From a Dream to Reality

Tyne wanted to create a special necklace as a Christmas present for her aunt. Her aunt is a puzzle fanatic, so Tyne designed a necklace incorporating her idea, and brought us her drawing.

The design pending approval.

The finished necklace, a stunning work of art. It’s set with approximately 6 carats of amethyst.

Holiday Savings

From now until December 31, 2011, get 15% off any purchase in our Etsy store. Use coupon code 15OFFDEC2011 and pick up a beautiful necklace for that special someone. :) Visit us at http://www.etsy.com/shop/PreciousLTD today!

Taking Flight

Boris collects hand-carved stone eagles. During a recent move, four of his beautiful birds broke. He brought them to Precious Posessions for repairs, and we repaired them so well they look brand new. In fact, they looked so realistic, you'd think they were going to take flight! :)

It was also our honor to repair a bird that another one of our guests brought in, which was given to her as a gift from the ambassador of Ecuador. She was elated by our expert repairs. Another satisfied guest.

Personalize Your Space With Gems and Jewels

Decorating your home can sometimes feel like a daunting task for many of us. At Precious Possessions, we offer personalized service to our guests and help them make the project fun and creative. One of our guests, Liz, was in the process of remodeling her Wisconsin home and came in to get ideas as to how she could utilize minerals and semi-precious stones in her bathroom space to customize the look of the room. Part of her mission was to choose stones that were relevant to each member of her family. We found the appropriate birthstones and state stones that related to the birthplace of various family members in different interesting shapes and forms—both polished and natural. For example, fluorite—believed to be the stone of inspiration—is also the Illinois state stone. Liz chose several beautiful specimens of fluorite to incorporate into her design, as well as an aquamarine heart, serpentine and lapis and onyx to name a few. It was such a joy to help Liz customize her space with beautiful gems that had special meanings and significance to her and to her entire family. The end result is pictured here. Liz brought us a photo of the finished area which reveals the personal touches that she and her family will enjoy forever.

Heroes To The Rescue

Earlier this week, Tony and Kim saved a pigeon from an excruciating, untimely death. The pigeon had string wrapped around his feet, cutting off his circulation. If we hadn’t intervened, his legs would have rotted off and eventually killed him.

Tony had noticed this pigeon was having trouble walking. He waited until he got close enough, then caught the pigeon. This is remarkable in itself. Kim got scissors and they performed surgery to remove the string from the pigeon’s foot. During this time, we had a customer watching, and she was so delighted that she went out and bought a gourmet cupcake for our heroes.

We occasionally see pigeons with this problem. Does anyone know why this happens so often?

The Sparrows Are Back!

All summer long, our sparrows have been enjoying the beautiful weather outside. Only one or two of them would stop by the store. Our Georgina, one of the originals, was always in a hurry. She only had enough time to grab a quick peanut before flying back to her babies.

Now, they’re back! Every day, a dozen or so stop by to visit. It’s an absolute joy to see them again.

Quartz Crystal, The Incredible Gift From Mother Earth

From the dawn of time, mankind has used quartz crystal for tools, ornamental objects, jewelry and as talismans for good luck. Quartz crystals are still widely used today--from Silicon Valley (silicon chips) to sonar. Quartz crystal is also used in photovoltaic solar collectors, computers, cell phones, and clocks. It is piezoelectric, which means it generates electricity when pressed. The folklore and metaphaphysical properties associated to this beautiful gemstone include the belief that quartz crystal is a very powerful healer and amplifier of positive energy. Quartz crystal is a stone of happiness, healing and invigorating energy, purity, protection and strength. Quartz crystal aids memory and concentration and it enhances the properties of other minerals. For those of you who may not have a green thumb, try placing a quartz crystal in your potted plants and see the difference.

Precious Possessions' quartz crystal points come from Brazil. They are completely natural and unpolished, with a cut base. Quartz crystals are also known as generators and meditation quartz. Every crystal is unique and so the measurements will vary for each point; they range in size from approximately 1.75 inches to 2.33 inches long and 1.5 inches to 2 inches wide approximately. For a limited time only, these points are $9 each, shipping and sales tax included. Free shipping is only available for the continental United States and applies to web orders only. We've researched prices on the web for similar quartz generators and they range in price from $12 to $34. Order now, because this promotion will end October 31, 2011. This is the perfect gift to give yourself and your friends.

