Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Island Charm and Barbados Coral


 
The year was 1978, my husband and I were on a tropical sandy beach on an Island in the Caribbean, the island of Barbados.  Carrying a large wooden tray and beaming with the warmest Bajan smile, a local artist and vendor made his way across the warm sand.  As he approached us, he sang out in his melodic island accent; "Hey pretty lady, wood you care to buy a pendant made from real Bajan Coral? Dey made by han. Yes pretty lady?" 
Looking at my husband, his smile grew bigger and his eyes danced impishly, giving his attractractive, cocoa brown face a childlike charm. "Maybe de kine gentalmon woud like to gift de pretty lady wid one of my han made pendants? She very pretty, your lady is."


His flattery was so thick that my husband and I broke out laughing, and he  was so charming it was impossible to refuse. So I took a moment to perused his tray of handmade jewelry and found he had an assortment of shell and coral charms, most of which did not interest me.   Then I spotted the Corni pendant - an Italian symbol of protection against evil and a harbinger of good luck. "Ah pretty lady" he crooned "Dat wood look luvely round your pretty neck."
Both my husband and I had to agree that he was certainly one charmer of a salesman. Needless to say we purchased the coral corni pendant from him.
 


Back in the 70's it was not illegal to harvest coral as it was not considered endangered the way coral is today. But that was long ago and since then the "pretty lady" has gotten much older and the lovely coral corni has gone unworn for a number of years.

I've given the pendant a good cleaning, attached it to a sterling silver bail and made a special necklace for it using sterling silver cable chain and finishing the chain with a sterling silver clasp and jumprings. Now I am hoping that this genuine coral pendant will bring another pretty lady good luck and many years of enjoyment.

 

12 comments:

  1. We went to Jamaica for our honeymoon and they too could sell an Eskimo snow.: )

    ReplyDelete
  2. I wonder whatever happened to the artist and where he is now? Love what you did with it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JoJo - That was so long ago I would guess his children (maybe even grandchildren)are now charming dollars out of the tourist that visit the island. :D

      Delete
  3. What a funny story and such a nice memory :) A beautiful piece with a history and a proven origin - someone will be lucky to get it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you bairozan. I hope it will find a new home soon. When I was younger, I wore it often, as I got older it found itself tucked away into my jewelry collection not forgotten but not being worn either. It is time for it to move on to someone who will love and wear it as I once did.

      Delete
  4. What a lovely memory!! Thank you for sharing it with us! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. For the life of me I can't seem to remember that this is your blog. Perhaps it's because I'm not connecting your name & blog title together. I'll get it...one day. lol Love this story & what you did with the pendant. Sweet memories ♥

    ReplyDelete
  6. How beautiful! What a great memory of your time in Barbados. And why not pick up something specific to the island while you're there? He sounds like quite the charmer for sure :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I enjoyed the story, but I think I would have a hard time parting with something that held such a great memory.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Annette, yes I know, but I will always have the wonderful memory and it is a shame to let such a nice, coral pendant languish in my jewelry collection. I would love to see it go to someone who would wear it as often as I once did - back in the days when my neck was supple and smooth and I was able to wear tops with a lower neckline. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Loved the story but like Annette, I would not have parted with the piece. It will still look wonderful with higher necklines!

    ReplyDelete

Nothing makes me happier than to hear from those who have dropped by my blog for a visit. I love hearing from you.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...