Antique Quartz Crystal 14ktGF Ancient Greece Eleusinian Cult Demeter Persephone

Description

Genuine, Natural, Water Clear Quartz Crystal Semi-Precious Gemstones on High Quality 14kt
Gold Fill
French Hooks.
Six Antique hand crafted 4mm quartz crystal gemstones, mounted onto high quality 14kt
gold fill
french hooks. Total gemstone weigh about one and a half carat.
ORIGIN: Siberian Russia; late 19th or early 20th century. Earrings and pins are contemporary.
DETAIL:
The ancient Celts used quartz amulets to give the water of healing wells a magical potency. Running brooks produced healing water as well. Quartz “star stones” were collected from a running brook, placed in boiling water from the same brook, and then the water, imbued with the curative power of the quartz gemstones, was then given to the patient. Various types of quartz gemstones have been used in religious and shamanistic ceremonies for thousands of years. In the ancient Greek world quartz was utilized in the Eleusinian mysteries, initiation ceremonies held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at Eleusis in ancient Greece, to produce the sacred fire by concentrating the heat of the sun to ignite wood chips. Colorless quartz (“crystals”) were also long thought by ancients to be petrified ice. Ancient Persians believed that quartz amulets placed on a baby ensured the infant’s proper nutrition. There are many examples in various museums throughout the world of carved quartz stones that were popular in Greece and Rome as intaglios for signet rings.
Celebrating mankind’s historical legacy here are six beautiful, “crystal clear” sparkling semi-precious gemstones from Siberian Russia. These are genuine hand-faceted quartz crystal from one of the premiere sources of exceptionally high grade quartz crystal for many centuries. These gemstones were handcrafted almost a century ago into beautiful little faceted spheres (quartz crystal) and then hand drilled. The gemstones were hand crafted and faceted by a 19th century Russian artisan, part of an heritage renown for the production of the elaborate gemstones and jewelry of the Czars of Medieval, Renaissance, and Victorian Russia. The fabled Siberian northern interior of Russia has been famous for centuries for its production of diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, topaz, aquamarine, amethyst, alexandrite, and other precious and semi-precious gemstones.
These are premium quality genuine Siberian quartz crystal gemstones. These antique gemstones have been mounted onto high quality USA manufactured contemporary 14kt
gold fill
french hooks. These are not cheap, gold electroplated earrings. They are genuine 14kt
gold fill
settings manufactured by one of the USA’s leading semi-custom mount producers and 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. We can reset into 14kt solid gold (or sterling silver) upon request, and there are also many other setting styles available upon request including euro clicks, lever backs, fancy stud dangles, kidney wires, ball/stud dangles, etc.
As might be expected under magnification the gemstones show the unmistakable characteristics of having been hand crafted. The coarseness of the handcrafted finish is considered appealing to most gemstone aficionados, and is not considered a detriment, or detract from the value of such gemstones. These characteristics are not only expected of hand-finished gemstones, many believe that such hand-crafted gemstones possess much greater character and appeal than today’s mass-produced, laser-cut gemstones. Unlike today’s computer controlled machine produced gemstones that approach flawlessness in a perfect finish, the cut and finish of a handcrafted gemstones such as these is the cultural legacy passed onwards by artisans who lived centuries ago.
Handcrafted though they may be these gemstones possess great luster and sparkle, and are absolutely transparent, but they are not entirely flawless. True, the blemishes they possess are virtually invisible to the naked eye, and to use trade jargon the gemstones can be characterized as “eye clean”. However magnified as they are in the accompanying photo enlargements you might be able to discern a minute blemish or two within the stones. Of course much the same may said about almost any antique gemstones of natural origin. An absolutely flawless gemstone simply is not the rule in nature. Most absolutely flawless gemstones will upon close examination be revealed to be synthetic. You might also notice under magnification occasional irregularities in the cut and finish. Naturally these characteristics are not only expected of antique, hand-finished gemstones, you must also consider that two centuries ago the mining techniques prevalent did not allow the ultra deep mining operations which are so common today.
Keep in mind that two centuries ago mankind was more or less limited to surface deposits or near surface deposits of semi-precious gemstones. Higher quality gemstones which today are routinely mined from beneath hundreds of meters, even kilometers beneath the earth’s surface, were simply inaccessible. It is precisely for these reasons antique gemstones must be appreciated as antiques first, gemstones second. The relatively superlative quality of contemporary gemstones routinely mined from deep beneath the earth’s surface today were simply not accessible two centuries ago, or at least, only rarely so. However for most, the unique nature and character of these antique gemstones more than makes up for the blemishes found within the gemstones, as well as the cutting irregularities common to handcrafted gemstones, all of which are by and large (if at all) are only visible under magnification.
