A Little Lapis

I've been working with lapis lazuli a bit this week, a stone I've always loved, especially if it has a sprinkling of pyrite that glitters and catches the light, and most of this does. I also like lapis because it has a connection to the ancient world; I cannot think of it without seeing in my mind the gold and lapis harp or the little goat-god, Tammuz, with his lapis beard. I like gemstones that give me this link to the ancient past, a romantic notion of mine and I'm sure, many others. Still working with the new Fall colours, I mixed the lapis with glittering sunstone and the loveliest borosilicate lampwork beads I could find. I decided to forget about lampwork beads for the bracelet below, and instead just mixed it with 14 karat gold fill ; it's a simple bracelet with presence. See it on our Lapis Jewelry page.

I also worked with citrine and created this citrine necklace (with matching earrings although you can't see all of them here; they have cabochon citrines in the earwires). I love these clear pale yellow faceted nuggets, and they look great with the Bali sterling silver.


Finally, an amazonite bracelet that I mixed with sterling silver and Pacific Opal Swarovski crystals. I love this combination, but it only works with good, deeply coloured amazonite.
I finally have some auctions listed on Ebay; I'm thinking of closing my store there. Meanwhile, the bids start lower than the usual prices for the jewelry. Do a search for Cluny Grey or look for my user id: chloemarie99.
Meanwhile, keep beading and keep enjoying summer!

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A Preview of the New Fall Colours

I don't know about you, but I'm enjoying summer; so far, the heat and humidity have not been that bad here in Arkansas. Of course, as I soon as I write this, we will probably be stricken with a heat wave and humidity so dense if feels as though we're breathing underwater. It has been what I think of as "pleasantly hot"; that is, hot enough to enjoy cooling off in the pool and to want nice cold drinks, but not hot enough to make me want to avoid going out of doors at all (wait until August!).
Meanwhile I've been working on some jewelry commissions, and even trying to get ready for Fall a bit (yes, already).
Above is a bracelet I made using some of the new Fall 2007 colours although the look definitely says summer also. The lampwork beads are some of my favourites; they are etched for a matte finish. (I think of them as having a "desert" look.) Fire agate and gorgeous aqua chalcedony complete the look.
Above and below are more new Fall colours. I made a trio of these bracelets that can be worn separately or 2 at a time or all 3 together. These colours are from a palette described as "forest". The colour I love is the muted aqua/teal colour; in the bracelet this colour is represented by the faceted kyanite coins. I'm not sure how to describe the colour, but it is referred to as "Stargazer", and I love that name. Smoky quartz is great with this colour, and the dark brown, the darkest brown is a big colour for this Fall also. Finally, the sparkly sunstone that glitters represents a bright golden dark peach colour that is a favourite of mine anytime.
Enjoy summer; no matter what the calendar says, summer never lasts as long as winter......

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Rubies: Divinely Decadent

Rubies are one of my favourite gemstones. Rubies conjure visions of long-ago India, beautiful dark-haired women in colourful saris trimmed lavishly in gold, their ears and arms heavy with golden jewelry made of rubies and other precious gemstones...corpulent Eastern kings who leer at dancing girls, rubies and diamonds flashing on every finger...exotic courtesans who live only to be beautiful and to please...
But rubies are also a modern favourite; the ruby is the July birthstone and one of the three precious gemstones other than diamonds (the other two are emerald and sapphire). I love to work with rubies although I am limited somewhat by price. However, the natural rubies that you see on this page were all fairly inexpensive, as rubies go. Although I do have some gem-quality rubies on the Cluny Grey Jewelry website, I decided to feature these natural rubies today.

The top photo is a close-up of a ruby bracelet made of the natural rubies, sterling silver, and one wonderful borosilicate lampwork bead by Frozenfyre. You can see the full bracelet in the picture below. Above is a simple draped chain and ruby necklace of sterling silver with the natural rubies holding everything together.

The last bracelet is a handcrafted chain from the Karen Hill Tribes doubled with a toggle clasp and ruby charms. A very simple bracelet that can be worn everyday, these natural rubies are also a dark maroon/burgundy colour that can go with many different clothing colours.
Happy Birthday to you July babies!


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