Only 7 weeks until days start getting longer!

Signs of winter are everywhere. Snow storms have already arrived in various places across the country, next weekend we turn the clocks back and say goodbye to daylight savings time, and the birds have begun their annual migration south to escape the coming cold season. It will be a couple of months before we hear our lovely feathered friends' musical songs echoing from the trees again.

In the meantime, we can keep alive the feelings their beautiful melodies bring us with a variety of bird jewelry from Landstroms. Landstroms offers Black Hills Gold and Silver earrings, pendants and lockets featuring birds in trees, hummingbirds with roses, and hummingbirds framed in hearts that we may wear close to us.

You can follow these links to shop for the finest Black Hills Gold and Silver bird jewelry:

Bird pendants
Bird earrings

Landstroms is the original, hand-crafted jewelry of the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Silver Snowman Earrings

With the first frost advisories of the year this morning across the mountain states, it's hard not to think about our friend, Frosty the Snowman. This little guy is now available with skis, on skates, holding a snow shovel or just by his cute little self!

Made by Landstroms from sterling Black Hills Silver, these earrings feature 12 karat Black Hills Gold leaves on his scarf and baked black enamel buttons and hat band.

Landstroms silver snowman earrings also have matching pendants and pins, which can also be used as tie clips and are sure to add sparkle to your day!

Black Hills Gold Sapphire pendant

It's almost September and September is the month of the Sapphire!

This lovely Black Hills Gold Journey Necklace by Landstroms is made from 10 karat Black Hills Gold with 12 karat pink and green Black Hills Gold leaves, and comes with a complimentary 18" Gold-filled chain. Flowing from top to bottom are five different graduated sizes of genuine Sapphires.

A Journey Necklace, or Journey Pendant is worn to show how far you’ve come in your life with that special person, or to show your commitment to a future together. The gentle curved shape represents the ebbs and flows of life, the good times and bad that you have faced together, while the graduating stones symbolize your ever-growing love and devotion.

See our complete line of Black Hills Gold necklaces

Western Jewelry, by Landstroms

Landstroms Black Hills Gold and Silver western jewelry -
classic designs that embody the American west. Landstroms
has been proudly providing the Miss Rodeo America crown
since 1965.

Landstroms Black Hills Gold Necklaces

HISTORY OF NECKLACES

Necklaces are one of the oldest traditions of mankind, dating as far back to the Stone Age. That tradition has flourished over the thousands of years and today decorations such as necklaces, anklets, and many other body decorations are heavily used to express beliefs, status and rank, or just as an adornment.

TYPES OF NECKLACES

Little do most people know about the various forms of necklaces:

• there is the bib necklace, which is a necklace made of several rows of pearls
• the choker (14-16 inches long), which as the name implies wraps closely around the neck
• the princess, matinee and opera necklaces, each defined by their respective lengths of 18-20, 22-23 and 30-35 inches long
• the Sautoir necklace, which is greater than 35 inches in length and also referred to as a rope necklace
• the lariat necklace, which is an endless strand without closure often wrapped around the neck several times.

BLACK HILLS GOLD

Black Hills Gold is not a style of necklace, it's a style of American jewelry made in South Dakota which incorporates pink and green grape leaves and grape clusters and vines in each design. Combining gold with copper makes the pink color, while the delicate green color is achieved by adding sterling silver with gold. Landstroms is the oldest manufacturer of Black Hills Gold jewelry, and the original.

Visit our informative blog post for more on the history of Black Hills Gold.

Though Landstroms makes and assortment of traditional Black Hills Gold necklaces, their specialty is in the design of a vast number of pendants in Black Hills Gold and sterling silver, with gemstones, diamonds - even Swarovski crystals - depicting a variety of themes. From silver snowflake pendants to gold hummingbird pendants, to simple grape leaf designs that characterize the lore and history of the Black Hills.

TYPES OF BLACK HILLS GOLD NECKLACES

Following is just a sampling of the types of Black Hills Gold necklaces and pendants available from Landstroms Original Black Hills Gold.

Traditional Necklaces

Landstroms sweet and simple traditional necklaces feature classic styling with single strands of 12 karat Black Hills Gold leaves, either in-line or graciously dangled. An essential for every lady about the town.

Heart Necklaces

This selection of Landstroms heart pendants includes traditional and contemporary designs which will never go out of style. From classic, jeweled mother's pendants to light and lively hummingbirds in hearts, a Black Hills Gold heart necklace makes a timeless gift, and Landstroms offers hearts for every sense of taste.

Key Pendants

A timeless key heart pendant can make a most memorable gift as a key and heart pendant is recognized as a symbol of everlasting love. Regardless of your age, you'll feel beautiful inside wearing a Landstroms key pendant, and the shine in your eyes will show it.

