Sunday, July 30, 2006

It's a Drusy!


My newest love is the drusy. What is a drusy, you ask? It is a gemstone that is covered with a large number of tiny crystals. Porous parts of rock were exposed to water with silica in it, and these crystals were formed. Drusies remind me of the surface of snow that has frozen, snow that glitters at night under the streetlights. A drusy (also called druse or druzy) is truly one of nature's most beautiful phenomena. The bracelet above has a soft blue drusy in a kidney shape that forms the focal of the bracelet. The beautiful lampwork is from Burt Gumeson"s "Jewels" series.
At Cluny Grey Jewelry we have a new section featuring drusy jewelry. As yet, there is only the one bracelet that you see here, but more are coming. I have a great ocean jasper drusy that will probably become the pendant in an ocean jasper necklace (unless I decide to make a bracelet from it - you know how I am about bracelets!)
On the personal side: my son and daughter-in-law are home after 3 years in Portugal (I did go there to see them). It is wonderful to have them home although for the past 3 or 4 days they have escaped the humid misery of the Arkansas summer by visiting a friend in Seattle. They will be in Washington, D.C. for the next two years and I am delighted to have them on the same continent! (That hasn't happened since 1998). My daughter-in-law is also a jewelry-maker and is hoping to take class in lampwork - and I'm crossing my fingers that she will be able to. Anything she puts her hands to turns into something exquisite!



Thursday, July 20, 2006

Rose by Any Name:Ruusu, Levantado, Gül


A unique bracelet that I'm not sure how to classify. It's from the Raj Collection, but features rhodochrosite as well as lapis, turquoise and lampwork with vermeil. Rhodochrosite is rather expensive, rather soft (Moh's hardness between 3.5 and 4), and because it has perfect cleavage, it is rarely faceted since it is so difficult to cut. Most rhodochrosite comes from South America - Argentina, Peru. However, in 2002 Colorado named rhodochrosite its state mineral; while found worldwide, some of the best samples of the stone have come from the Sweet Home Mine in Colorado.
The name comes from the Greek word rhodo for rose.
See this at Cluny Grey Jewelry as well as other unique bracelets.



Friday, July 14, 2006

Rainbow Moonstone: Bring Me the Moon


Some lampwork beads are just stunning! These silver-laced beads are. With blue and white and flashing silver, they are perfect for a rainbow moonstone and kyanite and sterling silver bracelet. I also used white Softflex so that the rainbow moonstone would not have a dark look to it.

See this unique handcrafted bracelet and more at Cluny Grey Jewelry

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

The Many Colours of Turquoise and Coral

Surprise! More necklaces! The first one is with stabilized turquoise and freshwater pearls, double strands with sterling silver.


I really, really like coral - and sometimes the rougher it is the better it is. Of course these coral slices have a smooth polish to them, as do the rondelles, but they are so rugged looking despite that. I like coral that looks as though you just broke it off the reef yourself!


The rose quartz necklace has a great lampwork bead that is huge (from Connie at River Oaks II - she does super work!), but the focal is the very large pink, yes pink, turquoise nugget that is at the center. I don't know why I like such an ersatz thing, but I really do. Lots of sterling silver with this one, too.

The simple coral bracelet above has little pieces of rough coral with freshwater pearls and sterling silver. Coral is just so basic, so rough in some ways, that it is very appealing, especially for summer.

Cluny Grey Jewelry

Thursday, June 29, 2006

The Beauty of a Necklace

For me, the real beauty of a necklace is that it usually doesn't get in the way of doing things throughout the day the way that a bracelet can. But I am a bracelet person through and through. Sometimes I have to stop and work on making necklaces - to match bracelets - or just to "even" out my inventory. I 've been working with coral and with turquoise so I incorporated both into the necklace that you see above. That's pink angelskin coral with some nice large stabilized turquoise nuggets that I've had, and of course, I had to add some lampwork beads. One of the problems I have with necklaces (that I don't with bracelets) is that I'm bothered that on many people the back of the necklace will never be seen.
The second necklace I'm temped to keep for myself. I adore lapis and the lapis in this necklace is especially good with lots of the glittering gold pyrite that I like so much. And while carnelian is great with lapis, turquoise is wonderful when paired with lapis. I've also used lots of vermeil because lapis and gold are just scrumptious!
I'm trying to slow down a bit and take a little holiday. I only have one auction on Ebay this week, and summer is slow anyway. I'm going to try to stay in the pool some (if I can tear myself away from my beads), put in a new closet, and do various things that I've been ignoring for ever so long. It's amazing how much jewelry I can make while the house falls down around my ears!
Turquoise and Coral Jewelry by Cluny Grey

