Full of Eastern Promise by Caprilicious Jewellery

Hello folks, how are you? It has been a busy week for me, between Caprilicious and the day job. The weather outside is nice and warm - or it was until it pelted it down with rain this afternoon, accompanied by a thunder and lightning polka. I'm off to London at the weekend and unfortunately more showers are forecast. 

I received four pendants from a vendor I use regularly. The pendants in the parcel were made by artisans from a community of Tibetan refugees, crafted mainly by the ladies. Oversized jewelry is often worn by the women of Tibet and Nepal. This jewelry, while beautiful is often rustic, and a close look reveals that this jewelry is made entirely by hand and is roughly crafted, making their wabi sabi quality very apparent. 
Nepalese jewelry is made from brass, copper and silver and sometimes even gold. The stones used vary, with coral and turquoise being the most common. Other stones used are jade, carnelian, agate, amethyst, amber, garnet, and lapis lazuli as well as precious gemstones like rubies and sapphires. 
Symbolism is important to the Nepalese.  For instance turquoise represents the sea and the sky, making it symbolic of the infinite. Spiritual words or mantras in Sanskrit, and the eight auspicious symbols of Buddhism are sometimes incorporated, and jewelry is meant to act as a constant reminder and reinforcement of Buddhist practice and thought.
Apart from its religious aspect, the jewels of Nepal are thought to have medicinal properties. Ghau boxes are an example of powerful jewelry.  These “lockets” are worn as pendants, next to the heart.  They are often encrusted with jewels and are used to carry a scroll with a prayer or a gem or herb sack to protect or heal the wearer. 

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The necklaces below were all purchased as they were made and are not available for sale. The lady who bought them likes colourful, large, statement jewellery, is a Buddhist and most importantly loves Caprilicious - a match made in heaven!! Only one of them made it to the website, the others all flew straight out of my hands.

Annapurna

Made with one of my favorite ghau boxes, the beads are electroplated lava stone. A similar Ghau was used in the necklace above, which now lives in India.

The rest didn't get named as they were picked up even before I finished them. I haven't made a necklace for my Eastern Promise page for a long time, so I decided to use all the pendants one after another. The challenge was to use different elements in each one so that they did not all end up looking alike.

I wrote about the Hamsa and what it represents before, and this stash contained a pendant which I made into a necklace with blue dyed coral teardrops and pyrite rough nuggets.

Here are the other three :-

It is quite difficult to work with a limited palette and make five necklaces that are different from one another, but hopefully, I have achieved it. It was hard to think of new ways of using the same elements over and over again, and I think I'd have struggled if I needed to make any more.

The Promise of Summer

Once I'd made the Nepalese pendants up, I took some time off but soon found that I couldn't sit in front of the TV without something to play with in my hands. I pulled out a couple of reels of wire and a butterfly came to life - the design inspiration for this piece is a Nicole Hanna tutorial. A necklace of rose quartz and seed pearls gives it a fresh and summery look. 

In ancient Greek the word for butterfly is "Psyche", which translated means "soul". The butterfly has become a symbol with many meanings, but most commonly symbolizing rebirth, renewal, transformation and hope.

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That's me for this week folks, I'm in London for work, for a couple of days next week. I'm due to meet up with a couple of Caprilicious ladies and am really looking forward to it. Have a fabulous week and I'll catch you next Friday, same place, same time,
Until then
​xx