Rocket Ring, by potus31 on Etsy

It’s high time for some spacey jewelry here at Silver Rockets — spring is in the air, so why not spruce yourself up with some rocket goodies? (Note: most likely you’ve been experiencing spring for a while now, dear reader. Hey baby, it’s cold outside, here in the frozen wastes of far-northern California.)

Retro 3D Rocket Ship Flying Around the Moon Necklace, by SilverHorizonDesigns on Etsy

Rocket ships don’t seem to be the most popular subject for jewelry — I keep seeing the same designs over and over, some of which were featured here previously. I’m glad they’re still available! Anyway, here’s a few fun things I found. This last one entertains me, and would make a great gift, especially if you know a space-nerdy couple!

Just Married Rocket Ship Necklace, by Jody Lyle Jewelry on Etsy

Chanel Etoile Filante bracelet in white gold, with diamonds.

I stumbled upon the new Chanel Comète line of jewelry, and found myself with an interesting conundrum: should I post starry jewelry on the starry blog (you are here), or the jewelry blog? My answer? BOTH.

To see more celestial jewelry, and read more about the collection, head over to Many Faceted!

Moonlight of Saturn Necklace by Lisa Zamcho (BrightFireBeads @ Etsy)

Steampunk? Saturn? Why yes, I’ll have some of that!

A brass Saturn is surrounded by gears and red Swarovski Crystal Moonlets. An antique pocket watch movement and a hand tooled filigree serve as the base in this piece.

After watching space shuttle Discovery launch on its final mission (STS-133) in February, I definitely wanted a more permanent “souvenir” of my experience. Shirts fade, lapel pins get lost, stickers are… stuck to things. JEWELRY, on the other hand, LASTS FOREVER. (Or at least, a lot longer. And we already know I’ve got a thing for jewelry…)

When I first laid eyes on the STS-133 Special Edition Pendant by Aviation Jewelry Designs, I knew I wanted one. Once I saw it in person in November, on a tweep — memorably, in the Vehicle Assembly Building — I knew I had to have one. More precisely, I vowed that once I saw Discovery launch (which was, even at that early point, becoming questionable) I would buy myself one. It was everything I could wish for, and I’m incredibly pleased with the size, heft and lovely detail of the piece. I anticipate wearing it a lot.

I happen to have the pendant’s smaller version, the STS-133 Sterling Silver Charm, sitting right here on my desk, destined to go to one of you lovely visitors!! This charm is about the size of a nickel, and has been fitted with a sterling silver bail to be worn as a pendant. PLEASE NOTE: This charm lists Bowen and not Kopra as part of the crew. Edited to add: The orbiter rises up from the surface of the charm, so there’s lovely depth to the piece!

This piece was generously donated by Aviation Jewelry Designs (thank you so much for this opportunity!) AJD makes gorgeously-detailed aviation jewelry, and I highly recommend you check out their offerings. They are an awesome company, with terrific customer service, and I think I could easily buy any future shuttle-y/spacey items they may offer.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment on this entry (valid email please!) I will choose a random comment on June 10, 2011 using the Random.org random number generator. Winner will be posted on this entry, announced on Twitter and contacted by email for delivery arrangements. Best of luck!

One entry per person. Duplicate comments/entries will be deleted. Play nice, this is my first giveaway!

Edited to add: Since I can’t comment back to anyone, I’m posting answers to questions here:

• Pam: My pendant (the larger size) is slightly larger than a quarter, and more finely detailed.
• Janelle: One of the NASA Tweetup tweeps commissioned AJD to make a 133 pendant, and that was their first “shuttle” piece as far as I know. The owner said he was planning to make 135, and was working on a piece celebrating all the shuttles. He also does custom work, so if you want something in particular, he can most likely do it! :)

The spaceship ring, by EyvindsAlchemy @ Etsy

Here’s a couple of space-inspired rings for your Thursday! I guess I’m in a jewelry mood. Normally this would be my every-other-weekly crafting session, this morning, but we’re having a snow day.

Above, you can’t go wrong with lapis lazuli (the sky, the stars….) Below, a terrific wire-work spiral galaxy for the finger. (I have no desire to learn wire—more of a stringing person, myself—but it’s beautiful stuff!)