Sunday, June 18, 2006

A Touch of Yellow: Keltainen väri, Jaune, Amarelo, Sárga


I love yellow. I like to wear yellow; I like yellow rooms. It is sunny and bright; it stands for the intellect (think sun=light=reason), and yes, it is mysterious although it often seems bright and happy. (Think of that ominous yellow glow that occurs sometimes after a bad storm - when you know that there is more to come.
In the turquoise braclet above, the darkish, but bright amber yellow really punches up the turquoise making you see it differently. I love this look!
Here is my overdose on yellow: yellow citrine, yellow lampwork beads with a creamy white, and yellow crazy lace agate which I love. Its wonderful swirls, patterns and colours are so beautiful that I like to play with them actually - trying to think of what I'll use them in. The yellow lace agate is so beautiful that I've been known to string some of just those gemstone beads and put them on my bedside table so that I can look at them. Okay, maybe that's weird, but they are that pretty!
In the last bracelet here, more yellow with just a touch of turquoise in the lampwork beads to punch up the yellow. More yellow crazy lace agate and also calcite beads. I really like calcite because it is the colour of clarified butter and is so rich that it is to yellow what rubies are to red.
The little dark yellow cubes on the second strand that hang as charms are also calcite. I added a generous helping of sterling silver since I wanted one of the strands to be a chain.
These will soon be on my website. You can find them by looking for Citrine Bracelets on the Cluny Grey Jewelry website. I am working on the website (it seems to be getting huge, and I still have lots to add to it. So if you see something that you like, but it doesn't not have a "Buy It" button, it will soon.

I do have some Ebay auctions running this week; check them out by searching for Cluny Grey or user id: chloemarie99.

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Bracelets, Bracelets, Oh, No, More Bracelets!

I'll start with carnelian, and the wonderful faceted orangey carnelian nuggets that I mixed with a carved flower of carnelian, lampwork beads, sterling silver and a bit of turquoise. The second strand has little charms hanging at intervals from the second strand.
I also got some great tourmaline faceted nuggets and decided to use those with these boro lampwork beads and vermeil. The chain is 14 karat goldfilled, and the other gold accents are vermeil (24 karat gold over sterling silver).
I really love sunstone, and peach is just about my favorite colour, so of course, I'm always trying to get my hands on good sunstone. This bracelet has 3 strands (one is a sterling silver chain). The wonderful lampwork beads are by Irene Collier.
I've been working on many different things this week, but I am still entranced with the Babylon Collection and have been making drawings that I may experiment with later this week. The basis for this collection is my love of lapis lazuli - especially when it is paired with gold. The lapis lazuli one sees on the ancient art in Egypt (beards are often rendered in lapis in sculpture) mixed with gold is opulent, the way you imagine rich gold and gemstones when you're a child. The museum in Cairo is like being lost in a fairy tale. One gets the same feeling at the University of Pennsylvania's small museum when viewing the Middle Eastern art with its lavish gold and lapis from Mesopotamia.

See the jewelry at Cluny Grey Jewelry . A few of the pieces may be on auction at Ebay this week: check for Cluny Grey or under the user name chloemarie99.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Fluorite: It's Not Easy Being Green & Purple



I love fluorite because of the complexity of its colouring. Yes, it's green and purple --- and teal and lilac and lavender and azure and violet and mint and aqua and striped and mottled and transparent, translucent, and almost opaque. It's a very unpredictable stone!

It is a soft stone which is one reason that you don't see a lot of fluorite rings (too bad!). But if you don't wear it 24 hours a day and when you're digging ditches, it should be okay.
Whenever I am not sure what I want to do, I try to do something with fluorite; inevitably, it gets me in the mood (fluorite as aphrodisiac?). Anyway, here is what I've been working on this week.

The fluorite bracelet with the toggle clasp is up for auction on Ebay this week, and the fluorite nugget earrings do come with it. To see the auction, do a search for Cluny Grey or look for user id: chloemarie99.
Otherwise, as usual, you can find my jewelry on my website, Cluny Grey Jewelry where I'll soon have these up here: Cluny's Fluorite Jewelry





Sunday, June 04, 2006

Beads, Bangles, and Turquoise


I love bangle bracelets; I always have. There are sorts I like better than others of course; I prefer the thicker ones to thin - although I have had some thin ones I like. I love my David Yurman bracelets that so effortlessly combine gold with sterling silver that even I don't feel like I'm clashing (I'm Ms. Monochromatic when it comes to clothing). I'm really fond of these large rectangles. I first got the gemstone rectangles in carnelian, then jade, and now these blue quartz (not glass). This is really a heavenly shade of blue. I had to put some of Burt Gumeson's lampwork beads with it to make a bangle that really looked put together. I'm fairly happy with the result. It's not for everyone, but it is an especially pretty bracelet.

