This necklace shows off a red glass heart and a skeleton key on a antiqued silver-tone chain.
The heart is one inch, and the key is two inches long. The chunky chain closes off to one side with an oversized clasp, also of silver-toned base metal.
I took the necklace for a "test drive" the other day and received lots of compliments.
One of a kind.
Price: $60, which includes taxes, postage, and insurance to U.S. destinations.
These handmade glass hearts have been very popular with my customers, and I love them as well.
The hearts are about 19 mm in size and each one is handmade individually in California of Italian and German glass by a company called Grace Lampwork.
I like the complexity of the designs--the mix of colors, the way the different colors of glass overlap each other, and the raised details.
I make a loop for each heart with heavy sterling silver wire, and then slide it onto a ribbon--typically black, purple, or deep navy blue velvet. I also have grosgrain ribbons in various colors.
The ribbon tie makes it easy to adjust the heart necklace to the length you prefer.
I've also been adding a high-quality pearl on a sterling jump ring to the last few necklaces I've made. You can slide the pearl to the center of the necklace next to the heart, or you can move it several inches up the ribbon. (It will stay where you place it because of the thickness of the ribbon.)
When you order, specify which heart you want (from left to right above: pink/lavender, brown swirls, and rose pink.) I will e-mail you to discuss the best color for the ribbon.
Price: $80, which includes taxes, postage, and insurance to U.S. mailing addresses.
The necklace in the photo is sold, but I have more love tokens and can make you a similar one.
Just e-mail me.
I had never heard of love tokens until I started making jewelry professionally a little over a year ago.
The first love tokens I saw were on Sandy's site, and I fell in love with them and started using them in my jewelry. Sandy is a UK-based charm dealer, one who consistently has the most interesting, well-made vintage charms.
Love tokens were made from silver coins, and they were a popular gift in both the United States and England during the Victorian and Edwardian periods. The fashion ended--with legislation--in the United States in the early 1900s when laws were passed to prohibit the defacing of coins. I don't know if the same thing happened in England, I guess I'd better ask Sandy about that.
To make a love token, one surface of the coin was filed smooth, and a name or initials and sometimes a date were engraved on the coin. It was the giver's name that was added to the coin, not the recipient's. Some love tokens were homemade, but jewelers would engrave them to order as well.
Women wore love tokens on necklaces and bracelets, and men wore them as fobs on their watch chains. One popular bracelet style was a bangle with links to attach a dozen or more love tokens.
Most of the English love tokens that I've had were 3-pence coins, a thin silver coin with a portrait of Queen Victoria. Now, Victoria reigned for decades, and it's fun to watch how she aged--and got plumper--as new coins were minted with updated portraits.
I want to start a new fashion here. I think every woman needs a love token necklace as a staple of her jewelry wardrobe.
I just made one for myself the other day, and I really love it. It's similar to the one in the photo, although mine has amethyst beads and a light purple crystal on it, rather than the bronze crystal on the necklace in the photos.
I wear it alone, or with another shorter necklace.
Here's the best part: The love token came engraved with my name. Sandy had it for sale, and offered it to me.
I've used old Japanese coins in my jewelry as well. See:
I bought those coins several years ago from a coin dealer in Tokyo. I wasn't making jewelry then, so I bought them just to have. A little piece of history.
I haven't been able to find a good source for old Asian coins either locally or online, but I found some great Japanese and Chinese coins in Hawaii recently. And a friend who lives in Japan sent me several 5-sen pieces. Those have a hole in the middle, which I love.
I also have a bracelet made with 1940s Australian coins. This one is considered "sweetheart jewelry." It also is considered "trench art," which is what soldiers made while they were sitting around in the trenches waiting for the war to start.
See: Trench Art Bracelet
Oh, the love token necklace in the photo has been sold, but I can make you a similar one. You get to choose the Victorian love token you want, and also the color of the crystal. The price is $110.
Photos: Monica Strasen.
This bracelet sold a little while ago, but it was (and is) one of my personal favorites, so I couldn't resist making another similar one.
I found another vintage mailbox charm online (shown in the smaller photo) that has flowers on it rather than hearts, but other than that the bracelet will be the same as the one in the large photo above.
I'm not the kind of person who gets all mushy about the "good old days," with one exception: In the old days, people WROTE LETTERS, including love letters.
Be honest now, when was the last time you received a love letter? Not an e-mail. Not a text message. An honest-to-goodness real letter written on paper with a pen and mailed to you through the U.S. postal service?
I will confess that the last love letters I received were written in the 1980s, and I still have them, tucked away. I treasure them, even though I no longer love the man who wrote them.
If you decide to give your sweetie this "Love Letter Charm Bracelet," give it with the promise of love letters to come in the future. I would also suggest that you pick up a copy of the book "Griffin & Sabine, A Extraordinary Correspondence," as part of your gift.
The bracelet has two strands: a chain of carnelian rondelles (that's the shape) linked with jump rings, and a chain with tiny hearts as the links. The charm itself is "vintage," although I don't think it is all that old. it is sterling silver, and it opens and closes.
The bracelet is a standard 7 1/2 inches long. All the chain and wire, and the toggle, are sterling silver, as is the charm, of course. The bracelet is one of a kind.
Price: $140. The price includes taxes, postage, and insurance to U.S. mailing addresses.
Please e-mail me with any questions: jeanne.sather@gmail.com
The charms shown in the photo at right are the only ones left from a large lot of charms I bought last August.
Well, the five in the photo plus one more "mechanical" charm, a sterling silver heart that opens to show an embracing couple. THIS HEART IS SOLD.
I had never bought this large a lot of charms before--there were 12 in all--partly because that's a lot of money to pay out at one time, and partly because I was afraid I would never use all of them. But this group has worked out well, because they were such special charms to begin with.
Go to this link for descriptions of individual charms: What's New
Contact me if you'd like me to make you a necklace or bracelet with one of these charms: jeanne.sather@gmail.com
Here's the embracing couple. I made a multi-strand carnelian bracelet with this charm. It's similar to this one: Vintage Vacuum Cleaner Charm Bracelet.
I love this bracelet design, and would be happy to make you a similar one with the charm of your choice. See: Charms
Photos: @ Monica Strasen 2010.
@ Jeanne Sather 2010.
Here's the sixth and final pair of glass Valentine's Day earrings that I have for sale.
These are a variation on a design that I've been using recently--a short length of sterling silver chain holds a flat silver heart (it is silver, the red in the photo is reflection) and either a red glass bead or a red glass heart.
These are $25, and I only have one pair for sale. The price includes all taxes, postage, and insurance to U.S. destinations.
