Ancient Beads, New Creation!

My fascination with fossils began when I was a small child. We were visiting relatives who lived near an old dry riverbed in upstate New York. Walking through the riverbed “exploring” provided hours of entertainment. I had always picked up “pretty” rocks when on vacation with my family, usually handing them to my mom and asking her to put them in her purse!!! But I had never seen such rocks…filled with tiny little sea creatures frozen in time!!

Those memories flooded back to me when I saw this strand of fossils at a gem show over a year ago…Turritella fossilized agate found in Wyoming, dated at approximately 40-60 million years ago! I didn’t know what I would do with them, but they were calling me! A few years earlier I had purchased the shell centerpiece (antique Naga shell from northeastern India)…once again, because it called to me.

I have spent hours over the last year putting the turritella beads with dozens of other beads, and attempting to find the right match for the Naga shell. Then, last week, I had what I call a “duh” moment. The Naga shell center bead was the perfect match for the turritella fossils!!

But that combination, alone, was too monotone and something was lacking. I wanted an almost shocking touch of color, and had an inexplicable need for asymmetry, which is rare in my necklace designs. But I always follow these “feelings” I have when designing…it is as if I am being guided…and I always love the end result!

I had this whole “ancient” theme going on and I wanted to use things that have been incorporated into jewelry for hundreds of years. The small Tibetan turquoise bead is one-of-a-kind, colorful and actually an antique bead. It is quite possible that dozens of people have worn that bead over the past few hundred years! It gives this necklace history and is another connection to the past. The red and black bead is actually a seed from Peru, as are the seeds at the back, by the clasp. Seeds, of course, have been a favorite material for jewelry since the beginning of jewelry…whenever that was! Lastly, I used round copper beads to visually separate the main beads, and my signature handmade copper “looped hook” clasp to finish the piece.

This necklace is one-of-a-kind and one of my absolute favorite pieces ever! The price for this unusual piece is $269. This is your sneak preview and it will soon be featured on my website at www.jewelrybymo.com.

Thanks for listening!!