News

New Jewelry Inspired by Egypt using Vintage Scarabs - Available on Etsy

Posted by Steve Collins on

At Discoveries, we are making new jewelry using vintage pieces to bring Egypt to our customers. We have recently discovered scarabs collected by Steve back in the 1980s. Historically, a lot of the jewelry found in royal tombs was made from Lapus Lazuli, Turquoise and other stones.We are offering many of the vintage pieces (scarabs, statues, silver jewelry) for sale on our Etsy site. In addition to offering vintage items, we have been inspired to create our own custom necklaces, bracelets and earrings from parts we have gathered over the years. Since the beginning, we have been working with jewelers in Egypt to...

Read more →

Cartouche History - A Pendant that Protects

Posted by Steve Collins on

A cartouche (pronounced ‘kar-toosh’) is an ancient Egypt nameplate or seal. Every pharaoh, king and queen had their name spelled in hieroglyphs in the oval shaped cartouche. This was meant to protect them and their name for eternity.

Read more →

How to Clean Tarnished Jewelry

Posted by Steve Collins on

Sterling Silver is a beautiful, practical metal used for jewelry. However, over time, air exposure, and contact with body oils, Sterling Silver will tarnish. The metal starts to turn black around the edges and appears dull. Some people think it is ruined and must be remade or recycled. Fortunately that is NOT the case. We offer all our cartouches in Sterling Silver and also a combination of Sterling Silver and Gold. We have some tips for keeping your necklace looking new and also how to clean it if you notice dullness or tarnish.   Care Tips for your Cartouche Do not wear it in...

Read more →

Hieroglyphs are Not the Same as English - Translation Guide

Posted by Steve Collins on

The hieroglyphic language contains more than two thousand symbols, some representing words, others representing full ideas, and others representing sounds (phonetic). Depending on how the symbols is used, the same symbol might represent an idea in one hieroglyphic sentence, and a sound in a different sentence!    Since it is a phonetic language, the symbols represent sounds.  For example. the Basket symbol is a hard “C” sound, used to start the name Carla, or Cleopatra, but  it would not be the correct choice for the name Cindy, since the English letter ‘C’ now represents the soft C, or ‘S’ sound,...

Read more →

Ramadan Mubarak! 2020 Celebrations are a Challenge in Egypt

Posted by Steve Collins on

Ramadan Mubarak means Blessed Ramadan.   Every night, for the 4 weeks of the Islamic month called Ramadan, Muslims around the world fast during the time between sunrise and sunset (not even drinking any water). It is a time to reflect on all the gifts of normal life, and also to think of those less fortunate.   They break their day-long fast at sundown with a meal called "Iftar". It is very common to have 20 people or more at the table. In Egypt, many local businesses set up tables open to anyone passing by. The Ramadan of 2020 is certainly a big...

Read more →