Beads for Collectors and Designers - RitaOkrent.com

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Beads for Collectors and Designers - RitaOkrent.com

Beads for Collectors and Designers - RitaOkrent.com Please come visit our website at www.ritaokrent.com to see the latest listings in Rita's collection! Liu, Ph.D. Rita passed away in 2005. Thank you!

Rita became interested in making jewelry in the early 1970s when she took a silversmithing class through the local community college. By the mid-1970’s, she had developed an interest in ethnic beads and artifacts and began designing necklaces. In 1977-1978, Rita and the family lived abroad as Rita’s husband, David, a professor at UCLA, was on sabbatical leave. Rita always had a good eye for intere

sting items, but on this extended 14-month trip she was able to explore and buy from dealers in the souks of Israel and Egypt, flea markets in London, Paris and Vienna and from sellers in Hong Kong, India, Taiwan and China. On each trip, she searched for ancient and antique beads and pendants, for small antiquities and for unusual collectibles. Upon returning to the U.S., Rita established her collection and designed necklaces using ancient and antique materials such as amazonite, amber, amethyst, coral, faience, glass, horn, ivory, jade, jet, shell and silver. She often combined these beads with a central pendant or several pendants, in designing ethnic, one-of-a-kind necklaces. She worked with a colleague to design her own hand-made, sterling silver hook-and-eye clasps, which we still make available in our Clasps section. She continued to develop her bead expertise and became an active member and President of the Los Angeles-area Bead Society. She held jewelry shows from her home showroom and at the Los Angeles Gift Show, as well as consigning items to local stores, including Saks Fifth Avenue. Rita’s work was featured in Ornament Magazine and she contributed to the book, “Collectible Beads” by Robert K. Rita traded with merchants from Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and other parts of Africa for more than twenty-five years, providing her with a broad collection of African Trade beads, as well as unusual African wall hangings and wood and ivory carvings and masks. Rita’s collection grew as she continued to travel and live abroad over the years, including trips to Syria, Egypt, Israel, and Morocco. Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s, Rita’s reputation continued to grow as a designer of original necklaces and as a dealer of ethnic and antique beads and artifacts. Rita’s husband, David, maintained the website starting in 1999. The website and collection are now managed by their daughter, Jocelyne, based in San Diego County, California. The beauty of Rita’s original creations and of her rich and outstanding collection are reflected at our website, www.ritaokrent.com. Our customers, both collectors and designers, come to us from around the world. We appreciate your business. Please come shop at our Etsy store, RitaOkrentCollection and at our website, RitaOkrent.com.

01/22/2025

Fascinating and so beautiful!

01/20/2025

01/13/2025

Grieving with fellow Angelenos and former Angelenos and worrying for all those impacted by the devastating fires. Wishing our LA area customers and friends safety and sending much love. 💔

01/05/2025

Come on out and discover treasures from the Rita Okrent Collection at our updated website at RitaOkrent.com!

12/31/2024

With heartfelt thanks, the best to our customers and friends for 2025!

12/21/2024

Record-high gold prices and a fatigue with so-called quiet luxury set the stage for a resurgence of statement silver pieces.

12/15/2024

12/08/2024

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/fashion/jewelry-mapuche-silversmiths-chile.html?unlocked_article_code=1.f04.BfNO.Ioj3m93MN98x&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Skilled artisans among the Mapuche are creating pieces that reflect their worldview.

10/15/2024

A fascinating discovery in Petra!

A recent excavation has unearthed 12 human skeletons and a chamber of grave offerings near Petra’s Treasury building, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

09/29/2024

Thanks so much to the Bead Society of Orange County and the fantastic Bower’s Museum for hosting the Bead show yesterday! Such a lovely venue with great fellow merchants and wonderful customers! 💕

08/24/2024

An exquisitely adorned traditional decorative clasp from Sri Lanka/Ceylon. Available now at RitaOkrent.com.❤️

06/03/2024

See you at the Virtual Souk this Wednesday, June 5 at 11 a.m. Pacific Time (7 p.m. GMT) to see lots of beads, amulets and ethnic jewels from Rita’s collection! If you can’t make it, come on over and check out the offerings later as they are still available for purchase for a day or two (or contact me directly at [email protected]) or via this page!❤️

05/12/2024

Missing Rita, today on Mother's Day!❤

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San Diego, CA

Website

http://www.ritaokrent.com/

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Videos

Rita Okrent Collection Virtual Souk, Sunday, January 29 11 a.m. PST

Join me in a live online sale at the Virtual Souk FaceBook group this Sunday at 11 a.m. U.S. Pacific Time / 7 p.m. U.K. 🥰 Can't wait to see you there!

A look at my Rita Okrent Collection booth at last weekend’s Pasadena Bead and Design Show! (I am the one filming, that’s not me in the background 😘 but my dear friend, Debbie, who assists me at shows!!). This booth was a work in progress with African Trade stone and glass beads on one side, Yemeni and other old silver in the front / middle and jewelry such as necklaces, earrings on the third side. I used textiles to create a Souk feel and some intentionally messy bowls of silver! It was a lot to look at!🥰