Eyeglass Chain Ulster Marble & Pearl Sterling Silver Collection

170.00

Eye Keep – Gemstone

Features of Eyeglass Chain Ulster Marble & Pearl

Our Eye Keep is made from the finest gemstones of Ulster Marble and Cultured Pearls and an Irish Sterling Silver ring is to keep and hold your glasses.  The ring has been stamped by the Dublin Assay Office and this hallmark is your guarantee of quality craftsmanship and quality materials.

A little piece of history…

Ulster Marble is a chalky white marble from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland.  The marble is described as white but is more like an off white or deep cream colour.  This marble is so coloured due to the heavy deposits of chalk created by the shells of tiny sea creatures called coccolithophores laid down during the Cretaceous period (66-145 million years ago) and through a process of volcanic activity, the chalk-white limestone has been metamorphosed by heat to form marble.

Examples of Ulster marble can be found in the Museum Building at Trinity College Dublin and in the Rotunda of the National Museum of Ireland.  It is also much in demand in fine jewellery making.

Cultured Pearl

A Pearl is a hard-glistening iridescent object formed within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusc and has been highly valued as a gemstone and object of beauty for centuries.  The most valuable pearls are natural pearls and they form spontaneously in the wild, are extremely expensive and rare.  The development of cultured pearls which are human creations, made these beautiful gemstones more widely available and now 99% of all pearls sold today are cultured pearls.

Sterling Silver

Silver has a long history.  The first evidence of silver mining dates back to 3000 BC to Turkey and Greece.  Today most of the world’s supplies of silver comes from the USA, Canada, Mexico, Peru and Bolivia.

In Ireland, the Silvermines in Co. Tipperary is unique amongst Irish mines for two reasons.  Firstly, it contains argentiferous lead and commercial amounts of copper, zinc, barytes and sulphur.  Secondly, for its longevity. Mining at Silvermines dates back as far as 1298 when Italian miners came in search of silver.  The last working mine was closed in 1993.

Size: 61 – 64cm (24 – 25in) sizes vary, see below

25mm Sterling Silver Teardrop Ring

Colour: Cream & White

Please note: All beads in the Marble & Pearl Collection are handmade so there are variations in sizes between each piece.  Each Marble & Pearl Eye Keep is made as an individual piece of jewellery. If you are interested in a piece and it is out of stock on the website please contact us and we can make one to order.

2 in stock

Description

Eye Keep Dress Collection – Marble & Pearl – Ulster

We are a small Irish family business creating luxury handcrafted accessories that tell a story.  All our products are handmade in our studios in Dublin using the finest quality materials. Our handmade eyeglass holders known as Eye Keeps address the problem of where to keep your glasses when not on your face.  The Ulster marble & Pearl and Irish Sterling Silver Eye Keep is a piece of functional jewellery worn around the neck like a necklace with a ring for your glasses to sit safely through so that they are close to hand at all times.  In reality, it is a necklace for eyewear.

The Eye Keep is ideal for anyone who wears reading or occupational glasses and perfect for your sunglasses. Our Eye Keeps come in everyday casual wear where we have cord eyeglass holders, to high-end jewellery pieces to include beaded eyeglass holders and pearl eyeglass holders, so there is one to suit all occasions.  They come in a wide range of colours too.  The Eye Keep comes with a velvet pouch.

We love and appreciate the story behind each of our products and want to share that with you.  We have taken the time to select the right materials to make each one of our Eye Keeps so that you can experience today, that small piece of history that existed long ago.

Our Ulster Marble & Pearl Eye Keep is made from the finest gemstones of Ulster Marble and Cultured Pearls and an Irish Sterling Silver ring to keep and hold your glasses.  Colour, Cream and White

Our Products

At Woods & Byrne we use 925 Sterling Silver in all of our Eye Keep Silver collections.  Each handcrafted piece features the stamp of the Dublin Assay Office.  This is your guarantee of quality craftsmanship and quality materials. Dublin Assay Office

There are different purity levels of silver

Fine silver or .999 level of purity. This is pure silver and lustrous.  It is also very soft and not very suitable for jewellery.

Sterling silver or 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% of another metal, usually copper.  This silver must contain 92.5% pure silver to be called sterling silver.  Sterling silver is used in jewellery and tableware.

Silver-plate on the other hand is a thin layer of pure silver plated over a base metal.  This is a more affordable option to the more expensive forms of solid silver.

A little piece of history

Ulster marble is a chalky white marble from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland.  It is described as white marble but is more like an off-white or deep cream colour.  Examples of Ulster marble can be found in the Museum Building at Trinity College, Dublin. It can also be found in the Rotunda of the National Museum of Ireland.

The most valuable pearls are natural pearls and they form spontaneously in the wild, are very rare and expensive. The development of cultured pearls which are human creations made pearls more widely available. Now 99% of all pearls sold today are cultured pearls.

In the beginning… According to a study published in the Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysics in September 2012, silver, like gold formed in stellar outbursts called supernovae.  The study found that exploding smaller stars produced silver while the bigger stars produced gold. These metals exploded onto the Earth.

Silver has a long history.  The first evidence of silver mining dates back to 3000 BC to Turkey and Greece.  Today most of the world’s supplies of silver comes from the USA, Canada, Mexico, Peru and Bolivia.

In Ireland, the Silvermines in Co. Tipperary is unique amongst Irish mines for two reasons.  Firstly, it contains argentiferous lead and commercial amounts of copper, zinc, barytes and sulphur.  Secondly, for its longevity. Mining at Silvermines dates back as far as 1298 when Italian miners came in search of silver.  The last working mine was closed in 1993.

Silver has many applications and uses as well as in making jewellery, coins and tableware.  Silver is used for making mirrors as it is the best reflector of light. It is also used in electronic and electrical circuits.  And it played a big role in making early photography possible.  What you may not know is that silver also has antibacterial properties. Silver nanoparticles are used in clothing to stop bacteria digesting sweat and producing unpleasant odours.

Dimensions

Approx 61 – 64cm (24 – 25in) long (lengths may vary slightly as cultured pearls vary in size)

25mm Sterling Silver Teardrop Ring

 

If you would like more information on this or other products please contact us here

 

Care of your Eye Keep

How to keep your Gemstone Marble & Pearl Eye Keep clean:

Perfumes and cosmetics can affect your Eye Keep so we advise avoiding contact with these and wiping away any residue if any come into contact with your Eye Keep. 

To clean your Eye Keep:

Gently rub the gemstones with a damp lint-free cloth to remove any dust or dirt.

Keeping your Sterling Silver clean and shiny:

Your Sterling Silver Eye Keep has been plated with Sterling Silver so is anti-tarnish.  Therefore it should only require a buff with a soft polishing cloth to remove finger marks to keep it clean and shiny.

It is advisable to avoid contact with cosmetics, moisture, humidity and sulphur compounds as these can all cause Sterling Silver to tarnish.  Should this happen, use a silver polishing cloth to polish your Sterling Silver.

 

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