These lampwork beads were such a peculiar colour that I kept looking at them and wanting to use them. I don't really use copper (the metal) in my designs, but if I did, I think these would have done well with copper. The beads are a rather muted metallic coppery colour with orange and pink "bumps." Now I love orange and pink together (shades of the 'sixties) so maybe that's what drew me to these. One thing that I like about this bangle is that there is no disputing that the lampwork beads are the focal point of this piece of jewelry.


Summer just screams coral and turquoise to me - not necessarily together, but they do work together. I really like this coral and turquoise bracelet and am very happy with the way that it turned out! That probably means that it won't sell because half the time the pieces I am delighted with are not always the ones that are a hit with buyers. C'est la vie!
You can find the bracelets here at my website:Bangle Bracelets or here: Turquoise Bracelets, and both are on the Cluny Grey Jewelry website.


Friday, May 26, 2006

Nights in Babylon


I've been working with my favorite for jewelry this week: gold. Or in this case, vermeil (24 karat gold layered over sterling silver) or 14 karat goldfilled.
The bracelet that you see above is from my "Babylonian" collection. I call it that because of the bright gold, lapis, turquoise, and carnelian which all remind me of the Mesopotamian art from Biblical times. The gold used in those works of art, artifacts, and jewelry is as pure as it can be and still retain its shape so that it is a dark bright colour like vermeil. I also used a bit of wirework with 14 karat goldfilled wire for something just a bit different. I love the look of gold with gemstones although I know that sterling silver is what is currently in vogue. Of course, I've had to incorporate some of my favorite lampwork beads as well.

Another Babylon bracelet mixes just lapis and carnelian together. I love the colours in this carnelian, and the lapis I've gotten lately is of good quality with just the right sprinkling of pyrite (fool's gold) throughout so that it has the glittery look in the light that I admire.

I also love sunstone - what's not to love. It's a peachy to coral colour and it GLITTERS because of chatoyancy or Schiller effect. Very good sunstone is so expensive, but I got some okay sunstone (it has chatoyancy) and had to play with it a bit.

To see this jewelry and more, go to Cluny Grey Jewelry or check for some on auction on Ebay under user id: chloemarie99 or do a search for Cluny Grey.


Another jewelry blog: If you are interested in Jewelry (yes, with a capital "J") check out Zsolt Balla's blog Modern Jewelry from Budapest, Hungary. It has lots of information on jewelry and jewelry styles and fashions.


Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Tourmaline, Turquoise, and My Bracelets de La Semaine

triple strand tourmaline bracelet with labradorite and sterling silverI've been trying to work with different gemstones, since I am so bad about getting onto one and using and reusing it (I've been doing that with turquoise). In an effort to be a bit different, I've used tourmaline - not my favorite gemstone because good tourmaline is just too expensive, and I seldom see it cut in a way that I want to use and that I can afford to use as well. But I did get some pretty tourmaline from Spain with lots of pink in it, green, and very little black. I threw in some of the highest quality labradorite rondelles that I had (tons of blue flash) and used one of my labradorite nuggets with good blue flash, made three strands, braided them, and I'm pretty happy with the result.
turquoise beaded bracelet with green quartz and sterling silver
turquoise bracelet with pearls and sterling silverI've been playing with turquoise as you can see, and here are some of the results of my play. I tried it with pearls (above) and lampwork beads, muscovite and lampwork beads, and even green quartz and lampwork beads. The lampwork beads are by Burt Gumeson and James Derrick Reeves, two of my favorite lampworkers. The pearls are freshwater, and the metal components, charms, clasps, beads, are all sterling silver. Hmmm, I'm going to have to put a picture of a turquoise bracelet with gold (or vermeil) because I think that while turquoise and sterling silver are classic, gold is fantastic with turquoise and gives it a richness that reminds me of ancient romantic places, Babylon, Sumer, Ur, Egypt.
turquoise bracelet with lampwork beads and muscovite gemstones and sterling silver
By the way, if you are intersted in beading and other crafts, check out Elifce's blog where she demonstrates with video - and even has some video of her hometown in Turkey! Look on my sidebar under Elifce's for her ecraft.blogspot.com.
Cluny Grey Jewelry

