……………………I am always searching and on the hunt for beautiful ethnic jewelry from around the world……………….Sometimes I find fabulous pieces on my travels, and sometimes they are right under my nose………….For this beautiful pendant from India I didn’t have to go far. I purchased this from an incredible store in SOHO right in NYC. The owner of the store was Jacques Carcanagues, and his name was above the door. The store was very large, and it was filled to the brim with treasures, mainly from Bali, Morocco and Africa, but he also had wonderful things from India. He carried, tapestries, rugs, fabrics, object d’art, boxes, sculptures, beaded African hats, and incredible antique furniture. He even had wonderfully carved wooden doors that people used as wall hangings, and head boards for their beds. Whatever caught his eye, and he thought was beautiful, he would buy for the store…. He also had an incredible collection of jewelry. Jacques had impeccable taste. He was an eccentric man, and though he would be in the store often, for the most part he would ignore the customers, but we became friendly. He would even allow me to go in the basement where all of his inventory was kept……it was Ali Baba’s treasures!!!! Over the years I bought many of his pieces. I was terribly sad when he decided to retire and close the store. It was a great loss for me and the city. There has been nothing to replace it……. I showed the India pendant I purchased at Jacque’s to the people I work with and they loved it. In the pictures at the upper left you can see the original piece and my reproduction. The original piece is to the right. I was hesitant about trying to have the piece reproduced, because honestly my experience has been that they never capture the beauty of the antique pieces. I said OK try it and let’s see what you can come up with……I was astonished when I saw the new piece. It had all the patina I had hoped for. They took the old piece and made it new, but kept all the character…….no missing stones and no missing metal fine wire surrounding each stone as the original. We even when one better and added an ENHANCER to the back so you can open it up and add any cord, ribbon, chain or whatever you can think of to wear it around your neck. As you can see in the photos you can wear it at full length or double the chain up and wear it at a shorter length depending on what you are wearing………All of the stones in the pendant are faceted glass. The fringe at the bottom is made as the original with links, and a metal ball bead at the bottom……..The metal is done in a BRASS OX plating to look like the aged original….It is approx. 2 1/2 inches round, and with the fringe it is approx 4 inches long….The EARRING that comes with the pendant is a simple RED FACETED Stone surrounded with the Brass Ox metal and a Shepard’s Hook……To illustrate the versatility of the piece I photographed it on some of my WK swing sweaters in different colors plus the new PORT DRESS and the new PORT TN…..all with my olive slim pant……To say that I was pleased with the final pendant would be a huge understatement………If you are a lover of all ethnic jewelry from different cultures as I am, I know you will love this necklace. If you haven’t ever bought a piece like this before, this would be a wonderful place to start…..I know some of my world travelers among you will really appreciate the authenticity of this piece……………J350150 is the style number…………………………………..enjoy……………….much Love……………………Louis
I love that you were able to achieve the antique, world-traveled look of this piece without the wire burrs and rough bits that the genuine, older pieces can have. That way, I can wear it with my Whisper Knits secure in the knowledge that it will not snag or pick the yarn. And thank you for the sweet earrings that go with this statement necklace.
Julia
Brother, I hope they ordered about a million of these.
The India pendant has my name written all over it. You can bet this one is going to sell out early.
My “silver” bracelet with the multiple hanging bells finally gets to meet her older sister after 51 years. Yes, I have owned my bracelet for that long (I also have a bracelet from when I was five and another from the age of 15. The one from the age of 15 is a gold-plated HEAVY chain bracelet with a Leo medallion hanging from it. Bought it from a premier dress shop in my hometown and never let it go.) I hang on to stuff that I love!
You did an outstanding job recreating this exotic necklace, and I thank you. The back story fascinated. Appreciated learning about the emergence of this very special necklace.
Truly beautiful piece. I enjoyed hearing the background story of how this necklace came to be. Makes it all the more special.
Definitely going to be popular, especially with the enhancer so the chain could be doubled.
I am in jewelry sneak peek heaven! ❤️😀
I also knew Jacques. I bought many beautiful things from him for my Art Gallery In Boston. I especially loved the antique ivory which went for a song. How I wished I’d kept some for myself. I own a necklace similar to the one here and I must say your reproduction looks awesome.