New Coptic Crosses and Hindu Amulets

We just received a huge shipment and I am so excited to share all the wonderful new pieces with you! Over the next few posts I will talk about all the exciting new things from antiquities to sparkles that we have waiting for you (along with a delicious cookie, of course!)

Let's start of with these wonderful Ethiopian Coptic Crosses. They come in many styles that reflect their town or province of origin, with the simplest ones being the oldest. They are made from coin silver and many are cut directly from the Maria Theresa (Marie Antoinette's mother) coin.

                 

On the left is a close up of one of these crosses and on the right is the actual Maria Theresa coin. Although the image has been worn down over time on the cross, it is still easily identified as being cut from the coin. What a super cool piece of history to own!

All our Coptic Crosses are $69 each.

We also have many, many more Hindu amulets! These are at least 75 years old, but many are much older. They depict a variety of Hindu deities including Hanuman, the semi-divine monkey god from the epic Ramayana, Devi, the core female deity, and Bumiya Raj, the village protector. Just be careful, collecting them is addictive - everyone here has a huge stash at home!

Hindu Amulets start at $12 each.

That's all for today! Stay tuned, next I'll talk about the new skulls and Buddhas. They're pretty awesome, you won't want to miss it!

Great Balls of Fire!

Goodness gracious! You've been asking for them and now we have them - beautiful 12mm Rounds encrusted with crystals in black, gold, or crystal AB. The holes are big enough to fit on 1mm leather or cord, and even some of the chains!

The options are endless with these sparkling beauties - make a pair of earrings, a sparkling necklace, or a simple bracelet.

The quality on these is spectacular and you definitely get your money's worth at $9.50 each. Come on by and check them out. We would love to help you brainstorm for your perfect project!

New Moss Agate and Amazonite

The last part of the recent shipment that I want to share with you is all the new Moss Agate and Amazonite. It's really gorgeous, but I'm at a  loss for a matching song, and thus my running theme is over. But that does not diminish the beauty of these beads!

I know I say this a lot, but I do adore Moss Agate. The color is perfectly Swampy and mixes great with other earth tone beads as well as copper. And each bead has its own unique pattern making it a piece of art all its own. We have a nice variety of sizes in 16" strands of smooth rounds.

4mm rounds: $7.00

6mm rounds: $8.00

8mm rounds: $12.00

10mm rounds: $16.00

12mm rounds: $19.00

And last, but certainly not least... Amazonite! The smooth opaque glow of these Amazonite is amazing. It's perfect to mix it with silver and moonstone to really bring out its cool, wintery color. For a more classic look, mix it with white pearls.

4mm rounds: $10.00

6mm rounds: $11.00

8mm rounds: $16.00

So that's what's new right now! I hope we'll see you soon for cookies, entertainment and creativity! Remember, we are here EVERY day for all your beading needs and we would love to help you make your project into a masterpiece!

Happy Beading!

Robin

Everything's Coming Up Roses!

You guessed it! We received some lovely Rose Quartz in our most recent shipment. And, as you may have guessed by the music theme, I am still guest blogging for Jenny. Don't worry, she'll be back as soon as she's done saving the world. In the meantime, let's talk Rose Quartz!

These have the feel of Spring to me, with soft glowing pastels and subtle tones. They can be mixed with other pastels or strong jewel tones for great effects. And the price is right! 16" strands run:

4mm rounds: $8.00

6mm rounds: $9.00

8mm rounds: $18.00

10mm rounds: $11.00

I always love a bit of sparkle and these faceted rounds fit the bill perfectly! These would make great spacers and also mix well with pearls or amethyst. The options are endless!

4mm rounds: $16.00

6mm rounds: $15.00

8mm rounds: $18.00

Have I mentioned my fondness of rondelles? They are so versatile, and one of my favorite things to do is wire wrap them between lengths of chain. These slightly opaque Rose Quartz rondelles would be a natural with silver chain, and maybe even gunmetal!

So really, everything's coming up Rose Quartz! Come by any time to check it out in person, we're here every day with delicious cookies and friendly help with all your beading emergencies! And stay tuned, there's still more new beads to talk about.

Happy Beading!

Robin

The Eye of the Tiger

 We have some new surprises in the works and Jenny has been working hard to get things moving. So in the meantime, I will be guest blogging about our new arrivals, and let me tell you, we have some great new beads! I'll start with my favorite of the batch, these wonderful Tiger Eye beads.They have so much fire and we have a wide range of sizes and shapes - there's sure to be something you can't live without!

