About Marco Polo Designs

"In the art jewelry industry, Marco Polo Designs is in a class by itself. With a market flooded with derivative, uninspired, and unimaginative products, Marco Polo, continues to shine with innovation season after season, with beautiful blends of color and form, uniquely striking art glass beads, and memorable, highly marketable appeal. This tiny company has raised the bar on jewelry design."  
Debra Gold, Industry expert & marketing consultant  www.goldsco.com

Welcome to our Website!
Thank you for your interest in our jewelry.  Since 1994, Marco Polo Designs has been creating quality, inspired glass jewelry.  Our designs are intended to bring you joy and reflect your own individual beauty.  Our jewelry is about color and light, blending and enhancing your own personal style.

Contemporary Designs, Made in the USA
Marco Polo Designs offers the largest and finest collection of handmade glass jewelry in the world. Our studio in Portland, Oregon is busy creating new innovations in exquisite glass accessories, infusing the finest of old-world craftsmanship, with eclectic, energized and modern style.   We make all jewelry here, and ship worldwide every day.

Fine Materials & Workmanship
We use the finest quality materials in our jewelry, including our own exclusive handmade glass beads, combined with freshwater pearls, Swarovski crystals, Bohemian glass, precious and semi precious gemstones, on sterling silver or gold vermeil.  Our exclusive glass beads are handmade over a single flame, using many layers and colors of glass, created to our own designs in Murano glass.  Many of the beads have an internal layer of 24k gold or sterling silver foil, for increased radiance and luminosity. We continually research and invent new techniques, controlling each bead carefully to maintain highest quality standards.

Quality Hypoallergenic Findings
We use sterling silver and gold vermeil findings. Our jewelry is hypoallergenic and nickel-free.

From Opera to Jewelry
Jane Barthelemy, founder of Marco Polo Designs, grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts.  She sang as a primadonna in Italian opera theaters. While living and singing in Venice, she fell in love with glass, learned to make handmade glass beads, and created jewelry to wear for her own performances on stage.  In 1993, she tired of the life of a performer, returned to the USA and began to create her own jewelry collections.

Hear Jane sing "Casta Diva" from Norma by V.Bellini.

Focus on Color 
We love color!  Jane creates each design, meticulously blending sumptuous hues and forms together, using a wide variety of materials and techniques.  She studies fashion color forecasts each season, carefully sculpting the color statement for each collection to integrate changing fashions and color preferences. Jane says: �I love the process of making a completely new color statement each season.  I usually introduce one dominant new color, and look for unusual ways to combine two or more colors to create a fresh vibration.�

A Passion for Chocolate
OK, it�s true.  Jane loves Chocolate!  Her favorite chocolate is dark, raw, and sugar-free.  Pure unprocessed chocolate is a healthy superfood, high in anti-oxidants and natural nutrients.  Jane recommends a little chocolate every day for physical and mental health.   Jane�s overwhelming passion for chocolate is the driving force behind our Chocolate Jewelry Collection. Our exclusive glass beads look so delicious, many people think they�re real chocolate!  We�re so excited about chocolate that Jane will send you a free sample of handmade raw agave-sweetened chocolate with your order of Chocolate jewelry over $200.  So go ahead, enjoy the collection for yourself, and send an inspired gift to someone you love!

A Valued Gift
Jane carefully chooses every color and shape, and each piece has a story.  That�s why Marco Polo Designs jewelry is always a unique and valued gift.  Our collectors enjoy the handmade gift card that accompanies each Classic Glass necklace, with color image and poem.  Ask us to send a personal message with your gift!