Turtle Old Man Jewelry: Who We Are, And Why You Need to Know
In the summer of 1996, Jim Rice was invited by a friend to go quartz crystal mining in Mt. Ida, Arkansas. Blessed with a successful expedition, Jim returned home with a car brimming with the shiny stones and eagerly planned a second trip, soon to return again with another carload of freshly excavated natural treasure. Undaunted by the rapidly diminishing space in his home, Jim prepared for a third mining adventure, stopping only when his wife sternly asked him, "Why do you need more of those rocks?"
Thinking quickly, Jim answered, "Well, I'm going to learn to wire wrap them, make jewelry, and we'll sell them and make money."
In his own words, "She fell for it! But now I actually had to learn how to wire wrap..."
Two years later, the first Turtle Old Man wire wraps debuted at a small festival in a North Carolina mall, standing apart from contemporary wire crafting with an emphasis on the stones instead of the silverwork. Jim's self-taught, original creations were quickly joined by a handful of smaller stones set in sterling silver settings that maintained an emphasis on the beauty of the gems they held.
What followed over the next several years could only be described as an avalanche of original and beautiful pendants, necklaces, and earrings made of some of the most striking features in God's creation. While the classic staples of amethyst and turquoise had their share of time in Jim's hands, they were accompanied by stunning fossils, chunks of authentic meteorites, and even ancient artifacts!
As the demand for production grew, so did Jim's team, quickly drawing his wife and oldest son into the home-turned-workshop dedicated to capturing natural beauty in high-quality yet affordable accessories. With such diversity in the range of materials available to what has now become known as Turtle Old Man Jewelry, opportunity opened wide its door to numerous unique, original settings. Jim continued to develop and modify his classic wire wrap while improving traditional settings such as the elegant prong mount, adding his own refined touch to this versatile setting. Meanwhile, his wife, Cindy, showed her artistic finesse as she combined multitudes of stones and fossils into eye-catching earrings and breathtaking necklaces that blended wide ranges of colors and patterns seamlessly while maintaining the awesome individuality of each bead. Jim's son, Eric, showcased his own flavor of earrings in soothingly circular designs, from small, wire-wrapped beads to charming stone spheres encircled by sterling silver hoops.
Prominent in every Turtle Old Man piece, however, is a devotion to the beauty of what is found in nature. According to Jim, "The stone is the real artwork; all I'm doing is putting a frame around it." While remaining affordable, the Rice family strives for consistent quality and down-to-earth realism -- real fossils and real gemstones with real colors set in real silver by real people.
While all materials he works with have special places in his heart, Jim's favorites are the unusual, the seldom-seen stones, such as enhydro agates, meteorites, and fossils. However, none of these can surpass his greatest love for the simple spiral of the fossil ammonite. This intriguing pattern found throughout nature has long been associated with something endless, something timeless. What better way to display it than in cherished, heirloom-quality jewelry?
Shop our collection online at Turtle Old Man Jewelry, LLC