Opals for October and More from the Fall Collection

 I'm enjoying the cooler weather of October here in Virginia, and hoping that it will get slightly cooler still.  Meanwhile, work continues on the new website, but I am busy making jewelry and posting it on the old one!
 October has two birthstones: the traditional birthstone is the opal, and the modern is also the tourmaline. The three opal bracelets you see here are made of Pink Peruvian opal, the first a three-strand bracelet with sterling silver, the one below has sterling silver and two strands, the the third boasts gold-filled accents to show off the pink opal.

 I've been obsessed with pink lately because I've gotten some very pretty rose quartz.  Rose quartz is a "love" gemstone (for those who believe in the mystical properties of gemstones); I just think that it is feminine and pretty.

 The one strand rose quartz bracelet above has chunky rose quartz and sterling silver; below is a three-strand bracelet with rose quartz, sterling silver, and smoky quartz.

 Below, this multi-strand iolite bracelet has a punch of garnet to liven it up. The toggle clasp is double-sided with a faceted iolite on each side.  Iolite is known as the "water sapphire" and where beads are concerned, it is often easier to get beautiful iolite than comparable sapphires.

 The lapis bracelet above is made with gold-fill and wonderful large faceted lapis nuggets. The lapis earrings below hang from vermeil earwires with flowers facing forward; a special touch of luxury is the ruby topping each lapis rectangle.

 I have a similar bracelet made with sterling silver; this aquamarine, smoky quartz, and sunstone bracelet is made with vermeil.  These three gemstones are such a good mix together that I wear one myself quite often (I am very fond of peach and turquoise in clothing).

 The last two bracelets are very different from one another, but both are made of blue agate. The first bracelet has deeply colored bright blue agate ovals, faceted to shine and catch the light.  A minimal amount of sterling silver keeps the attention on these lovely agate gemstones. The second bracelet features blue agate with an almost "crackled" look that is quite intriguing. Sterling silver shines here in the form of charms, chain, and the tiniest beads from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes. What is wonderful about these agate bracelets is that both will go with casual to dressy clothing.

I will be back with more Fall Collection jewelry. Meanwhile, don't forget that shipping is always free for any purchase over $50.00, only $1.95 for purchases under $50.00!

October Opals

October actually has 2 birthstones: opal and tourmaline. Lucky Octobers get to choose from quite a few different colours since opals commonly come in blue, yellow, pink, white, and of course, the fiery opals of Australian origin. If October prefers tourmalines, they too come in many colours, the most common being pink, green, and black.

Above is an opal bracelet made with some of the loveliest blue Peruvian opals I've ever had. They are quite translucent and boast a lovely turquoise colour.  For fun, I decided to use some artist's lampwork beads with them; the touch of orange in the lampwork sent me looking for some of my best carnelian. These orange faceted diamonds are gorgeous and really add a Fall vibe to the bracelet.  The dragonfly toggle clasp is very special.  All sterling silver.

Below, the same blue Peruvian opals star in this bracelet which has only one artist's lampwork bead for a focal so that the opals can shine! Two little Thai Karen Hill Tribes flower charms hang from one side of the bracelet.

Below is a tourmaline bracelet with three strands of multi-coloured tourmalines of different shapes and sizes. (There are two views of the same bracelet). Pinks and greens predominate, but there are even some yellows and pale aqua stones as well. The sterling double flower toggle is a favorite.

I always work with sunstone in the fall although I wear it all year round.  Sunstone just seems like a Fall stone with it's golden orange colours and the sparkles that are in so many of the stones.  Good sunstone also seems to glow - and that glow seems right for fall, too. Both sunstone bracelets here have two strands and beautiful sterling silver toggle clasps. I especially like the lizard one shown in the bottom 2 pictures above although the first sunstone bracelet has an especially feminine feel with its swirling toggle clasp.

Enjoy the crisp Fall weather!

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Cluny Grey Jewelry

More Fall Bracelets and Earrings

It's the busy season; fall is here, winter is on its way, and that means that Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner.  Sometimes it's hard to get a moment to take a breath much less write a blog post, but I am quite overdue and here are a few new pieces I've got to get on the site.

