The Wedding Event of the Millenium!

The marriage of Earth and Sea is by far the event of the Millenium! Gorgeous red salt water Sea Coral is striking in a deep orangey red tone and handsome, earthy turquoise is magnificent in engraved hot blue. Coral and turquoise have been seen together for thousands of years (quite an engagement period) and have delighted the ancient Egyptians, Chinese Emperors, Greeks, Aztecs and American Indian Tribes. They create a fantastic contrast that jewelry designers, clothing designers, and interior designers love to play with. Turquoise was believed to possess protective forces for health and coral was believed to possess supernatural benefits to ward off accidents, evil and magic. Between them the wearer is assured of vitality, strength, wealth , healthy heart and increased sensuality (sounds like a great honeymoon to me.....).

Coral is a calcified skeleton of sea creatures that grow in salt water at 25 to 1000 feet. Shallow water coral is nearly depleated so deep water sea coral has become costly. Much of the coral harvested today is bamboo or sponge coral which is porous and needs to be dyed to achieve the rich red that has become so popular in jewelry. Coral and pearl are two biogenic precious gemstones that are chemically similar and are composed of mostly calcium carbonate. Both coral and pearl are desposits by marine invertebrates. Much of the world's coral comes from Australia, New Guinea, Scotland, Washington State and Alaska.

Turquoise, the December birthstone , is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminum. Turquoise is found in copper mines all over the world and was one of the first gems to be mined and then traded at Turkish bazaars to Venitian merchants who spread the gem across Europe.
Turquoise occurs as nuggets in the southwest United States. It was popular with American Indian tribes and believed to give the archer dead aim. Turquoise was used in American Indian jewelry as a fetish. Turquoise was first combined with orange argillite inlays and later was popularly combined with coral when it become available on the trade markets.

This spring, coral and turquoise are seen in bracelets by Stephen Dweck, MCL, and James de Givenchy. Spectacular vintage coral and turquoise pieces can be found at http://www.vintagecouturejewelry.com/.

I'll see you at the wedding!
PatraB