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History of Mardi Gras Beads
What’s the deal with Mardi Gras beads? Why do Mardi Gras krewes throw purple, green, and gold beads?
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Jewelry News; Replay The Roaring 20s.
It’s the Roaring 20s All Over Again. Meet some 1920’s starlets and look toward the upcomeing necklace and earring trends!
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John Travolta, Princess Diana and the Sapphire Choker
What ever happened to Princess Diana’s favorite choker?
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Haunted, Possessed, Cursed, or Otherwise Unfortunate Jewelry | Part 1
Three beautiful jewelry items with mysterious and unseemly histories.
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How Many October Birth Stones Are There?
Guess how many birthstones there are in October? 6!! Do you know what they are? Read on to find out!
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September 12, 1857: The Ship of Gold
Discover the history of the SS Central America including, shipwreck, discovery, recovery, and litigation on Pendant and Ring Jewelry.
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Heritage, History and Culture in Your Jewelry Box
Celebrate your heritage, history, and culture with Pendant and Ring Jewelry, and get some gift ideas too!
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Bringing Brooches Back
Antique and Vintage brooches are a must-have item in your jewelry box. Join us at Pendant and Ring to see the trends and build your collection.
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Happy International Cat Day, Jewelry Fans!
When did International Cat Day start? Although there are many newly created holidays, International Cat Day has ancient origins. The Ancient Egyptians revered cats and worshipped Bastet, a cat goddess of protection. In both human and cat form, she was adorned in beautiful gold jewelry. That is when cat jewelry got its start too. Cats…
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The Admiral Gardner Shipwreck
Over two-hundred years after the inception of the British East India Company (BEIC), the debt buying and interest rate hikes resulted in a great deal of notoriety and no small amount of wealth. The shell company had outgrown itself as a tax shelter and became a money making operation doing the Crown’s dirty work. During…
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A History of US Currency – Part III
During the 20th century, the volume and variety of US coins in circulation expanded. Mints began adding presidential busts to coins and, after the Great Depression, the demand for coins in circulation rose along with the population. The Progressive-era In 1909 Lincoln was the first former President to grace a US coin. The mint began…
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Not So Secret Societies and Their Symbols
Secret Societies maintain their secrecy through obfuscation but if you know where to look, you can spot members by their jewelry. Three well-known and not-so-secret societies are easy to spot with their custom rings… Knights Templar The Knights Templar Order of Chivalry was founded in Jerusalem in 1119. They have a long and interesting past…
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A History of US Currency – Part II
Before the civil war, the American states minted many copper coins and the nascent federal government minted few coins. One of these coins was the Continental Dollar first minted in pewter, then copper. Continental Dollars are slightly larger than Eisenhower dollars with a diameter of 41mm. The reverse features a chain of states, each one…
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Fashionable Pins – A History
When I set out to write this post I didn’t understand the scope of pin history. It starts in the Neolithic period with bone pins like this one… Photo Credit Although anthropologists are not sure why people made these bone pins, or what the marks on the pin indicate, we are sure they are pins.…
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Anne Bonny, Corsair At Large
Anne Bonny was a famous corsair of Irish birth. She moved to the English Colonies in North America when she was ten years old, then to the pirate port of Nassau after marriage, and spent her adult life plundering the Spanish controlled waters of the Caribbean sea. As an infamous and most-wanted individual Bonny spent…
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Shell Money to Shell Jewelry
Historical evidence of worldwide use of shells as currency exists on every continent. Although there is debate about the economic use of beads as currency, the use of shell money is undeniable. Shells are part of a commodity based monetary system, wherein the currency has intrinsic value and is not representative of other value. Today,…
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Surprise Mom with a Mother’s Day History This Weekend
Gentle Reminder! Nudge, Nudge! Three days until May 12, 2019; Mother’s Day! Let the countdown begin! Long before jewelry was the gift to give, the matronly aspects of women as mother’s of community were publicly celebrated on many different days throughout the Ancient Greek year. Today in the US, Mother’s Day is a single moveable…
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4 Ways Money Moves
The story of human migration predates the use of money. Hunter gatherers crossed continents with nothing more than what they could carry. It took thousands of generations, but eventually humans walked across all the land bridges, sailed all the seas and covered the Earth. Shortly after the world was wrapped in humankind, large-scale agriculture usurped…
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What does the Plague have to do with Jewelry?
During medieval times, plague swept through the European continent destroying communities and greatly reducing the world population. Family lines ended, congregations evaporated, fear of the unknown and of those who seemed different stressed the social fabric, and in some places, it unraveled altogether. The arts declined, literacy rates dropped, and wisdom and knowledge of ages…
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A Short History of Coin Jewelry
Our love of coin jewelry extends into the ancient past. Time travel with me as we explore a brief history of coin jewelry. We start our tour of history in Egypt during the early third century. Check out this adjustable ancient Egyptian coin pendant necklace from 225 CE, now part of the MET museum’s collection…
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A History of Love Tokens
The exchange of love tokens is part of various rituals between two people. Small gifts help to cement the bond of friendship and all kinds of love. Encouraged in home and at school, the practice of giving and receiving is a necessary social skill. When Valentine’s Day arrives children bring decorated shoe boxes and small…
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