Dorje

We've had a few questions about the Dorje symbol that we use on several of our pieces. So here is a brief background on the symbol and its meaning.

The Dorje in Tibetan literally means indestructible. The Dorje or Vajra (Hindu word for the Dorje) is a ritual tool used in ceremonies. The scepter often contains diamonds inside of the spokes, this represents the idea of absolute as a diamond can cut anything but cannot be cut itself. Often times it is represented as two scepters crossed over each other this is the symbol of Amoghshiddhi, the fifth Dhyani Buddha.

The symbolism has many meanings depending on the religion or area in which it is used. In Hindu mythology the Varja/Dorje is the weapon for their god or war, Indra, bringing great spiritual power and enlightenment to he who uses it. It is often referred to as the weapon that destroys all ignorance. In Jainism the symbol is associated as the mark of the Thirthankars, a human who has achieved total enlightenment. In Buddhism it is the symbol of Vajrayana, also known as Tantric Buddhism, the symbol signifies thunderbolt enlightenment, that sudden moment in one's life that they realize the nature of all reality.

We combine this symbolism with that of the OM, the symbol for spiritual perfection, to create some powerful jewelry pieces that reminds us of these great spiritual ideals. For now we have two pieces using these symbols combined, and we are working on more that will be showcased soon.

• OM Dorje Chakra Necklace
• Silver Dorje Om Necklace

Lapis Lazuli

We use so many different gemstones it is hard to pick ones to write about. While we eventually hope to have a blog on every gemstone we use for now we are concentrating on the ones that have a long history and cultural significance, mostly because they are just more interesting to research and write about, and will eventually be linked together with all of our jewelry to help you the customer make a better decision about what jewelry is right for them or their loved ones.

Lapis Lazuli is usually just abbreviated to be called Lapis. Lapis is unique as a gemstone as it is technically a rock and not a mineral as many other gemstones are. Don't be fooled though just because it is considered a rock, it has a long history dating back to Predynastic Egyptian sites where it has been found to adorn the graves of high officials and commoners alike. It has also been recorded that Cleopatra herself used a powdered version as eye shadow as it is incredibly brilliant. It is on the record as being mined in Afghanistan for over 6,500 years and still comes from this area today. Lapis is made up of calcite (white), sodalite (blue), and pyrite (gold). The most valued Lapis is that that doesn't have any white or calcite in it just solid blue with flakes or viens of pyrite.

Up until the early 1900's Lapis was used in the making of Ultramarine blue as a paint pigment, one of the most sought after paints by the old masters as it was the most brilliant of any blue ever created. A synthetic material has since been discovered and is now used for the pigment of ultramarine blue. The ancient Romans believe that it was a powerful aphrodisiac and also had many healing properties, it was often ground down to a powder and used to treat skin irritations and mixed with milk to help with ulcers. Written about in the Egyptian book of the dead, lapis set in gold in the shape of an eye was considered to bring great power, and was often pictured on the heads of supreme beings for this reason.

We make use of lapis in several of our pieces and love its brilliant color. Here are a two of our favorites:

• Lapis OM Pendant
• Lapis Beads & OM Pendant

Mother of Pearl

Today we'd like to give you some information of nacre, pronounced "nay-ker", or more commonly called mother of pearl. In fact it truly is a pearl, while it may not be the typical round pearls we think of when it comes to pearls it is made by the same organisms that makes pearls, instead of forming around a piece of material the pearls forms on the interior of the shell of the organism, which includes pearl oysters, freshwater pearl mussels, abalone, and several families of mollusks. Today they use mother of pearls as the material for culturing pearls, it is cut into squares, then rounded by a machine and finally inserted into the oysters as the seed for a pearl. You can read more about the world of pearls in our previous blog.

The use of nacre has been dated back to the ancient Egyptians at almost 4000 BC, far out dating the use of traditional pearls by several thousand years. Today mother of pearl is used in everything from buttons and musical instruments to jewelry and decorative wall hangings.

Mother of pearl has a beautiful iridescent quality to it that can range from pure white to the fabulous multi-color varieties from the abalone, which is one of the most popular as well ranging from pink to green to silver and orange.

We use mother of pearl as small highlights as well as larger full pendants, we hope to use it more often but for now here are a few of our favorites that use this wonderful jewel.

• Mother of Pearl Pendant Necklace
• Mother of Pearl Engraved Pendant Necklace
• Simple Briolette and Silver Leaf Charm Necklace

Buri Beads

As designers we are always looking for new and interesting materials to use. We came across buri beads in our searching and thought they were an interesting product. They are actually nuts that come from the buri tree in the Philippines and are hand shaped. The great thing about them is their versatility. They can stand alone in a design or can be paired with some of the "earthy" looking stones in our collection, particularly jasper. Another nice thing is their price point. We can create nice looking jewelry at a competitive price.

The buri tree is the most common palm tree within the Philippines and has a variety of uses from the buds as vegetables to the stalk used for creating a common alcohol used by locals called tuba. The fiber from the tree is also used in the creating of the famous hats called Baliuag and Lacban seen throughout the Philippines.

We have created one new necklace style using buri beads and it is available in dark teal and plum.

Of course, as our customers, we value your input on the products we create. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment on this blog.