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About Our Gems Oceanic Splendors ~Jewelry About Our Gems
About Our Gems
First about the materials used:
The beading wire used for all our beaded jewelry is made up of 19 strands of stainless steel wire twisted to make one flexible yet very strong strand, then nylon coated for a silky smooth finish. The beading wire itself is expected to hold up to 26 lbs.
All the metals used are hand polished 925 sterling silver, 14K gold filled or 14K gold, handformed with unique & purposeful character.
All stones, shells, pearls, materials etc... are genuine as labeled in each description. No two items are exactely alike. Each gem is carefully chosen for it's setting with color, shape, and size with very much attention to detail. In some cases each setting is specifically designed around the gem as a sort of pedestal for it's display.
For information regarding the gems used please click on the links in each items description, or scroll below.
If there are any questions at all, please feel free to email.
Sea Pearls
Sea pearls are an organic gem, created when an oyster covers a foreign object with beautiful layers of nacre. Long ago, pearls were important financial assets, comparable in price to real estate, as thousands of oysters had to be searched for only one pearl. They were rare because they were created only by chance.
Today pearls are cultured by man: shell beads are placed inside an oyster and the oyster is returned to the water. When the pearls are later harvested, the oyster has covered the bead with layers of nacre. Most cultured pearls are produced in Japan. In the warmer waters of the South Pacific, larger oysters produce South Sea cultured pearls and Tahitian black cultured pearls, which are larger in size. Freshwater pearls are cultured in freshwater mussels, mostly in China.
The quality of pearls is judged by the orient, which is the soft iridescence caused by the refraction of light by the layers of nacre, and luster, the reflectivity and shine of the surface. Other factors which affect value are the regularity of the shape, size, and color: rose tints are the most favored.
Freshwater Pearls
Lovely Freshwater pearls are grown in Mussels in freshwater (as opposed to saltwater). Lake Biwa in Japan has long been known as the main source for freshwater pearls, but are also found in many other countries.
A freshwater pearl begins with a tissue graft from the mantel of the mussel. This means freshwater cultured pearls are composed almost entirely of nacre and more closely resemble the highest priced natural pearls.The thicker the nacre the higher the luster on each pearl. Their quality and luster make them not only desirable but guarantee a long life span. After three years approximately 80% of the pearls reach sizes up to 7mm.
The Chinese freshwater pearls come in a wide color & shape range that includes white, champagne, cream, orange, pink, purple, lilac, mauve, blue & more. The most predominant shape being oval. Other shapes are egg or potato, button, drop, and off round. Perfectly round pearls are still very rare, especially in the larger sizes, as well as the stick pearls, keishi pearls & coin pearls.
Items created with Pearls:
Earrings with beautiful square peacock
7-8mm Freshwater black pearls on
recycled smoked glass necklace
14K Gold Pendants
PEARL CARE
A good rule of thumb is that pearls are THE LAST THING YOU PUT ON when dressing and THE FIRST THING YOU TAKE OFF when you get home. NEVER apply perfume or hairspray when you are wearing pearl jewelry.
STORAGE
Pearl strands should be stored separately from other jewelry because the surface of a pearl is soft and easily scratched by other gems. A silk bag, or a velvet-lined box are good places to store pearls. Your local jeweler is a good source for these items.
Thank you!
Incredible Ocean Jasper
Incredible Ocean Jasper ~a new find from Madagascar. Every piece is different. Ocean Jasper is a lovely mingling of colors. There are whispers of most every color found in nature in these lovely stones.
Ocean Jasper is produced from only one mine near Marovato. The deposit, being located at the edge of the ocean in Northwest Madagascar, can only be seen and collected from at low tide. This remote area has no roads so the material must be transported to civilization by boat.
Every stone is unique, so the pictures on our jewelry is for illustrative purposes only, and will differ somewhat - but you will receive a wonderful representation of the item pictured!
