Vivid Beetle Hairpins

Description

I am officially introducing my "Living Jewels" line of insect jewelry. More specifically, beetle jewelry. Beetles are surprisingly durable, and have been worn as bodily decoration for thousands of years by native Central and South Americans. Here's your chance to carry on that unique and beautiful tradition in the 21st century!

This set of two hairpins features a pair of gorgeous flower beetles that reflect light in a dazzling way off of their metallic/prismatic shells. The blue-green and ultraviolet tones of the beetles will amaze you every time you ponder that these are their natural colors! These photos have not been retouched; they really do have a wonderful depth of color that is due to their prism-like coloration. It's almost like looking into a sparkling pool of color. Especially wonderful to wear around, these beetles change color in different lighting situations. Wonderfully brilliant in the sun! What a lovely way to wear a gorgeous "Living Jewel" or two.

Silver-finish bobby pins are decorated with round silver filigree pads, and the beetles are glued onto these. Filigree pads measure about 1 inch from top to bottom.
The beetles are about 20mm tall. Each piece measures 2 1/4 in. from top to bottom. Beetle species are: Tmesorrhina alpestris bafutensis from Cameroon (green with blue stripes) and Chlorocara africana oertzeni from Tanzania (purple).

As previously mentioned, these beetles are surpringly durable. They are made to live outside, and are thus fairly water and scratch-proof. Worn normally as hairpins, I cannot forsee these insects sustaining any serious damage. The wings have been glued shut, and other precautions have been taken to ensure the best possible durability. Please do treat this as fine jewelry, though, and store them in a safe, dry place out of direct sunlight. Jewelry boxes work perfectly for this. If any part of your beetles should become damaged within one year, please return to me for fixing or replacement.


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To read more about the development and the ideas behind my "Living Jewels" line, please see my blog at www.insectartonline.com

Added on Oct 12, 2009

Shipping

ship to:	cost:	with another item:
United States	$3.00 USD	$0.50 USD
Australia	$15.00 USD	$0.50 USD
Canada	$4.00 USD	$0.50 USD
Everywhere Else	$8.00 USD	$0.50 USD

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