Summer - Village Silversmith

!
Just In Time For
Summer!
The
Fossilized
way toSand
weardollar
these
our
interesting
newest gifts
discovery
from
from the
theSierra
shore Madre
Mountains
Village
Village
Silversmith
Silversmith
Expands
Expands
The latest news
The latest
on our largest
news on our
and newest store
largest and
at the
newest store at
Northshore Mall
the Northshore
in Peabody
Mall in
Massachusetts
!
~Larimar~
A stone that will
have you thinking
of the ocean
"
Niello
Bali Chain
Chain
This hand made chain has
amazing detail and texture
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!
Our Million Year Old Fossilized
Sand Dollar Jewelry
This sand dollar is a bit different
material in Mexico through our
then the sand dollar that is found on
subsidiary Sierra Madre Mining
the Atlantic coast because the
Company. We use the stone in
Dendraster Excentricus’ are
handmade one-of-a-kind sterling
fossilized.
silver bracelets, rings, pendants,
How To Distinguish It
“It’s like wearing a piece of the
seashore around your neck!” Leah Larkin Bead Designer and Sales
Associate of Village Silversmith
popular settings for the fossilized
The Dendraster Excentricus sand
sand dollar are the vine and leaf
dollar is round in appearance. Its
setting (pictured on page 1), our
color is a dark tan, that when buffed
high shine root setting, and our
turns to a light tan sand color. The
modern yet simple settings
sand dollar ranges in size but is
(pictured above).
usually between a couple
centimeters to two inches in
diameter. These stones are known
How To Wear The Sand
Dollars
for their distinct caramel colored
This is a great stone to wear all
five-petal flower design, which
summer because it will constantly
when perfectly clear brings the
remind you of the shore even if
Have you ever been walking by
value of the sand dollar up. The
you are at your office desk on a
the shore and found a pristine
sand dollar is also known to have
beautiful eighty-degree day. The
sand dollar? Well we have found
religious value because of its
cool tan color is great for summer
a different use for these beautiful
resemblance to the five-pointed star
wear but the caramel accents will
gifts from the sea.
of Bethlehem. This resemblance
allow you to wear this stone with
Sand dollars have been in
gives the sand dollar the alternative
your warmer tones in fall and
existence for millions of years.
name of “Holy Ghost Shell”.
winter. This stone is one of our
These creatures live in enclosed
areas off of bays and coasts. The
Dendraster Excentricus sand
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and earrings. Some of the more
How We Use Fossilized Sand
Dollars
favorite additions to our
collection and this oceanic piece
of jewelry will bring a bit more
dollar can be found off of the
Village Silversmith is the largest
summer into your life all year
Pacific Shores from Mexico all
supplier of this fossilized sand
round.
the way to Washington State.
dollar and we also mine the
For more information: Check out
our article in March 2008 edition of
Colored Stone Magazine entitled
“Holy Ghost Shell” (also attached in
e-mail) or call us at 1-978-283-8811.
Larimar: The Volcanic Gem of the
Caribbean
This rare variant blue stone catches the attention
of all our customers!
Larimar is a stone that is only found in the
Dominican Republic. A man named Miguel
Méndez in 1974 discovered it on the
Southwestern beaches of the Dominacian
Republic. Since then there has only been one
mine found that contains this stone. This had led
many to believe that it will be extinct within our
lifetime. Miguel Méndez called the stone “The
Blue Stone” until formally naming it Larimar
after his daughter Larissa and the Spanish word
for sea “mar”. He chose to use the suffix “mar”
for a few reasons, the first being that the stone
The pattern of Larimar is
known to resemble the
reflective pattern of the sea.
was found near the sea, and secondly, because
Larimars’ pattern is know to resemble the
reflective pattern of the sea. Larimar is a type of
Pectolite, meaning volcanic stone. Pectolites’ are
normally a light gray or brown color, but when
volcanic matter was turning into stone a trace
copper element brought a great blue color to the
stone that isn’t seen in any other stone on Earth.
How We Use Larimar
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vine, leaf and flower designs, a nautical design
complete with starfish, sand dollars, and seaweed,
and our modern settings with high shine bezels
and asymmetrical stones. We currently have been
working on many new jewelry pieces featuring
our best quality Larimar stones. These pieces will
be entering our stores come late summer.
Larimar looks amazing on every skin tone, but in
Larimar is one of our specialties at Village
the summer when your skin is tan the bright blues
Silversmith. Three of our stores have a case
look striking. Larimar’s blue color works with
devoted just to this stone. Our largest case of
almost any color clothing. The beauty of the stone
Larimar can be found at our Rockport store on
stands out against colors like sage green, dark teal,
Dock Square. In our collection you will find
and chocolate brown. This stone can be a very
Larimar in many different settings and styles. We
diverse stone for all seasons. Larimar is a stone
carry all shapes and sizes of pendants, bracelets,
you will never see again once it is mined out so
earrings, rings, beaded necklaces, and full
getting a piece of this volcanic gem will be a great
neckpieces. Our settings include: antiqued
investment for your jewelry collection.