The small smooth rounds would make great spacers, and I think the larger ones would be gorgeous knotted on some dark brown silk. Prices for 16" strands are:

4mm rounds: $9.00

6mm rounds: $12.00

8mm rounds: $14.00

10mm rounds: $21.00

And check out these beauties! Faceted Tiger Eye adds some sparkle to the fire. These strands of 6mm faceted rounds are a great deal at $15.00.

I love rondelles! They make wonderful spacers and also look great wire wrapped. And with this batch we got a surprise - a few strands of flatter, wheel-shaped rondelles.

2x4mm smooth rondelles: $15.00

4x6mm smooth rondelles: $15.00

2x6mm wheels: $15.00

So come on by, have a cookie and get your very own "Eye of the Tiger"! We would love to see you, and if I'm feeling particularly sassy, I may hum a few bars of the classic 80's hit! And keep watching the blog, there's a few more things from this shipment that I'm excited to share with you!

Happy Beading!

Robin

Treasures in Silver

This past week we sent out our holiday newsletter that highlighted a handful of things we find to be really special and unique in the store. One thing we highlighted that I think deserves a little more explanation is one of my favorites, the antique bracelets and bangles.

The majority of our antique bracelets and cuffs come from the northwestern state of India called Rajasthan. For centuries Rajasthan has been known as home to some of the best silver workers in the world. Since silver was readily available in the region these bracelets have a high silver content (about 90% silver).

It can be tricky to accurately age these bracelets because the traditional decorative designs used were repeated for centuries. That means that even though the bracelet is only 100 years old, the design can be 600+ years old. The pieces we carry were made in the early-mid 19th century, making the newest pieces over 100 years old.

See that hole at the top? It's common for these bracelets to have screws that fit into both sides of the bracelet making it extra secure around the wearers wrist.

The details on some of these bracelets are amazing! Look at the close up on the end of this bangle. Some people see an intricate design, some people see a face staring back at them!

These cuffs are particularly interesting. These beautifully decorated pieces are made from door panels that had adorned Mughal palaces.

Check out that amazing silver work! Can you imagine and entire door panel made with these stylized peacock designs? Surely palace worthy if you ask me.

Unlike India, Yemen did not have a ready supply of raw silver. Instead, they resorted to melting down coins to cast their pieces (shown above). In fact, you can still see the imprint of an unmelted coin on the center piece of one of these bracelets (below).

Because Yemeni metal smiths were using coin silver, the silver content of these bracelets ended up being about 80% silver. These bracelets were made during the early-mid 19th century, making the newest pieces over 100 years old.

We couldn't forget this little weapon of a bracelet. This bracelet is Burmese and was made by the Shan people during the late 18th to early 19th century. It is unique because the Shan people (who were traveling silversmiths) often catered to other tribal groups making village specific designs, not their own. This bracelet, however, is a reflection of the Shans personal style. Measuring at only 2.5 inches at the widest point this bracelet is looking for a very special person to become it's new owner.

This is just a small representation of what we have available. If you find your self in the area, come in and check them out. See for yourself why we love them so much!

New Shipment of Antique African Amber!

Antique African Amber $9.50 per gram

We've got a whole new strand of the antique African amber beads to share with you today! These beautiful beads are destined to be added into the singles basket along with the rest of our antique Amber beads.

Despite the name, this amber wasn't originally sourced from Africa. The amber rough was found in the Baltic and traded into Africa where it was carved into beads. Unlike Tibetans (who also carved Baltic amber into beads), Africans preferred to carve specific shapes like wheel and square-ish shapes. These beads were generally produced during the 19th century but some pieces can be even older. We sell them by the individual bead so you can pick out the beads that speak to you and make a bracelet or necklace that is truly personal.

Antique Bead Collection: Pema-Raka

Pema Raka, in all it's ancient red-orange glory.

We've got some new additions to our ancient and antique beads case.

These red-orange Pema Raka (also known as Pemma Raka) hail from western Tibet and Sinkiang province and were made into beads prior to 1000 AD. We've had some Pema Raka beads in the past, but they were quite different from these. These are smaller, rounded beads and were particularly used in malas (prayer beads).

Pema Raka (left) and natural red coral (right) both exhibit highly desired red tones. Despite Pema Raka's more red-orange color, it is still prized by the Tibetan people.

The name Pema Raka is believed to have come from the sanskrit words Padma (meaning lotus flower) and Rakta (red or blood) translating to 'blood lotus' or 'red lotus'. These beads are also referred to as 'stone of the right color' (no doubt due to their closeness in color to coral beads). The color red is auspicious in Tibetan culture and considered sacred. Pema Raka has sometimes been referred to as "poor mans coral", but it has been treasured for its own unique qualities that make it an equally collectible bead.

Pema Raka pieces featuring natural "eyes".

