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Two Genuine, Natural, Hand Crafted/Polished Antique Indian Tiger's Eye Semi-Precious Gemstones on Solid Sterling Silver French Hooks.

Two antique barrell shaped hand crafted gemstones, each about 10mm in length and 8mm in "diameter", each about 10 carats in weight, mounted onto high quality sterling silver french hooks (not cheap silver electroplate).

Two elegant, richly variegated gold to brown genuine tigerseye semi-precious gemstones from India - the traditional source of tigers eye for millennia. These are gorgeous, high quality semi-precious gemstones with very distinct chatoyancy ("cats-eye"). They were handcrafted in the 1950's in Bombay, India into beautiful elongated gemstones and then hand drilled. The fabled land of India has been famous for centuries for its production of rubies, emeralds, sapphires, topaz, aquamarine, amethyst, and other precious and semi-precious gemstones. The gemstones were not only mined in India, they were most frequently hand cut as well, more often than not in Bombay. These premium quality genuine Indian Tigers Eye gemstones are from the same source of those which were traded throughout the ancient world for thousands of years. These antique gemstones have been mounted onto high quality contemporary sterling silver french hooks. These are not cheap, silver electroplated earrings. They are genuine solid sterling silver - designed to last a lifetime. It's a first-class piece of jewelry throughout. Though the gemstones are antique, hand crafted and hand matched, the settings are contemporary. If you prefer, the gemstones could be remounted onto kidney wires, lever backs, euroclicks, or ball studs if you would prefer; or remounted onto 14kt solid gold.

Tiger's Eye gemstones have been enormously popular in various Asian cultures for thousands of years. Cabochon cut stones show the chatoyancy (small ray of light on the surface) that resembles the feline eye of a tiger. The ancient source for Tiger's eye was India, where it was a very important trade good, and was traded throughout the ancient Orient and into the Mediterranean. It was used as a very important healing stone by both the ancient Egyptians as well as the Greeks. Many ancient Egyptian statues of their various gods have been found with eyes made from tiger's eye. According to ancient legends, tiger's eye enabled the wearer to be "all seeing" - even to the point of being able to see through walls so one could observe what was happening in another room. It was not only worn to enable "clear vision" and good fortune, but also to drive off phantoms and shades of the dead. Tiger's eye was also quite popular in the ancient Middle East. The Assyrians (neighbors to the Babylonians) carved the tiger's eye into cylinders which were covered with depictions of mythic creatures and names of gods. These cylinders were then worn about the neck as charms for protection. Roman soldiers carried tiger's eye believing that it gave them an advantage over their opponents in combat.

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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