Garnet Bracelets on Parade

I've been working on garnet bracelets along with the other work that I need to get done as well as playing with one of my new Christmas presents: Adobe Photoshop. The garnet bracelets are going well, the Photoshop less so, but DH got me a great book to go along with the software so that I can try to learn the way that I usually learn best (reading a book!). Some of the pictures are okay, but nothing special yet. I do like the photo of the triple strand garnet bracelet above, and the close-up of the garnet, iolite, and lampwork below.
The bracelet below features different garnets, not just faceted and smooth or different shapes, but different colours as well including Hessonite garnets, green grossularite garnets, and rhodolite garnets. The lampwork beads are by one of my favorite lampwork artists - Lynn Nurge. They are great little swirly shaped nuggets full of opal-like colours in burgundy and amber. If you scroll further down, you will see that the other picture of this garnet bracelet is a bit too light - I haven't gotten the light and colour features quite right yet.
Another double-stranded garnet bracelet (below) features the lampwork beads of Robin Weber. These shell lampwork beads are gorgeous, very naturalistic with a soft finish. Karen Hill Tribes silver is always special (such high quality sterling) and the little shell charm and a sand dollar charm which is hidden here makes this one unique. The toggle clasp has cabochon garnets set in each end of the toggle bar.
For me, one of the biggest difficulties when working with garnet beads is that it is hard to find lampwork beads that I like to match, blend or even contrast with the gemstones in a way that is pleasing. The other difficulty with working with garnets is that I can never seem to get enough good quality garnet gemstones that are large - when I can get any that are actually large at all!All of the bracelets in this post can be found on the Garnet Bracelets page on the Cluny Grey Jewelry website.

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Garnet: The January Birthstone

Although garnet is the January birthstone, it is a favorite with many, many people. It was a classic gemstone for Victorian and Edwardian jewelry and is still popular today. Perhaps it's because its colour makes it extremely versatile. What, red? Yes, although garnet is a red gemstone, most garnet is a very dark and deep red, almost a maroon or a bugundy. At night especially, it can look almost black. Because of its deep colour, it looks great with black clothing as well as all the neutrals - khaki, navy, white, cream, camel. Garnet necklaces and bracelets look fantastic when worn with light coloured summer clothing; the contrast between the darkness of the garnets and the pale clothing can be very dramatic.

But garnet is an ancient gemstone, mentioned several times in the Bible, usually by the name of carbuncle. Carbuncle, often used for any cabochon red stone in ancient times, particularly referred however to garnets. Supposedly there were carbuncles in Eden, and God even promises his followers that He will "...make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles...." The garnet also comes in almost every colour imaginable except blue. Grossular garnets come in grey, pink, shades of yellow and green although green is probably the best known. Uvarovite is a dark green; spessartine garnet is usally an orange or reddish-orange; pyrope garnet ranges from a dark red to a pinkish-red.Above are green (grossular) garnet earrings. Garnet bracelets, garnet earrings, and garnet necklaces can all be found on the Cluny Grey Jewelry website.

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