January Jewels: Woven Metal Bangle

As if I hadn't already scored enough that day, my adventures at the St. Vinnies jewelry counter did not end with the two fantastic Indian metal cord necklaces. Sitting on top of the counter, directly next to the rack of plastic beads that rendered the chunkier of the two necklaces, sat a little wicker basket full of equally underwhelming plastic bracelets. Other than its possible anthropological value of serving as an effective survey of the history of Claire's boutique, 1996 to the present, the basket did not seem to warrant my attention, nonetheless perusal. But if there could be one golden rule to thrifting, it might be that looks are almost ALWAYS deceiving. In this case, again, they were.

Inspired by my previous find, I rummaged through the basket. Beneath the plastic crystal carnage laid the real treasure; in the same genre of completely stunning metal working technique (which leads me to assume that this piece is of the same provenance as the Indian necklaces) is this woven multi-metal bangle.

This piece, amazingly, didn't warrant the protection of the glass case either, and only set me back $3. From my limited knowledge, this seems to be made of brass, copper, and possibly silver. You can see from the picture how reflective the pounded silver-colored metal is, which makes me think that it really is silver. Whatever it is, is provides the weft for the basketweave effect, while copper provides the warp, while brass is the framework. It is really incredibly eye catching, and a stand out new addition to my bangle wardrobe.

More incredibly, this is not the last that the St. Vinnies jewelry counter had to offer me! To be continued...

January Jewels: Indian Metal Cord Necklaces

There were two New Year's miracles, that fateful day at the Green Bay St. Vinnies, that lead me to forever reneging my stance that Christmas/New Year's thrifting is the worst. Firstly, was the discovery of a special New Year's eveningwear rack, as documented here. Secondly, was the bounty of the jewelry counter, the finds from which I will unveil over the next few days.

On the spinning rack of generally cheap-y looking plastic necklaces on top of the jewelry counter, this piece caught my eye, primarily because it was the only non-plastic thing.


Still tied to the clasp was a paper "Made in India" tag. Never even worn! The construction of this necklace totally fascinates me. It behaves like a cord, but is made up of individual, bead-like pieces. From what I can tell, the pieces are essentially hollowed out bullet-shaped beads, that are nested within each other, creating a fluid 3/4" thick cord.


The effect is really very beautiful. The other thing that I love about it is the indiscernible color of the metal. It seems like it is somehow gold, silver, and bronze, all at the same time, in different places, depending on how the light hits it.

Once I got over my initial excitement at my fantastic discovery, I got around to actually looking inside the glass jewelry case itself, where allegedly, the good stuff is. The way that 'the good stuff' is curated in thrift stores never fails to fascinate me; what some industrious volunteer found to be the most seemingly valuable and/or prone to theft, and warranting the security of a glass case. The methodology always seems to be mostly revelatory of a single person's unique value system. Again, one of the myriad charms of thrifting.

I digress. Upon looking in to the case, I immediately spot this piece; clearly the sister to the necklace I had just found on the cheapo rack, as evidenced by the identical clasp.


It's funny, because to me, this piece is far less exciting, and worthy of the protection of the glass case, than the previous. But still exceptional, at that. Not quite the mini version, this necklace is made of complete, irregular beads, that give the cord effect a much more jagged texture than the bigger version.

I like to think that these two necklaces were donated by a lady who took a trip to India and bought some flashy souvenirs that failed to translate upon her return home. I am the happy recipient of her overbold purchases.