PARTICULARS
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*Extasia Jewelry is made in house, by hand, in America, in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains of California.
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*All Jewelry is made with Evedure Silicon Bronze also know as "Red Bronze"
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*All earring earwires are Gold Filled or Sterling Silver.
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*All Rings are Red Bronze or Sterling Silver, with a few in Vermeil
(Vermeil=14kt Gold Plate over Sterling Silver)
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*All other gold and silver jewelry is Plated over red Bronze unless otherwise stated.
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*All Glass Intaglios and Cameos are Pressed by Hand in Germany. This is a dying art and is no longer available to us. We are currently using the last of the glass stones available.​
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Extasia Story
In our Atelier in the Western Sierra Foothills, the inspiration of classical images and material delight continues to provide endless joy. We love making this jewelry. Dive into our collections, enjoy the rich colors and allow the persistence of beauty.
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Extasia's Creation
In 1991, Extasia sprang out of the creative genius of its founder, Stefanie Freydont, not unlike Athena from the head of Zeus. She envisioned a line of jewelry that emanated classic beauty, old world craftsmanship, and yet stepped right out in front of the most current fashion trend with fresh and timeless aplomb. Extasia's all original designs, are hand-crafted here in our Northern California workshop. Extasia jewelry is meticulously detailed in a full palette of colors to complement any wardrobe.
Our hand-pressed glass intaglios are made in a small Bavarian village using original steel molds and techniques unchanged from the 1800s. Our shell cameos are hand carved by artisans in the tiny Italian seaside village, Torre Del Grecco, where the art of cameo carving is said to have first developed.
Stefanie Freydont is the energetic creative force behind Extasia jewelry. She is a designer first and foremost, a child of the sixties who decided long ago that her life would always involve beauty. Life as art has been her credo, its creation and dissemination, and a natural, back-to-land lifestyle. With Extasia, Freydont has created the perfect fusion of her passions: jewelry design and rural economic development, and a life blessed with laughter, friends and family in the rural Sierra Foothills of Northern California.
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Cameos & Intaglios
History 101
A brief History of Victorian Jewelry:
Cameos and Intaglios, Charms and
Victorian Mourning Jewelry.
Young Queen Victoria
The History of Victorian Jewelry in four Paragraphs? Impossible!
Here is the challenge- the era officially starts in 1837 with the coronation of a very young Queen Victoria. It ends with her death at the age of 82, in 1901.
This woman LOVED jewelry. She designed it, wore it, and gave it as gifts through the rise of the British Global Empire, the inception of the Industrial Revolution, and the reaction to the mass production that gave birth to the Arts and Crafts Movement (18770-1914).
Her passion and preferences fueled the talents of the jewelry trade of London her whole life, most markedly upon the death of her beloved husband, Albert. But before we delve into Mourning Jewelry, let’s look at a couple of other themes that flourished during the Victorian Age.
Queen Victoria
At the beginning of the 1800’s a single hand carved semi precious gem Intaglio or Cameo was an extremely rare treasured possession. It was about then, 1807 or so, that shell cameos experienced a resurgence. Conch shell cameos were still carved by hand, mostly by artisans along the Italian coast. They grew in popularity partially because the relative ease of carving shell over stone opened up a whole new level of artistry. It also allowed for production carving, which was faster, more formulaic. The end result was a cameo that was both affordable and beautiful. It became the perfect token of that Victorian tradition of the “Grand Tour” -a trip often taken by the upper classes of the Northern climes of Europe to experience the art and culture of the mild climate of Italy and Greece. They would return from their journey with Italian carved shell cameo necklaces, rings, and earrings, or the even more highly coveted lava stone cameos, carved out of the earthy colored lava from the base of MT. Vesuvius.
Extasia Pearl & Carved Shell Cameo Necklace (PN55)
Extasia Cameo Bracelet in shades of "Lava" (NB4)
Extasia Pin in Marsala Glass (LP8)
The industrial revolution began to gain steam and with it came more affordable manufacturing techniques, pressed glass for glass intaglios, stamped or cast metal for settings, and chain machines. Nobility and the wealthiest merchants were no longer te only people who could afford a selection of jewelry to accent their wardrobe.
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Queen Victoria may also get the lion’s share of credit for popularizing the charm bracelet and charm necklace, as we know it. She had a series of charms designed and produced to give as gifts to her extended family and circle of friends every New Year.
Extasia multi strand Intaglio Necklace with Pearls
(AN22)
Extasia "Charm du Jour" Bracelet with Shell Cameos and Glass Intaglios (RB5)
Victorian Jewelry is the subject of hundreds of books, and we’re only skimming the surface in these few paragraphs, but here are three key components to look for in determining jewelry from this era:
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Spans the time period between approximately 1840-1900
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Has a strong focus on figurative motifs and sentimental subject matter.
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Commonly uses unusual materials, techniques, non-precious stones, and production manufactured metal work.
Extasia Multi Strand Cameo Necklace (NN61)
In 1861, Prince Albert died, and again Queen Victoria influenced the direction of jewelry design and production. She went into permanent mourning- Only wearing black clothing and black jewelry for the rest of her life. For several years all of England followed her example. Jet, a fossilized driftwood, suddenly became the material of choice for jewelry. And what a stoke of luck that was for te good people of Whitby, on the coast of Yorkshire. They were sitting on the finest Jet deposits of the world. Carved Jet chains, Jet Crosses, Jet pins and Earrings- Indeed every style heretofore offered in colorful gems, glass and metal were now produced in Jet.
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Extasia's Hand Carved Jet Bird Earrings (NSE69)
Extasia is a company of American artisans, committed to re-inventing Victorian Jewelry for Contemporary Fashion. We use hand-carved Italian shell cameos, hand pressed German glass intaglios, Jet, vintage glass, and semi-precious gem materials, combined with gold plated, bronze and sterling silver settings we design and manufacture
here in California.
Extasia Cameo Cuff Bracelet (AB5)