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Bead Earrings by Jewelry Designer Alexandra Amaro

350-year-old white trade beads found at Mozambique Island are wrapped with 14k gold-filled wire and embellished with green-gold cultured freshwater pearls and a bronze Swarovski pearl dangle. The global nomad way to do pearls!

Length: about 3″ (7.6 cm) including 14k gold-filled french hooks.

*** about Mozambique Island Trade Beads ***

A historical trading center with ties to Arabia, Persia and India, Mozambique Island was settled by the Portuguese shortly after Vasco da Gama’s arrival in 1548. In 1558, it was named the capital of Portuguese East Africa.

Over the years, dozens of ships sank off the island, spilling such trade items as pottery, glass beads, ivory and coins into the shallow waters of the Indian Ocean. Today, at low tide, local boys dig in the exposed sand flats for the remnants of these treasures. The beads used in this design were purchased directly from the boys on the island, as they are not available commercially.

Bead Earrings By Alexandra Amaro

Bead Earrings By Alexandra Amaro

Education

Candidate for BFA in Jewelry and Metal Arts, California College of the Arts, Oakland, CA, 2012.

MBA in Marketing, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 2003.

International student exchange at IBMEC Business School, Rio de Janeiro. Brazil, 2000-2001.

BA with highest honors in Latin American Studies and Portuguese, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 2002.

Shows & Expositions

2010 Sprung Show, Refined by Fire Art Gallery, Point Richmond, California.

2008 Mozambican National Crafts Fair (as Mãos), Maputo, Mozambique.

2007 Mozambican National Crafts Fair (as Mãos), Maputo, Mozambique.

2006 Café com Letras Crafts Fair, Maputo, Mozambique.

To learn more about these bead earrings, visit Alexandra Amaro.