Wednesday, November 25, 2015

A Harmony Ball is a Wonderful Christmas Gift

A Harmony Ball necklace makes a wonderful Christmas Gift - a Harmony Ball is a UNIQUE jewellery piece with Meaning.



Every Harmony Ball is HAND CRAFTED by Artisan Silversmiths on the island of Bali in Indonesia - crafted from Genuine 925 Sterling Silver and Genuine Gemstones (on many models).

Harmony Balls are treasured 'KEEPSAKE' jewellery items with special meaning.

Very Affordable with Dozens of designs UNDER $55.00 - here are some examples

available from  

Traditional styles Balinese Harnony Ball
Hinged cage style with Gemstone
Hinged cage style with Pearl
and some Unique Custom design examples;

Mother & Baby on 925 Heart shape Harmony Ball
Large Citrine Gem above Filigree Harmony Ball

















Monday, November 9, 2015

New Shop Icon

Harmony Balls on Etsy has recently added a new icon to its shop.

harmony ball icon
New Shop Icon at HarmonyBalls on Etsy
The Harmony Ball used in this image displays the very best of the talents of the Balinese Artisan Silversmiths who make these wonderful jewelry items wholly by hand. There are a number of different Harmony Ball styles, the above being a hinged cage style, including the traditional Balinese Harmony Ball Necklace styles with intricate silverwork.











Sunday, October 11, 2015

Article from People Magazine references this blog

http://www.people.com/article/paralyzed-bride-rachelle-friedman-chapman-necklace


See the Special Gift That Paralyzed Bride Rachelle Friedman Chapman Received from Her Surrogate


All About the Paralyzed Bride's Very Special Necklace
Rachelle Friedman Chapman, husband Chris and daughter Kaylee Rae
Rebecca Keller

05/07/2015 AT 04:55 PM EDT
When Laurel Humes was 20 weeks pregnant with paralyzed bride Rachelle Friedman Chapman and Chris Chapman's baby, she bought a very special necklace for the future mom.

The chime necklace, which is also known as a harmony ball, has been worn for centuries by pregnant women and is supposed to soothe the unborn baby.

"I got it when I was 20 weeks pregnant because that's when they say a baby can start to hear in utero," Humes, a 32-year-old stay-at-home mom, tells PEOPLE exclusively. The Chapmans and Humes welcomed baby Kaylee Rae two weeks ago.

The necklace makes a soft sound like a wind chime. Humes gave Rachelle the necklace at the hospital shortly after giving birth.

"I wanted her to have something sentimental that the baby heard when I had her and that she now can continue to hear," she says.

Rachelle says she was touched by the gift.

"It means a lot to have the necklace," Rachelle, 29, of Knightdale, North Carolina, says. "It's the most thoughtful gift, and I think it's cool it went from her and now I can wear it and one day I can give it to Kaylee."

See the Special Gift That Paralyzed Bride Rachelle Friedman Chapman Received from Her Surrogate| Real People Stories
The harmony ball pendant the surrogate gave Rachelle
Rebecca Keller
Speaking of her 11-day-old baby girl, Rachelle admits she's secretly glad she had a daughter.

"I know I'm supposed to say that I would have been happy with either – and I would have been – but I love having Kaylee," she says. "Just having the connection. I really wanted a girl because I was a daddy's girl and I'm best friends with my mom."

Rachelle was paralyzed from the chest down after a May 2010 accident at her bachelorette party. Doctors told her that the medication she's on would make pregnancy dangerous.

College friend Humes carried Kaylee and continues to play an important role in her life, pumping breast milk and shipping it to the Chapmans, who live just outside of Raleigh, four hours away from her Asheville farm. The families plan to stay in touch throughout Kaylee's life.

"The pregnancy was exhausting, but it makes me feel really great to see the photos and how happy they are," Humes says.

And while she says it is complicated, it wasn't hard to give Kaylee to her parents.

"I don't think of it as giving her up," she says. "I think of it as giving her back. She was always theirs. She came to me as a five-day-old embryo." 
Harmony Balls available at www.HarmonyBall.net.au











Monday, April 13, 2015

Harmony Ball Pendants and Local Traditions

Harmony Ball Pendant Design and Local Traditions. ©


It is known that a harmony ball pendant, also known by other names throughout the ages like druid balls, chime balls, bolas and others, were worn for more than just adornment. Harmony ball pendants were worn by different cultures in different regions for different reasons. Harmony ball pendants were also worn differently, sometimes as a necklace around the neck on a cord or a chain, sometimes attached to clothing again using a leather or twine cord or metal chain. Harmony balls were also made of different materials including metals and certain carved hardwoods and stone.

