Gilded Age Greetings, Cards Embellished With Precious Gems
Once upon a time, paper was precious and books and illuminated manuscripts were precious works of art. Now as we work toward a less paper-heavy society, books and other printed works are once again more valuable as works of art rather than simple reading matter. We've seen a whole spate of luxury books and Gilded Age Greetings takes the world of greeting cards back to a luxury level with a line of hand-crafted, heirloom-quality greetings embellished with 23K gold. One line, the Grand Couture line, even includes handset cabochon jewels, including amethyst, emeralds, rubies, and red and green garnets.
The tiny works of art are created with extensive handwork and detailing under the direction of Master Penman and Illuminator Rosemary Buczek. The line is available in the Couture and Signature lines, the cards are available in 10 distinctive and beautifully detailed hand-painted images. The Couture line, produced one at a time by hand, are original signed works of art on calf vellum using hand-ground pigments mixed by Buczek and embellished with gilded 23K gold. "It's the purist form of illumination," said Buczek. "It truly harkens back to the Medieval Age."
The Signature line offers a selection of limited editions, signed and numbered. Printed on the finest archival paper and using archival inks, the Signature line, like the Couture line, features gilded 23K gold and hand-ground pigments. In addition, a select number of designs are adorned with hand-placed Swarovski crystal. Each card is tassel-bound and comes with six removable inserts that can be customized to the occasion or left blank. The removable inserts allow the recipient to pass the card to a loved one or someone special with his/her own message. The card is delivered in a custom black silk box, along with white gloves and presentation documents.
Gilded Age Greetings is also taking limited commission work for invitations, documents, awards and certificates. The Signature Line costs $300-$500 and the Couture and Couture Grand Lines are $1000-$5000 each depending on the types of stones used. Visited the Gilded Age Greetings website for more details.
