Fantastic Gemstone Bracelet, Earrings, and February's Birthstone: Amethyst

 I am in love with this unique bracelet featuring iolite, garnet, and rainbow moonstone.  The idea for the 6 strand bracelet came from the sterling silver box clasp with its cabochon garnets and rainbow moonstone. The 6 strands include 2 strands of rainbow moonstone, 2 strands of garnet, 1 strand of iolite, and one strand of tiny sterling silver beads from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes. The rainbow moonstone was all chosen for its flash.  The result is beautiful and versatile since it looks great with almost every color that you can think of.

 Below are dangling earrings with faceted gemstones, in this case pink chalcedony and garnet, bezel set in sterling silver. The earrings hang from some of my favorite marquise shaped sterling earwires..

 Below, a necklace made entirely of dark blue faceted chalcedony briolettes strung so closely together that they have a ruffled look.  14 karat gold-filled chain makes up the very back of the necklace so that the gemstones won't get caught in one's hair.

 Amethyst is the birthstone for the month of February although I have found that lovers of amethyst pay no attention to whether they were born in February!  The gemstone is a perennial favorite and diehard amethyst lovers cannot have too much amethyst jewelry. The amethyst necklace, left, is a favorite of mine, mainly because of the amethyst gemstones which are faceted as though they were meant to be mounted in a ring.  They are also AAA quality, so they sparkle beautifully! The amethyst necklace has a simple S clasp in sterling silver and tiny sterling silver beads separating the amethysts.
Below the necklace are more gem quality amethyst, this time in a faceted briolette that hang from sterling silver earwires.

 The amethyst earrings above are simple but elegant.
My favorite amethyst piece is the bracelet below that is created using roughly faceted flat amethyst nuggets that are translucent with 14 karat gold-filled accents and toggle clasp.  The amethyst bracelet is large, but because the nuggets are flat, they do not get in the way of daily tasks making it easy to wear.

Yes, I am wishing for more snow!
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Amethysts for February

I do love amethysts of all sorts: dark, light, dogtooth (white inclusions running throughout), Cape amethysts (very pale). Did you know that the word "amethyst" comes from the Greek language meaning "not drunken"? According to legend, the god of wine, Dionysus became angered at a young girl named Amethyst. She cried out for protection to Artemis (Diana) who turned her into a stone of pure quartz. When Dionysus saw her thus, he cried tears into his glass of red wine which then overturned onto the stone, colouring it a wonderful purple, creating the amethyst gemstone. So intertwined with Dionysus the amethyst became known for its ability to keep a drinker sober. Many believed that drinking from an amethyst goblet would render the alcohol incapable of causing intoxication in the drinker. Amethyst rings became popular for those who wished to keep a clear head during a night of revelry. 

   Above, a single stranded amethyst bracelet is accented by 14K goldfilled beads.  The cushion cut rectangles are especially pretty.  Three briolettes form a petal like design on one side of the bracelet.

Below, an amethyst bracelet has darker amethysts on one side, and three strands of lighter amethysts on the other.  On the single-stranded side, three nicely-sized amethyst nuggets lead to a lampwork bead by Robin Weber. Near the middle sterling silver rings dangle various charms including three small bezel-set amethyst ovals, a pendant charms with another faceted, bezel-set amethyst, and a sterling silver charm from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes.  The three strands of faceted oval amethysts provide a different look and texture to the other side of the bracelet.

Above, amethyst earrings feature nice chunky faceted nuggets of a medium colour, topped with spiral sterling beads and gem quality rondelles.  The earrings hang from sterling wires with spiral designs on the front. 

  It's not too late to order for Valentine's Day!

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The Long Road Home

It's been a very, very busy week, and I'm hoping to catch up on everything in all my lives, work, personal, domestic.... I drove over 800 miles to Arkansas without stopping for the night by myself and then back here to Virginia with my husband (who did the driving this time). If you look at the bottom of the page, you'll see my two reasons for that long drive - Cluny and Cuervo! I don't have a lot of jewelry to show today because of the trip, but I found time to make a turquoise bracelet with some wonderful Sleeping Beauty turquoise faceted nuggets that I just got in. I wanted to showcase the nuggets, so I only used 3 and accented only with sterling silver. The beautiful blue of the Sleeping Beauty is enough to hold its own! Below is a pair of amethyst earrings; they are gem-quality briolettes and hang from my favorite sterling earwires.

More of the antique jewelry line I've been working on is below. The first is an antique-style necklace with dark bronzey coloured filigree and a large peachy gold rhinestone backed by a dark circle of mother of pearl. The chain is a bar style that matches the filigree. The second necklace also makes use of the bronzey-coloured filigree. Here it is enlivened by crystal rhinestones and Swarovski crystals in Pacific opal; there's real sparkle, but it's sedate enough to wear during the day.


Finally here are my two travellers, who by the way, did exceedingly well on their first car trip ever (except for those short ones to the vet). They were absolutely wonderful, once we got them into their carriers. By the second day on the road, they had figured out that they weren't going to get shots at the vet, so the car ride was quite uneventful. They napped in the car and got back in their carriers whenever we stopped. Although only one of us got out at a time and we always left the car running, I was terrified that one of them would slip out the car door and run away into some field behind a service station. But they were perfect angels and now are trying to adjust to life on the sixth floor of an apartment building!

Above, Cluny with his tiger stripes on white fur and blue, blue eyes, and below, Cuervo, resting from the long car trip.
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