For centuries the Tibetan people have used Pema Raka as protection from evil spirits and illness. They were also used as an important ingredient in Tibetan medicine. Some pieces feature natural white banding which can form "eyes" in the stone. These "eyes" are believed to specifically protect the wearer from the evil eye.

Robin is modeling our necklace of Pema Raka hand picked by the owner, Christina. This necklace is on display in the store and could be all yours for $247.

If you'd like to know more about these beads or other ancient Tibetan beads, we encourage you to seek out these books; The Jewelry of Nepal by Hannelore Gabriel and The History of Beads by Lois Sherr Dubin. The first book is no longer in print and maybe be difficult to find (such a shame, it's a beautiful book) but the other two are back in print and would make wonderful additions to any beaders collection. For a quick refresher you can visit our website http://www.lostcitiesbeads.com/ or better yet, come in for a visit! We'd be happy to share our bead knowledge with you!

New Cubic Zirconia

We've got some great Cubic Zirconia to share with you today! Cubic Zirconia is ideal for jewelry designs. Not only are they wonderfully glittery, but they're also very hard (about an 8.5 on the Mohs hardness scale) making them extremely durable and suitable for everyday wear. And affordable! Can't forget that part.

Check them out!

Faceted Rondelles 4mm, 6mm and 8mm

8mm in clear and black.

6mm in light champagne, medium champagne, black, garnet, ruby, amethyst, olive.

4mm in clear, light champagne, medium champagne, olive, amethyst, and ruby.

3mm in olive, blue, amethyst and ruby.

$31-$41 per 6 inch strand

*Except for the 4mm blue, those bad boys are $62 per 6 inch strand*

Yes, you read right. $62 per strand for those beautiful aquamarine colored CZ's. The reason? To make CZ's in different colors, manufacturers add specific minerals to produce certain colors. To make blue they add erbium and neodymium, minerals that tend to be more rare than the minerals used to make pink, purple, champagne etc.

Tear drops in black, olive, light champagne, dark champagne, ruby, garnet, light amethyst and amethyst.

$35 per 5 inch strand

Ovals in black, clear, light champagne, dark champagne, garnet and olive.

$25 per 6 inch strand

Red Velvet is back!

And in three great sizes! Red Velvet is without a doubt the most popular color in Chinese crystal we've ever had. It's not hard to see why....it's the perfect red.

Red is historically a difficult color to produce in glass. The origins of red glass are unknown but thought to have been discovered during the production of the Lycurgus Cup made by Roman artisans in the 4th century. Historians believe his technique was accidentally discovered and was not reproduced successfully until the 17th century. In the past, artisans would mix gold and acid (making gold chloride) and add a small amount of the mixture to molten glass. Thankfully, modern artisans can substitute the gold mixture with copper and still produce beautiful reds. With the ever climbing gold prices, can you imagine how expensive red glass would be if we still only used gold chloride?

Perfect for Halloween (even vampires need necklaces) and great for Christmas (admittedly I'm not ready for that just yet...but I know there are some of you early birds out there who are!). We've got them in 6mm, 8mm and 10mm. All are faceted rondelles and range in cost from $6.30-$9.30 per 16 inch strand.

New Shipment: Large Hole Pearls

Finally! Pearls with PRE-DRILLED large holes! And in such pretty colors! Be still my beading heart.

Bronze, silver and a greenish-peacock.

9mm-10mm, $29-$32 per 16 inch strand

White in a few large sizes.

9mm-11mm, $31-$49 per 16 inch strand

These holes are so large that you can easily string them or knot them on a variety of fun fibers. We've got them on leather, waxed cotton, satin, synthetic suede....so many choices! Sure was fun trying them all out! And we didn't stop at fiber...

...they easily slide onto our sterling silver and gold filled chains as well! What a inexpensive, fast, sweet necklace! I like that they easily move about on the chain, makes for a great worry bead.

The choices are endless....come in and play with us and find the combonation that suits you!

New Treasures: Round Pearls

Pearls are every beader's friend. You can always use some round pearls in your bead stashes. They're just so easy to incorporate into jewelry pieces. Use them as spacers, feature them as the main attraction or knot them on their own. With pearls you really can't lose. True story. Here's whats new to our collection of pearls....

Classic pearly whites in multiple sizes. Accent with pearls or faceted quartz for all your wedding themed pieces.

4mm-6mm, $12-$13 per 16 inch strand

An assortment of fun colors in smaller sizes. Perfect as inexpensive spacers or left alone for a delicate look. I'm really drawn to the pinks on the right side of the quarter. Look closely and you'll notice that each strand has slightly mixed shades of pink and peach!

4mm, $5-$10 per 16 inch strand

Gorgeous large rounds in silvery greys and peacock blues. The luster on these are simply amazing! Pair with gemstones for a simple, yet show stopping knotted strand (I've done garnets with the dark peacock before but you could always play it safe with iolite or aquamarine ;).

