19th century or before, North Africa
Old coral is like gold. It is the wealth of kings and queens, a woman’s dowry, security and power. These earrings are a beautiful salmon orange and wearable every day.
One of a kind
Average bead: 1 x .5″
JEWELS: “I discovered coral on my first return to North Africa since my youth, Tangier, being the portal, Morocco. I fell deeply in love, again. Coral is calming. Whenever I am feeling out of sorts or scattered it is what I turn to; handling it centers me. In the olden days of Tibet it was ground and used as a palliative for women, a defensive for madness and flights of instability. The Navajo believed every woman must wear coral by the age of 30 as protection from forces on other planes while the Berbers believed in wearing it to guard against the evil eye. [Oh, do we need this!] I feel the honor to work with coral; amazing to think how these beads have come here now, on my desk…..
Makes my heart skip a beat.”