Ocean Jasper Beads Ocean Jasper Rough
Ocean Jasper Necklace
zipper pulls
Jasper
Jasper is an ornamental rock composed mostly of chalcedony, microcrystalline quartz, in association with other minerals, which give it colorful bands
and patterns. Jasper was a favorite gem in the ancient world, and the name jasper can be traced back in Hebrew, Assyrian, Persian, Greek, and Latin.
Jasper is often named according to its pattern: landscape jaspers, the most popular, offer a small worldscape in stone. Ribbon jasper, picture jasper, and orbicular jasper describe other designs. Jasper is found in many countries. It is sometimes used to create bowls and other objects and to adorn buildings, such as the Saint Wenceslas Chapel in Prague.
Labradorite
Labradorite is a mineral named for Labrador, where it was first discovered. It is also found in Madagascar, India, Newfoundland, Finland, and Russia. Its distinctive flash of iridescent colors is known as "labradorescence." Depending on the angle from which the specimen is viewed, it can appear to be a nondescript gray-green rock or it can display a grand range of colors known as labradorescence, and may be blue, green, yellow, and pink, with the majority of the stone itself a dark gray in color. This phenomenon can be seen in specimens which are uncut, but it is fantastically clear in cut and polished specimens. It is captivating to see! One of my favorite stones!
Labradorite is of the Plagioclase Feldspar Group, a series of mixtures of sodium and calcium aluminum silicates. Also known as Spectrolite.
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Labradorite rough
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Items created with Labradorite:
Lustrous 8mm pearls & Labradorite
Citrine
Citrine is quartz crystal or cluster that is yellow or orange in color. Although, often cut as a gemstone, citrine is actually somewhat rare in nature. Most citrines on the market have been heat treated. Citrines that has been found in nature are usually a pale yellow. Much of the natural citrines may have started out as amethyst but heat from nearby magmatic bodies may have caused the change to citrine. Interestingly, a popular gemstone on the market is a mixture of half amethyst and half citrine and is given the name ametrine.
Citrine
Fluorite
The name Fluorite is derived from the Latin word for flow and applies to a set of minerals in the Halide group. It is a highly useful mineral in industry for use as flux in metal processing because of the chemicals found in its composition. It is also valuable to mineral collectors for its symmetry and color. It is not very widely used as a gemstone because of its softness. Because of its softness, however, it is used for intricate carvings. Clear stones are valuable for use in optics.
Fluorite is a mineral famous for its many colors. Fluorite occurs in clear, pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, in multiple intensities of each of those colors and is often called the most colorful of all the minerals. Within the stones, most of the pigment is uniform but significant finds have emerged of Fluorite with multiple colors. Finally, some specimens of Fluorite also have fluorescent qualities from rare elements, unbonded Fluorine or organic matter within the crystal. In fact, the adjective fluorescent is derived from the word Fluorite. Red and Green Fluorite will become phosphorescent at temperatures greater than the boiling point of water.
Fluorite Rough
Dichroic Glass
"Dichroic" is defined as the property of having more than one color, especially when viewed from different angles. Dichroic glass is a high-tech spin-off of the space industry. Thin layers of metallic oxides, such as titanium, silicon, and magnesium are deposited upon the surface of the glass in a high temperature, vacuum furnace. Because the process is so lengthy, dichroic glass is somewhat costly, but the look is well worth the price.
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Items created with Dichroic Glass:
Amazonite
Amazonite is found in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Russia, Namibia, Zimbabwe. Amazonite is usually light green to blue-green, mottled and sometimes contains light striations. A semiopaque stone that was used extensively by the Egyptians, the name Amazonite comes from the mistaken belief that it was found in the Amazon river.
Amethyst
Amethyst is an impressive variety of quartz which naturally occurs in crystal form. These transparent prismatic crystals can be found in clusters as an incrustation (or druse) in a nodular stone, commonly known as a geode. Physically it is much like quartz in it's transparency and luster but amethyst is unique in color. Ranging in shades of purple from pale lavender/lilac to a deep intense purple, amethyst is the most valuable form of quartz. In jewelry, the deepest most dense variations of Amethyst that maintain their transparency are considered the most precious. Amethyst deposits can also be found in other countries around the world such as: Mexico, Brazil, Bolivia, Canada, Africa, Argentina, Madagascar, U.S., Europe, India and Sri Lanka.
