The Enchantment Of Another Era

Janaecus AE Prutah aprox. 78 B.C.E.

Puzzle pieces of history are re-entering the new world.  While these steeped-in-history currencies are no longer used as a method of payment in modern life, they surely have found their new purpose, united with gold frames or in combination with the energies of delightful gemstones.

The coin has traveled its journey, meeting with countless different characters along the way. Everything in this world has its place – or finds it after a long journey.
Now, in its honorable new setting, one can clearly feel the sparks of enchantment brought by the coin from another time and place.

Judean Biblical Bronze 4BC-AD6

Copper as of Tiberius, mint of Rome 23 CE, SC ( Senatus Consulto)

Aquamarine Stone

Second year of great Jewish revolt against Romans 68 AD (symbol: fig leaf)

Labradorite Stone

Byzantine Coin 11th Century AD

Our stone and gold bracelets are our very own version of a sparkling firework of colors - We are wishing all of you a healthy 
and happy New Year 2012!

Why Green Brings Light To Our Hearts - The Emerald

Especially around the winter solstice, the stone of light glows and shines.  The northern hemisphere has remarkable dark days around this time, being one of winters’ characteristics. We have the desire to be festive and decorate our homes with fresh green fir trees with accents or commemorate with a candle ceremony.Phosphorus is the light we need around this time of the year.  
Light and the color green makes people relax and gives a feeling of trust and hope. People daydream because they truly believe that one day their wish will come true. Sparkles of light will make a dreamer calmly smile while he travels through his world.
There is an old saga that says, the archangel of light, Lucifer, once one of the favored angels, wanted to be like God. But when he tried imitating God, he fell from heaven. When he fell, a stone broke from his crown which fell to earth, and it looks like what we know as the Emerald. For this reason some, call this stone the philosopher’s stone or a light that came to earth. The saga also states, this may be why Lucifer has no light for himself in the underworld.
The vital green stayed on earth and replaces the darkness. Many different cultures have their different interpretations of green and the emerald, yet all of them agree on the power of light.

Eastern medicine believes that the fourth chakra represents the heart. Located between the upper three chakras, and the lower three chakras, the heart is said to be the intermediation between heaven and earth.  When a heart is dark, it can only be healed with light. Darkness can be expressed with depression, which sometimes can be seasonal, or even caused by a great loss and other triggers. Hence, old practices believe that an emerald placed on the heart chakra will bring back the light to those who have lost it, or the ones who want to keep the flame of light and happiness glowing.
The emerald keeps us lighthearted and youthful. In ancient Greece similar color assignations were made. The goddess Artemis was closely related with the color green and associated with a spring of everlasting youthfulness. Interestingly, Artemis is both the goddess of hunt and also the patroness of virgins.
It is pleasing to have a precious stone like the emerald as a guide of light, especially around the time of winter. It reminds us of how nature needs a rest to be able to reveal its full beauty in spring time again.

Everyone needs a little rest once in a while – we wish you a wonderful holiday with your family and friends – The Agas and Tamar Team New York. Have a look at our beautiful stones of light and perhaps surprise one of your loved ones with one of them…

Sources:
Andreas Wenath, Gralstein der Stein der Weisen, Verlag Zeitenwende 2011
P.M. History Collection No.1
Octavian Buhociu, Die rumänische Volkskultur und Mythologie, Komission fuer Geistesgeschichte des oestlichen Europa, Wuerzburg

Turquoise- Stone of the month of December

Our interpretation of next years' trend: Natural turquoise wrapped in pure gold

A stone of protection, fortune and friendship, as old legends describe it. Indeed, this stone resembles the freshness of the ocean and endless freedom of a blue sky. Turkish salesmen brought turquoise to Europe, and therefore in Germany turquoises were named "Türkische Steine". In France people adapted this name, and simply called the stones "Pierres turquoise".

Around the 13^th century turquoise was used as a lucky charm to protect riders and their horses. It was important that the charm is a gift of someone else, to enable the stone to evoke its exceptional powers.

In Early Middle Ages, many Doctors carried a special essence or powder of the stone with them, because it was said to help against scorpion bites or even rare incidences like pain caused by daemons. Still today, people believe that a turquoise stone helps against swollen or tired eyes, and perhaps brings long desired clarity.

