were above menial tasks. You can see a portrait of the Last Empress of China in my past post which shows her long finger nail guards. These were finely made in precious metals and decorated with gemstones. See this website for pictures of 19th century finger nail guards showing varied jewelry making techniques such as wirework, enameling. cloisonne and gem inlays.

You can still buy this type of Chinese made guards as someone on YouTube did. However, there are jewelry designers who have put their own stamp on this unusual type of jewelry.

Jules Kim of Bijulesnyc who excels in the edgier style of jewelry design, makes shorter polished brass versions (seen above). The "Serpensive" line are custom fitted on several fingers or just on the pinkie. Sure beats having to apply nail polish!

Xiva Jewels caters to the exclusive luxury market with their false nails made with 18K white and yellow gold and platinum and studded with gemstones such as diamonds or whatever their clients desire. The application system is patented. Definitely not your local drugstore rhinestone version!

Via Trendhunter
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The Beading Gem's Journal

Hair Jewelry : Then and Now

Unusual "Body" Jewelry
Part 1 of 3

Queen Victoria's (1819-1901) personal taste was for sentimental jewelry and trinkets rather than the big glitzy state crowns and jewels she had to wear when she was "on the job". She was particularly fond of lockets of hair. An early present to her aunt was a bracelet made of her own hair with a clasp of coloured jewels. She also presented her much loved governess with a brooch containing a lock of hair.

The interest in this unusual form of jewelry is still alive and well. Check out the Victorian Hairwork Society's website for more information.

More modern takes on this type of jewelry can be found amongst the Bijules collection. The New York based designer is Jules Kim whose unique creations suit those with a craving for individuality. The brand is available in several locations and online.

Amongst the hair jewelry designs is the Hairy Chest necklace (below left)made from synthetic hair. The long hair earrings shown above and below right, are cleverly marketed as hairrings! As the designer puts it - "Get the versatility of dyed hair, without the commitment!"


Via Trendhunter

Reference
Suzy Menkes (1985). The Royal Jewels. Gafton Books.
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Turquoise Blue for Young Beaders

Someone on a jewelry forum wanted some suggestions to help her design jewelry for young girls as she did not know what they liked. Well, I told her that whilst pinks and purples are always popular, the kind of blue many girls go for is turquoise.

Like Juliet, aged 8. She designed these two earrings both using turquoise beads. Juliet was a lovely little girl, sweet and soft spoken. But underneath her gentle demeanour is a budding jewelry designer. For one so young, she was sure of what she wanted and how the design should look. She just strung the beads and l worked under her direction, turning the wire according to her precise directions.... "Just two dangles.... not the same length..." and so on.

She actually made three things at a recent party which again demonstrated how fast children design. So for anyone contemplating organising a children's beading party, please be forewarned!


Beader Design #: 334 -335
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Elizabeth Taylor's La Peregrina Pearl

Image details: "Giant" Screening during the 56th International Cannes Film Festival served by picapp.com

(Subscribers may wish to click on the post title to return to the blog to see a bigger picture)

Dame Elizabeth Taylor (b. 1932) has not been constant with husbands but the one affair which has remained so nearly all her life is her love of jewelry. Some of her husbands indulged her in this passion. The man she considered the love of her life and whom she married twice (1964 and 1975, husband #5 and 6) was the Welsh actor Richard Burton (1925-1984). He often gave her spectacular jewelry gifts but not just any expensive trinket - pieces with real history and provenance.

Burton gave her a polished and uncut Mughal diamond cabochon pendant (see my past post : The Jewels and Jewelry Obsession of Shah Jahan) which once belonged to the builder of the Taj Mahal. He jokingly told her he would have bought the Taj Mahal but it was too big to move so this fabulous piece of jewelry would have to do.

The above picture shows her wearing the La Peregrina Pearl which is the large, totally natural drop pearl gracing the end of the pendant. Burton bought it at auction for $37,000 in January 1969 and gave it to her as a Valentine's gift that same year.

This historic pearl was supposedly found in Panama in the 1500's by a slave who gained his freedom because of it. This pearl with its 500 years of history, is well named for "peregrina" comes from the Latin peregrinatus which means to travel or wander.

Shortly after it was found, the Spanish Royal family acquired it. The bauble was then given to Mary I of England (1516-1568) by Phillip II of Spain as a wedding gift. Mary Tudor (left) was the eldest daughter of Henry the VIII by his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Henry, as you know, moved mountains to divorce the Catholic Catherine in order to marry his new hottie, Anne Boleyn. The portrait of Mary Tudor on the left shows her wearing the pearl but in a different setting.

