A pause to remember a magnificent personality who Greece was blessed with. Those readers who have never heard the name 'Jules Dassin' please take a moment of your time to meet this wonderful person. The American movie-maker was to many; one of the last great men in Greek public life.
He closed his eyes last year but cannot possibly be forgotten and there's a little part of him that comes back to life with the new Acropolis museum. Enjoy!

The new acropolis museum

Finally, only a few months are left to go until the expected date of the unveiling of the brand new Acropolis museum which is expected to decorate Athens starting September 2009.

The museum will home the entire Parthenon marble collection including numerous statues never displayed to the public before. This 'architecturally correct' - 21 st century museum will finally offer all the best conditions for a respectable venue of display that the pieces have claimed for many years. The opening is also expected to put much pressure on the British Museum for the return of the 'Elgin Marbles', those dismantled from the Parthenon and shipped to Britain as a spectacle for London, now that one of the main arguments of 'concern over the well being of the marbles' will clearly be eliminated. 

We simply can't wait to see the beautiful job that the multitude of archaeologists have performed! Those of you who are in Athens during September may be lucky enough to coincide with the grand opening (assuming that deadlines are kept to schedule).

An m'agapas by Tania Tsanaklidou

Not by any means a new hit. 'An m'agapas' is perhaps one of the most characterstic and beautiful hymns that marked living in greece in the late 70's or early 80's in Greece. Tania's extraordinary voice led her to a very succesful carreer with a refined audience at a safe distance from Greek Pop. 

An m'agapas means "If you love me.."

If you love me.. I'll steal colours of the fire and a white linen. 

The two of us will re-sketch life. 

If you love me.. there will be no grey for you to watch, 

you'll hold me 

and to ceremonial shores you will take me. 

But if all these, which seem like crazy dreams, become a roar. 

If all these, and whatever I've imagined, doesn't come. 

It will be a loss, the light will become dark, and will vanish, 

because perhaps.. for me the world is you.. only you..

New Greek-key meander necklaces mounted with greek coins

The year 2009 has seen the launch of over 100 new pieces in Ancient Jewelry designs available from Greek Jewelry Shop. Our catalog comprises of some items dating back to the founding year of our workshop (1928) and it is always a great pleasure to enrich this collection with new worthwhile items made by our skilled old-school crafstmen.
The above items constitute some of the larger Greek Key Necklaces in our Necklace page.

The significance of the Greek Key
The Greek key pattern (also meander or meandros) takes its name from the square pieces that repeat in the pattern that look rather like an old fashioned key. The pattern is also known as a meander or a Greek fret. Meander means twisting and turning.
Meanders were among the most important symbols in ancient Greece; they, perhaps, symbolized infinity and unity; many ancient Greek temples incorporated the sign of the meander. Greek vases, especially during their Geometric Period, were likely the genesis for the widespread use of meanders; alternately, very ocean-like patterns of waves also appeared in the same format as meandros, which can also be thought of as the Guilloche pattern. The shield of Philip II of Macedon was decorated with multiple symbols of the meander; the shield itself can be found in the museum of Vergina in Central Macedonia of Greece.

20 new ancient Greek Necklace designs

Over 20 new Ancient Necklace designs have been added to our store this week on our necklaces page. Themes include Greek Key (meander) Necklaces, animal torc necklaces, and hellenistic hand-woven jewelry designs (photos below)

All of Greek Jewelry Shop's necklaces are subject to our seasonal special offers. To make sure you're getting the best deal possible, remember to check out all current special offers and discounts for our fine Greek Jewellery!

New gold-plated coin pendant series

We are proud to give our followers a glimpse of some of the new designs we will be adding to our site over the next week! This brand new range features a number of the most popular ancient coin pendants in gold plated matte-finish versions! Naturally the entire pendant material is sterling silver and the quality of these pieces matches our the rest of our items and our reputation.

This range took quite a bit of research. As many jewelry fans may know, gold plated silver is quite frequently a disappointment (particularly for pendants) as the increased contact with the skin (acidity of sweat, perfumes etc) generally is known to cause gold plating to fade quickly. However from our experience the best way to do this was to allow the silver meander mount to shield and protect the inner coin from high contact. The result was even better than we expected due to the beautiful contrast created between the vivid gold color (on the sand-blasted matt coins) and the glossy silver external Greek-Key bezel!

Let us know what you think!

My big fat cretan wedding!

Some say that Crete is a step away from paradise, others call it a dream-retreat. If Crete is the place where you would like the most memorable occasion of your lifetime to happen, then the people down at Almyrida Beach Hotel arrange it for you!
Planning your dream wedding at the Almyrida Beach resort will be as easy as 1,2,3!
Simply contact us via their website or blog for more information.