Faceted Amethyst
Lapis Lazuli
The mines of Badakshan, Afghanistan were visited by Marco Polo in 1217 C.E. and has been used as a decorative stone since that time. Lapis is usually a royal dark blue with gold veining. Denim lapis is lighter in color. The Greeks and the Romans used lapis as an award for personal bravery.
Lapis Semi-Rough
Items created with lapis Lazuli:
Beautiful blues & greens of the sea in
Molded denim lapis in colors of the sky
Abalone Shell & Paua
Red Abalone or Haliotis Refuscens is a very exclusive material that has a demand much greater than its supply. The Red Abalone shell comes from just off the Northern California/Southern Oregon coast. It's name is a bit deceiving, it isn't red at all but gets its name from the exterior bark which has a very red or pink tint. A large pair of abalone will get as large 3" x 1" x 1/8" and if it has good quality will cost as much as $100.00. Other abalones include Blue-Green Paua from New Zealand, Awabi from Japan, and Green abalone from Mexico and Southern California.
The average paua is oval in shape and approximately 5 inches in length. The shell is renowned for its deep scintillating blue green and turquoise colors. Prior to European colonization of New Zealand native Maori made extensive use of paua for jewellery and the decoration of their figure carvings. New Zealand Paua is sometimes referred to as the opal of the sea due to the depth of its color.
The very near relation, Abalone, found in the warmer waters around Australia and America is lighter in color and generally pinkish and more like mother of pearl.
On New Zealand beaches paua shells are a common sight and can be collected readily. There are three species of paua in New Zealand Haliotis iris H. australis and H.virginea , the larger of the three species found at the southern end of the South Island. The exterior of the shell is usually covered in hardened lime with the occasional barnacle but the inside of the shell shows its true vibrant colors.
Whole abalone shells
Genuine abalone shell carved into the
Genuine 6mm Abalone Shell Studs in
Seed Bead Necklace
Coral
Although various types of corals can be found from the water's surface to depths of 19,700 ft. (6,000 m), reef- building corals are generally found at depths of less than 150 ft (46 m), where sunlight penetrates.
Coral colonies also vary in size. Some corals form only small colonies. Others may form colonies several feet (a few meters) high. Star coral (Montastrea annularis) colonies reach an average height of 10 to 13 ft. (3-4m).
Reef-building corals secrete an external skeletal cup of calcium carbonate. This skeletal cup protects the polyp: when the polyp contracts, it's almost completely inside the skeletal cup.
Limestone Coral
Coral structures are formed from live coral animals called polyps, which are related to jellyfish, hydras and sea anemones. These tiny beautifully-colored animals have stinging tentacles which sweep back and forth in the water catching microscopic animals. As they do this they take in calcium from the seawater and extract and deposit calcium carbonate (limestone) around the lower half of their bodies. This limestone becomes hardened and develops into many shapes and patterns over time. When old polyps die, they become part of the skeleton formation. New polyps come from either eggs or from growths on polyps called buds. These young polyps continue to build on existing coral structures, or they "leave home" to begin new colonies of limestone coral formations as they deposit calcium carbonate from their bodies. As these limestone skeletons are continually created, from dead and living coral polyps, the limestone may form into tubes, domes, branches, fan shapes, or any variety of structures. As more coral animals develop and secrete limestone, the formations build on each other and become larger and larger, forming a chain or reef. Reef-forming coral polyps must have a special food released by a single-celled algae, as it helps them secrete limestone.
Items created with coral:
Toe Rings
Glossy red sea coral choker & 3-4mm
Recycled Glass
(Sometimes refered to as Sea Glass)
After a day spent in the sun on the beach we often come home with treasures left to us from the high tide. Treasures such as sea glass tumbled and softened by the continual rolling of the surf.
