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Genuine, Natural, Semi-Precious Honey-Colored Baltic Amber Gemstones on 14kt Gold Fill French Hooks.

16 Handcrafted Baltic Amber Gemstones, total gemstone weight approximately 16 carats. Contemporary high quality 14kt gold fill french hooks.

A set of fourteen beautiful antique amber gemstones mounted onto contemporary 14kt gold filled french hooks. The amber gemstones were hand crafted (drilled and polished) by a Russian artisan. These gorgeous amber gemstones have been mounted onto contemporary 14kt gold fill french hooks. These are not cheap gold electroplate earrings, they are high quality 14kt gold fill. It's a first-class piece of jewelry throughout. From the ancient Mediterranean through Medieval and Renaissance Europe, amber gemstones were widely employed in the construction of jewelry. In Renaissance and Victorian Europe amber pendants were principally manufactured in the "Holyland" from Lebanese amber. However the finest jewelry was created using much more costly (and finer) fossilized Baltic Amber. These particular gemstones are of the rarer and more costly Baltic Amber. And of the Baltic Ambers, it is the one of the more expensive varieties (lemon yellow the least valuable; golden honey and cognac amber the most valuable).

Archaeological evidence suggests that amber has been used as jewelry for at least 10,000-15,000 years, picked up by beach-combing Neolithic peoples of the Baltic and Black Seas, and along the shores of the Mediterranean. The very earliest Mesopotamian cultures, later to include especially the Sumerians and Babylonians, and eventually even later the Phoenicians, traded extensively in amber gemstones. During the 2nd millennium B.C., amber was partly responsible for a network of roads built to facilitate the trade. The first trade roads archaeologists have evidence for are from the ancient Biblical/Mesopotamian city of Ur (home of Abraham). By about 1500 B.C. many of the roads in eastern and central Europe had linked together into an extensive trading network known as the "Amber Routes". The ancient amber trade route ran from the Baltic Sea, down the Elbe River, and on to the Danube. The ancient Greeks and Romans as well enjoyed the beautiful tones of amber, and it was extensively used in jewelry. And of course from the (Western) Roman Empire to the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire the passion for amber was passed forward, into the medieval, Renaissance, and Victorian worlds. This gorgeous memento of a world past comes mounted onto these contemporary, high quality 14kt gold fill french hooks for your enjoyment.

You might guess I travel extensively for a living. My profession is a purchasing agent for antique gemstones, which generally come from Russia, India, Ceylon, and Siam. I grew up in the Southern Urals of Russia, just miles away from some of the greatest gemstone producing regions in the world's history. Alexandrite, diamond, emerald, sapphire, chrysoberyl, topaz, demantoid garnet, and many other rare and precious gemstones are produced from the mountains within mere minutes or a few hours from the city I once called home. My interest in the fabulous history of Russian gemstones and the fabulous jewelry of the Czar's led to further education and conacts in India, Ceylon, and Siam, other ancient centers of gemstone production and finishing. Though perhaps difficult to find in the USA, antique gemstones are commonly unmounted from old, broken settings - the gold reused - the gemstones recut and reset.

Before this happens, before these gorgeous antique gemstones are recut, I try to acquire the best of them in their original, antique, hand-finished state - most of them centuries old. I believe that the work created by these long-gone master artisans is worth protecting and preserving rather than destroying this heritage of antique gemstones by recutting the original work out of existence. That by preserving their work, in a sense, we are preserving their lives and the legacy they left for modern times. Far better to appreciate their craft than to destroy it with modern cutting. Not everyone agrees - fully 95% or more of the antique gemstones which come into these marketplaces are recut, and the heritage of the past lost. But if you agree with me that the past is worth protecting, and that past lives and the produce of those lives still matters today, consider buying an antique, hand cut, natural gemstone rather than one of the mass-produced machine cut (often synthetic or "lab produced") gemstones which dominate the market today.

I have always been fascinated with jewelry and gemstones. Bangkok, Taipei, Hong Kong, Moscow, and Bombay are great places to find incredible deals on both gemstones and jewelry, and over the years I have made many friends within the trade in these five cities. So you can look for a steady flow of little treasures I discover in my travels, and I will be happy to share with you the best deals I can find through my industry acquaintances in these far-off Asian lands. Though I spend a good part of each year in Europe and Asia, most of the year I am here in the United States, and that's where all of my little treasures are. So you can count on quick shipping and careful packaging. And if I am not home - I have someone who does it for me!

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