As much as harmony ball pendants varied greatly in design, shape, size and materials there was one commonality - these harmony ball pendants incorporated cultural and family traditions in their designs. The artisans of the time, local artisans from a village or community of villages or region will have used a particular design style pertaining to that region, something handed down from master artisan to apprentice through the generations. So a wearer of a harmony ball pendant could be recognized by others as being from a particular region or village by the design of the harmony ball.

In addition to the locality aspect of the harmony ball design the local artisan would also incorporate a family emblem component in the design for the wearer representing his or her clan. Often if the harmony ball was used by a warrior, as was the case with Celtic warriors in the wearing of the druid ball, a form of harmony ball. In this instance the artisan would incorporate a family or clan signature emblem into the intricate design of the harmony ball. The Celtic warriors wore the druid or harmony balls for their calming effect before a battle. In the aftermath of a bloody battle the survivors would collect the harmony (druid) ball pendants off the dead to take home to their families.

Silver, or a silver alloy similar to sterling silver was the choice of metal used by the artisans making harmony balls, in regions where the precious metal and metalsmithing skills were available. In other cases the artisan would use a local hardwood or soft stone to carve out the harmony ball shape and indeed the small bell. Much of the skill in making the harmony ball without the aid of todays technology was in making it hollow, making a small bell and inserting it inside the harmony ball without leaving an opening that would allow the small bell to fall out.

Pregnancy harmony ball pendants were worn by a number of cultures. It is said that the soft chiming sound of the harmony ball pendant would soothe and calm the unborn baby in the womb, and after birth it would soothe the newborn baby. Most women wore the harmony ball as a necklace on a long chain that would position the harmony ball over their abdomen, as close to the womb as possible. Some though wore the harmony ball on a shorter necklace, usually cord or chain, so that the pendant did not get in the way as they tended the crops or did their weaving.

Pregnancy harmony balls were often made by women elders who included the tradition of the womans family in their design, not unlike caretakers of the traditional values. Most women would hand down their harmony ball to their female child when she herself became pregnant although many times the harmony ball construction would render it very fragile and they would often break, keeping the local harmony ball maker very busy.

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Partner website offers 10% DISCOUNT for visitors to this blog

One of our partner websites is now offering visitors to this Harmony Ball blog a generous 10% Discount on their extensive range of Sterling Silver Harmony Balls.

The partner, www.DazzlersHarmonyNecklace.com, has over 200 'Genuine Balinese 925 Sterling Silver Harmony Balls' in its range. These excellent quality Harmony Ball pendants are 'hand made' by Artisan Silversmiths in Bali, Indonesia, and many of them have Genuine Gemstones.

Simply visit the site and select the Harmony Ball that you like and then enter the Discount Code BLOG10 at the checkout to receive your 10% Discount on the best quality Harmony Balls available.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Birthstone Gemstones used on Harmony Ball Pendants

Birthstone Harmony Balls have even more Meaning

A Harmony Ball is a wonderful jewelry piece with Meaning, it has a story and in the case of pregnant women a definitive benefit (Advantages of Wearing a Harmony Ball During and After Pregnancy).

The addition of a Birthstone Gemstone adds even more meaning to the wearer - the pendant takes on a personal attachment with the Birthstone representative of the month of birth of the wearer.

For a woman who is carrying a child the wearing of a Harmony Ball with a Birthstone offers two choices, a Gemstone representing their own birth month or the expected birth month of their yet to be born baby. You can find a comprehensive range of Birthstone Harmony Balls here.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Wikipedia references this Harmony Ball blog

The following is a reference in Wikipedia referencing this blog - we are proud that our content is recognized by Wikipedia as being authoritative on the subject of Harmony Balls.

Bola (pregnancy bell)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Harmony ball)

A Bola is a bell worn by women on a long necklace during their pregnancy.[1] It is traditionally used in Mexico and Bali and is know under other names, such as harmony ball and pregnancy bell. The ball hangs low on the abdomen so the gentle chime soothes the baby as mother moves. When the baby is born, the baby is believed to be extra soothed by the sound because the child associates it with its time in the womb.
References
O'Shannessy, Mike. "What is a Harmony Ball?".

Categories: Human pregnancy, Types of jewellery