Carved arse Chinese Turquoise

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This necklace quite surprised me as i never expected these beads to be so big. It has a Barse, China, Sterling Tag on it. I did find some beads on Etsy at about $60 a bead for the biggest but cant find the entire necklace. Is it vintage? Valuable? With shipping and tax i paid $100

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Give Google a whirl for Barse. Their “turquoise” is claimed to be stabilized for their bezel-set jewelry only. The rest of what they market as “turquoise” is–? whatever.

As before:
https://forum.turquoisepeople.com/t/carved-turquoise/9846

PS the thread title :yum:.

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Carved Arse. U caught that too eh? I lol’ed

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Thought I might add my 2 cents on Barse collectability… Since I collect and repair vintage “costume” jewelry, I might have a slightly different perspective? :upside_down_face::wink: I am also a beader and (seed) bead stitcher, too, and do repurpose some beads from broken pieces, etc… Anyway…here is a link from the Barse website in case you haven’t seen this : The Barse Story – Barse Jewelry
Also from their webpage, it looks like Barse uses turquoise magnesite (turquoise colored magnesite) and howlite in some of their beads. Older pieces (1980s) are a little more likely to have stabilized genuine turquoise beads, especially if the beads are on the smaller side. You could send a pic of your necklace to someone at Barse to get an idea of when your piece was produced and likely bead composition. I have seen Barse pieces for sale in antique stores, thrift stores, Etsy, ebay, Poshmark, etc, and have noticed that prices have gone up in the last 10 years. There are people that collect it and are willing to pay for it. So an argument could be made to not disassemble it… :wink:Totally up to you, of course.

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I didnt know it was Barse which would of gave me a chance to look it up. When i did research it on their site, after the fact, they said they always state whether its Turquoise, Howlite or Magnasite. Its obvious its Chinese which is fine with me as i said before i happen to love Chinese Turquoise. I just wish i could find the necklace out there somewhere for its value.

Ok, Lol. I did send them a email yesterday so i will let you know what they say. After getting the necklace and seeing color of it i knew it was Chinese right away. When i first saw some beads like this awhile back they said they were Mexican. Anyway i have yet to find a necklace in tact like mine. I will post what i found. Anyway after looking at it i think its really beautiful and has Sterling beads ,chain and clasp and lets face it some of those beads are massive and dont look anything like Howlite or Magnasite…yay! So im going to wear it! Lol. Thanks so much for your input, always greatful.
Kimberly



Someeone should take my phone from me when im tired. My thumbs type whatever as my brain isnt working😂

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As others have said, Barse is collectible. However, things that are mass produced are just that. Real artisan jewelry is made one at a time. As an Etsy seller and buyer, I could not find the $60 beads you speak of. There are plenty of carved, imported beads on that site (as well as others) but the overwhelming number of them are composites and not real stone. I cannot see paying high prices for carved beads as you will not get a good return upon resale.

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I agree. I happen to like high quality Chinese but want mine in Native American Jewelry. Costume jewelry is simply not my thing. I also buy pieces that I love and will wear as they are!

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Why do you call it costume jewelry? Its not cheep, they are real Turquoise and carved by hand so what makes it costume jewelry?

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Mass-market, mass produced, generally imported components, and not handmade. Costume. It can cost one digit or four and still be costume (looking at you, Chanel). Take a look at the alibaba.com website if you want to see most of what winds up in junk stores/resale in the US.

Most of us who discuss these pieces can accurately discriminate among the levels of so-called “turquoise jewelry” that are out there for sale. Something there for everyone.

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I didn’t say that to hurt your feelings. I just lean towards Native American jewelry and don’t really pay attention to the rest. On the other hand, I have a sister-in-law that is crazy about the more expensive rhinestone jewelry. I guess we each have our own preferences.

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It is important to be real about what things are or are not if one has any prayer of growing in aesthetics and expertise.

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Re: Chanel: I just can’t believe what people will spend for designer-brand costume jewelry. Mass produced, non-precious metal, fake stones. For prices that can buy something handmade and genuine. To each his own, but just not my thing.

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Costume jewelry is mass produced. Not artisan. Common, not unique. Less costly components like synthetic stones.
You will find most people on this site are interested primarily in authentic, Native American made jewelry. Not really into costume jewelry.

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When i bought the necklace i didnt know what it was, i didnt see the tag that said Barse, the seller never mentioned it. I knew the stones were Chinese once i got it. I had planned to take it apart and make some unique Necklaces out of it. Someone on here told me that Barse can be highly collectible so i intend to find out the actual value of it buy writing the company then i will probably sell it. If its only worth what i paid for it then im taking it apart. Lol.

Since your on my thread talking about my piece i thought i should inform you that the fake metal is Sterling Silver. The large fluted beads are Sterling, the chain is Sterling the clasp is Sterling and last but not least the tiny beads and the tag…are Sterling Silver.

I actually haven’t said a thing about your necklace, which I agree looks to have sterling beads. I was responding to chicfarmer’s comment about Chanel brand costume jewelry.

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