On a personal note, I have used quartz to relieve facial pains and headaches. Here's how I believe it works: pain is electrical impulses from your brain to the place of trauma. Placing the quartz crystal on the area of pain picks up these electrical impulses and relieves the pain. Reduced pain or the absence of it allows your body to heal faster. Once you've bonded with your crystal, please let us know about your experiences and tell us what you think of your new quartz companion. -Milan

Power-Stone Pouches

We're proud to introduce 6 brand new limited-time items! Power-stone Pouches, each with 5 hand-selected beautiful tumbled stones. These stones are perfect for balancing out your energies and achieving your goals. Each pouch is $9.80, shipping and sales tax included. These would normally retail for $16.00. This special sale ends September 1, 2011.

Power-stone Pouches include:

LOVE - This pouch has rose quartz to attract love and kindness, rhodonite to nurture love and boost your confidence, citrine for happiness, carnelian for passion, and clear quartz to amplify the energies of all the stones.

PROSPERITY - This pouch has aventurine to attract money and boost perserverance, citrine for abundance, agate for prosperity, smoky quartz for insight and protection, and clear quartz to amplify the energies of all the stones.

CAREER - This has carnelian for leadership and confidence, hematite for power, strength, and courage, aventurine for prosperity, bronzite for certainty and taking control of actions, and clear quartz to ampify the energies of all the stones.

SERENITY - It has amethyst for inner peace, howlite for wisdom and tranquility, blue quartz to ease stress, smoky quartz for protection and emotional calmness, and clear quartz to amplify the energies of all the stones.

VITALITY - This pouch has red jasper for strength and good health, carnelian for confidence and passion, bronzite for taking control of actions, chalcedony for balancing mind, body, and spirit, and clear quartz to amplify the energies of all the stones.

DREAM - It has agate for intuition, howlite for wisdom and insight, citrine for happiness, amethyst for inner peace, and clear quartz to amplify the energies of all the stones.





Pick up a Power-stone Pouch, for yourself today! They also make great gifts for your friends and loved ones.

The Sparrow Story Part 5

You've heard of the Great Wall of China, you've heard of Hadrian's Wall on the border of Scotland and England and you've heard of the Wailing Wall. We have the most famous wall of all -- the Sparrow Wall. Right outside our front door is a concrete wall with ledges that give the sparrows just enough space to perch on. On a daily basis, this wall is photographed countless times by all who pass and admire this amazing sight of sparrows perched so close and looking so cute. As the sparrows wait to fly in for their visit with us, they seem to have an unspoken understanding as to which group comes in first, second, third and so on. In the morning, our first visitor of the day is our sweet friend Georgina. She waits so patiently for us to open the door and as always, she waits by the counter to be greeted and we give her a peanut treat. It's almost as if she knows how very welcome she is and how delightfully she starts our day.

The Sparrow Story Part 4

Ah, springtime. All through the winter, we look forward to the sunny days of spring, the sweet smell of flowers blossoming and sometimes romance is in the air as well. It seems our Georgina found a mate and brought one of her babies into the store to meet us. While the baby chirped loudly and fluttered and flapped her little wings next to her mama, Georgina fed her baby peanuts -- directly into her open mouth. What an awesome sight and amazing aspect to this story that she felt so trusting and comfortable with us that she brought in one of her new offspring. They both flew up to the soffit of the store and Georgina left her baby with us for the next several hours. The baby chirped loudly looking for mama all day. She hadn't yet learned how to exit the store. Oh my goodness. What do we do now? Fortunately, Georgina returned towards the evening and they both flew off across the street to Millennium Park.

Now that you've read this post, you know how 3 turned into 23. Word got out through the sparrow community about our store and now Precious Possessions hosts a flock of both male and female sparrows. Initially, the males were very hesitant to come in and they waited perched outside our door cocking their little heads while waiting for the girls. By the way, the males have different markings than the girls. They're very handsome and very vocal -- in fact, the boys sing beautifully and serenade the female sparrows. We are lucky enough to enjoy their beautiful love songs on many occasions. They serenade us and our guests.