This winter our Village Silversmith stores
Intricate Hand Woven Chain
introduced this new unique chain to our
customers.
How They Are Made
This chain is known has Niello or “Bali” chain.
Niello chain starts as several pieces of sterling silver
Niello chain has been hand made in Bali for
wire. These strands of wire are then pulled, weaved,
hundreds of years where the creative jewelry trade
and knotted to create each intricate design. For a
has thrived since the islands foundation. Many
single sixteen-inch chain one silversmith may use
years ago the Asian Royalty would get their
multiple yards of wire. This is done because if the
handmade elaborate jewels from this island and
wire is bent in the wrong direction then it will not be
now, we have the luxury of wearing this beautiful
able to be straightened easily, silver has a memory
artwork. In our stores we have always carried the
and will stay bent in the position it originally
Italian made chain such as the Box, Snake, and
receives. After the silversmith weaves the multiple
Rolo chain. Italian chain is made mostly by
yards of chain, they will then cut the sufficient
machine, but there is only so much a machine can
sections. After they have their completed sections,
do. Niello chain offers different designs that can
they will pull the chain tight with multiple vices to
only be created by hand.
shrink any imperfections and reduce the millimeter
width of the chain. Now, the weave of the chain is
complete and the last step is getting the antique look
of the chain to enhance the intricacies. When
supplies were scarce George and John Bajoras,
owner of Village Silversmith use to do this process
on their pieces with a lit candle to burn the inside of
the texture. Now, the process is done on the chain
with liver of sulfur and applied with a steel style.
After the process is complete the chain is rinsed and
then the high part of the weave is buffed to receive
the contrasting high shine.
How To Wear The Chain
The beauty of this chain is one can do no wrong
wearing it. The chain is complementary on both men
and women and works with any wardrobe. It also can
be worn by itself or as a great match with our stone
pendants, especially ones with a similar antique
setting. In all, this chain is a great one to either
enhance or add to your jewelry collection.
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This past November we opened our largest Village
Silversmith store at the Northshore Mall in Peabody
Massachusetts. The store is located on the lower level of
the new two-floor wing of the mall that holds many new
storefronts including Nordstroms. Our store is just under
two thousand square feet and has over forty jewelry cases.
Since this is our largest store, it contains all of our
specialties in one store. It features specialty jewelry cases
of Baltic Amber, Larimar from the Dominican Republic
(featured on page 3), Sierra Madre Agate our stone that we
Our Newest and Largest Location!
come in all colors of the rainbow so at this store we have
several cases for each color genre of our stone jewelry
including three blue cases! Mother Nature gives us such
varied material to work with so no two stone pieces are the
same. With this, our collection at the stores will
continually change and will always contain something
new. Even though this store is much larger than our other
four stores you’ll still know that you are in a Village
discovered in our mine in the Sierra Madre Mountains,
Silversmith because of the unmistakable unique stone and
Turquoise, and fossilized stones from all over the world.
silversmith jewelry work.
The store also features our largest assortment of fossils,
It has always been a dream of ours to expand off of Cape
minerals, and home items. Some include four-foot citrine
Ann and doing this in such a great location has proved
and amethyst cave cathedrals, Jade and Onyx vases and
itself successful. It was hard to make this leap at such a
bowls, and a nine-foot fossilized skeleton of a cave bear
tough economic time but adding lower priced quality items
that roamed in Russia fifty thousand years ago. The store
to our collection has truly helped us grow. We hope that all
also has hundreds of types if chain in all lengths and
of our customers explore each of our five stores because
weights, a thousand all sterling silver and gemstone
they all are a bit different but if this isn’t plausible our mall
earrings, all the bracelets and rings you could dream of,
store is a great representation of Village Silversmith as a
and hundreds of sterling silver charms. Our unique gems
whole.
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www.villagesilversmith.net
For All Inquiries:
Call Us:
978-283-8811
Email Us:
contactus@villagesliversmith.net
Visit Us:
In Rockport, MA
20 Bearskin Neck
6 Tuna Warf
27 Dock Square
In Gloucester, MA:
138 Main Street
In Peabody, MA:
Northshore Mall
210 Andover Street
Upcoming Events
~Pendulum Teaching with Dowsing~
Find the right stone for your metaphysical needs!
Wednesday, July 1st 2009 from 11-12pm
~Chakra Healing Workshop 1~
Help balance and align your chakra’s using seven different stones
Wednesday, August 19th 2009 from 12-1:30pm
~Beading Workshop~
Coming Soon! Learn how we make beautiful stone strands. Custom make your own or let us do it for you!
E-mail us: contactus@villagesilversmith.net with your information for details about this event
Both will take place:
Village Silversmith store at the Northshore Mall in Peabody, on the first floor of the East Wing
Also, look for the Village Silversmith sign and our carved whale pendant with black pearls on Betty
White in the new movie “The Proposal”