Summer Romance: Jewelry to Fall in Love With

Citrine Necklace with Sterling Silver

Everything goes in cycles, and making jewelry is no exception. What seems exciting and absorbing for months will suddenly become old, and I'll search for new gemstones everywhere, even though I have an unbelievably large inventory in the studio.  
Then, there are times when I go back to the gemstones that first piqued my interest when I began making jewelry so many years ago.  Precious gemstones are perennials with me, but here are some of the other gemstones in jewelry form that I have long had a romance with.
Above, citrines are one of my favorite gemstones.  I love sunny yellow. The citrine necklace above is very simple, large faceted nuggets with minimal sterling silver accents. It does have a sterling silver dog-shaped clasp (the dog is stylized but resembles a dachshund).  I love this necklace because it has absolutely wonderful sparkle.  Oh, and I adore sparkle!

Ruby Bracelet

Above and below, this ruby bracelet features smooth large pebble-shaped opaque rubies that are a fairly strong red.  They look perfect with accents of 14 karat gold-fill and little faceted ruby rondelles.

Ruby Bracelet with 14 Karat Gold-fill

Fluorite Bracelet

I found fluorite to be one of the most intriguing gemstones to work with because of the purples and greens that look so great together.  It is one of the first gemstones I started using artist's lampwork beads with; I loved the way the right lampwork would draw the two colors together. This bracelet has a large lampwork focal, sterling silver beads, and a pretty sterling silver box clasp with a faceted amethyst.

Fluorite Bracelet

Aquamarine Bracelet with Citrine and Sterling Silver

Blue aquamarine (not the greener aquamarine) is fantastic with citrine.  Think of the sun and the sky, the sun and blue water.  I love this gemstone mix especially for the way that it perks up whatever I'm wearing. One gemstone alone can be classic and beautiful (see the ruby bracelet above), but put two primary colors together and you suddenly have a statement piece.  This bracelet will be on our Aquamarine Bracelets page.

Aquamarine Bracelet with Sterling Silver and Citrine

Fall in love.  And whatever you do, wherever you go, wear your jewelry!

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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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Back from Bulgaria and New Jewelry

Happy New Year!  I am looking forward to 2014 being a wonderful, creative and productive year; I hope you are as well. I spent the Christmas holidays with my son and his family in Sofia, Bulgaria, the first time I had traveled to that country.  I've already fallen in love with Bulgaria despite not having it snow while we were there. Luckily, my son lives almost in the side of Mt. Vitosha and a quick drive did provide some white magic.  I fell in love with the food (ummmm, shopska salad and eggs panagyurishte ), the wonderful churches and monasteries, the people, the art. I saw fantastic early Thracian jewelry (Southeastern Bulgaria was part of Thrace at one time), wonderful icons, and ancient sites of worship.  I can't wait to go back. Of course, the main attraction was family, but Bulgaria with family is much better than Bulgaria on my own!

Above, the Rila monastery a couple of hours outside Sofia.

The jewelry today includes (above) a ruffled looking necklace made up of tightly strung dark blue chalcedony faceted briolettes; the color is fantastic!  Then a chalcedony bracelet that is a so rich looking with faceted rectangles of chartreuse chalcedony and 14 karat gold-filled beads and toggle clasp.
Below, vermeil earrings are graceful and reminiscent of some of the Byzantine jewelry I saw in Bulgaria where the gold is so pure that it shines a deep gold. The dangling tips are sunstones.

Below are bezel-set cabochon emeralds with sterling silver. The earwires are decorated with shiny hearts; below the oval emeralds are round hammered circles. Below the emerald earrings are dangle earrings with faceted bezel-set gemstones of pink chalcedony and garnets, also in sterling silver.

Oh, and I am enjoying tremendously the SNOW that we got on Tuesday. It was a rare delight to witness snow falling from morning until into the night and I was happy all day long! The snow energized me, and I was working hard on fulfilling those New Year's resolutions that I make every year. Meanwhile, work still continues on the new site.

Bracelets: A Motley Crew!

If the above bracelet doesn't make you think of spring or that summer is almost upon us, then you are a glass-half-empty person! Today's "motley crew" of bracelets range from precious gemstones like rubies to odd combinations in colors and gemstones such as the one you see above and below.  Many of these do not have prices on them yet, so if you go to the Cluny Grey Jewelry website give me a day or two to get the cart on these. The Harlequin bracelet that you see above is made of chalcedony, aventurine, carnelian, sterling silver, and one of my favorite artist's lampwork beads made by James Derrick Reeves (he is no longer making beads, unfortunately, so I treasure the small supply of his that I have). The flower charm is from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes.

Two of my favorites are having a fine romance here in this aquamarine and sunstone bracelet which has gorgeous aquamarines, including the large faceted aquamarine nugget that is the focal. The sparkling sunstone beads hold their own however, since they are equally beguiling. Thai Karen Hill Tribes tiny faceted beads show off these pretty gemstones. The charms are also Thai Karen.

I really like the unusual rectangular reticulated sterling toggle clasp on this aquamarine bracelet.

