Rubies are Red Hot!

I love working with rubies! In the last post, I said that rubies will work with any other gemstone, but they work just as well on their own. Rubies are perhaps one of the most romantic gemstones because of the lore surrounding them and because of their vibrant colour representing love and passion. The ruby was also believed to prevent separation of lovers. The ruby was also believed to protect warriors, give courage and endurance, relieve blood diseases, protect one's home and possessions, bring wealth and good luck, and enhance love and passion. Plus, it's just downright pretty!

The bracelet above is from a new group of chain bracelets that I am making; this chain bracelet of sterling silver dangles four little faceted rondelle rubies. The chain I made myself; the toggle is sterling silver.

  Below, a pair of ruby earrings made with smooth ruby "pebbles" of bright red.  They feature sterling silver accents and are topped with a faceted cone of clear quartz crystal.  The ruby earrings hang from sterling silver earwires with an intricately made flower decoration.

Below are three more ruby bracelets (and you will find more on the Cluny Grey site). The first ruby bracelet mixes bright and dark red rubies with sterling silver and two artist's borosilicate lampwork beads. The lampwork beads pick up the colours of the rubies and add a flashes of blue and teal to the mix.  Little sterling charms from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes hang from the bracelet.  The toggle boasts an oval cabochon ruby set in it.

The next ruby bracelet is all about flowers and butterflies. Intricate sterling silver comes from both Bali and Thailand as well as Turkey.  A cluster of Thai Karen Hill Tribes charms, miniature flowers, is on one side of the bracelet.  A sterling leaf toggle is full of swirls.  The last ruby bracelet is a simple, slim bangle bracelet with small bright ruby pebbles and a beautiful sterling silver toggle clasp.  This is the perfect ruby bracelet to wear everyday. It won't get in the way, but those bright rubies make quite a statement!

Here are a couple of other pieces I've been working on. Above is an iolite bracelet that I am really pleased with.  That large faceted stone in the middle with the jolt of colour is a carnelian.  I just love how it pops out against the blue, but at the same time looks as though it is right at home.  The iolite here is pretty and there are a few larger pieces.  Plus, those Karen Hill Tribes sterling charms add a bit of zest, too. The second smaller strand is almost all faceted iolite rondelles that have a nice sparkle.

    Below, WoW!  I had to put two pictures of this quartz necklace to show how it looks against black and white.  Photographing quartz, especially very clear quartz has always been difficult for me.  I want to get that sense of depth and shine at the same time which can mean (for me) snapping picture after picture and discarding picture after picture!   These are quite large clear quartz faceted nuggets enhanced only by the smallest sterling silver accents and very special artist's lampwork beads. I need another picture just to do the lampwork beads justice.  They are red encased in clear with sterling silver on them and a sort of metallic glow when you turn them. Wonderful!  This could be very, very dressy, or it could be for everyday.  It is one of those necklaces that I thought, "Do I want to keep this for myself?"  But, no, I can't start doing that or it would never end!  So into its special container it went to await a new home.

Meanwhile, I love living here! I still say it's a bit cooler than Arkansas. And where else can you sit on the front steps of your townhouse, view the Washington Monument and watch the 4th of July fireworks!

Enjoy your summer everyone!

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Finally! I'm Back at Work!

How I've missed work!  When I finally had enough supplies set up and organized so that I could actually make something again, I sat in front of the workbench just staring.  It has been long enough that I just didn't know where to start!  Luckily, I took a deep breath and began with something simple: the Swarovski aquamarine bracelet below. Aquamarine is such a lovely colour in Swarovski's collection; the colour reminds me of the waters along the Emerald Coast (maybe they should call it the Aquamarine Coast), a translucent blue that is deep and light at the same time. The large Swarovski graphic bead is a full 16mm and is one of my favorite shapes because of the lush look that it has.  Some of my favorite Bali sterling silver and I was off!

     Next came the aquamarine bracelet above. I am getting ready for July (the ruby birthstone) plus I just love mixing rubies with almost anything! Any gemstone - believe me, rubies will look good with it!  Of course, rubies look especially good with natural aquamarine, and I love these rubies that have a pinkish look to them. This bracelet is three full strands, but easy to wear because it isn't at all chunky despite those rubies having a healthy size.

Of course, it is still June, so I was tempted to play with some rainbow moonstone. The first rainbow moonstone bracelet has a sharply faceted nugget as a focal; it's a simply bracelet but has good flash and Bali beads with flowers in relief twining around them. I love rainbow moonstone and I don't see very many people wearing it.  When I have worn it myself, people always comment on the gemstone.  It is considered a sacred stone in India, and before showing any rainbow moonstone jewelry, a jewelry will get out a special cloth to lay the pieces on so they won't touch the counter (they don't do this with all the jewelry).

