Jacob Bond
I didn't pay and arm and a leg for this rosary. Its very comparable to a souvenir, street vendor quality rosary that had I been in Jerusalem, I would have had to pay more or strike a deal. It is very light weight and the wood is in desperate need of care so the beads don't crack (too dry!). The majority of the beads are stamped/crimped print in a concentrically circle motif BUT some are only crimped/stamped on three sides (instead of the four if you can imagine a sphere with four stamped sides) and some not at all. If I was OCD about consistency, this could be a problem as they aren't in any particular place (like the last Ave or the Paters) but just randomly sprinkled about (one place has two blank beads in one decade) for the total of 4 blanks. For me, I will mark it up to 'handmade' (hopefully by a Catholic in Jerusalem). The soil looks like freeze dried coffee but that doesn't bother me as much as the 'peck' mark on the inside of the receptacle on the back side of the center piece. It is very distracting as it is dead center and about the size of a pin head . The crucifix is stamped Jerusalem on the back but there are what appears to be pitted corrosion/scratches and a burn/heat stain that will not rub out. I am not overly fond of crucifix that have hearts on each end but there you go . The metal that passes through each bead will have to be tightened/crimped as many are open enough to snag on clothing or catch on other pins/links. They are very light weight metal akin to aluminum (easy to bend with just a finger nail). Over all, with all its small little idiosyncrasies, it was a fair price. If you want light weight, wooden prayer beads to rattle (and they do rattle!) from Jerusalem, these could be the ones for you. If you want something rugged, that will take a beating, I think you should pass.
