MY CHARM BEAD BRACELET

When purchasing our Chamilia charms with stones, you may have noticed that two of the most popular settings are made of either CZ or Swarovski crystal and you may have wondered what these actually are.  Well first of of all CZ stands for Cubic Zirconia.  This is a synthetic gemstone zirconium oxide.  Swarovski crystals are cut from leaded glass.

Czech Glass contains no lead and is not used by Chamila.  Czech crystal does contain lead of varying amounts depending upon where it is produced and is also not used by Chamilia  They are only mentioned here as sometimes they may be seen abbreviated with the initials CZ.

Many of Chamilia's beads are set with Swarovski crystal.  This particular crystal has been chosen for it's brilliance and bright colors.  The crystal is in a setting rather than being glued into place.  This enhances the look of the finished bead.  When Cubic Zirconia is used, the colors tend to be more subdued, but certainly still beautiful.  Often times a glue has been used to keep these in place.

We will get into the history of both Swarovski crystal and cubic zirconia at a later date.

We are very excited that Chamilia has added the bracelet builder to it's site.  With this tool you can design your bracelet by choosing and adding your beads wherever you want on the bracelet or necklace of your choice.  Add your E-mail and create a password, save your design and if you like purchase it directly from us by clicking on the shopping cart link and putting in the quantity of beads and or bracelets you would like.   Here is the link. http://www.villageart.com/BuildaBracelet.asp

The Heart is universally accepted as a symbol love, kindness, compassion, devotion and charity.  The heart was once thought to be the center of emotion. In some cultures it still represents the essence of an individual.

There are many thoughts on how this symbol took on it's present form.  Earlier representations of the heart  were closer to the actual organ.  As time went on the symbol took on the more familiar and modern cleavage of lobes that we see today.
The heart also evolved from the upside down triangle.  This symbol has different meanings to different cultures and religions.  It can represent the Sacred Heart of Christ, the Element of Water as well as several of the chakras or energy centers.

Chamilia's collection of charm bead hearts is quite diverse.  You will find a heart for any occasion.  Some plain, some stylized but all quite "charming".  

The Love token has a charm all of it's own.  They were created by amateur and professional engravers alike mostly between the years of 1870 through 1910.  The love token is made from a coin that has been smoothed of its original surface and replaced by hand engraving.  Most of the love tokens you will find were engraved on Seated Liberty dimes.  This was a favorite coin as it contained a fairly large amount of silver making it much easier to engrave as compared to a coin for instance made of copper.  Most often only one side of the coin will bear the new engravings.  In 1909 the United States made it illegal to deface coins,  Therefore you will not find many that were made after that date.

The engraving on a true love token is always done by hand, often time with rather crude tools.  They were made as symbols of love, in rememberance of those passed on, and to commemorate special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries or other special events.

The amateur engravers who produced these mini works of art included soldiers and prisioners who had ample time to devote to their craft.  Subject matter is very diverse.  Many of the designs include a name, initials or a monogram.  Some tokens can be found that were enhanced with enamel.  The color of the enamel had significance as to what the love token meant.  Blue enamel was used as a show of love or romance.  Black was a symbol of mourning.

The love tokens that generally are the most valuable today to collectors are the ones with pictures on them.  Of course the more intricate and interesting the design the more sought after it is.  Monograms seem to be more sought after than names, but again it depends on the quality and uniqueness of the engraving.

Some charms are touted to bring good luck to their owners.  Here are a few to choose from.  Chamilia has all of these and more.

Pig - was considered very lucky.  They were easily raised and could provide food for a family even in times of scarcity.

Shamrock - Known internationally as the symbol of Ireland the four leaf clover is thought to bestow good luck.

Saint Christopher - He holds patronage of things related to travel and travelers.

Buddha - The Buddha charm is especially lucky if you rub his belly.  Chamilia has two Buddha charms, one in silver and one in gold.

Horseshoes -  They were often hung above doorways.  The symbol is linked to pagan Moon goddesses of ancient Europe such as Artemis and Diana.  There is also a connection to  Irish sheela-na-gig, and to lunar protectresses such as Virgin Mary,

Rabbits foot - Preferably the left hind foot.  Chamilia has two rabbit to choose from each still possessing all four feet.  You may purchase your rabbit on a Friday the 13th to bring even more good luck.

Tell us about your good luck charm.

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the Chatelaine was very popular.  The chatelaine is basically a clip worn at the waist to keep your keys on.  Eventually other useful intems began to show up on the clips, such as sissors, thimbles, pencils perfume flasks and mirrors.  Some even included charms.

Alexandra, the daughter of Queen Victoria helped to popularize the chatelaine at the beginning of the twentieth century.

The major brands are similarly made in many respects.  Chamilia, however, does have a large advantage over it's competitors.  The bracelet is made so that you can add a lock anyplace you want to keep your beads in place.  It is very nice as you are building your bracelet to be able to move the locks to accommodate your additional beads.   Having just two set places where you can add your lock as one popular brand has, makes it very difficult after you fill the center to keep your bracelet looking balanced unless you buy beads two at a time.  Even then the ones on the end are free to move as they please and not kept in with the rest of the design.

The Chamilia snap bracelet has a very reliable and easy to operate closure.  In addition their are of course, toggle closures and lobster claws.  The bangle bracelets have become very popular and features both of the end beads being removable.  This is wonderful if you switch out your beads on a regular basis and don't want to take off all you beads to get to the other end.

Chamilia's silver is .925 and very easy to keep shiny with just a light wiping with a silver cloth now and then. A good choice for your charm bracelet that you will treasure for a lifetime.
 

At Skhul Cave on Mount Carmel on the norther coast of Israel, the first beads were found.  The beads are actually shells, Cardium, Nassarius and Pectin.  These beads were either naturally perforated or pierced by predators.  The beads are dated at about 108,000 BC.  At this time the Neanderthals were being replaced by Homo Sapiens.  The people of this period are referred to as Middle Paleolithic people.  Other shell beads of similar age have been found in small numbers in the Eastern Mediterranean in an area called the Levant.

Dating around 38,00 B.C. larger quantities of beads have been found.  It is believed that around this time Homo Sapiens began to expand into western Europe and Asia.  Some scholars believe that the wearing of shell beads during this period was a form of symbolic communication between people.

It was Queen Victoria.   She was a large influence in changing the purpose of the charm from being used mainly as a symbol  for rituals, luck or religion, to a fashionable object of beauty.  Her bracelet contained pictures of prince Albert and even a few locks of his hair.  Charms of the Victorian era also included lockets, glass beads and family crests.

The Aqua bead, O-154 is made of  spinel.  The other four O-155 through O-158 are made of colored cubic Zirconia. Each bead is multi-faceted to give an impressive sparkle and glow.

Chamilia's Iridescent Collection (OB-172, OB-172, OB-174, OB-175 and OB-177 are made from Dichroic glass, Dichro for short.  Dichro is made from multiple layers of glass with coatings of vaporized metal oxides that condense on the surface of the glass in a crystaline structured form.  These layers of glass are then covered by clear Murano glass.  The glass bead then has a transmitted color and a completely different reflective color which both shift depending on the angle the bead is viewed from.

Chamilia Murano beads are made  mostly in the United States.  Some are also made in Africa.  The process is called lampworking.  Each of the beads is hand made by an artist.  No two are exactly alike.  The glass Chamila uses for the beads is imported from italy. 

Glassmaking has been an important industry in  Italy since the 9th century.  Murano, off the coast of Vencie, Italy is where Murano glass of several different types was made.  Murano is still famous for it's glass factories and glass studios.

More on Murano later.