The Jewelry Blog

Monday, August 18, 2008

Lariats: Pearls and Gemstones, Gold and Silver

I like lariats, but like some other things I forget, I sometimes forget to make them until I realize that the Lariat Necklace page has only a few necklaces on it, or I put one of my own around my neck and think how much I like fastening a necklace in the front. I always have to take a break at some point during the day when working on custom pieces, especially when I am trying to think how I want the finished result to look (when someone has simply said, "Make a necklace for me" when its design is left up to me. Working on a lariat takes me away from the task at hand and refreshes me, and usually it doesn't take me that long to make one.
Here are a few lariats I've made over the past couple of weeks at odd times.
Above, getting ready for September and its sapphire birthstone is a sapphire lariat necklace with sterling silver. And yes, those yellow gemstones forming the stamen of the flower are sapphires also.
Below is a lariat necklace featuring freshwater pearls, Biwa and coin, with mother of pearl and flashing rainbow moonstone. Hanging at the end is a special Karen Hill Tribes sterling silver dragonfly pendant and a carved mother of pearl flower and leaf.

Below is a lariat necklace made with a 14k goldfilled textured oval link chain, a Swarovski crystal copper butterfly, 14k goldfilled pansy, and a 14k goldfilled dragonfly and disk.
Finally, the last lariat is one that I put on and reluctantly took off when it was time to go home (I try on almost all my jewelry pieces, especially bracelets, to make sure that they hang correctly and are well-balanced). It's a sterling silver chain with a double toggle and one of my favorite colour combinations from Swarovski: morion and silk Swarovski crystals. It also features a little sterling shell charm and a butterfly charm from the Hill Tribes. (There are two pictures of it: one on a white background, and one on a black background - getting the subtle silk colour to show up is especially difficult - it's a pale peach).
I'll be posting these on the Cluny Grey Jewelry website the next two nights (days are for making jewelry; nights at home are when I do the online postings usually).

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Monday, August 11, 2008

Strange Brew: Dragonflies, Blue Topaz, and Unakite

These are what we in Arkansas call the "dog days" of summer. Theories abound as to where the name originates from ancient and astronomical (the Dog Star, Sirius, is supposedly in ascendancy during August) to folk (more rabid dogs roam the country roads during the hot days of August) to the idea that August in the southern US is too hot even for a dog to bear.
I'm trying to stay cool, and every now and then make something between the custom orders. Although it's unusual for me, I have 3 totally different bracelets here - I usually start using a gemstone and make piece after piece until I don't want to look at that particular gemstone anymore. I'll blame the difference on the August heat.
Above is a Swarovski bracelet made with those dragonfly tubes from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes that I love. Swarovski butterflies are on either side of the clasp, and the other Swarovski crystals are huge! All of the crystals have the Aurora Borealis finish on them.

Below is a bracelet made with a stone that I haven't used in months and months: unakite. Maybe I was just waiting for the right lampwork beads; if so, these lampwork beads by Suzette Celestin were well worth the wait. I'll swear she made them while daydreaming about unakite! It will be posted on a new page called Gemstone Bracelets that will be on the website soon. It's a page featuring the bracelets that really don't fit any of the other categories that we have a page for.

Finally, the last bracelet, above, is made with faceted black onyx and London blue topaz. I'm very low on blue topaz jewelry; one reason is that good blue topaz, Swiss or London blue, is very hard to find. I'm really not terribly fond of the blue topaz that is so pale that you can hardly tell that it's blue, so I tend to wait until I have collected a few gem-quality pieces of blue topaz before I make anything.

Stay cool, enjoy what is left of the summer, and above all, wear your jewelry!!!

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Thursday, July 31, 2008

Peridot: The August Birthstone

The August birthstone, peridot, is a beautiful bright green gemstone also known as olivine. Its use is ancient, and the peridot has been confused with the emerald. The ancient source of peridot was from Saint John Island in the Red Sea, also known as the "Serpent Island" (apparently the miners had to fight snakes during their work) and therefore, peridot is often thought to protect against snakes. Today, much of the peridot used in peridot jewelry comes from Arizona.

Peridot is often associated with wealth, likely a modern view of the gemstone. For those who believe in the power of gemstones to effect change, the peridot is credited with increasing energy and strength, and protecting the wrists, lungs, and sinuses. Emotionally, it is said to relieve negative feelings, prevent nervousness, and dispel anger. Insomniacs would do well to wear peridot to bed at night since one of its benefits is to encourage sleep. Many also believe that peridot possesses the power to help heal hurt feelings, so if you believe in the Victorian sensibility of letting gemstones send a message, peridot jewelry is a gift that for the person whose feelings you've wounded.

In addition to being the August birthstone, peridot is also the gemstone for the 16th year of marriage and the gemstone of Saint Bartholomew.

Peridot is a gemstone that I like to work with when I can find it in a decent size. It is extremely difficult to find peridot nuggets - or any form of peridot bead over 5mm in size. Gem quality peridot is especially beautiful, clear and bright, a green that zings when it hits your eyes. Peridot looks great alone or when combined with one other or several gemstones. The first peridot bracelet has just a hint of amethyst suggested by the lampwork bead, a peridot coloured lentil with a purple design on it. The amethyst accent is repeated in the gemstone clasp of the bracelet (see second picture).
Rose quartz and lampwork beads enhance the next peridot bracelet, and freshwater Biwa pearls and intricate sterling silver dominate the next bracelet.
Smokey quartz combines with peridot and lampwork in the peridot necklace with a rather large faceted peridot in its gemstone pendant. Below, peridot earrings boast bezel set peridots in one pair, and larger peridot nuggets in another.