Cross Necklaces

Show your faith or wear as a personal reminder of sacrifice. These Black Hills Gold cross necklaces by Landstroms are each hand-crafted with exquisite workmanship. Cross pendants are made from 10 karat Black Hills Gold or .925 sterling Black Hills Silver with traditional 12 karat Black Hills Gold leaves, and come with complimentary chains.

Journey Necklaces

A Journey Necklace, or Journey Pendant is worn to show how far you’ve come in your life with that special person in your life, or to show your commitment to a future together. The gentle curved shape represents the ebbs and flows of life, the good times and bad that you have faced together, while the graduating stones symbolize your ever-growing love and devotion.

Landstroms Black Hills Gold Journey Necklaces come in both five and seven stone versions with cubic zirconia, as well as genuine sapphire and rubies. The Sapphire Journey Pendant is also available with both Sapphires and CZ.

Snowflake Necklaces

You'll warm up your winter days with these glistening Black Hills Gold and silver snowflake necklaces, snowman pendants and other wonderful jewelry of the season. Many of these pieces also have matching earrings.

Animal Necklaces

Available in Black Hills Gold and gold on silver, each piece in Landstrom's selection of Black Hills Gold horse necklaces, hummingbird necklaces and butterfly necklaces is sure to be noticed. You can also select from Black Hills Gold dragonfly necklaces, frog pendants, dolphin pendants, dog pendants and more. Many of these pieces also have matching wildlife earrings.

Lockets

For Mothers Day or Valentines Day or to celebrate any special day, a beautiful Black Hills Gold or sterling Black Hills Silver locket from Landstroms will keep you close to that special person's heart.

No matter which style of necklace or pendant you prefer, when you wear beautiful pieces of jewelry it shows, and few will help but notice your charming Black Hills Gold or silver necklace as it dangles below your sparkling eyes.

Why not Black Hills Gold jewelry for Fathers Day

It’s most commonly accepted that Father's Day was first celebrated in 1910 in Spokane, WA when Sonora Smart Dodd had the idea to honor her father, who had lost his wife during childbirth of their sixth child. Sonora thought that fathers deserved as much recognition as mothers and perceived a special Father's Day an appropriate and deserving complement to Mother's Day.

However, it is interesting to note that the very first Father's Day celebration actually took place two years earlier in West Virginia where Grace Golden Clayton organized a special day in honor of more than 200 fathers who had perished in a mining accident just a few months earlier. That event was never sufficiently promoted nor repeated, and therefore, didn't receive much attention other than the memory of it having taken place in July of 1908.

The events happening in Spokane, however, got wide-spread attention and led to repeated official recognition by various US presidents until it was declared a national holiday in 1972 by Richard Nixon.

It didn't take too long before merchants promoted the day to a commercial event. Though not as heavily celebrated in terms of presents purchased and dollars spent as Mother's Day, merchants begin promoting the sales of electronics and tools for weeks before Father's Day.

But does it really have to be electronics and tools? Isn't dad's garage already crammed full of gadgets he rarely uses? Here's another idea: how about a money clip, tie tack, some cuff links or a new watch made from genuine Black Hills Gold by Landstrom's, the original manufacturer of Black Hills Gold jewelry--?? Landstroms also makes a complete line of men’s Black Hills Gold and Black Hills Silver rings. For more information, or to shop for Black Hills Gold Fathers Day jewelry, visit http://www.blackhillsgoldsource.com/fathers-day-gifts.


BlackHillsGoldSource.com offers a complete selection of Landstroms items made of Black Hills Gold and Silver so you can choose a special Father's Day gift that is different from what you may have gifted in the past, and is sure to be appreciated by Dad.

Easter: history, traditions and Black Hills Gold cross necklaces

Most people associate Easter with the religious celebration of the resurrection of Christ. It is interesting to learn that there are many other customs and legends about Easter that go back hundreds of years.

The pagan origins trace back to the “goddess of spring and fertility”, as was honored by several ancient societies such as the Scandinavians, Saxons and Teutonians as far back as the 8th century. In those previous times, the rabbit was considered a symbol of fertility, while the egg, which is still painted with colorful patterns today, symbolized the sunlight of spring. In old traditions, eggs were exchanged as gifts. Since those times, both the rabbit and the Easter egg have remained an integral part of modern Eastern celebrations.

In societies where Christianity dominates, Easter is about the resurrection of Christ and as such is the most important holiday. Even the Christian Easter celebration, however, picks from several traditions, the strongest connection being to the Jewish celebration of Passover, which remembers the exodus of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery.

The idea of gift giving has prevailed from old traditions. If you are looking for some gift-giving ideas that have a connection to the actual Easter celebration, visit BlackHillsGoldSource.com where you can find a variety of religious jewelry for Easter, including Black Hills Gold cross necklaces, earrings and lockets, from Landstroms.