I adore sunstone and I'm always trying to see how it is going to look with other gemstones, but it is great just on its own!  For proof, just look below! Four sumptuous strands of sunstone in different shapes and sizes are set off by the tiniest of Thai Karen Hill Tribes sterling beads. Because of these beads, the bracelet, while very full on the wrist, also has a daintiness to it.

The unbelievable focal here is what is known as crab fire agate.  It looks splendid with orange gem-quality carnelian and vermeil from Bali. It's a real show-off bangle bracelet!

What can I say about rubies? That I adore them, love to work with them, love their luxuriousness and the way they always make me think of fairy tales or India?  All of this is true. That may be why I love to use large ruby nuggets in my jewelry such as in the ruby bracelet below. An added attraction is a focal that is a large wire-wrapped bead with little ruby rondelles sticking up out of it like cabochon gemstones.

The wonderful sterling silver accents are from Bali.

And speaking of focal beads, I'm captivated by this large faceted labradorite nugget which flashes blue or green depending on the way that you look at it.  The other coins and rondelles of labradorite also have blue or green flash, and an unusual dragonfly toggle clasp is the closure.

I don't know why the bracelet below makes me think of summer, but it does. Maybe it's the bluejean color of the pretty royal blue lapis gemstones - or the yellow opals which are actually a glowing deep creamy ivory, the color of really old genuine ivory. Could it be the flowers cut out in the sterling charms or on the toggle clasp.  Whatever it is, I can see myself at 22 wearing jeans and an eyelet top with skinny straps, proud of my summer tan. (22 was a long time ago!)

I also have more new jewelry than is shown here on the site and I am adding more daily. Want something special? Just let me know - my custom work is the same price range usually as what you see on the site.

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Jewelry To Blog About!

Who has time to blog when she is busy making jewelry? Certainly not I! And that explains my absence from this blog for a while. I have been busy making beauty as I hope that you will attest. Of course, I have been busy with some amethysts since they are the birthstone for February - and also since I love to work with amethysts anyway. The top bracelet is a beautiful, gem-quality amethyst bracelet made with cushion-cut amethysts and sterling silver.  It almost hurt me to make it because I love these amethysts so much that I want to make them into jewelry but keep them at the same time!  Once they are made into a bracelet such as this, it's as if those the amethysts no longer belong to me, and of course, I hope that they will go out in the world and be worn on someone's wrist with pride - but I will miss them.
  Below, this amethyst bracelet has some more of my favorite amethysts, but these couldn't be more different.  The three large, flat, flaceted slabs of amethyst that you see here have inclusions and are far from perfect. But they are translucent if a trifle cloudy in places, and I love them. And yes, I bought a lot of them so that the first thing that I did was to use a few to make a bracelet (with gold) for myself. The amethyst bracelet below is for sale though, and features not just 14 karat gold-filled accents, but also some of Robin Weber's fantastic lampwork beads with silver leaf.  They are so gorgeous.

I've been working quite a bit with abalone as well and I thought I would try the two together: abalone and amethyst, it seemed like a good mix, especially when I saw the abalone embedded in this pendant with its pretty purple iridescence, and with the purple cabochon bezel-set in sterling silver at the bottom of the pendant. I was so taken with the pendant that I decided to use just the elements in the pendant for the abalone necklace. Sterling silver, abalone and freshwater pearl sticks. It really is a looker!

And as usual with me, one thing leads to another. I kept looking at the abalone and freshwater pearls together and decided that I would like to put together something with their wonderful contrast of light and dark iridescence, so the necklace below was born. It's a classic, so much better than just a plain pearl necklace!

To end on colorful note, here is a piece of chalcedony jewelry I am wild about! This bracelet is all chalcedony and sterling silver and just as colorful as it can be.  I especially love the focal faceted nugget of aqua chalcedony. To make it even more special, I added a colorful gemstone toggle clasp in sterling silver.

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Gold Bangles and Abalone

Fall is truly here although we still have most days in the 70's and it did hit 80 degrees this week. Never mind. I'm wearing my Fall clothes and busily finishing transferring all my warm weather clothing to another closet. Along with seeing what clothes I have that are still going to "work" for me this year, I also have all my jewelry, including costume jewelry, out to see what necklaces and bracelets are going to look good with what new outfits.  Does anyone else do this every year?
     I'm a bangle lover. Bangle bracelets have been a favorite of mine since I was in junior high and longed for a simple real gold bracelet. The bangle bracelet is one jewelry trend that has never really gone out of style. These gold bangles, however, combine gemstones with my gold for a look that is both colorful and classic.  Gold bangle bracelets look fantastic with your work clothes, then go out to happy hour and dress up well, too.
   Above is pink tourmaline (difficult to find) in the form of dainty little hearts; below is a lapis bracelet made with smooth lapis rounds. Lapis bangle bracelets look great with jeans!

Above and below, abalone is scrumptious for bangle bracelets.  Because the actual pieces of abalone are so beautiful, bangle bracelets are a wonderful venue to show off the gorgeous colors. (All the gold here is 14 karat goldfill).

