Black Hills Gold Legend
Once upon a time, as the legend goes, a young Frenchman named Henri LeBeau worked for his father as a goldsmith and jeweler in a small village in his native France. Henri and his father created many beautiful pieces of silver and gold. Their workmanship was known from villages far and wide.
Henri was a kind and gentle lad, who loved all things of nature and beauty. He especially loved to walk through his parent's vineyards and enjoyed the delicate aroma and beautiful colors of the grapes and flowers. As Henri grew older, he felt a yearning to see the rest of the world. With the blessing of his parents, Henri left on a journey to the new land that he had heard so much about. Henri traveled for months and months and finally arrived in America, where he worked for a short time as a jeweler and goldsmith.
It wasn't long before Henri became fascinated with the tales of fortunes being made in California. He joined a wagon train and headed for the gold rush of California and started out on a trip that proved fatal for most of the party. Henri wandered aimlessly for months until he came upon the Black Hills region of South Dakota. He decided to stay in the Black Hills and try to make his fortune.
Henri spent months and months searching the Black Hills for his fortune in gold, but failed after a long search. Henri, tired and discouraged, near death, sat down to rest by a large tree. He fell fast asleep and dreamed of the beautiful vineyards of his homeland. When Henri awoke, he was inspired by his dream and vowed to become a success.
With his new vigor he created various hues of gold into the grapes, leaves and tendrils of this dream. He began to sell the handcrafted jewelry to other miners and prospectors, and became very successful. The beautiful look that Henri created became a part of the Black Hills legend and thus, Black Hills Gold Jewelry was born.
How is it made?
Many people believe Black Hills Gold Jewelry is a certain type of gold. In fact, it is actually a design of jewelry that dates back to the 1870's when major gold rushes occurred in the Black Hills Region. The design traditionally styles grape leaves, grape clusters and grapevines into the motif. By Federal mandate, the jewelry must be manufactured in the Black Hills of South dakot in order to carry the name Black Hills Gold Jewelry. Generous Gems offers several name brands of Black Hills Gold Jewelry, including Coleman and South Dakota Gold
The South Dakota Gold Company honors the legend by producing Authentic Black Hills Gold of unsurpassed quality and designs. We employ a staff of full-time designers who are constantly creating new products and designs.
Designs created on the drawing board are then carved from a special wax into intricate patterns which have made Black Hills Gold so famous. These wax models are invested into plaster molds. The wax is burned out to create a metal master.
The metal master is used to make rubber molds which are then injected with wax to create wax patterns. After each wax pattern is inspected, they are loaded onto trees. These trees are invested into plaster molds and the wax is burned out so the space may be filled with gold.
The tri-color effect is achieved by alloying gold with other metals. Leaves and grape clusters are produced by stamping them into tri-color gold strips to create the beautiful designs which have made Black Hills Gold so popular for over a century.
The yellow, rose and green gold pieces are then assembled into one piece to create the contrast and beauty of Black Hills Gold Jewelry.
The assembled pieces are now ready for wriggling which applies a rich texture to the leaves and butterfly wings. Each individual leaf and wing is engraved to add brilliance to the piece. We have enhanced the traditional Black Hills Gold Jewelry with precious and semi-precious stones to create a new and exciting contemporary look.
Legend has it that good luck will come to those who wear Black Hills Gold Jewelry. And today the South Dakota Gold Company continues the tradition of making beautiful hand crafted Black Hills Gold Jewelry. |