Recycled glass sometimes called Sea or Beach Glass is previously used glass recreated into new natural & handmade glass designs. Our beads will vary slightly in design, shape and color due to the handcraftsmanship of each piece.
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Items created with recycled glass:
Bottle-green recycled glass coupled
recycled smoked glass bracelet
recycled smoked glass necklace
Garnets
Garnets come not only in many colors but also under many names: Andradite, Demantoid, Grossularite, Hessonite, Pyrope, Rhodolith, Tsavorith, Spessartine, Uwarowite etc.. Let us focus on the most important ones, and let us start with red Garnets. Its fierce and often slightly bronze coloured red was highly popular as gemstone colour in the 18th and 19th century.
seeds of a pomegranate If you love the immaculate naturalness and sun-drenched warm colours of Indian summer, you will fall in love with range of colours displayed by Garnets. Today these stones come mainly from African countries, also from India, Russia, central and south America. Garnets appeal generally because of their natural and not manipulated beauty, their wide variety of colours and their magnificent brilliance. If you buy Garnet jewellery you can be certain to enjoy this gemstone gift from Nature permanently and without inhibitions.
Rose quartz
The pale pink color of quartz, which can range from transparent to translucent, is known as rose quartz. The color is a very pale and delicate powder pink. Transparent rose quartz is very rare and is usually so pale that it does not show very much color except in large sizes. The translucent quality of rose quartz is much more available and is used for beads, cabochons, carvings, and architectural purposes.
Blue Quartz
Pure quartz is colourless or white. beautiful blue quartz obtains it's colour from inclusions. The blue colouring may be due to the presence of dumortiorite (this usually has a uniform colour), sodalite, rutile (especially samples from India) or magnetite (particularly samples from the Apennine mountains in Italy)
An important source is at Golling near Salzburg (Austria).
It may occur in all rock types and may also be found in Brazil, India and Arizona, California, Montana and Washington (US). The wonderful colors of blue quartz makes any jewelry piece special.
Smoky quartz
Smoky quartz is a brown transparent quartz that is sometimes used for unusual faceted cuts. The commercial market is limited due to the limited demand for brown gemstones. This variety was sometimes known as smoky topaz in the past, which is incorrect and misleading, since the mineral variety is quartz, not topaz.
Rock crystal
The transparent colorless variety of quartz is still known as rock crystal. The best rock crystal has the clarity and shimmer of water. Although colorless quartz is relatively common, large flawless specimens are not. Rock crystal has often been used in jewelry, particularly carved pieces. Colorless quartz crystals have also become popular in jewelry.
Chalcedonies
Quartz that is formed not of one single crystal but finely grained microcrystals is known as chalcedony. The variety of chalcedony is even greater than transparent quartz varieties because it includes cryptocrystalline quartz with patterns as well as a wide range of solid colors. Agates are banded, bloodstone has red spots on a green ground, moss agate has a vegetal pattern. Jasper sometimes looks like a landscape painting. Carnelian, another chalcedony valued in the ancient world, has a vivid brownish orange color and clear translucency that makes it popular for signet rings and seals. Chrysoprase, a bright apple green translucent chalcedony, is the most valued. It was a particular favorite of Frederick The Great of Prussia, who loved its bright green color. It can be seen today decorating many buildings in beautiful Prague, including the Chapel of St Wencelas. Chrysoprase is found today mostly in Australia. Unlike most other green stones, which owe their color to chromium or vanadium, chrysoprase derives its color from nickel. Its bright even color and texture lends itself well to beads, cabochons, and carvings.
Jade
Since at least long ago, jade has been treasured in China as the royal gemstone, yu. The character for jade resembles a capital I with a line across the middle: the top represents the heavens, the bottom the earth, and the center section, mankind. The word yu is used in Chinese to call something precious, as in English we use gold.
