Diamonds may be Carol Channing's best friend, but I'm not one of her girls. I'm not a big jewelry fan at all, really, much preferring a trip around the world to a bauble or a trinket.
Yet a few years ago I got an eyeful of stunning jewelry in Xiahe, aka Labrang, a town built around the most important Tibetan Buddhist monastery outside of Lhasa. This town on the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau in Gansu province is busy hosting a steady stream of handsome pilgrims from Tibet, most , both female and male, wearing their distinctive clothing and the traditional red coral and/or turquoise necklaces and earrings. Let me share some with you. You'll see the belts are very unique and special too. [Click images to enlarge for better view.]
Xiahe/Labrang, 2007
And it's the local Muslim or Chinese vendors who sell the jewelry to the visitors. I'm no expert in coral or turquoise, but I do know that at least some of what was in the stores were polyresin reproductions.
This is my J for Jewelry for ABC Wednesday. The link will take you to many other creative takes on the letter J.
23 comments:
I'm not a jewelry lover -- at least for myself, but I do enjoy seeing beautiful jewelry and you've got some great shots for the J Day! So colorful! Hope your week is going well!
Sylvia
I've decided I like the polyresin reproductions, especially for cruise travel. My Tilley skirts and tops look lovely at dinner when I wear inexpensive travel jewelry, and if anything gets lost or broken, I won't be crying as I might be if I lost Great-auntie Kay's pearls, or my godmother Kay's gold earrings.
Beautiful pictures, Francisca. Very handsome people from Tibet, indeed. Interesting faces.
Kay,
Alberta
Hi Francisca,
What colorful pictures!!! They are "eye candy"! I like the way you frame your pictures. I'm not sure how to do this with my pictures. I should also sign mine come to think of it. You asked if I lived in all the cities? Some I have lived in a few years while others I stayed for a few months. My husband is an engineer and have had the chance to travel and move a lot. My last destination was Qatar. Thanks for sharing! I've joined "Rednesday" today! Care to join? Your pictures contain a lot of red!
Anne-Marie
Amazing colors and such handsome people. I love the candid shots alot. I'm not much of a jewelry person either.
nice pictures and GREAT Carol Channing reference!
ROG, ABC Wednesday team
I've just started making earrings myself. It's a lot of fun! I love your photos of everyone, it's like a page from a fashion magazine! The way they casually add the beautiful coral necklaces into their wardrobe is fantastic :D
These people really have a sense of style. I do love this jewelry!
The jewelry is so pretty. The photos of the people are fantastic. Travel magazine material. Superb J post.
I hardly have jewelry and when I travel I don't take expensive things in my luggage, but I like seeing it. Thank you for the photos of Tibetan people. I've just finished a book about an English woman who fell in love with a Tibetan man and lived with his family for six months. They had to return to England, but every year they spent some time with the nomadic Tibetans. Very interesting!
Beautiful jewelry but I'm really impressed with the lovely people there, awesome pictures!
Léia
I love dainty diamond jewelery but my daughter is a great collector of silver and Tibetan jewelery. Lovely photographs.
Wonderful sequence of photographs. I enjoyed all of them very much. I don't care much for diamonds either. I've never understood the fascination with them.
Bright colourful photos - and what a handsome people they are. Your last shot fizzes with colour.
I prefer travelling too, but I like to wear fashion jewelry I bring back from travels. The kind of jewelry you show here is my taste ! I love semi precious stones, and have bought quiet a lot in Egypt and Morocco where it is really cheap.
Beautiful shots and very interesting too.
I'm not much into jewelry either but these women look great all dressed up. I love how so many of them are wearing red. I really like the coral necklaces!
Jewellery with impact, such vibrant colours. Why do the people remind me of South American peoples? - I might have guessed at Peru.
I am like you,no jewelery in my jewelery box, but I would rather travel.
You need a secretary when you travel?
Wonderful, I love ethnic jewellery and am a great collector of ethnic artefacts so it does bother me that the Chinese copy everything they can get their hands on and at some point down the line pass it off as real. The Tibetan jewellery is magnificent in its true form and so are the people. I still have to get to Tibet not sure at the moment when that will be but hopefully soon....
Great photos of a colorful people!
Wonderful portraits! Although jewelry is simpler, this post reminds me of Tibet.
Coral and turquoise make for a great combination of fun jewelry, regardless of where in the world it comes from! Enjoyed seeing the different designs.
Your photos remind me the trips to Tibet many years ago, when the digital camera is not popular yet...
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