January Additions to The Sacred Bead

I have been so busy I have been neglecting my blog! Just a quick note and a lot of pictures to show some the newest additions of antique and vintage rosaries to The Sacred Bead. There are plenty of moderately priced rosaries for you so enjoy looking. I know the economy is not so great right now, so I am concentrating on bringing my customers the best rosaries at affordable prices. I'll have more detailed blogs on interesting rosaries coming up in February.

 Spina Christi bead rosary with reliquary crucifix. Soil from the Catacombs of Rome is inside the crucifix.

 Gorgeous rosary with extra medals and fabulous silver 18th C crucifix (someone added this stunning and rare crucifix to the early 20th C rosary)

 Pardon cross, early 20th C rosary with Czech Jesus beads.

 Exquisite and Rare sterling and garnet glass mid 1800s antique French rosary. Both the center and crucifix are hollow silverwork- simply beautiful!

 Beautiful double capped rosary, Italian.

 Sweet blue WWI era rosary.

 Stunning art glass and sterling rosary. The beads are Czech, faceted art glass- note the beautiful silver spacers on either side of the Pater beads.

 Elegant and rare rosary that is simply lovely!

Antique and Vintage Rosaries as Wedding and Anniversary Gifts

As we approach June, I'm trying to provide a nice selection of antique and vintage rosaries that would be appropriate for wedding or anniversary gifts. I'm concentrating on antique sterling rosaries and lovely antique French rosaries for that someone very special! Nothing beats the beauty of an antique or vintage sterling rosary, but with silver prices soaring, many beautiful pieces of jewelry including rosaries are being melted down. This happened before in the 1980s, but this time may even be worse. It makes me just weep to think of beautiful rosaries being melted down for the metal. 
Back to the positive side, there really is nothing more lovely than a vintage silver and crystal rosary or a rare antique mother of pearl and silver rosary, so take a little time and look through The Sacred Bead enjoying the beauty of all the rosaries! You might find the perfect one for a gift or for yourself.

 Upliftingly lovely cut crystal and sterling rosary. As always, I never clean rosaries, leaving that to the new owner. All antique sterling rosaries should be cleaned with care to not damage beads of natural materials, such as coral or mother of pearl.

 Boldly beautiful, heavy sterling and black glass rosary with extra sterling medal. The reverse of this crucifix is quite amazing- be sure to go look. This is a wonderful vintage sterling rosary.

 Beautiful 1920s or 30s French mother of pearl and silver rosary.

 Refreshing spring green crystal and sterling antique French rosary.

 Astonishing carnelian and sterling French rosary from the 1800s.

 Incredible all sterling Wedding Bells vintage rosary. These are getting harder and harder to find!

 A very masculine Sterling and French Jet rosary from the 1960s or 70s.

1800s French mother of pearl and sterling rosary. Visit The Sacred Bead for the largest selection of antique and vintage rosaries on the internet.

Religious Medals on Antique Rosaries

Frequently, rosaries from the French influenced areas of Canada and throughout Europe have a variety of religious medals attached. Dating back centuries, the practice of attaching medals obtained during various religious pilgrimages proliferated in Europe and continues to today. Enjoy some pictures of antique rosaries with attached medals from Canada and Europe that are currently on The Sacred Bead. The Miraculous Medal is, without a doubt, the most commonly added medal found on rosaries.

Note the use of antique aluminum medals on this 15 decade antique rosary.

An Irish Horn rosary with an attached Miraculous Medal.

Art glass beads and a beautiful blue enamel medal of Mary grace this exquisite antique rosary.

An exceptional 15 decade rosary from a convent in Belgium. Note the carved skull bead on the rosary. Now in a private collection.

This incredible bronze medal of St. Franscis is on a Fransiscan Crown rosary also in a private collection.

Lovely crystal and sterling rosary with several pretty medals attached.

Silver Rosaries, The Beauty of Precious Metals

Sterling silver rosaries are not only beautiful but highly collectible. From the first decade of the 20th century, US law required that all precious metals sold in the United States be marked for their silver purity. Markings such as 925 or Sterling are generally stamped into the metal itself. This is not always the case though as some rosaries and jewelry came with paper tags that are long gone. If you want to be 100% sure that the rosary is sterling, look for the stamp.
This can't be done though with antique rosaries over 100 years old as they generally were not marked. European silver may have complex hallmarks that can be found in books or websites devoted to silver hallmarks. The French used little punchmarks that sometimes are almost imperceptible and difficult to decipher. Look on the bail of French crucifixes for a little indentation- you may be able to see just that on the sterling and milk glass rosary pictured here- look hard between one o'clock and two o'clock on the bail and you can just see the little mark. There is another at three o'clock on the right bail of the center. These indicate the region of France where the rosary was made- if you can make out the punchmark! Other European silver may be marked with an 800 which is a little less pure than sterling which is 925, what we would call "coin silver." German markings are usually based on 16 units so you may see 13 or 14 indicating how many parts out of 16 are pure silver.
Silver plated rosaries that have been used often show a little of the metal beneath showing through- look for a hint of brass on the high spots where rubbing may have worn away the plating.
Many antique rosaries have had replacement crucifixes added over the years; sometimes the crucifix is silver but the center is bronze or brass. Knowing that a rosary is antique, it is generally not a detraction for there to be replacement parts- this just shows that the rosary was prayed upon and well loved.
You can find many beautiful sterling rosaries, antique and vintage on The Sacred Bead. Sterling and European coin silver have a gorgeous warmth when aged. I never polish rosaries that I sell, I always leave that to the discretion of the new owner. Try to avoid dipping antique silver as it may remove all the patina, use a gentle silver polish or just let the rosary start to glow again with use.