HISTORY OF QUARTZ:
Quartz (“rock crystal”) caught the eye of various ancient cultures with its brilliant transparency and gorgeous tones. To the ancient Greeks it was “krystallos”, from which the name “crystal” is derived. To the ancient Slavic cultures it was, “kwardy”, from which eventually the name “quartz” was derived. The clearest form of quartz is rock crystal, used since ancient times to manufacture “crystal balls”. Colorless quartz crystals have always been popular in jewelry since even ancient pre-recorded history due to mystical legends concerning the “power” of quartz crystals.
In the ancient world quartz was used as an ornamental stone, to fashion gemstones for jewelry, and as well for making tools and weapons. Quartz was also ground by ancient cultures to produce primitive forms of glass and ceramics. Faience jewelry and amulets were mass produced in ancient Egypt fashioned from ground quartz and various minerals added to produce color (such as copper ore for blue-green; iron ore for red and orange, etc.). Similar ceramic jewelry and amulets were also produced by the ancient Sumerian and Babylonian cultures. According to one ancient legend, the sun and universe were contained within an enormous crystal.
Quartz was also long thought by ancients to be petrified ice. Five thousand years ago the Sumerians cut and engraved various quartz stones as cylinder seals and used them later as intaglio ring seals. As the Sumerians invented writing, quartz is probably one of the first gem stone materials to be written on, and also to be used as a stamp to make a written impression in clay. Ancient Persians believed that quartz amulets placed on a baby ensured the infant’s proper nutrition.
There are many examples in various museums throughout the world of carved quartz stones that were popular in Greece and Rome as intaglios for signet rings. One particularly popular style showed the upper half of the body of a man with a hand upraised, pronouncing judgment. These pieces are said to have been especially effective as a talisman during a lawsuit. The ancient Celts used rock crystal amulets to give the water of healing wells a magical potency. Running brooks produced healing water as well. Quartz “star stones” were collected from a running brook, placed in boiling water from the same brook, and then the water, imbued with the curative power of the crystals, was then given to the patient.
The ancient Celts also believed that quartz crystals could cure infertility. Quartz crystal has also been used in religious and shamanistic ceremonies for thousands of years. In the ancient Greek world quartz was utilized in the Eleusinian mysteries, initiation ceremonies held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at Eleusis in ancient Greece, to produce the sacred fire by concentrating the heat of the sun to ignite wood chips. Native American shamans are said to have used quartz crystals as divining and hunting charms, believing they were inhabited by spirits who had to be fed periodically by rubbing the quartz crystals with deer’s blood. The Cherokee were known to use quartz crystals for divining stones.
Ancient Australian Aboriginal tribes regarded quartz crystal as a rain-stone, and use it in ceremonies meant to bring rain. And of course throughout the ancient world, for thousands of years, large pieces of quartz crystal were cut and polished into spheres, a scrying tool which enabled practitioners to foretell the future by peering into their crystal balls. In the 14th century Medieval World of Europe, it was common for the quartz crystal to be engraved with the image of a man in armor holding a bow and arrow. The resulting talisman then would guard both the wearer and the place where it was situated.
Quartz remains very popular in the production of jewelry due to the fact it is very hard and durable. Some of the most popular varieties of quartz include amethyst (purple quartz), citrine (yellow quartz), and aventurine (green quartz). Other popular varieties include “tigerseye”, the relatively rare rose quartz, onyx, and various forms of agate (such as jasper). “Rose quartz” is the rarest of these various quartz varieties. The ancient Assyrians and Romans were among the first to use rose quartz, carved and faceted to provide gemstones, the Romans also using them to carve intaglios for signet rings. Rose quartz was regarding a token of love amongst both the ancient Romans and Assyrians.
Smoky quartz is brown, transparent quartz that is popular for large and unusual faceted crystals. Smoky quartz from Mount Cairngorm, Scotland, is known as “cairngorm”, and since ancient times has been a favorite ornamental gemstone with Scots and Celts. Even today smoky quartz is worn in brooches with traditional Highland costumes. Tiger’s-eye quartz contains brown iron which produces its golden-yellow color. Cabochon cut stones of this variety show the chatoyancy (small ray of light on the surface) that resembles the feline eye of a tiger, and have been enormously popular in various Asian cultures for thousands of years. It was a very important trade good in ancient India.
And of course, the transparent colorless variety of quartz is still known as rock crystal. Although colorless quartz is relatively common, large flawless specimens are not. In the ancient world rock crystal was often been used in jewelry, particularly carved pieces. Throughout the history of the ancient world, gemstones were also believed capable of curing illness, possessing valuable metaphysical properties, and providing protection. Found in Egypt dated 1500 B. C., the “Papyrus Ebers” offered one of most complete therapeutic manuscripts containing prescriptions using gemstones and minerals.
Gemstones were not only valued for their medicinal and protective properties, but also for educational and spiritual enhancement. Quartz crystals produce an electric voltage, a property known as piezoelectric. Unable to understand the characteristic, ancient cultures attributed many mystical properties to quartz crystals. For thousands of years various European cultures believed that the mind of a medium became receptive to the spirit world via the influence of quartz when it was fashioned into a sphere or crystal ball.