The same clarity seemed to be important for Persians, since turquoise was their ancient version of a weather forecast. According to the deepness of its color a turquoise presented on different days, weather was calculated. Nowadays we know, that the turquoise changes its color based on body temperature and cosmetics, or perfumes with alcoholic ingredients.

Simple chemical reactions might be clear to understand, however some occurrences may only be explained with magic…Feathers, jade and turquoise were among the most treasured objects in Mesoamerica. Aztecs for instances, believed that feathers were shadows of their deities, representing power, wealth and fertility.

In a nutshell, this stone has influenced and inspired so many different cultures, that in the end they all have something in common.

We are well prepared for the Spring/Summer 2012 upcoming trends! Aquatic colors, hues of mint, seafoam and turquoise are keys for the next season. With knowing the history of the December stone turquoise, we even feel much greater appreciation for the merging of raw turquoise and delightful floating feathers.

The Team of Agas and Tamar New York will help incorporate some turquoise history on your new designs.

Happy December!

From left: Spring/Summer 2012 Ready-to-wear Oscar de la Renta, Chanel, Louis Vuitton

Forecast: stylesight.com, Forecast Realted Report: Runway Flash S/S 12 > Seafoam Shades, viewed December 2, 2011

Pictures: style.com, Ready-to wear 2012 Runway Collections, viewed December2, 2011

Raymond J.L Walter, Die Kraft der Edelsteine, Basserman, 1989 Niderhausen, Ts. Page 52 and 53

Patsztory, Esther. Aztec Art. New York: Abrams, 1983, Matos Moctezuma, Eduardo, and Fellipe Solis Olquin, eds. Aztecs. London: Royal Academy of Arts, 2002 description and function of Aztec gold work- via facts on file, Ancient and Medieval History Online- viewed December 2, 2011

The Opal

NATHAN.
“In days of yore, there dwelt in east a man
Who from a valued hand received a ring
Of endless worth: the stone of it an opal,
That shot an ever-changing tint: moreover,
It had the hidden virtue him to render
Of God and man beloved, who in this view,
And this persuasion, wore it. “

This is how Gotthold Ephraim Lessing describes the magnificent beauty and value of an opal stone ring in his play Nathan the Wise. The history of this tale dates back to 1100, where it has been described in Sephardic-Jewish stories on the half-island Iberia.
Mankind has always been amazed by a stone that could be seen as “[…] the chameleon of gems- varied as the rainbow, and shifting with every trembling of the light into some new tint beauty” (The Opal. N.P. Willis, preface).

In medieval times, it was said that the opal needs the touch of a warm hand (klb.nilo.de), and it will begin a dance with rainbow colors, and it sparkles even more when turned in sunlight, leading to flame-like reflections. A rainbow is like the kiss between sun and water surrounded by warm air. A truthful kiss is marked by love; and the opal is honored to represent, and stand for the color of love: it is not only red; love, indeed, is every imaginable color.

Rainbows surprise us after a long rain shower, but they do, however, come and go. The opal has the ability to capture this special moment a little longer for us. This stone stands for beautiful creations in life resulting from God and love.
When looking at Greek mythology, it suddenly makes sense that this stone was named after the Roman Goddess of fertility, Ops, wife of Saturn (The World of Opals, Eckert p 56). As a result, the wearer is inspired by the magical qualities of creativity, represented in this ever changing stone. Life is ever changing, sometimes from one day to the next, as sudden as a rainbow.

A rainbow is like a connecting bridge from one to the other side, maybe that is why Lessing chose the colorful opal as a metaphor in his plea for religious tolerance…
What can we learn from the history of opal nowadays?
Let creativity flow into your life, be tolerant and respectful, and you will surely be rewarded with the most blissful colors the world is waiting to share with you.

The Agas & Tamar Team of New York wishes you lots of colorful fall leaves dancing in the sun!