The ancient jade carved in China was what we today call nephrite jade: an amphibolite mineral. (Interestingly enough, the word nephrite comes from the Greek word for kidney, nephros, a bit more scholarly version of the same thing.) In the 19th Century , it was discovered that the material from the new world was not the same mineral as the jade from China. The mineral from Central America, a pyroxene, was called jadeite to distinguish it from the original nephrite.
Today it is jadeite jade that is considered the real jade, commanding prices much higher than nephrite because it comes in much more vivid green colors and finer translucency than nephrite jade. Jadeite jade is produced in Burma, which is now known as Myanmar.
Jadeite jade is most treasured for its vivid greens, but it also comes in lavender, pink, yellow, and white. Nephrite is found in less intense dark spinach greens, white, browns, and black.
While jadeite is mined today primarily in Myanmar, small quantities can be found in Guatemala. Nephrite is mined in Canada, Australia, the United States, and Taiwan.
Both jadeite and nephrite are very durable and tough, although jadeite is slightly harder than nephrite due to its microcrystalline structure
Moonstone
Moonstone is fascinating with it's unusaul shimmering glow floating in a crystalline material. Moonstone is a variety of feldspar and the shimmer, which is called schiller or adularescence, is caused by the intergrowth of two different types of feldspar, with different refractive indexes.
Moonstones come in a variety of colors. The body color can range from colorless to gray, brown, yellow, green, or pink. The clarity ranges from transparent to translucent. The best moonstone has a blue sheen, and a colorless body color.
Another related feldspar variety is known as rainbow moonstone. In this variety of labradorite feldspar, the sheen is a variety of rainbow hues.
Fine moonstone is quite rare and becoming rarer. It is mined in Sri Lanka and Southern India. The rainbow variety can also be found in Madagascar.
Moonstones are usually cut in a smooth-domed cabochon shape to maximize the effect. Moonstone beads also display the sheen very well and are simply stunning against a black dress.
Turquoise
Turquoise is one of the oldest known gem materials.
In Europe even today, turquoise rings are given as forget-me-not gifts.
The most important turquoise deposits are in Iran, Tibet, China, and the Southwestern United States.
Turquoise from Iran is often said to be the best because it is sometimes a clear sky blue with no green modifying color and no black veins running through it. Turquoise just as fine is produced in Arizona and New Mexico. In general the bluer the blue, the more highly valued. A clear even texture without mottling or veins is also preferred. However, some people prefer turquoise with veins, sometimes called spiderwebs, which set off the color.
Turquoise is porous and should be kept away from chemicals. Clean it with warm soapy water only.
Beautiful blues & greens of the sea in
Gleaming sterling silver & fine lime green turquoise earrings.
Green turquoise focal with aqua
Agate
No gemstone is more creatively striped by nature than agate, chalecedony quartz that forms in concentric layers in a wide variety of colors and textures. Each individual agate forms by filling a cavity in host rock. As a result, agate often is found as a round nodule, with concentric bands like the rings of a tree trunk. The bands sometimes look like eyes, sometimes fanciful scallops, or even a landscape with dendrite trees.
Surf polished agate zipper-pull
Fire Opal
Fire opal breaks all the rules for opal. Opal is a gem valued for its play of color, the shifting light showing through from its depths. Body color is only a backdrop for the main attraction. But the color of fire opal is hard to ignore: hot yellows, oranges, and reds so bright they look as though they might glow in the dark. Fire opal sometimes does have play of color but it does not need this to take a starring role in jewelry.
Most opal is mined in Australia, from an area which was under the sea a very long time ago. Most fire opal, however, is mined in Mexico, the result of ancient volcanoes! Fire opal can also be found in Oregon and British Columbia in Canada.
Fire opal has become much more popular in the last few years as more jewelry designers have grown to appreciate its bold presence and bright color. Because it is light as well as bright, fire opal is especially good for earrings, where even small sizes have a big punch of color.
Fire opal, like all opal, has a high water content. As a result, it should be protected from heat and prolonged exposure to strong light, which could dry it out. All opal is relatively soft and should be in a protective mounting if set in a ring. Be especially careful with the points of marquise and pear shapes.
