Versatile Citrine; The Romance of Labradorite

Citrines are a favorite gemstone of mine; yes, it seems as though I say this about so many gemstones, but citrine is one of the gemstones I wear 2 or 3 times every week.  It is a versatile gemstone that can look dressy or casual and despite its being yellow, it works well with a lot of different clothing.  The citrine bracelet here has a touch of garnet (another very versatile stone) that grounds it. The three strands of the bracelet feature faceted nuggets of citrine in different sizes, faceted citrine rondelles, smooth rondelles, an artist's lampwork bead as a focal point and tiny little sterling silver Thai Karen Hill Tribes beads.  The final touch is a sterling toggle clasp that has cabochon citrines set into the ends of the toggle bar. Citrine really looks great with beige and khaki, pops with black, and lends a sparkle to white.

I have been working with labradorite quite a bit lately. I find labradorite a romantic gemstone that works greatly on my imagination.  My mind dwells on northern climes, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Canada, and I think of the fairy tales I read as a child about Hans and Gerda, the Snow Queen, and the reindeer of Lapland. I have a romantic image of these Northern countries to this day and cannot wait to visit Scandanavia (alas, it's not high on the list of friends and family who prefer tropical locations). Labradorite will forever remind me of the Aurora Borealis with its flash of blue and other cool colors. The labradorite bracelet, above and below, is made of two strands of labradorite and sterling silver. Every gemstone has been chosen for flash, and the crowning glory of this bracelet is a flashy toggle clasp of sterling silver with a bezel-set labradorite gemstone in the toggle ring.

When I first got this lavender tinted faceted rectangles, I thought to myself, whatever will I do with these? They are an odd color and seem to change color a bit with the light. But I still loved them nonetheless and kept them where I could see them because I found them pleasurable to look at. Then I saw these artist's lampwork beads and realized that they were perfect for the chalcedony. With a minimum of sterling silver so as to let the chalcedony be the star, the necklace is mainly the lampwork, three focals, and the faceted rectangles. It is an odd piece of jewelry, unusual in its color, but one that I find compelling in its difference.

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Jewelry for My Valentine!

Cluny Grey Jewelry has a special Valentine Jewelry page on the site, though every piece of jewelry on the entire site would be a perfect Valentine's Day gift for someone! We have a few pieces on this page that you won't find anywhere else on the site yet, and a few jewelry pieces that are there because they are pink, red, peach or have hearts or some theme that seems to target love or romance. These are just a few offerings on the page. First, one of our favorite necklaces made with Swarovski crystals that you won't find anywhere else on the site. The Swarovski crystals are pink and pale golden shadow and work beautifully together especially since those are the two colors found in the special artist's lampwork heart that is the focal of the necklace (close-up picture is above). Sterling silver filigree beads are pretty, feminine and perfect for this necklace.

Pink also plays a major role in this charm bracelet on our Valentine Jewelry page. The bracelet itself is made of oval links of sterling silver from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes (with a much higher silver content than is required by law here in the USA). The Swarovski crystals are sparkling pink rondelles grouped romantically in twos and alternated with different sterling silver hearts, three from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes. For the closing touch, a lobster clasp (sterling, of course) in the shape of a heart holds it all together!

Above is another charm bracelet, this one with a sterling silver double-linked chain (you can add more charms to it later if you wish) and little bezel-set, cabochon garnet charms and heart charms from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes.
Below, a very dainty sterling silver charm bracelet features mostly open hearts hanging from a chain whose links are hearts. One large faceted briolette of red chalcedony hangs from the center of the bracelet. A ropey toggle clasp is the closure (all sterling).

 

Swarovski crystals just seem right for Valentine's Day for some reason.  The necklace above features an artist's lampwork heart (from Laffingull) in a pretty opal-like pink color sprinkled with black.  Taking a cue from the heart, Swarovski crystals in rosewater opal pink and jet black make up the necklace itself, along with sterling silver from Bali.  For an extra special touch, a double-triangle sterling toggle clasp has a cabochon onyx embedded in the toggle.
Below, more Swarovski crystals sparkle in this Valentine Jewelry. The Swarovski crystal hearts in copper, crystal, and red form the centerpiece of the necklace. Two little copper Swarovski butterflies appear to be flying up the sides of the necklace which is formed of more Swarovski crystals and little tiny sterling beads from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes.

The bracelet below features one of Cluny's favorite chains that she uses when she makes jewelry for herself. It is a twisted 14 karat gold-filled chain with largish oval links; the twisted 14 karat gold-filled toggle clasp is a perfect match for the chain. The bracelet features only two charms: one is a beautiful Swarovski crystal cross in golden shadow, the other a puffed 14 karat gold-filled heart.  It's classic and simple and perfect for someone of Christian faith.

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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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Garnets for January!

Ah, garnets, a favorite of so many people for so many years! This wonderful red gemstone was named after the pomegranate, most likely because of the color, although garnets come in many different colors including gold, brown, and green.  And I have seen red garnets so dark that they look almost black!