10mm, $36 per 16 inch strand

New Treasures: Nacazari Turquoise

Here's the good news.....we received some amazing, large Nacazari turquoise in our new shipment! The bad news? We're sorry to report that as of this month, the Nacazari Turquoise mine has closed meaning no more new material will be made available in the future.

Nacazari Turquoise Wafers

$179-$228 per 16 inch strand

I don't know about you, but that tid bit of information made me need a strand of this pretty bad. Emphasis on the need.

Since it's only found in one place on earth it was only a matter of time before the source became depleted. Nacozari Turquoise is only found in Sonora, Mexico (south of the Bisbee, Arizona in the same mountain range). Like the Sleeping Beauty Turquoise, this turquoise is desired for it's beautiful blue color and little to no matrix. Some beads contain tiny pyrite inclusions and white spots due to the stone's aluminum content.

In addition to these amazing wafer cut strands we also have some smaller sized beads still available from previous shipments. Check them out here.

New Treasures: Chinese Turquoise

Our largest shipment of the year has arrived, and for those of you that received our email announcement some of these items may look a little familiar. However, the email only touched on a handful of exciting beads. Let me take you on a more in depth tour on our newest treasures starting with the Chinese turquoise. Stay tuned for more post throughout this week!

Most of you are familiar with popular turquoise mines like Sleeping Beauty, Fox and Nacazari, but did you know that turquoise is also found in China? In fact, turquoise has been actively mined and treasured in China for over three thousand years (remember our Tibetan turquoise?). It occurs in a wide range of color tones and matrix variations....from rich browns to lime greens to sky blues to deep indigo's. Chinese turquoise tends to be more affordable as compared to American mined turquoise because of the abundant supply and low labor costs. Major deposits of turquoise are still found in the Hubei Province. 

Check our the newest additions to our Chinese turquoise collection....

This fabulous one of a kind piece is truly a show stopper. Each bead is hand carved individually into a "melon" shape and graduates in size from an impressive 26mm to a  14mm. Very impressive indeed. This unique strand is $252.

These are one of my favorites from our new turquoise collection! I personally prefer the green turquoise (typical for a redhead!) so it was especially hard to figure out which strand (or three) I couldn't live without. Better come and claim one before I decide that I need all of them.

Green Turquoise Barrels

$28-$106 per 16 inch strand

We also got a handful of the more common silky blue tones of the turquoise barrels. These are just as nice as the green toned turquoise, but we weren't able to get as many so what you see here is what we've got.

Blue Turquoise Barrels

$28-$106 per 16 inch strand

A favorite cut has returned! These flat, tapered nuggets are captivating. Each strand has natural, earthy, multi-color patterns that remind me of watercolor paint washes. The dark brown and black matrix compliment those color "washes" very nicely.

Tapered Turquoise Nuggets

$98-$189 per 16 inch strand 

 

Lastly, wonderful tear drops in a variety of sizes, drop shapes, and colors. I can't wait to incorporate these in some huge, lush chandelier style earrings!

Tear Drop Turquoise

$8-$30 per 16 inch strand

Stay tuned for the next chapter of our new shipment series....

New Gold Filled Chain

Looks like we've got a gold theme going on this week when it comes to our new shipments. Safe to say that no one around here is complaining about it.

In addition to our new gold vermeil order, we've got a collection of gold filled chains that range from the very tiny, to the large yet delicate. These are beyond perfect for earrings or delicate necklaces. I've already got a couple ideas!

$6.20-$15.50 per foot.

Time for Gold

Don't you love when you open a box and find this?

Yeah. Us too. Believe it or not, this is how our gold vermeil order comes to us. We send out a giant mixed bag of silver and it comes back as a giant mixed bag of golden pirate treasure. No one here complains about having to organize this gold vermeil wonderfulness. We each get a hefty handful and retreat to our corners to happily divide and conquer. As always, we had a lot of fun things come back, here are a few worth mentioning:

A selection of toggles of all sizes...

...including the glamorously gigantic...

...clasps used in multiple strand designs (yes, even that amazing butterfly!)...

...soldered rings and various connector links...

...two different "Miraculous Metal" rosary stations...

...beads, beads, and more beads...

...and these guys. Remember our wonderful collection of antique Hindu amulets? We selected a handful of the most detailed pieces and sent them off with the rest of the silver. Looks like it was a great idea. As beautiful as the look here, they're 10 times more stunning in person.

Now that the dividing and organizing is all done, the pricing begins. Keep in mind that these are vermeil (a thick, high quality gold plate over silver). Translation? A glowing high karat look at an appealingly low price.