Aquamarine
From lightest sky-blue to the deep blue of the sea – aquamarines show all these shades of an exceptionally beautiful range of usually light blues. It is a truly fascinating stone.
Aquamarine is one of our most popular and famous gemstones and is characterized by many excellent features. It is almost as popular as the classical stones Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald. It is related to Emerald, which just like Aquamarine belongs to the gemstone family of Beryls. It possesses a good hardness (7 _ to 7 _ on the Mohs’ scale), and a breathtaking brilliance. Its good hardness makes it quite robust and protects it generally from getting scratched. Iron is the substance responsible for the color in Aquamarine, and the shades of blue displayed range from almost colorless pale blue through to bright sea blue. The more intense the color of an Aquamarine, the higher its value. Some Aquamarines show a slightly greenish hue – that is also considered typical. But a really pure and clear blue is still cherished as typical Aquamarine color, as it best brings out the immaculate transparency and high brilliance of this gemstone.
Peridot
One gemstone is born in fire: peridot, the volcanic gem. Small crystals of peridot are often found in the rocks created by volcanoes and also can be found in meteors that fall to earth! Some samples of peridot have even been faceted into gems.
Peridot is the gem form of the mineral olivine. Because the iron which creates the color is an integral part of its structure, it is found only in green, ranging from a summery light yellowish green to a 7-up bottle green.
Peridot was mined in ancient Egypt on an island called Zeberget.
Today most peridot is mined by Native Americans in Arizona on the San Carlos Reservation. Fine large peridot are found in Myanmar (formerly Burma) and peridot is also mined in China and Sri Lanka.
In 1994, an exciting new deposit of peridot was discovered in Pakistan, and these stones are among the finest ever seen. The new mine is located 15,000 feet above sea level in the Nanga Parbat region in the far west of the Himalaya Mountains in the Pakistanian part of Kashmir. Beautiful large crystals of peridot were found, some that cut magnificent large gemstones. One stone was more than 300 carats! This new discovery, combined with fashion's passion for lime green, has revived interest in peridot and increased the popularity of this gemstone.
Some peridot is produced by Hawaii's volcanoes. The island of Oahu even has beaches made out of olivine grains but unfortunately they are much too small to cut into peridot.
Topaz
Brown, yellow, orange, sherry, red and pink topaz is found in Brazil and Sri Lanka. Pink topaz is found in Pakistan and Russia.
Today we also have blue topaz, which has a pale to medium blue color created by irradiation. Pale topaz which is enhanced to become blue is found in Brazil, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, and China. In early 1998, a new type of enhanced topaz made its appearance, the surface-enhanced topaz, with colours described as blue to greenish-blue or emerald green.
Topaz is a very hard gemstone but it can be split with a single blow, a trait it shares with diamond. As a result it should be protected from hard knocks.
Goldlip Mother of Pearl - Pinctada Maxima
Goldlip Mother of Pearl or Pinctada Maxima is scientifically the same as White M.O.P. only that Gold is taken from the reverse side of the shell. Good quality dark Gold shells come from the waters surrounding the Philippines and parts of Indonesia. Goldlip shells will yield both Gold pieces from the edges as well as colorful white pieces from the inside of the shell. This gives us two valuable but distinctly different colors. Goldlip is priced based on depth of color and iridescence.
Golden hammer shell heishi with
Blacklip Mother of Pearl - Pinctada Margaritifera
Blacklip Mother of Pearl or Pinctada Margaritifera is probably one of the most exclusive pearl shells in demand. It comes from small shells found in French Polynesia around Tahiti and its Archipelagos. Just under the exterior bark of the shell is where the real beauty of the Blacklip shell lies. Like Goldlip, Blacklip has a black/grey color around the lip of the shell. Also, like Goldlip, Blacklip is priced by the depth of color and iridescence. A nice pair of Blacklip will have every color of the rainbow in its iridescent black background.