     The second rainbow moonstone bracelet has little faceted rondelles with really good flash - and there are two strands of them. Despite the two strands, it is a dainty bracelet with a butterfly bead and a flowered toggle clasp.

Above and below you see pictures of the same necklace.  I had these pieces of Swarovski crystal coral that I wanted to play with, including the largest piece of crystal coral they sell.  It is a bit strange, this crystal coral, but perhaps that is why I like it. I wanted to highlight the coral pieces so the necklace is all Swarovski crystals;  clear bicones make  up the main part of the necklace and the coral pieces dangle from it. Just to give the merest hint of colour I added little bicones of black diamond. They dangle above the coral pieces and continue past the coral a bit. I wanted the necklace to look great with black or white (I was thinking white or black linen, my two favorite summer looks). It will look smashing with either.  It is sterling silver with little Thai Karen Hill Tribes beads finishing where the crystals end.

I told you that I mix rubies with everything! Here is a citrine and ruby bracelet to die for.  Carved and faceted citrine are complemented by the dark red ruby faceted rondelles.  The bracelet has plenty of sterling silver accents including a second strand of sterling silver with only a single ruby in the middle and a lotus charm on either side.  This is another bracelet that has presence that you can also work in without having to take off.

I'm working on an iolite bracelet at the moment because I got some delicious iolite in and I just had to use it in something. I've also got pretty blue Peruvian opal and more rubies coming that should result in some knockouts!  I'll post on twitter when I get these all priced and on the website.


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Jewelry Is Magical

Jewelry is magical; I don't really mean that in the sense that many people do who believe that certain gemstones can imbue them with positive qualities or cure their ills. Jewelry is magical to me because it can cheer me up, make my day brighter - and make me look better. The right jewelry makes my blue eyes more noticeable, complements my complexion (which I'm a bit vain about), and can bring an outfit together (which is why I love gemstone jewelry containing more than one coloured gemstone). I'm lucky; because I make jewelry, I get to look at it all the time. And just looking at it makes me happy. I've been known to take a collection of bracelets and arrange them on my nightstand so that they are the last thing I see before I go to sleep and their colours are the first things I see when I awake.

I have a "happy-making" collection of jewelry today beginning with the top bracelet of blue topaz and citrine. Gem quality London Blue topaz and gem quality citrine in an imaginative rectangular cut are spectacular together. The citrine gemstones have pointed backs the way gemstones set in rings do, so they are interesting on both sides. I've added 14 karat goldfilled accents to the gemstones, but I like this combination so much that you can expect one soon with sterling silver.

  Below is a rainbow moonstone bracelet with gold vermeil and 14 karat goldfill.  The blue flash of these sharply faceted moonstones looks great with the gold.  Robin Weber's truly excellent ancient gold lampwork lentil beads add more colour and even more gold. I got lucky with the photo of this bracelet since not every single inch of each moonstone gemstone has flash.

Above is a turquoise bracelet made with Sleeping Beauty turquoise in a light blue.  Dark blue and the lighter blue rectangles echo the colours of the square lampwork beads which have a side of light blue and a side of transparent darker (aqua) blue divided by a swirl of silver.  Sterling silver accents include the second strand chain that dangles a turquoise charm with a bezel-set cabochon turquoise in its center.

   Below - more moonstone! These moonstones are a peachy-mauve colour (put them with a peach outfit and the peach comes out, with pink or mauve and they pick up that shade) with little sparkles and a wonderful sheen to them.  The second strand is one of our favorite sterling chains, rather sturdy with charms from the Karen Hill Tribes dangling. A pretty flower-decorated sterling clasp finishes the moonstone bracelet.

   Below the moonstone bracelet is a hefty fire agate necklace that just glows! I love the colours here and I've added a few Swarovski crystals in the crystal copper colour to really make it sparkle. Doesn't it look fantastic with black?

Finally,two bracelets have a winning combination of gemstones that have been quite popular! For a long time, I couldn't find any of the faceted coins of apatite to use, but the moment I did, I grabbed them! The combination of smoky quartz, apatite, and sunstone has proven to be very pretty and versatile. I've got one bracelet with sterling silver accents, and the other with vermeil.

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Almost March!!!