When Mary ascended the throne after her brother (Henry's son by wife #3, Jane Seymour, who died in his teens), she brutally dragged England back into the Catholic fold, earning her the nickname, Bloody Mary. At 37, she needed to marry and produce an heir, preferably a Catholic one. She fell in love with Phillip II of Spain when she saw his portrait. Alas Phillip did not feel the same way about her. He reputedly cursed the artists of her portraits for exaggerating her looks. There were no heirs.

Other past owners of the La Peregrina include Spanish Queens Margarita and Isabel in the 1600's who can both be seeing wearing the pearl in their portraits here. Such portraits provide documentation of ownership. The Bonaparte family also possessed it in the 1800's.

Elizabeth wrote of her sheer delight on receiving this amazing gift and the panic and horror when it went missing soon after. You can read an excerpt from her book here which recounts the incident and her subsequent relief when it was safely retrieved from the mouth of one of their pet small dogs. It took her a week to sum up the courage to tell Burton of the mishap!

When Burton bought the necklace, the pearl was suspended on a tiny diamond bail from a delicate pearl linked chain. The Burtons decided to have the necklace redesigned to its current form with diamonds, pearls and rubies by Cartier after they purchased a portrait of Queen Mary I which shows her wearing a much more elaborate necklace. You can see the resemblance between the Cartier redesign and Mary Tudor's necklace. They later donated the portrait to the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Mary I picture source

References
Elizabeth Taylor (2002) My Love Affair with Jewelry. Simon and Schuster.
National Portrait Gallery : Queen Mary I
http://www.karipearls.com/
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A Necklace for A Mother

Feature Designer

A few years ago at a beading party, before I started taking pictures for my blog, one lady made a necklace using birthstones of each of her family. I thought that was rather nice.

However, this custom necklace design I came across in Lori Fowler's blog is just perfect for a mother. The round sterling silver discs are stamped with the names of children. The cleverest touch is that the discs vary in size, allowing additional discs to be added when new offspring arrive. The heart symbolises a mother's love for her children. You can also check out the design in Lori's Etsy store .

I am not surprised that Lori has been rushed off her feet with the run-up to Mother's Day. She told me, "This product has been a hot item for me. It seems like every mother wants one for herself. " No wonder. It is a simple but effective design guaranteed to tug at the heartstrings.

Picture with kind permission from Lori. She comes from Hartlan, WI, USA and is off to a roaring start with her jewelry business.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
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The Beading Gem's Journal

One Handmade Bead

Not many of us could make our own lamp work bead. But Mary can. Mary is an accomplished jewelry making enthusiast I have featured before.

I first met Mary when she attended one of my beading parties. She brought this focal bead which she made herself. The centre band consists of two colours of glass rods twisted and then applied to the glass bead. Glass dots were allowed to spread and fuse with the main colour before the bead was flattened.

Mary's own bead collection consists of largely seed beads as she enjoys bead knitting. So I was glad she was able to complete the necklace for her focal bead using beads from my collection.

Beader Design #: 333
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Gailavira's Masterful Wirework Jewelry

Feature Designer

I have come across many, many talented wire work artisans who produce some lovely work. But when I stumbled upon this piece by Donna Spadafore (Ohio, USA) of Gailavira Jewelry, my jaw dropped. You can see more shots of this extraordinary design on her Etsy store.

"Memories" was made from an oxidised sterling silver frame surrounding several gemstone nuggets - cloudy aquamarine, watermelon tourmaline as well as some small labradorite rondelles. The focal piece measures 5 1/2 inches by 2 inches. Even the matching earrings are awe - inspiring.

Many of her designs are distinctive and show her great skill at turning wire. Her specialty seems to be pendants. Some of my favourites include her rose quartz and amethyst silver butterfly pendant and her copper and lepidolite pendant. Of all the crosses I've seen, her Divinity cross is a study in simplicity made from oxidised silver and just one single rutilated quartz bead in the center. It reminds me of eye beads the way it is made. Great protection!

Donna learnt her craft early, beginning as a teenager and working initially with seed beads. She now works exclusively with wire. The result of a lot of wire working experience is plain to see here. You can keep track of what she is up to on her blog. She has also completed her first tutorial.

Photos with kind permission from Donna.



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Designing with lampwork beads

Lamp work beads are often intricately made with many layers of colours and patterns. So lovely they don't need much in the way of embellishment.

Alice's bracelet here shows a common approach to designing with lamp work beads - keeping it simple. Just spacer beads and nothing else. The spacer beads used here were tortoiseshell bicones. The lamp work beads thus are centre stage in the design as they deserve to be.


Beader Design #: 332
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