Sources:
Project Gutenberg Etext Nathan the Wise, by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/3820/pg3820.html - viewed Sept 30, 2011
Materialmappe Stadttheater Minden, stadttheatherr-minden.de–viewed Oct 01.2011
The Opal (preface): A pure gift for the holy days, edited by N.P. Willis, John C. Riker, New York 1844
Eckert, Allan W., The World of Opals, John Wiley and Sons, 1997, New York p: 56
Hofmann, Helmut G., Opale, Schaetze aus roter Erde: Auf Opalsuche in Australien, Book on Demand GmbH, Noderstedt 2009 p: 88
Firefly Books, Guideline to Gems, 2004 p: 173
http://klb.nilo.de/archiv/bussgottesdienst98.htm
Opals in South Australia, Minerals and Energy Custom Press 2004 (brochure in cooperation with Australian Gem Industry)

Beautiful Opals

Sapphire - The stone of the month of September

Sapphire – The spiritual mythos for the birthstone of the month of September

In company with diamond, ruby and emerald, the sapphire is one of the legendary precious gem stones. Kashmir and Burma (now known as Myanmar) as well as Sri Lanka are the renowned regions for sapphires. When thinking about sapphires the first color people visualize is usually ocean blue or exhilarating sky blue; however, the corundum is also found in breathtaking hues of pink, orange, yellow, green, purple and lavender. In ancient times, Persians imagined that the earth rested on a colossal sapphire, and its reflections dyed the sky with its beautiful colors.

But how does a gem stone gain such importance?

Sapphires have been worn for centuries. Healers and seers such as Hildegard von Bingen, and magicians from various cultures observed that rings of sapphires helped command their spirits, creating balance in human relations.

The Pink Sapphire for instances balances water and fire elements. If for example one person has the zodiac sign of Pisces (water) and the other person is a Leo (fire), sapphire helps them to overcome past emotional wounds and encourages forgiveness. Protective walls due to distrust will fall apart and culminate in passion and strength of their hearts.

Also if a person tends to be shy, sapphire is said to advance the ability to express one’s emotions more fully. Furthermore, the famous Padparadsha Sapphire derived from the meaning ”lotus blossom” helps to bring one’s heart into the world by channeling enhanced sexual experience, lighthearted expressions of ideas, or fully joyful accomplishments.

Last but not least the White Sapphire known for its qualities of fairness and objectivity helps people to see the real truth. The clearness of the stone also brings clarity to human connection and will meld unanswered questions. Yet another important aspect is the value for clarity of one’s spiritual path. Certainly, one will find new dimensions through the help of sapphires.

If mankind needed to find one single letter to describe the effect and beauty of a sapphire, the Hebrew letter Tet would probably be the best fit. “Tet opens the Hebrew word for both purity and brilliance (tihar) intimating that our soul becomes more resplendent as we experience inner clarity. In this way, each of us can emit a supernal glow to illuminate the path of others” (Hoffman, Edward, The Hebrew Alphabet). – Maybe that is why the Ten Commandments were composed of sapphire, and holding such strength they will always exist.

Interestingly, in search for answers about the myth of sapphire, one finds the tradition of engagement rings. Ancient Greeks already had their very own and first version of a betrothal ring symbolizing “friendship”. Later on the Romans used engagement rings, especially with sapphires to signal the honorable intensions of the groom. Legend says that in 1215, Pope Innocent III established a binding waiting period, from engagement to marriage. Now, if the Sapphire did not change its color, the wearer was said to be truthful and eligible for a beautiful marriage.

Today sapphires in engagement rings therefore symbolize delightful romantic love, pure truthful commitment and loving fidelity to a special counterpart.

The Sapphire birthstone of September- get inspired by its spirit and with our unique designs find your special ring of friendship- or maybe even engagement…

Have a sparkling month of September, and see you on” Fashion Night Out Sept 08, 2011”, your Agas & Tamar by Eli Halili Team New York.

Bibliography:

Hofmann, Edward, The Hebrew Alphabet A Mystical Journey, Chronicle Books, 1989 p: 44

Simmons, Robert, Ahsian, Naisha, Raven, Hazel, The Book of Stones: Who They Are And What They Teach, North Atlantic Books, 2007, p: 344

Oldershaw, Kely, Firefly guide to gems, 2009, p: 61

http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com- viewed Sept 02, 2011

http://www. Gemanation.com- viewed August 28, 2011