It's Time for Coral! (and Rubies and Sunstone and Turquoise)

I adore summer! I love summer clothes, summer shoes, summer hats, and of course, "summer" jewelry.  Although the jewelry here can be worn at any time of the year, something about each piece makes me think "summer"! Above, the gold bangle bracelet with its large faceted ruby nugget is red-hot! Ruby is the July birthstone - how much more "summer" can you get than that?
Below, although I do wear coral in the winter (I wear peach and coral clothing all year long), it still just says summer to me. This chunky coral bracelet with its very fine artist's lampwork beads (some of the best that we have) is accented by gold vermeil (22 karat gold over sterling silver). Even the little Cupid charm is vermeil.

Turquoise is a summer favorite! If you tan, (and if you do, please do so carefully), turquoise looks wonderful against tanned skin.  We see so much turquoise with sterling silver, its fun to pair it with gold for a chain.  The gold here is 14 karat gold-fill that will last a lifetime! The turquoise in this turquoise bead bracelet is especially pretty - a deep turquoise blue.

Sunstone is reminiscent of the sun in summer with its sparkle and shine. The sunstone bracelet below is handmade of three strands featuring lovely shining sunstones, little Thai Karen Hill Tribes beads and sterling chain and Bali charms.  All components are sterling silver.

Another summer favorite of mine is the mix of coral with turquoise: it's the best of both worlds! Here the angelskin coral is a pretty peachy pink that looks great both with sterling silver and the faceted ovals of turquoise which are from the famed Sleeping Beauty turquoise mine. Three strands of beauty are held together with a sterling leaf toggle clasp that curves gracefully. Little coral charms dangle from three place around the bracelet.
  Below is one of our newest bracelets made with the tiny little Thai Karen Hill Tribes sterling beads that we are liking and using quite a bit now.  This elegant handmade bracelet has 3 strands, one that is a Karen Hill Tribes chain, and pretty gemstones scattered throughout.  Gem-quality London Blue topaz as well as amethyst, labradorite, and rose quartz are in the bracelet.  The box clasp has two bezel-set iolites set into it. Little sterling silver charms hang at intervals from the handmade bracelet.

More coral bracelet, above and below, mix coral with gemstones and freshwater pearls.  Above, genuine emeralds may not be a common gemstone to mix with coral, but it makes a stunning match for the pinky-peach coral and gold-filled accents.
   Below, two sizes of coral and freshwater pearls are accented by sterling silver including a starfish charm and a pretty toggle clasp with flowers on the toggle ring and bar.

Above and below, wonderful golden coral shines and is made very versatile by pairing it with sterling silver. The earrings are simple, while the one strand coral bracelet gets added shine from Robin Weber's silver-laced golden lampwork beads. Very unusual!

 

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Jewelry in the Merry Month of May!

 

I love the month of May, and not just because it is my birthday and wedding anniversary month; it is the month that the privet and peonies bloom and fill the air with a wonderful aroma.  I'm awakened here in Virginia by the sound of birdsong; azealas and dogwoods are blooming everywhere and the landscape is enhanced with their colors.
   May is the month of emeralds, my birthstone.  I work with beads, so getting to work with emeralds is special since most emeralds are cut into stones for settings.  But sometimes I find emeralds that are worth working with.  I like the faceted nuggets in the emerald bracelet above because they are chunky and they do have a true "emerald" green.  This bracelet is made with 14 karat goldfill although I make lots of emerald jewelry with sterling silver.
   Below is a fun emerald bracelet made with with pretty little emerald charms fashioned from faceted emerald rondelles.  If the emerald is your birthstone, feel blessed!

 

Rubies and apatite are luscious together.  These big ruby nuggets are perfect to play off the translucent little apatite rondelles. The cabochon ruby in the sterling silver toggle makes this ruby bracelet even more special.

  

Above and below, fluorite is a favorite gemstone of mine because it so often combines purple and green in one single gemstone.  The colors of fluorite are soft and beautiful, and in this case, mixed with sterling silver and little charms of green aventurine.

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The true season of coral is beginning! Above and below, chunky red coral combines with some of our best artist's lampwork beads and gold vermeil for a fantastic mix!

 

 

Turquoise pairs with gold in the turquoise bracelet above; the gold is 14 karat goldfill.  Below, turquoise is also a wonderful partner with angelskin pink coral.  Sterling silver and little coral dangles make this a very feminine bracelet.

 

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Just for fun: a carnelian bracelet, above, gets a kick from a sparkling drusy focal as well as 14 karat goldfill, while below, emeralds around the ankle are beautifully luxurious in this emerald and sterling silver anklet.

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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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More Jewelry for Spring!

The mixed colors of tourmaline are always in style; here the two strand tourmaline necklace is truly seasonless. The necklace has tourmalines in all shapes and sizes from smooth opaque nuggets to translucent rondelles to gem-quality tourmalines.  Sterling silver accents the many colors and a special gemstone clasp holds it all together!
   Below, I've become really enamoured of apatite, especially the neon turquoise color that you see here in this apatite and mixed gemstone bracelet. Gem quality amethysts are beautiful with the apatite, but the unusual addition is that of genuine opals from Australia. 14 karat gold-filled components show off the beauty of the gemstones, and 14 karat gold-filled sand-dollar charm adds a whimsical touch.

Above and below, this chalcedony necklace will mix with most of your chalcedony jewelry since it boasts wonderful spring colors of aqua, light green, purple, pink and yellow.  The purple gemstones are large faceted slabs of amethysts; the small faceted yellow olive gemstones are lemon quartz. Tiny accents of sterling silver are between each of the gemstones and a sterling silver clasp is the closure.

Finally, chrysoprase boasts the ultimate spring green color in this two-strand bracelet with lemon quartz. Sterling silver components are in this bracelet featuring some of our favorite chrysoprase carved and faceted gemstones.
Cluny Grey Jewelry

More Jewelry from the Spring Collection

Today a sampling of jewelry with no rhyme or reason as to its inclusion except that all pieces are part of the Cluny Grey Spring Collection.
The first is a labradorite necklace with accents of 14 karat goldfill. Each single bead was chosen for its flash, and the little smooth briolettes in the center of the necklace gives it a "ruffled" look.

This labradorite necklace has two strands of labradorite in varying shapes, both faceted and smooth gemstones. Again, each gemstone of labradorite was chosen for its flash. The star of the necklace is the wonderful sterling silver pendant with bezel set smooth and faceted gemstones set in an assymetrical pattern.  The largest stone is a labradorite cabochon with amazing blue flash.  There's also a bezel-set garnet gemstone on the actual bail of the pendant. The two other gemstones are faceted rectangles of amethyst and blue topaz.

Sunstone earrings are simple smooth teardrop briolettes.

The emerald bracelet, above, boasts the addition of cultured freshwater coin pearls in the same emerald color. Emerald is one of the biggest colors for this spring.

Above and below, an aquamarine bangle bracelet features pretty blue aquamarines and sterling silver bangles; the mother of pearl bracelet below has clover-shaped cultured freshwater pearls as an accent on one side and 14 karat gold-filled accents. Both bracelets will look wonderful with Spring's colors of dusk blue, Monaco blue, and African violet.

Tourmaline is a perennial favorite and one of the most beautiful gemstones with its many varying colors which are mixed here in both the necklace and bracelet. Both pieces of tourmaline jewelry have a good measure of the valued pink tourmalines.

  Both pairs of quartz earrings are accented by sterling silver earwires with bezel-set white freshwater pearls.

More jewelry on Thursday!