Holy Land Market Olive Wood Rosary with Soil From Bethlehem

Look, I collect rosaries from around the world with the intensity of a little old Polish granny on a caffeine bender following her 16th consecutive novena to Our Lady of the Perilous Mountain Peaks of Preschtikowwenovna, or wherever. I know my bead-quality, and while holy soil from Jerusalem may be every bit as innately sanctified as holy soil from Bethlehem, this product promised me soil specifically from the vicinity of the Virgin Birth, and what I received was a rosary with a soil-filled medallion that said "Jerusalem". I don't know about you, but I don't like mixing my Bethlehem and Jerusalem dirt-samples. Particularly when you claim to be sending me dirt from Baby Jesus' Birthplace, which is why I wanted it. I already have an olive-wood rosary from Jerusalem. Six of them, to be exact. I wanted Bethlehem soil in this set of beads. Oh yeah, my Bethlehem-soil rosary (from Jerusalem) came with a "Certificate of Authenticity." It was a business-card that said: "This is authentic." If you read the comments below my review, you will note that the purveyors of this charming chaplet later assured me that, even though the medallion says "Jerusalem," they are CERTAIN the divinely endued dirt did indeed come from Bethlehem. I'll give them the benefit of the "belief" on this matter. Therefore, I have modified my review to reflect my faith in the Bethlehemian origins of the ethereal earth, despite packaging that says otherwise. That's the wonderful thing about faith, after all. The rosary itself was was competently crafted and sturdy. I don't know about other complaints here, regarding shoddy workmanship. My rosary was lovely. I mean, I wouldn't swing from a bridge while holding onto it for dear life, but it can certainly be used to keep your Hail Marys in proper sequence. It also smelled very olive oily, which was nice. A fine rosary for the price. Just don't use it to dangle yourself from the window of a skyscraper, or try to lasso cattle with it, and it ought to hold up rather well.

I have been meaning to purchase a new rosary for some time, I finally picked this one for it's simple yet beautiful design. The beads are nicely polished and the overall look of the rosary is very nice. It's a simple olive wood design which actually reminds me Jesus was a carpenter. The small soil container is a nice touch and gives this rosary a very unique quality as well.I seen a few people have complained about the durability, all I can say is mine arrived intact with no problems. I have also been wearing it around my neck for awhile now with no issues. The metal links do seem a little thin but as long as you are gentle with it, I do not see it being an issue. I would not however pick this one to give to a child or young adult since they may not be as careful.

This is not as heavy as you may be used to in a Rosary. The link between the Crucifix and the rest of the rosary comes apart regularly so be careful where you store it or you will find only part of it. I store mine in a leather pouch so every thing stays put. The wood beads are very, very light - if you like that, I prefer something with more substance. The links on the second set also came apart but the metal is soft which means you can fix it fairly easily.It is OK for the price.

I ordered one of every one made of Olive Wood and included either holy water or soil from Bethlehem and only found them to all be mediocre. Primarily because I thought the silver used in the chain and as the backing of the cross was not great quality, and the weight overall was like paper (which admittedly some may prefer). I think you can (and I did) find lots that were much higher quality in my local church supply store and at one of our local monasteries in SF.

I could see the quality work in this rosary. I was pleased when I opened the container and I could immediately smell olive wood. There was only one thing buyers need to be aware of when buying this item that wasn't mentioned in the description. The Holy Land Sand is present in a compartment on the rosary. In my opinion, this adds to the quality of the rosary so I'm not sure why the seller didn't describe this fact. I'll be looking for more items from this seller.