I love handicrafts, and the creativity that artisans put into creating earrings, pendants and rings. And it's what I like to see most when I go to an artisan fair.
This collection started because my mother used to make earrings for me. Then one day she told me I have these mother-of-pearl stones, do you want me to make you a necklace or pendant?
I didn't practically wear pendants at that time, but I told myself why not.
I was teaching almost all day and in Argentina it was very cold in winter, very cold. So I used to wear a lot of T-shirts or turtleneck sweaters, so pendants looked very elegant and I started to wear them for that reason.
Some were long and others not so long, the important thing was that they had a motif that I liked, usually a stone or something invented by my mother. Maybe also something that she had bought and that I liked.
In time there were others, which were a gift, and became very precious gifts.
There are many that are very special to me, for various reasons, and the most representative are the ones that travelled with me when I moved to Spain.
First of all, I want to show you this white mother-of-pearl necklace or choker. It was a very special gift. I know I have named it after this student of mine, her name was Gilda. She was Peruvian and lived in Argentina.
On one of her trips to Peru she brought me this beautiful choker as a gift, which I treasure very much. She passed away last year and I will always remember her.
It is a very elegant choker and I love it for special occasions.
These three pendants were made for me by my mother. The coloured ones are coloured mother-of-pearl stones, I love the colours and the middle one is made from a rather flat sea oyster and I love the way it looks on a pendant.
At home we had a lot of these oysters and seashells because my mother used to go to the beach with her parents when she was a child and she liked to collect them.
The next two pendants are longer than the previous ones and were also made by my mother, combining different materials and stones.
She bought the chains, brooches, stones and everything she needed where she learnt costume jewellery and her teacher, who was also a student of mine, sold all of it.
These pendants looked very elegant with the clothes she wore to teach.
The next two were also made by my mother, well actually almost all of them.
I love silver and when she brought or bought something to make a necklace and it was planned, well, she saved it for me, I couldn't resist.
In the first case, just like with earrings, I love accessories that have mobility and this invention of my mother's to put little chains at the end of that beautiful piece she had bought, I loved it.
Then, I love owls and owls and I dedicate this pendant especially to , who also loves owls. I will give you this pendant as a present when I visit Argentina.
My mother had bought this piece to make costume jewellery, it had to be for me. I loved it as soon as I saw it.
This pendant does not have the original chain, as it was a ribbon and with time and use it became ugly, my mother changed the ribbon for a chain.
It is a murano glass, given to me by a very dear student called Zulma. She travelled to Europe to visit different cities and when she was in Venice she bought me this detail that I appreciate very much.
I did not expect such a gift at that time, this necklace must be more than 9 years old and it is still one of the necklaces that I love the most and it brings me pleasant memories.
Finally, I want to show you the most important pendant for me. Not only because it was a gift from my mother and she made me the chain with a special soft cord for costume jewellery, but also because of the reason for it.
I will briefly tell you the story.
I have always been fascinated by Egypt and especially by Nefertiti. One day while walking down the street I saw this silver dige in a shop and I fell in love with it.
We didn't have much money in my family, but every time we passed by the shop I admired it.
One day when we passed by, I said to my mother: He must be very heavy. To which she replied: No, not at all, it's light. That's when I realised that I had given her some money to keep it for her, a token.
Days went by and my mother gave it to me as a gift, imagine my happiness.
Every pendant has a story and here I brought you some of them and I wanted to bring you this precious collection, especially because of the meaning.
Thank you all so much for watching and reading this far and if you have any favourite pendants I would love to read them in the comments.
See you next time.
Amonet.
All photographs are my own.
Separators and miniature created by me in Photoshop.
Used translator Deepl.com free version.