The aquamarine bracelet, above, gets a kick from saucy lampwork beads that echo the colours of the aquamarines and black chalcedony and add a soupcon of hot pink for fun.  Of course, three colours means that the bracelet can also be worn with more outfits. The bracelet that you see below is what I call a "one-note" bracelet: it has three rows of pretty faceted prehnite rondelles that comprise most of the bracelet, but a large lampwork glass bead adds special interest.  This exquisite lampwork bead is one of our best made by a master lampworker; it introduces the only other colour (besides the sterling silver) in the bracelet.  A special Israeli clasp features a tulip on the ring part of the toggle; a largish sterling flower charm hangs between the prehnite and the lampwork.  This bracelet looks prettier in person since for some reason the prehnite is really hard to photograph so that I get its real colour; it seems to wash out in the photos, but this one is finally close to the original.

The Salvation Bracelet below is one that I've made a series of; it's called Magdalene, and it's made with precious as well as semi-precious gemstones.  This bracelet has black chalcedony, a large faceted ruby nugget, a smooth sapphire nugget, gorgeous rock crystal, a large faceted emerald nugget, and a large faceted citrine nugget.  Two beads on either side  have a relief cross on both sides.  A scalloped toggle clasp is the closure; a small prayer box hangs beside it.  Although the prayer box is small, it still opens and allows you to put a prayer on a small piece of paper into it.

The bracelet above is made with yellow opal (opal is the October birthstone) rondelles and for a dash of colour has a large slab-like aquamarine nugget.  The turquoise bracelet below mixes pretty blue turquoise with sterling silver and clear Swarovski crystals for a dressier look than you might expect from turquoise.

Finally, two pairs of earrings both feature aquamarine: the first earringscombine the aquamarine with yellow opal (a perfect match for the bracelet above) and the second pair are aquamarine with sterling silver. These aquamarine earrings are made with some of the prettiest aquamarine faceted briolettes I've ever had; they are an intense blue colour. For a special touch, they hang from sterling posts that have a freshwater pearl cabochon in the middle.

Enjoy the crisp fall weather and I'll try to be back with more soon!

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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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Back from Arkansas!

I just got back from Arkansas, and am I glad to be back! It took 2 days for the drive and it rained the entire two days, making the trip fairly miserable - sometimes parts of it can be pleasant. I had to drive because of all the beads/findings that I was bringing from the Arkansas office which is still full. I'm exhausted, so here are some more pieces from the Fall Collection. They will be on the website soon. Enjoy!

Sunstone bracelet, above; below, sunstone earrings.

Above, blue Peruvian opal bracelet and earrings and immediately above a tourmaline bangle bracelet. Below are tourmaline chandelier earrings, and another tourmaline bangle bracelet.
Above are smoky quartz earrings; below, rainbow moonstone earrings.

Below is a Swarovski bracelet in the season's great American Beauty red colour and below that a true red carnelian bracelet.

Getting Ready for Fall

Women's Wear Daily is already showing the Spring 2010 fashions, but luckily here at Cluny Grey we don't have to get that far ahead! We are working feverishly on the Fall Collection which we will be posting soon. Meanwhile, custom orders are keeping us busy (as well as my new grand-daughter). And, as usual, it is just a challenge to keep our site pages filled with fresh jewelry as other jewelry sells. Today I have a few "odds and ends" - no special theme here!
First I have a couple of copper bracelets. Copper has been in fashion for a couple of seasons now and it is getting better and better! No more thinking that copper belongs to those medicinal bracelets; it is a chic accessory colour and copper jewelry looks great when you're wearing copper-coloured shoes and/or carrying a copper-coloured bag. An added plus is that it looks great on all skin types. And copper looks great with many of the new Fall colours. Above, a classic turquoise bracelet gets its extra punch from copper in the form of accents and a large linked copper chain. The copper bracelet below is a combination I love: copper Swarovski crystals and copper accents.

I'm very fond of blue Peruvian opal; here you see two opal bracelets, one with sterling silver and one with borosilicate lampwork beads and sterling silver. I'm especially fond of blue Peruvian opal when it has a whitish tint and black inclusions as in the bracelet below.

I can never keep enough ankle bracelets, whether gold or silver, on the site pages. The one above is made with sterling silver and abalone, a great summer combination. Finally, below a pair of dangle earrings made from pretty dark blue lampwork beads.
COMING IN SEPTEMBER, RIGHT AFTER LABOR DAY, THE CLUNY GREY FALL COLLECTION!!!!