Above is a beautiful aquamarine bangle bracelet. This gold bangle bracelet has pretty blue aquamarine flat nuggets in the center, and twisted bangles on the side. A twisted toggle clasp adds to the texture of the bracelet as do the sharply faceted aquamarine rondelles and fluted caps on either side.

The abalone bracelet, above, features two strands of abalone and sterling silver.  This bracelet really, really gleams.  I've kept the sea theme going on with a pretty seashell charm and a starfish charm. Little stick beads are from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes and are so pretty with the different look they give the bracelet.
  Be sure to get your Christmas orders in early.  For once, I will not be going out of the country this Christmas, but it's still good to start working on custom orders as soon as possible!

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More from the Fall Collection

I love chain bracelets! I have one that I never take off; it's a permanent fixture on my wrist. I also love bracelets that mix gold and silver, in the case, the chain bracelet is a mixture of sterling silver and 14 karat goldfill.  Tiny goldfilled ball charms hang from the middle of the bracelet and the clasp is also 14 karat gf. Three strands of chain make for a perfect bracelet!

I like combinations that aren't seen very often like the citrine and sapphire bracelet above.  The citrines are all carved gemstones in flower rondelles or carved leaf shapes.  The sapphires are faceted rondelles in a deep blue. The bracelet is accented with 14 karat gf.

Statement necklaces are very popular right now, but there are times when all you want is something simple and elegant. Enter this sapphire necklace, a lariat necklace with special flower accents in sterling silver from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes. Three smooth medium-blue colored oval sapphires fall from each flower; the large oval-linked chain is lightly textured. Holding it together is a small diamond shaped toggle clasp (also sterling silver, of course).

More sapphires! The earrings above feature 14 karat gf accents for a sophisticated look (leverbacks), while the sterling silver sapphire earrings below will delight cat lovers. Each cat sits on a faceted sapphire rondelle and is topped by a sapphire.  The earrings hang from sterling silver leverbacks so that they stay on securely.

I've always thought of labradorite as a Fall/Winter gemstone for some reason - probably because it always conjures visions of snow-filled countries and northern lights. The labradorite necklace above has labradorite with plenty of flash; the large pendant flashes its blue and aqua tones as the wearer moves about.  Four little flashy faceted coins dangle above the smooth pendant.  The necklace itself consists of faceted rondelles.
   Below, super flashy faceted coins hang from the elaborately swirled earrings here.  The earwires themselves are decorated with a single beaded ball. Labradorite earrings are great!  The more you move your head, the more noticeable they are.

Don't be a procrastinator! (I know what I am saying!) Start jewelry shopping for Christmas now, and if you want a custom order, we'll have plenty of time to design it together so that you get exactly what you want for that special someone!
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Jewelry Trends for Fall

Although it is not officially here until next week, I can smell Fall in the air, and feel the energy that comes along with the season. I'm continuing to post pieces from the new Fall Collection on the Cluny Grey Jewelry website.  Here are some of the pieces that will be posted this week:
Above and below: the aqua chalcedony bracelet features gold chain which is a big fashion trend this year.  The chalcedony here is beautiful; the smaller gemstone serves as a counter-weight  so that the bracelet does not keep turning over. 14 karat goldfill and vermeil.

Below, a prehnite bracelet features pretty translucent green olive faceted gemstones linked together with sterling silver and closing with a filigree cameo clasp.

Below, a pretty bracelet in chrysoprase has a feminine flowered toggle clasp in sterling silver and little round cabochon chrysoprase charms.

A drusy pendant is the focal of this necklace of tourmalinated quartz and amethysts. The faceted flat quartz nuggets are partially translucent and separated by translucent amethysts pebbles.  The back of the necklace is a heavy sterling silver chain.  The drusy pendant has a sparkling black drusy surround by sterling silver and four faceted bezel-set amethysts. The perfect necklace to go from work to happy hour, to pair with a LBD or with a favorite  dress.

Below, the bracelet of tourmalinated quartz and amethysts, sold separately, is a perfect match for the drusy necklace above. 

The aquamarine necklace features only aquamarine and sterling silver.  The aquamarines are smooth ovals, faceted nuggets, and pretty briolettes clustered at the center. This would look great with navy - the neutral this season, and also with burgundy, the really hot color for Fall/Winter.

Pearls are big this season! The freshwater pearl bracelet above is meant to be worn with the chalcedony nugget and the pretty toggle clasp on top of the wrist.  The toggle clasp has a bezel set pearl.  The aqua chalcedony is a beautiful faceted nugget.
   Below, three strands of freshwater pearls mix with gold and mother-of-pearl.  The gold, including the pretty puffed heart charm, is 14 karat goldfilled.  The geometric look comes from an open square of mother-of-pearl with a fluted 14 karat goldfilled bead inside it.

The earrings below are chalcedony in  a minty green topped with genuine rubies.  All metal is sterling silver. Beautiful with black - and the colors show up with most hair colors.

Chain bracelets are another big trend this year; add charms and you have a real winner.  All sterling silver with a sterling silver toggle clasp with a cabochon onyx embedded in a triangle of the toggle. The sterling chains range in size from 2mm to 8mm.

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