Quartz was also believed to act as a psychic purifier, tuning one into their inner “vibrations”. It was believed that clear crystals possessed the ability to amplify emotions, enhance concentration and intuition, and neutralize “negative energies”. Even today many people believe that wearing quartz crystals benefits a person’s health and spiritual well being. In the ancient world it was believed that quartz also possessed “medicinal” value as when applied to an inflamed area, it would act as an “ice pack”.
Rock quartz crystals were also used as an aid in curing mental disorders, problems with the lungs (including emphysema), sore throats, skin problems, circulatory system troubles (including varicose veins and hemorrhages) and respiratory system disorders. It was also used to provide relief from pain (particularly from headaches), to cure vision problems, and strengthen the immune system. Rose quartz was utilized as a cure for stress, heart, and circulatory related health problems.
On the metaphysical plane quartz was believed to enhance intuition, mental clarity and concentration, emotional stability, confidence, creativity, love, and romance; and was also believed to increase fertility. Believed to be a spiritual awakener, quartz was believed to aid in balancing and amplifying body energy, emotions, and thoughts, producing a naturally balanced, solid-state energy field as it activated all levels of consciousness. And as nature’s energy-generator, it was believed to draw white light into the physical body, helping to diagnose disease, stimulate brain functions and activate the pineal and pituitary glands.
SHIPPING & RETURNS/REFUNDS
: Your purchase will ordinarily be shipped within 48 hours of payment. We package as well as anyone in the business, with lots of protective padding and containers. All of our shipments are fully insured against loss, and our shipping rates include the cost of this coverage (through stamps.com, Shipsaver.com, the USPS, UPS, or Fed-Ex). International tracking is provided free by the USPS for certain countries, other countries are at additional cost.
ADDITIONAL PURCHASES
do receive a
VERY LARGE
discount, typically about $5 per item so as to reward you for the economies of combined shipping/insurance costs.
We do offer U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail, Registered Mail, and Express Mail for both international and domestic shipments, as well United Parcel Service (UPS) and Federal Express (Fed-Ex). Please ask for a rate quotation. We will accept whatever payment method you are most comfortable with. Please note for international purchasers we will do everything we can to minimize your liability for VAT and/or duties. But we cannot assume any responsibility or liability for whatever taxes or duties may be levied on your purchase by the country of your residence. If you don’t like the tax and duty schemes your government imposes, please complain to them. We have no ability to influence or moderate your country’s tax/duty schemes.
If upon receipt of the item you are disappointed for any reason whatever, I offer a no questions asked 30-day return policy. Send it back, I will give you a complete refund of the purchase price; 1) less our original shipping/insurance costs, 2) less non-refundable eBay payment processing fees. Please note that eBay does NOT refund payment processing fees. Even if you “accidentally” purchase something and then cancel the purchase before it is shipped, eBay will not refund their processing fees. So all refunds for any reason, without exception, do not include eBay payment processing fees (typically between 5% and 15%) and shipping/insurance costs (if any). If you’re unhappy with eBay’s “no fee refund” policy, and we are EXTREMELY unhappy, please voice your displeasure by contacting eBay. We have no ability to influence, modify or waive eBay policies.
ABOUT US
: Prior to our retirement we used to travel to Europe and Central Asia several times a year. Most of the items we offer came from acquisitions we made in Eastern Europe, India, and from the Levant (Eastern Mediterranean/Near East) during these years from various institutions and dealers. Much of what we generate on Etsy, Amazon and Ebay goes to support The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, as well as some other worthy institutions in Europe and Asia connected with Anthropology and Archaeology. Though we have a collection of ancient coins numbering in the tens of thousands, our primary interests are ancient jewelry and gemstones. Prior to our retirement we traveled to Russia every year seeking antique gemstones and jewelry from one of the globe’s most prolific gemstone producing and cutting centers, the area between Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg, Russia. From all corners of Siberia, as well as from India, Ceylon, Burma and Siam, gemstones have for centuries gone to Yekaterinburg where they have been cut and incorporated into the fabulous jewelry for which the Czars and the royal families of Europe were famous for.
My wife grew up and received a university education in the Southern Urals of Russia, just a few hours away from the mountains of Siberia, where alexandrite, diamond, emerald, sapphire, chrysoberyl, topaz, demantoid garnet, and many other rare and precious gemstones are produced. 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 these gorgeous antique gemstones are recut, we try to acquire the best of them in their original, antique, hand-finished state – most of them centuries old. We 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 us 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. We can set most any antique gemstone you purchase from us in your choice of styles and metals ranging from rings to pendants to earrings and bracelets; in sterling silver, 14kt solid gold, and 14kt gold fill.  When you purchase from us, you can count on quick shipping and careful, secure packaging. We would be happy to provide you with a certificate/guarantee of authenticity for any item you purchase from us. There is a $3 fee for mailing under separate cover. I will always respond to every inquiry whether via email or eBay message, so please feel free to write.