Pirate accessories?

[sapphireandsage]

Thanks, guys!  Looking forward to hearing from you, Greenman! 

I've made up a few more pieces that are similar to the ones previously pictured.  I've used the heavier gold-plated brass chain for these, and have switched up the ornamentation a bit.  One will show coins only and the other shows metalized/plated beads in addition to the coins.

COINS ONLY:
http://sapphireandsage.com/images/piratecoinnecklace-coinsonly.jpg
http://sapphireandsage.com/images/piratecoinnecklace-coinsonly2.jpg

METAL BEADS:
http://sapphireandsage.com/images/piratecoinnecklace-metalsonly.jpg
http://sapphireandsage.com/images/piratecoinnecklace-metalsonly2.jpg
http://sapphireandsage.com/images/piratecoinnecklace-metalsonly3.jpg

Compared to the design with the colored glass beads and pearls, which do you think you'd prefer, if you were browsing my website? 
Is the coin-only version too simple? 
The beaded one too ornate?

I'm interested to see if the ladies' viewpoints are similar to the men's on this!

Thanks again for your all your help - I'm very excited about this project!

[act2redux]

It could be just me.... I think it depends on who you are aiming this product at.  I do like the necks you have pictured without the colored beads/ misc. other metal pieces added the best so far. 

I agree however, that most of the pirates would have been wearing stuff they took from someone else, so by and large I think that their pieces were much the same as the other stuff of the day...with the exception of a wider culture base due to their travels.  They would have had access to coins and stones from many cultures of the day instead of just the narrow choices that most folkes had due to their tendency to stay mostly in one place.  I think if you are working towards a vendors booth type of thing then you have to have a wide range of price points as well as some themed things.  Hence the need for silver/white metal  plus the typical "pirate" images on top of the pearls, coins and gemstones.
You will have not only pirates but the "locals" at your faire will you not? (like for us, it would be the upper crust of Martinique...)  Perhaps you can come up with a way to do some kind of peices that can be added to either at point of purchase the first time or even the following season - that way, you can help generate some repeat business for yourself...

[sapphireandsage]

Basic items that can be added to...I hadn't thought of that at all....love it!

Who am I aiming at?  Good question!  Right now, I don't vend at faires, but attend them for fun.  I work out of a web-based store, so I end up with clients from all over the world, with different garb budgets, and different reasons for visiting my online catalog.  Some are die-hard authenticity buffs, and some are thrilled to find something that will be more "costume-y".  I do tend to come across more folks who want pieces that are authentic-looking these days, though...until Halloween rolls around, anyway.   

Obviously, portrait pieces are pretty straight-forward to replicate for pleasing the re-enacting crowd, as long as similar materials are available.  It is so much easier to document what a member of court would have worn as an accessory than to do the same with someone with a less-portrayed lifestyle, such as the pirate folk, hence my coming to you all for your expertise on that subject.  I'm glad to see that the majority of you agree that the things used would have been from various regions, having been taken from ships from all over the area.  As far as the use of color and glass/metal baubles go...I had no clue what your advice would be on that one.  I'm just so used to working with designs that are very ornate and colorful that I'm having a hard time toning things down to their simpler forms, I guess. 

Overall, I do want to offer options for both the clients who don't care so much about what a pirate would have truly worn and are more into the sterotypical pirate garb AND the people who want something that would have been period-appropriate for their alter egos.  However, I definitely don't want to offer anything that would be completely off-base historically.  Even the things I have available that are not replication designs from portraits are period-inspired and could very well have been used back then, and I want to make sure that any pirate pieces follow that rule of thumb.

