The Jewelry Blog: Lariats: Pearls and Gemstones, Gold and Silver

Monday, August 18, 2008

Lariats: Pearls and Gemstones, Gold and Silver

I like lariats, but like some other things I forget, I sometimes forget to make them until I realize that the Lariat Necklace page has only a few necklaces on it, or I put one of my own around my neck and think how much I like fastening a necklace in the front. I always have to take a break at some point during the day when working on custom pieces, especially when I am trying to think how I want the finished result to look (when someone has simply said, "Make a necklace for me" when its design is left up to me. Working on a lariat takes me away from the task at hand and refreshes me, and usually it doesn't take me that long to make one.
Here are a few lariats I've made over the past couple of weeks at odd times.
Above, getting ready for September and its sapphire birthstone is a sapphire lariat necklace with sterling silver. And yes, those yellow gemstones forming the stamen of the flower are sapphires also.
Below is a lariat necklace featuring freshwater pearls, Biwa and coin, with mother of pearl and flashing rainbow moonstone. Hanging at the end is a special Karen Hill Tribes sterling silver dragonfly pendant and a carved mother of pearl flower and leaf.

Below is a lariat necklace made with a 14k goldfilled textured oval link chain, a Swarovski crystal copper butterfly, 14k goldfilled pansy, and a 14k goldfilled dragonfly and disk.
Finally, the last lariat is one that I put on and reluctantly took off when it was time to go home (I try on almost all my jewelry pieces, especially bracelets, to make sure that they hang correctly and are well-balanced). It's a sterling silver chain with a double toggle and one of my favorite colour combinations from Swarovski: morion and silk Swarovski crystals. It also features a little sterling shell charm and a butterfly charm from the Hill Tribes. (There are two pictures of it: one on a white background, and one on a black background - getting the subtle silk colour to show up is especially difficult - it's a pale peach).
I'll be posting these on the Cluny Grey Jewelry website the next two nights (days are for making jewelry; nights at home are when I do the online postings usually).