Come back next week to find out about the most famous wall in the city of Chicago.

Eye of the Tiger

Ross Augusta is an up-and-coming singer and musician. He stopped by recently looking for a special piece to wear on stage. He chose tiger eye, because it’s an excellent stone for providing focus and helping to accomplish goals.

The necklace he’s wearing was actually two separate elements, but we combined them to make this dynamic, unique piece. We love to create one of a kind, custom jewelry pieces that will always have special meaning to our guests because it will be personal only to them.

Back to Ross: he’s an incredibly talented artist, a singer with soul and great energy. Some of his songs are on Myspace and Facebook, so you should definitely check him out and buy his music. You can also find him singing in various venues around Chicago and other cities, so keep an eye out for this rising star!

To Markus

Timberdoodle, hokumpoke, bogsucker.

One morning after opening Precious Possessions, I went out to run some errands. Several blocks away at Michigan and Adams, I found a beautiful, magnificient bird sitting very still on the ground. I tried to shoo him off, as the sidewalk isn’t a safe place for birds, but he didn’t fly away. Upon closer inspection, he appeared stunned, so I brought him back to the store.

I gave him some water, and set him in a warm, cozy box. We called the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors at 773-988-1867. They’re an all-volunteer organization that rescues and rehabilitates injured birds. Keep that number because it’s important!

The lady from the CBCM arrived about an hour later to pick him up. She said he was a woodcock, aka hokumpoke or bogsucker, which is a type of shorebird related to sand pipers. They fly north to breed, and live in the eastern half of North America and the Gulf Coast states. They’re known as harbingers of spring and new beginnings.

Woodcocks have had a drop in population since the 1960s. It’s mostly from a decrease in habitat. Conservationists have been working to stabilize and increase the woodcock population.

We called a few days later, and learned our little guy had recovered, and was going to be released soon. A happy ending.

We believe that humans are the guardians of the planet, and that if we learn to care for its animals we might learn to care for and respect each other. Can you imagine what a wonderful planet this might be if we all had a little more kindness?

In loving memory of Markus Mirko Davidovic
October 31, 1976 - April 3, 2011

The Sparrow Story Part 3

Winter has ended; let's jump to spring 2009. The sparrows have become such a delightful part of our everyday lives, yet we're still in such awe of the fact they've "adopted us." In the springtime, sparrows mate. And how do we know this? Georgina brought us a beak full of grass blades and dropped them on the floor to indicate that she was nesting. Of course, I'm getting a little ahead of our story. During the course of winter, we had quite a worry with Georgina. We noticed that her right eye had a red ring around it that looked terrible. We had no way to get her to a vet. Thank God it healed on its own. And by the way, although her eye healed, the way we recognize Georgina is by the scarring on her right eye, and the fact that she is the only one that likes to be hand-fed her special diet of peanuts. Charlotte lost her tail feathers that winter and they eventually grew back, and Samantha seemed to have survived the cold Chicago winter without issue.

Georgina continues to come into the store every day without fail -- in fact, she visits with us numerous times throughout the day. Charlotte came in all summer long. Samantha did not. We'd like to think that she met a mate and moved to another location -- maybe she decided to move to a more rural area.

Come back next week and find out how 3 turned into 23...

The Sparrow Story Part 2

Throughout the cold weather, Georgina, Samantha, and Charlotte found the perfect refuge in Precious Possessions. Our crystal store is full of beautiful and unique minerals, fossils, crystals, and jewelry that our sparrow trio gravitated towards and explored. They hid behind our ammonite fossils; they perched atop a quartz crystal Brazilian bird carving; they sat in our onyx fruit bowls, and flew on top of the vases about our amber jewelry case. The girls also enjoyed a bird's eye view of the store and the customers that came in and out all throughout the day. The sparrows warmed themselves by perching on top of the lights and knew intuitively to stay out of the way when our guests walked in. Who knew that tiny sparrows were so smart?

