One the most exciting and wonderful places Jac and I have visited is Morocco. Marrakech was our home base and every other day we would take day trips to another area. Gili was our guide for the whole time we were there. He was highly recommended to us by Richard Gere. We thought that was a pretty good recommendation. He was a slight little man dressed in a white caftan and a wonderfully emb. little “pill box” hat…….he was right out of central casting. One of our favorite places to go was the Souk or the main market bazaar. It looked just as you might imagine….narrow streets with shops one after the other, and straw thatched roofs suspended over the street to keep the blazing sun off of the shoppers…..the light though the straw matting was amazing. One could easily get lost here! Gili would accompany us on all of our shopping trips…..there are lots of “shady” vendors selling junk and you really have to be knowledgeable and careful because some of it looks very authentic. Gili knew all the right places to shop. I told Gili I was very interested in purchasing some authentic Berber jewelry. He took us on a day trip to a city named Tarouddant, in southern Morocco, where we went to a dealer of beautiful old Berber jewelry…..my jaw dropped and my eyes opened wide….the mother lode! The owner of the shop was very distinguished and very knowing of all things Berber. His collection was exquisite and VERY expensive. The trip was worth the drive and I came home with some beautiful pieces.
The necklaces in the photos above is an interpretation of of one of the necklaces I was lucky enough to buy. The original has brass, copper and silver smooth beads, all with a beautiful patina that comes with age. I think they did a wonder job of copying the beads and the amber beads look very real. The large faceted milky beads are interpretations of large smooth beads that are in the necklace…..I took a little artistic license adding the facets to some of the beads……The style number is J271862………this is where it gets interesting, and a little confusing…………One color is called BRONZE, which is made up of pale coppery color faceted beads, smooth GUNMETAL and BRASS beads and large faceted OLIVINE and AMBER beads……..the second combination is called BLACK?????? why I don’t know since there is absolutely no black in the necklace at all. This necklace is comprised of PEWTER faceted beads, BRASS smooth beads, smooth AMBER barrel beads and large faceted AMBER and BORDEAUX beads……I think the combinations look authentic, not in that they are exact copies of necklaces, but look to me like necklaces the Berber people may have made themselves. I love the way they mix with each other and with tweeds and plaids and all autumnal colors. The also work with summer ethnic prints and summer darks…..perfect for transitioning into fall……The matching earring is the J271863……………the colors of the necklaces and the earring are going to be very important with the colors and fabrics of the Aug and Sept groups………………..the photos above are very accurate in color and proportion…..The QVC photos unfortunately, are not representative of the necklaces, so please refer to the photos above……………..enjoy…..much Love………Louis