I have an unusual grouping of jewelry today; perhaps I should say "eclectic" since there are a variety of gemstones and colours and textures. I am still working on my "African Rhythms" collection and you will be seeing and hearing more of it. Meanwhile, today's group includes from the top: a fire agate bracelet accented with carnelian gemstones and one of my favorite sterling filigree toggle clasps.  Below are fire agate dangling earrings.

Below is a classic Swarovski crystal bracelet with large clear Swarovski crystals and 14 Karat goldfilled accents. The gold pieces are rather large and include fluted accents on either side of the large crystal cube in the center, a gold flower charm, and a gold toggle clasp.  Remember with care (keep it out of the pool; store it properly) 14 karat goldfill will last as long as 14k gold.

Citrines and chalcedony cluster near the large artist's lampwork which is the focal of this citrine bracelet along with a filigree flower charm in sterling from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes.

One of my favorite bracelets is the kyanite bracelet with its very pretty sterling silver additions.  Ropey rings are near the center; little cluster charms hang from the patterned oval linked chain, and a sweet flower toggle features three flowers on the toggle and one on the toggle bar.  Kyanite is one of the softer gemstones, so be sure to store it properly. It will, however, stand up to everyday wear.

From above, Austrian crystal earrings have two sizes of Swarovski crystal butterflies hanging from each earwire for a dangling delight. Next is a bracelet with a phenomenal drusy flashing sparkling crystals. The Montana agate and Botwana agate play supporting roles. Below, carnelian faceted nuggets and beautiful diamond facets flank another drusy of orange and cream.  The second strand is a chain of larger oval links with three sterling Thai Hill Tribes flower charms.

Finally, the last two bracelets both have two strands: the first is a chalcedony bracelet with artist's lampwork and blue chalcedony. A pretty sterling chain and scalloped toggle clasp complete the feminine look.  The last bracelet is made of very blue turquoise; this turquoise bracelet benefits from the addition of clear Swarovski crystals for sparkle and a slightly more formal look. These blue faceted rectangles are some of our favorites!

African Rhythms

I'm still catching up from my trip to Africa, but here are a few samples of jewelry pieces that are in my new collection called African Rhythms. It's going to take me a few days to get them on the pages of the website since I am still behind on shipping, but they will be there soon with more to come! Enjoy!

To the left, a lampwork bracelet with special lampwork beads, a sterling silver bird toggle,  and Swarovski crystals in a copper colour.  Below, Swarovski crystals in rainbow colours grace the Swarovski bracelet with sterling silver.

Above is an iolite bracelet and below:

a fire agate bracelet;  followed by bracelets of lampwork and Swarovski red magma;  smoky quartz with gold vermeil;  leopardskin jasper;  carnelian, citrine, and amethyst, and a necklace made of sterling silver and chalcedony.

Opal: One of the October Birthstones

October is one of those months that has two modern birthstones: the opal and the pink tourmaline. Opal jewelry seems to be more popular today, perhaps because jewelry made with pink tourmalines is harder to find. (We do have jewelry on the Cluny Grey site with pink tourmalines on our Tourmaline Bracelets page.) Today I have a few of the new opal bracelets and opal earrings I'm about to put on the site. I will also have a couple of pieces made with Australian opals, the opals that many people first think of when they think of opals. Australian opals with their pink or bluish fire are very difficult to get in bead form, probably because of the difficulty of drilling them. Most of our opals are pink Peruvian opals, blue Peruvian opals, and yellow opals.
Peruvian opals are quite versatile. The opal bracelet above has pink opals mingling with beautiful lampwork beads (some of our favorites) and green chalcedony. The opals here are highly polished, light pink nuggets. Below, the pink Peruvian opals are faceted ovals that are very pink with very few inclusions. These pink opals give a dressier look to the bracelet as does the tiny beaded second chain with three floating heart charms.The faceted nuggets in the opal bracelet (shown in pictures above and below) have many inclusions in both black and brown; the black inclusions in particular give them a distinctive look making them perfect for pairing with faceted black chalcedony nuggets. The inclusions also give the bracelet a more casual look that would be great with jeans as well as office attire.
I am an ardent admirer of gold which I paired with the very nice faceted ovals below for a classic, dressy looking bracelet. All the metal is 14k gf; two charms give it a fun touch. And below this bracelet is an opal bracelet made with Peruvian blue opals. Here are blue opals with inclusions that look great with black chalcedony. I do have some very blue, almost inclusion-free blue Peruvian opals, but I often like to use these that have a translucent look with black inclusions. Although many gemstones are truly flawed by inclusions, opals are often enhanced and more interesting with them.

The opal earrings above would look great with our opal bracelets.
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