Circa late 1800's, this antique French rosary is a must for any serious collector. The reason for that is that most of these antique rosaries are becoming scarce if not rare. It seem to be that collectors are holding on to what they have these days. This rosary came from France and I have always been so dazzled by them not only for the fact that the beads are so beautiful, but they have been one of the popular type of the mid to late 1800's antique rosaries. They are so beautiful because these garnet glass beads were made at a time when real garnet gemstone in Bohemia has been depleted since about the late 1700's. There was also a source of real garnet in France, called Perpignan garnet. The story alone on how to make these particular beads whether it was made in Bohemia is a long story as has been described in my previous listings on garnet glass beads rosary. Made in Venice, and the formula lost for at least three centuries, the secret hidden by guild rules that when revealed are punishable by death, these garnet beads were again produced in Bohemia in the 1800's. My readings also argued that the secret may have gone forever with the arrival of several plagues in Venice and death of the craftsmen. It also suggested that deaths caused by the plague would have displaced many people and thus affected the beads industry. It was the presence of gold or copper that made this colour. What is interesting in these antique beads, is the similarity to the genuine stone that is garnet. This interesting rosary is antique, had been treasured and venerated by somebody in his/her spiritual journey. It is a beautiful gift to a loved one or just to keep for yourself to assist you in your prayers. All rosaries sold in this store arrives in a gift box ready for you to give it away. Please study the details on this antique rosary:
Crucifix: the cross is marked at the bale with a makers mark and would be French. It looks like sterling silver to me as the metal looks different to the center medal, but I a not a jeweller so please decide for yourself. The design and make is very late 1800's. The corpus is soldered to the cross frame. Some French antique rosaries made about and later this period were produced without a hallmark but this one has a maker's mark. Size: 38mm x 25mm
Links: the links looks like they are sterling silver but may have been gold-plated at one time. It has a very light tone of gold or copper in the links which is seen sometimes on this type of rosary to complement with the colour of the beads. There are no hallmarks on the links.
Center Medal: the design is a monogram of the letters AM representing Ave Maria (Hail Mary) usually seen on antique rosaries. The metal is a silvered metal. Both sides are reversible. Size: 18mm x 13mm
Beads: All Mater and Pater beads are roughly of the same sizes. Though they all look the same, these pressed beads are actually very irregular in shape. My readings on these beads says that they have been pressed in moulds but can still be finished and faceted by hand. Thus the final result is that there is a strong similarity to the real garnet gemstone. When these type of beads were finally made in Bohemia, the secret was still guarded and the craftsmen who made them were the same craftsmen who had knowledge on how to craft the real gemstone. There was a strong production in the 1800's of these types of beads, and there was a strong trade alliance between French and other European manufacturers and distributors like Bohemia, Germany and Netherlands towards the end of the 19th century. Some of these beads were for domestic use such as the use of beads for rosaries, most of the beads were exported to Africa and Europe. These beads are most likely made in Bohemia, which are produced in mass and a lower price, exported to France, then made into rosaries. No two beads in this rosary is the same in shape and colour. Size: 6mm
Length: 43cm or 17 inches
59 beads
I will give a 10 % discount for a purchase of 3 different listings on buttons and fashion accessories. This promo is cancelled when another promo is on. If you have a particular requirement as to style, colour, use, size and others, please do not hesitate to let me know. For a quick search on buttons, please type in the ‘search’ box ANY OF THE FOLLOWING WORDS BEFORE THE WORD ‘button’ or ‘buttons’: coat, jacket, cardigan, blouse, dress, shirt, craft, collectible, haute couture, high fashion, metal, button in card, unisex, Mother of Pearl or MOP, corozo, tagua, vegetable ivory, assorted or replacement. For sizes of buttons: Up to 20mm-Small size; 21mm to 30mm-Medium size; 31m to 40mm-Big size; 41mm to 50mm-Huge size. Kindly ask if you want more or less of the listed buttons.
To get an idea of the size of the rosary, kindly be guided by the following: Small: up to 15 inches long; Medium: 16 to 19 inches long; Large: 20 to 25 inches long; Huge: over 25 inches long. The rosary’s length is measured laid flat on table as if hanging on a nail.
All jewelry are cleaned and will be cleaned again for you before sending. Note that the 10 cents coin featured in the listings is 23mm or 2.3 cm in size.
Since my promo is out of the normal system of ebay selling and to get your 10% discount, the easiest way to avail of it is to pay the full price, then I will refund your discount including excess postage. Alternatively, you can email me for EACH ITEM you want BEFORE purchase so I can edit the prices with the corresponding discount and combine postage but you may risk missing out on the item in case somebody buys the item ahead of you.
Many thanks for your understanding!
TERMS AND CONDITIONS: Please pay within 3 days of purchase. Purchased item will be mailed after payment is cleared. Payment is via Paypal only. Non-payment after 3 days will mean change of mind and I reserve the right to relist item. Most of the items I sell are antique or vintage items. They have traits and traces consistent with time, use and age. Remember too that items are magnified in pictures. Please consider these characteristics before you decide to buy. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to send an email. I will be most glad to answer any enquiry. I give enormous time to research, organise, describe, take pictures and give as much details to buyers. Please read descriptions carefully before making your purchase. Pictures are part of the description. Please examine them carefully before making your purchase. Refund of item is possible only if item received is NOT according to description. There is NO refund nor exchange for change of mind or for buyer’s remorse on purchased item. I do not give refund for items that arrived damaged. I take a great deal of effort in packaging items to be sent and what happens to item while in transit is out of my control. In the event of a refund as deemed necessary by ebay, item has to be sent back to me within 7 working days.
This store offers the cheapest possible postage to deliver your item. Due to Covid, cheaper international postage offered before is no longer possible and postage had increased dramatically. For your benefit, I always combine postage. Any excess postage will be refunded. A proof of mail and postage is happily submitted upon request. Most buyers are honest and so far, all items purchased in this store have all been received locally and overseas. Rosaries will be mailed via registered mail with tracking and signature only. Please note that there is no pick-up of items but only delivery through the post.
Your custom is very important to me. Please let me know if there has been any error, misunderstanding or problem in this transaction. We will try to work out something to solve any problem. With due respect and consideration to everyone, we can build a lasting selling/buying relationship. Best of all, please buy with confidence. Many of the items I am selling now are part of my collection for decades. They represent my lifetime’s collection. The majority of them are a one-off piece and if there are duplicates, it would be in small number. I have now decided to part with and share them to those who would love them as much as I did.