Amazing find!!!!

Ok so it is becoming very clear that I made the right choice for my costume. From coming up with great ideas to finding the perfect weapon (the sword should arrive Wed) I have experienced countless just incredibly lucky finds and lucky little accidents. I have met some very helpful, interesting, and really nice people. I feel like the universe has my back on this one.

Now I have to tell you about this amazing find of mine. Three friends and I went to a flea market this weekend. We walked around for most the day, and I had found a few things that I had bought. We were walking back to the car, and we were passing through the last open air section of the flea market. As I was waiting for our friends to meet up with us I saw a booth with a big old Patriarchal cross. I have been intrigued by this symbol for my costume so I walked over to take a look just because it has become a point of interest to me. After I looked at the cross I walked around this old man's tent, and I found a beautiful old jewelry box that was full of old cuff links. Some had matches some didn't. I started idly looking through them then I came across a set of gold cuff links that made me do a double take. It was a gold dragon in a circle, tail to head, and in the very center is an inlaid costume pearl.

I have been looking for that exact symbol since I came up with the idea. Let me explain. Vlad Tepes was the second son of Vlad Dracul. Vlad Dracul had been given this name because of multiple reasons, but the most relevant is that he was a member of the dragon. A group started by the man destined to become the emperor of Rome. The symbol of the order of the dragon is very specific it is a dragon with his tail wrapped around his neck. Every member of the order wore this symbol at all times in some fashion as a ring, necklace, cloak clasp, . . .. It is believed that Vlad Dracul inducted his son into the order at some point and so he received his pseudonym Vlad Dracula, Dracula in Romanian means son of the dragon, or devil. That is why finding some type of something close to that design was so paramount. Well let me show you this is a recreation of the symbol of the order of the dragon based on actual artifacts:





and this is what I found:



This piece is ideal mainly because it is so close to the original piece, but it is also great wecause pearls were a very common jewel in byzantine clothing, and it adds a little bit more historical significance.



In incomparable optimisim,

The ReSiDeNT