They say that the narrator of a story should remain separate from the story, but I'm going to break the rule as this is such a magical story of nature connecting with humans in an unexpected way. You can find me at Precious Possessions throughout the week as the resident Keeper of the Stones (one of our guests gave me that title) and my name is Helen. I've always loved gems and jewels and all their mystique and beautiful energy. I feel surrounded by beauty and nature's glory while at work. And in addition to the amazing natural power of the stones, there is another aspect of Mother Nature's presence in our store -- the sweet sparrows. Wow.

By now, you must be wondering what all our guests who come into Precious Possessions think about our friends. Almost everyone is enchanted and amazed at the connection we have with these sparrows -- soon to become a flock.

Check back next week for more about the sparrows!

Lions and Tigers and Squirrels, Oh My!

Precious Possessions is one of Betty's favorite stops when visiting Chicago from Syracuse, New York. Last visit she selected a zoo full of semi-precious animal charms and created this stunning, one-of-a-kind necklace on a long sterling silver link chain.

Betty proudly modeled her necklace at Precious Possessions as well as all around town and called to tell us that she'd received many compliments on her custom design. In fact on this visit, Betty helped create another custom design for herself: an amazing mystic topaz pendant. She selected a mystic topaz loose stone from our faceted gem collection, and designed her own setting which we made for her in a sterling silver pendant. Kudos to Betty!

The Sparrow Story

Prelude to the Sparrow Story: Everyday, dozens of people come in and ask about the birds that fly in and out of the store—are they pets? Did we train them? No, they’re just free wild birds who come in to visit.

We promised to share The Story of the Sparrows that visit Precious Possessions. Here is the tale of our feathered friends.

On a frigid December day in 2008, my father Anthony and I arrived at the store where we found a tiny sparrow huddled in a corner of our front window. Dad lovingly picked up the sparrow, brought the bird into the store, and place it in a safe, warm area. We fed the sparrow little pieces of bread and gave it water. The fragile sparrow covered its face with its wing and went to sleep. We named the sparrow George. George stayed with us and gained more strength each day, and by day 3, he flew to the front door and told us it was time to go.

To our surprise, the next morning 3 sparrows flew in the door. One of them was George. We welcomed them and gave them a treat from our lunch – a handful of peanuts—which they seemed to enjoy very much. The three of them flew in and out all day and seemed very joyful. We named the other two sparrows Sam and Charlie, and we were delighted that these sweet little sparrows were visiting Precious Possessions.

Not having had any experience with wild birds, I was curious about them and in researching, I discovered that George was actually Georgina, Sam was Samantha, and Charlie was really Charlotte. These were 3 female sparrows and perhaps all from the same nest. We entertained this nice thought about our new friends who continued to come in on a daily basis all winter.

More about our story next Saturday!

Countdown to Spring

We're inching our way towards spring, warmer weather, and sunny, happy days. We're ready for fresh air, vibrantly colored flowers, and all the beautiful spring-inspired gem necklaces that you can now show off without the cover of a winter coat.

Rose Quartz Aphrodite Necklace

Here’s a necklace worthy of the love goddess that resides within each amazing woman. Channel your inner Aphrodite every time you wear your rose quartz one-of-a-kind jewel. Rose quartz is the quintessential stone of love, nurturing energy and healing energy. Length of necklace: 16 inches.

The Rainbow of All Gems: Tourmaline With Pearls

The rainbow of all gems and jewels, tourmaline in all its dazzling glory, is highly prized and powerfully energizing. The pink tourmalines, known as rubelite, are believed to be therapeutic and empowering—for feminine energy. The green is all about balance and the darker schorl tourmaline repels negativity. Luminescent pearls are feminine energy that make this a classic for all occasions. Length of necklace: approx. 16 inches.

Fossil Box

This handsome box has been carved from fossilized stone.  Orthoceras, the ancient ancestors of squid, are sprinkled throughout, and an elegant ammonite rests on top.  The fossils are over 450 million years old, and stand for wisdom.  Every stone is a little different, so each box will be unique.  This measures 5.75 inches long, 3.75 inches wide, and 2 inches tall.  This would make a great gift for a collector!

This box is now on sale for $72.  If you’re not in the area, but you’d still like to purchase this, we can ship it to you!  Call us at 312-726-8118, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Central Standard Time, Monday through Saturday.  Mention that you saw this on our blog and receive an extra 5% off.