   I am a garnet lover.  I have a garnet ring, an oval that I wear almost everyday. I also have a garnet bracelet (with gold, of course) made of flat, faceted nuggets, made by me, that I wear almost everyday. Garnets are wonderfully versatile and can be worn with most colors.  

  Garnets are the birthstone for January, and we have quite a few garnet bracelets at Cluny Grey for you to peruse.  One of the new ones you can see here, above and below, is a double stranded bracelet with a variety of different garnets including faceted nuggets and my favorite little faceted cushion-cut rectangles.  This garnet bracelet is enhance with borosilicate lampwork beads that pick up the color of the garnets and adds just a touch more. Pretty sterling silver gives the bracelet a feminine touch, but I especially love the toggle clasp that has an bezel-set faceted garnet in it.

Of course, if you know me, you know that I love to mix gemstones, and the more I like a gemstone, the more that I want to mix it! I love aquamarines and thought these pretty deep blue faceted aquamarines would make a great foil for the garnets.  I was right! The sterling toggle clasp is in the shape of a butterfly. All of these gemstones are very fine.

I told you garnets came in other colors! I adore green garnets especially when they are translucent as these are.  Green garnets are rarer than red garnets and really pretty. The faceted nuggets and square here are mixed with plenty of sterling silver. The second strand of the bracelet features one of my favorite twisted rope sterling chains with three Thai Karen Hill Tribes charms hanging at intervals.

One strand simple garnet bracelets, below, for the purist who wants her garnets unadulterated. Accented only by sterling silver, these garnets show off their shapes, first in sterling silver, then in a gold version.

Next post, garnet earrings and garnet necklaces!


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More Blue Topaz and Consider Custom!

 The Christmas Season is hard upon us and everyone is scurrying around to find presents. If you haven't done so yet, consider a custom piece of jewelry for someone special - in many cases, there is still time to make a bracelet, necklace, or earrings depending on what you want!
   Today, just three pieces of pretty blue topaz jewelry: a bracelet, and two pairs of earrings.
    The bracelet, above, is made with London Blue faceted rondelles and goldfilled accents. It's a small bracelet with great presence.
    Below are two pairs of blue topaz earrings; both are Swiss blue topaz; one pair is made with goldfilled fluted beads and goldfilled accents. The second pair is made with sterling silver and features Thai Karen Hill Tribes heart beads above the blue topazes. The blue topazes in both pairs are faceted cubes.

These will be available for sale in the next hour or so.

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The Christmas Season Is Here!

When I was a little girl (in the late 'fifties and early'sixties), it seemed that Christmas didn't come until about 5 days before. In Hot Springs, Arkansas where I grew up, the yearly Christmas parade was on December 2nd - I remember because that was the birth date of my younger twin sisters. But between the 2nd and the day of Christmas, the time crawled unbelievably slowly, and it was only then that some stores began to put up Christmas decorations; most people got their Christmas trees the week or a few days before Christmas.
      However, while many people deplore the early start of Christmas nowadays, I love it! Christmas decorations take time to put up; it's good to leave them up for more than 5 days or so.
    I love the Christmas mood that many people seem to share this time of year, too (as long as they are not desperately shopping on Christmas Eve day!).
    I love Christmas songs which I've been singing to my grand-daughter before she takes her afternoon nap. "Christmas songs or regular songs?" I ask her as she lies on the bed, and she quickly answers, "Christmas songs!" She seems especially to like We Three Kings, O Holy Night, God Bless Ye Merry Gentlemen.
   Christmas is especially enjoyable if you do your Christmas shopping early and online.  At Cluny Grey Jewelry, I am already doing some custom pieces, and I can do them exactly as the client wants them since we have plenty of time to email back and forth and for mailing.
   The newest additions to the site are here:  above, a blue topaz bangle bracelet with gem quality London blue topazes and sterling silver Thai Karen Hill Tribes accents.
     Below, a favorite combination of mine is lapis and 14 karat goldfill.  I am very fond of chain bracelets; this lapis bracelet carries the lapis theme to the other side of the bracelet with coin lapis beads.  A hammered disk adds texture and interest so that whichever side of the bracelet shows, it looks beautiful.  The large focal lapis rectangle is wrapped with goldfill and has a goldfilled flower charm on it.  A gold sand dollar hangs beside the goldfilled toggle clasp. Gold and lapis is a jewelry trend that is here to stay!

Below, a rose quartz bangle bracelet with the prettiest pinkest faceted squares and rectangles of rose quartz with sterling silver.  Pink and sterling silver are so very pretty together.  The toggle clasp has a flower on it.

Below, I love drusies, simply because I love sparkle! This blue chalcedony drusy is complemented by Montana agate ovals in black and grey tinged with blue.  Intricate sterling silver  and a blue topaz charm add to its charm.

This simple necklace is really a knockout because of the three wonderful carved genuine aquamarine leaves. The leaves are a gorgeous shade of aquamarine blue and rather thick (so many carved gemstones are very thin) and rich.  The leaves hang from a goldfilled chain.

Enjoy this Christmas season, and if I can help you with a gift for someone very special, please let me know.