Spiral Galaxy Cocktail Sterling Silver Ring, by 3RexesJewelry @ Etsy

Retro-Rockets.com has some terrific rocket jewelry designs, lovingly crafted in Los Cruces, NM. The sentiments they express in their mission statement are, well, very near and dear to my heart. Check them out!

Our exclusive designs feature a nostalgic take on the Fantastic Future that was in the imaginations of artists, authors, scientists and futurists. Space was the goal, the ultimate destination for the aspirations of humanity – not as an escape, but as a blank slate for the bright tomorrow imagined as a time that was just around the corner.

Lunar Eclipse rings, by JesseDanger

Last week’s Mooncrafts post was such a rollicking good time (okay, for me I mean), that I decided to post another segment! First up, a set of rings, one featuring Mokume-gane (“wood-grain metal”) in a raindrop pattern, which does well as a lunar-crater pattern too (in my opinion.)

Next up, a lunar surface pendant:

Lunar Pendant, by littlerock

The listing itself is short on description, but it features “craters” in sterling silver, a small faceted sapphire, and a bumpy lunar “surface” of botryoidal azurite (the blue sibling of malachite.) I am giving you all these links because minerals and gemstones are important to me, and I would be remiss if I didn’t satisfy your curiosity with explanations of the terms, should you be curious. Besides, it’s not every day you run into a weird word like botryoidal!

Finally, one might call this last item a stretch, in terms of its “lunar-ness”, but it reminds me of funky sci-fi movie sets, and has the word “lunar” in the title, so I am letting it pass. That it is raku probably helped its chances, in my particular case:

Raku Lunar Vessel, by DavisVachon

In truth, I definitely think this should be an artifact from an ancient lunar civilization, or perhaps a future civilization that was somehow punted through a time distortion to land in the year 2010. Would have this in my office in a heartbeat.

Needle felted Hubble Servicing Mission 4 EVA 4, by FlyingJenny

Part two of my NASA Etsy contest feature, this first image is a needle-felted rendition of Hubble Servicing Mission 4, EVA 4 by the highly talented FlyingJenny. Beautiful work!

This is a needle felted rendition of a scene from the Hubble Servicing Mission 4, which took place in May of 2009. Specifically this wool sculpture shows the fourth Extra Vehicular Activity, or spacewalk, of that mission. This spacewalk was conducted by astronauts Mike Massimino (the first astronaut to send a tweet from space, also known as @Astro_Mike) and Mike Good, whose nickname is Bueno. One of the memorable moments of this EVA was when one of Hubble’s handrails was in the way and they were unable to remove it. After much deliberation and testing on the ground, Mike Massimino was given the okay to forcibly break off the handrail- as people all over the world watched with great interest.

Next up, an unusual (but AWESOME) decoupage necklace:

The stars my destination..., by ergane

Wear your deep pride for the first walk on the moon (and Apollo space missions!) with this, “The stars my destination” decoupaged necklace…Postage and vintage dictionary paper were applied by me, and my fingers, onto vintage watch crystals, and a few watch parts (disguised as satellites) are also part of this delicious fest of aqua and pearls and moon beams…reach for the sky, cowboy!

Finally, slightly more subtle, a lovely starry side-table:

Northstar Table, by colleenwhiteley

What I love about this table is that, once you locate the North Star and press it, a secret drawer is revealed:

The circular brass inlay represents the stars in the night sky on the evening of the first moon landing, and identifying the “North Star” is the key to opening the hidden drawer.

Northstar Table, by colleenwhiteley

Don’t forget to vote today in the NASA Etsy contest!

High Texture Hand Embroidery of the Moon, by Rachel Hobson

More amazing space crafts are up for voting in the NASA Etsy craft contest — I’m featuring several over the next two days because there’s some amazing stuff to see! The first two photos are of an amazing high-texture embroidery of the Moon. It’s really worth looking at the rest of the images on the listing, to get a feel for the range of texture and stitches involved!

High Texture Hand Embroidery of the Moon, by Rachel Hobson

Next, a fantastic moon crater ring! I’ve tagged this “for men” because it’s a size 11.5. If you’re a woman and you can wear it, by all means! (And wow, you have bigger fingers than me… and I have big hands!)

Moon Ring Sterling Silver, by MarcusBerknerJewelry

Last but not least, two of my favorite things combine in a beautiful art piece, a raku-fired ceramic lunar crater:

Moon Crater, by EsterLipscomb

Vote today for these and many other amazing things, as part of the NASA Etsy contest!