NOTE: Currently, Blacklip is at an all time low with regards to availability. Some larger orders are taking several months to deliver due to the shortage of quality large shells.
zipper pulls
Horn
Our Horn Beads come from Philippine Caribou (water buffalo). Horn beads show their true beauty with translucent and lucid quality. The Black Horn beads bring out the real natural color of the material, while Golden Horn beads manifest nature's versatile to conspire with any design and material. Dyed, carved & inlayed into unique designs
Coconut Shell
These beautiful crafty pieces come from coconut shells of a cocopalm tree transformed by craftsman into charming beads.
Carved Coconut Earrings
Golden hammer shell heishi with
Lampwork Glass
Many of these Lampwork Glass beads are individually handmade one at a time by artisans from Indonesia. The local name is "manik-manik". Manik-manik beads display the unique cultural designs found only in Indonesia and have a history spanning many centuries. Nowhere else can such values be found.
Beach Soul Arts
~by Lee
I would like to introduce you to my sister Lee who resides on the pacific west coast. Her studio is called
Beach Soul Arts, which overlooks the beautiful San Juan Islands. She is currently working on lamp work glass creations all inspired by the ocean. I am fortunate enough to have a few of her fine glass jewelry pieces. These creations are available here online to offer to the public for the first time. Please take advantage of the opportunity to own her "one of a kind" jewelry pieces from this yet undiscovered artist. And please check back often, since her designs are always in beautiful progression.
Bali Silver
Many of my jewelry pieces contain Bali silver beads and findings. These items are handcrafted in Bali, Indonesia, which is a small tropical island known for over half a century for its fine crafted silver beads and jewelry, as well as many other fine arts and crafts.
Each of their beads is carefully designed with exquisite detail.
Every silver dot is placed by hand and every surface is patterned by hand. These beads alone are true works of art.
Day at the Beach
After a day spent on the beach in the sun with the warm sand & glistening surf, we often come home with a wonderful array of treasures left to us from the high tide. Treasures such as sea glass tumbled and softened by the continual rolling of the surf, little shells that dot the coastline, nuggets of tumbled pebbles, corals & seashell. From deep beneath the ocean's surface we find amazing gems of the sea, pearls! Imagine the live oyster, a tiny grain of sand enters the oyster shell as it carries on with it's activities. The oyster releases a nacre to cover this piece if sand, causing it to smooth & naturally glisten. After years of this natural process, one discovers deep in the shadows of the sea, on the ocean's floor an oyster with it's beautiful gift, the pearl. What wonderful treasures the Lord has bestowed upon us.
Gathering these little treasures is just one way we bring to our remembrance
and so enjoy a delightful "Day at the Beach".
Malachi 3:3 says:
"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this
statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women
offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group
at their next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch
him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest
beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and
let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the
silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn
away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot then she thought
again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of
silver."
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of
the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that
yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his
eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left
a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent
for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the
silver is fully refined?"
He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it."
~Author unknown
More info. coming soon
New designs
Beachy bracelets beach jewelry shell earrings sea glass necklaces ocean pins coastal jewelry off shore anklets nautical niceties paua abalone
shells natural pearl coin pearls stick pearls large pearl earrings
newest j
*Buy quickly & refresh the page often,
I have only one of each item.ign C
I say; "Buy quickly & refresh often", because...I have only one of each item. This means if you haven't refreshed the page in a little while, & someone purchases a same-item right before you do, chances are; the item will have been already purchased without you being notified. This could result in a double sale of a single item. The first person to purchase, is the one who will receive the item. I will credit the second purchaser of the second purchase amount(s). So please, for your sake:
Buy quickly & refresh the page often,
I have only one of each item.ign
I too may be unable to update the page as fast as the items may sell. Therefore this same issue could result, since we are dealing with real-time. I will be updating the site as much as physically possible. Again you will be credited for any item pre-purchased.
Thank you, and have a great time saving $$ on gifts for yourself & others!
Dawn Winters
Back to the SALE!!!
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