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Citrine: Stone of Success

A bit more on citrine today; it's an under-rated gemstone that is really quite wonderful. One of its best points is that its pretty color ranging from the palest yellow to a deep golden whiskey color plays well with others. It's great in combination with many other gemstones. And that is especially good news for those who want to wear their November birthstone, but feel that all yellow may not work with their wardrobe.  Above, citrine is a stunner with blue aquamarines. (Currently for sale on the Cluny Grey Jewelry site).
    Also, whether you believe in the power of gemstones or not, it is fascinating to read about the various qualities and forces which have been attributed to them, and citrine has some very, very special qualities.

• Citrine is known as the prosperity stone or the success stone.  This belief is so strong for some that they carry or wear a citrine gemstone with them when starting a new business or trying to revive an old one, or when they have had economic setbacks.
• Citrine is also known as a calming gemstone that will turn emotional chaos into order and soothe injured feelings.  It is believed to transform negative energy into positive energy.
• Citrine enhances mental clarity, confidence and willpower.
• Improves psychic awareness and spiritual development.
•  Improves self-awareness.
• Promotes joy and laughter.
• Helps those who have difficulty sleeping. A citrine(s) under one's pillow will eliminate nightmares and improve quality of sleep.

Above, one of my favorite bracelets combined citrine with pale grey ocean jasper rondelles.  Below, apatites lovely aqua is a great foil for light colored citrine.

Two more citrine based combinations:above, a carved amethyst gemstone flower sits atop a large faceted citrine nugget. Below, genuine sapphires ground a citrine bracelet full of carved citrine gemstones.

Citrine and rubies! You bet!They are stunning together, especially so with the addition of intricate pieces of sterling silver (from Bali and the Thai Karen Hill Tribes).  Is it a ruby bracelet or a citrine bracelet?  Perfect for the person who has a November birthday and a special someone with a July birthday.
  In fact, some of the prettiest bracelets that we make combine birthstones of family members, or the two birthstones of a couple. We can make bracelets with gemstone combinations that look beautiful (okay, so you don't think that red, purple, and yellow (July or January, February, and November) will look good together? Wait until you see what we can do! We guarantee that you'll love it!)
  Remember, it is not too early for us to make a memorable gift for you to give to that special someone for Christmas! Our custom pieces are priced just as our website pieces are - there is no special charge to have a custom piece made! And if you don't like it, you don't have to buy it! No money up front - you don't pay until you approve the final bracelet and it is ready to ship!

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Citrine: The November Birthstone

Citrine is one of my favorite gemstones; I have a citrine bracelet and ring that I wear constantly, and oddly enough, citrine seems to go with so many things in my wardrobe. I prefer citrine which is rather dark with a clear true yellow color though it can sometimes be rather difficult to find. I wear citrine all year round, but sometimes tend to think of the lighter citrine as a "summer" gemstone since it looks so good against a tan. But pair citrine with a grey wool outfit and add a pretty scarf with a touch of yellow and you have a winning combination!

The citrine in the bracelets here is a shade that I do love: it's clear and fairly even (sometimes citrines can look mottled).  The top citrine bracelet has two strands: one of chunky citrine nuggets and a single lampwork bead, and a second that is heavy on Thai Karen Hill Tribes sterling silver with a smattering of little citrine rondelles to give it colour and unite it with the main strand. I also like the toggle clasp which features bezel-set citrine cabochons in the ends of the toggle bar, a little touch that sets this bracelet apart.
   The second citrine bracelet, above, is one strand that features some of my favorite chunky faceted citrine nuggets. Again, a single lampwork bead adds interest to the bracelet as do the three charms that dangle near the middle of the bracelet. This bracelet would look wonderful with a dark brown or tan outfit!
     Citrine came to be known  as the "Merchant's Stone" because of its ability to generate income for the person holding the crystal. Some people keep citrine in a cash box to assure protection of their wealth.
     Some qualities people believe citrine has:

• The ability to improve problem-solving skills and memory.
• Balance the yin/yang aspects of a person.
• Improve self-esteem, optimism, confidence, and willpower.
• Improve the digestive system.

The bangle bracelet above is made with gem-quality citrine rectangles that are finely faceted.  The curved bangles are sterling silver as are the other elements. This is what I call an "everyday" bracelet, one of those that you reach for almost everyday, no matter what you are wearing because it is simple and sits easily on the wrist. It's great to wear for work since it does not get in the way when working on the computer or doing other workday tasks. And it can go casually elegant or formal business.

The earrings above hang from some of our favorite earwires, a modern curve of sterling silver.  The simple rectangles are also gem-quality and faceted like a gemstone for a ring - with a flat surface, edge beveling, and a pointed back.  These stones are a real favorite!
  Looking for a birthday gift for someone in November? Check our Citrine Bracelets page (although we have a page of citrine earrings and citrine necklaces as well).  Many of our citrine bracelets are mixed with different gemstone such as aquamarine, garnet, ruby, sapphire, and chalcedony so that they are very wearable and versatile for the woman who does not often wear yellow!

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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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