[Rowan MacD]

  I love your site.  I have seen many of your pieces being worn at fair. Excellent job.
  Have you visited Mel Fishers' Treasure of the Atocha website?  The company has posted pictures of the jewelry, chains, coins, etc. that they have for sale that came from the wreck. (get ready to faint at the prices)
   These are all genuine pieces thus are the original type of booty the pirates would have stolen from a ship.  Perhaps you can use these to copy.

http://www.melfisher.com/treasuresales/store/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=81

~Rowen

[FortuneRose]

oh my!  from the site for possible reference posted, the Bezoar stone in gold pendant is TO DIE FOR!  Oh I'd love to see something like that as a dupe.


http://www.melfisher.com/treasuresales/store/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=153

I would be on top of purchasing something like that if it weren't  *cough* $475,000.00!!!!!!!!  I even love the little history on it and what it comes from, what it was used for

[sapphireandsage]

Eeeeewww.  Gotta say that's the first I've ever heard of the "stone"!

[FortuneRose]

Eeeeewww.  Gotta say that's the first I've ever heard of the "stone"!

yeah me too, but you have to admit...  it does sound like a practice that would have been used way back when.   And gross as it is..the "stone" itself is rather pretty...  or I think so.  I want one!   

[Lady Kett]

I'm with FortuneRose - I want one! But at a slightly    lower price point!

[Rowan MacD]

  I looked up Bezoar stone.  Ick.  So this is a sort of petrified hairball?
  I had heard of these 'poison stones' before, but assumed they were just an alchemists' hoax, but according to some sources, depending on the make up of the 'stone'  it really will turn colors when exposed to arsenic.
  Interesting.
  The price tag is staggering.


~Rowen

P.S. The emerald and gold broach is gorgeous.  ($1.1 million)
   

[sapphireandsage]

I was actually able to find an oval bezoar stone...kinda costly for one small stone (probably half the size of the one on Mel Fisher's site), but a pretty dark red color.  Out of curiosity, what would be your ballpark price point for a miniature version of the design, just in case I decide to give it a try, since there seems to be interest in such a piece?  I don't want to get into the expense of gathering materials if what it would be worth to a potential buyer wouldn't cover those costs.

[Rowan MacD]

I was actually able to find an oval bezoar stone...kinda costly for one small stone (probably half the size of the one on Mel Fisher's site), but a pretty dark red color. 

Oval/round (like a pebble) or oval flat stone?

~Rowen

[serenamoonsilver]

Eeeeewww.  Gotta say that's the first I've ever heard of the "stone"!

Actually, I remember reading about them in Harry Potter of all places.

[sapphireandsage]

It was oval/round, much like the one used in the extant piece.  They didn't list the dimensions for it, but it looked like a smaller-scale specimen.

[tigrlily64]

Eeeeewww.  Gotta say that's the first I've ever heard of the "stone"!

Actually, I remember reading about them in Harry Potter of all places.

I knew I'd heard of it, but I couldn't remember where! I don't remember it being mentioned where the stone came from, though. Gross.

[dragongirl]

Thanks, guys!  Looking forward to hearing from you, Greenman! 

I've made up a few more pieces that are similar to the ones previously pictured.  I've used the heavier gold-plated brass chain for these, and have switched up the ornamentation a bit.  One will show coins only and the other shows metalized/plated beads in addition to the coins.

COINS ONLY:
http://sapphireandsage.com/images/piratecoinnecklace-coinsonly.jpg
http://sapphireandsage.com/images/piratecoinnecklace-coinsonly2.jpg

METAL BEADS:
http://sapphireandsage.com/images/piratecoinnecklace-metalsonly.jpg
http://sapphireandsage.com/images/piratecoinnecklace-metalsonly2.jpg
http://sapphireandsage.com/images/piratecoinnecklace-metalsonly3.jpg

Compared to the design with the colored glass beads and pearls, which do you think you'd prefer, if you were browsing my website? 
Is the coin-only version too simple? 
The beaded one too ornate?

I'm interested to see if the ladies' viewpoints are similar to the men's on this!

Thanks again for your all your help - I'm very excited about this project!

My advice is to varry up to color of the coins.  Mix Gold, silver, and bronze to give it a more organic feel.  Also perhaps aging or tarnishing some of the coins to give a weathered look?