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Playing with Pearls

This week I've been playing with pearls (if you can't tell). I especially love silver pearls, but except for the silver, I really didn't play with any of the coloured pearls I have. I really wanted to work only with my freshwater white pearls in different shapes and sizes, but as usual I got sidetracked because I think that both navy and black look so good with silver. and these silver freshwater pearls have a beautiful nacre, so it seemed a shame not to use them. The top bracelet features the very special lampwork beads that I don't get to buy that often, but that I love because of the way they are laced with metallic silver. I decided on 3 strands for the bracelet to counteract the delicacy of the pearls and to carry off the lentil lampwork beads, threw in some great "shadow" Swarovski crystal, and a lot of Karen Hill Tribes silver.
I've loved coral since about 1976 when I had a fabulous coral and navy necklace (the coral was a bright peach) that looked fantastic against a tan. Coral and pearls are classic and rather Victorian; throwing in the silver modernizes this bracelet quite a bit. I made a similar version with gold and 4 strands instead of 3.

Great iolite nugget beads inspired this bracelet. Iolite is so hard to get a good picture of! I can never get the depth and translucence of the stones to show through. The iolite looks great with the silver pearls - take my word for it.
And finally, pearls and... genuine sapphires! They are not gem-quality, of course, and they are opaque, but they look wonderful with white pearls and the ornate sterling silver beads and charms. I'm happy with the earrings also.
Some of these are on auction on Ebay this week: user id: chloemarie99 or search for Cluny Grey or check out the Cluny Grey Jewelry website.


  • Cluny Grey Jewelry
  • Monday, April 17, 2006

    Labradorite: Nature Getting Flashy!




    I love good labradorite! When I say good labradorite, I mean labradorite with lots and lots of that gorgeous blue flash! Between the dark colour and the bright flash, I can easily associate labradorite with Labrador, the place where it was first discovered (the Native Indians of Labrador called it "firestone"). The play of colour is known as the Schiller effect.
    I got some great labradorite nuggets lately with lots of fire and flash. I especially love the longer nuggets like the one on the chain bracelet, and the chunkier ones (one on the other bracelet; I have more that I haven't made into anything yet).
    The chain bracelet ("Unchain the Light") is one of my favorites since it shows the Schiller effect wonderfully, and the chains of oxidised sterling silver (from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes) give it a special look, but one that would work everyday.
    The second double strand bracelet also features a silver-laced lampwork bead by Lisa Sharik of Texas.

    These and other pieces can be seen in the Ebay store also: Studio G; userid: chloemarie99 or do a simple search for Cluny Grey.

    Cluny Grey Jewelry

    Thursday, April 13, 2006

    The Colour of the Week is - PINK!

    I am constantly fixing on a colour and getting fixated! This week the colour was pink - or the pink tones. I got some new pink zebra jasper that actually has somewhat of a peachy tone to it, so I decided to match it with some of the pink Peruvian opals that I have that have more of a peach cast also. The real catalyst were these beads from Irene Collier (a lampwork bead artist) that are perfectly made. Then, since I was using pink anyway, I started looking over the lampwork beads and pulled out the rose quartz to go with a fabulous floral bead from James Derrick Reeves that I have been saving. Two strands later, I still was in a pink mood, so I decided to combine the pink Peruvian opal and the rose quartz with some great pink "Jewels" (lampwork beads from Burt Gumeson). Today I made myself go for the Indian agate, ocean jasper and aventurine (mostly greenish gemstones) just to make sure I didn't overdose on the pink!


    Cluny Grey Jewelry

    Thursday, April 06, 2006

    Roxo, морав цвят, Opgave,Púrpura, Hensikt, Purpurarauður, Purperrood, It's All PURPLE!!


    Once again, I am in the thrall of purple. How did this happen? Easily. Amethysts from Spain. Nice chunky, faceted amethysts from Spain. Dark purple amethysts - very high quality. Wonderfully light purple faceted chunky amethysts, a bit lower in quality, but I think I like them better because of the great depth they have - and because they are a bit bigger. I love faceted, chunky stones that remind me of the fairy tales I read as a child. When I envisioned a Princess having her weight matched in rubies - those rubies were not nicely faceted little round ones. They were big faceted chunks of tranlucent rubies. Emeralds, sapphires, amethysts, all the coloured stones were the most appealing and the richest. So when I got these amethysts from Spain, I had to use them right away. I had some lampwork, too, that was a pretty purple, so what was I waiting for?
    The bracelet above is the first result, and the necklace and earrings below the second. I really like the earrings since they have amethyst cabochons set in silver below the big chunks, then little dangles. The necklace is a lariat style with one of the prettiest sterling silver toggle clasps in the form of a swirling leaf; another chunky amethyst dangles from it.

    The other purple stones include charoite, sugilite, crazy lace agate, and lepidolite. The sterling silver is from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes and from Bali.
    By the way, how many languages in the title can you recognize without looking them up?

    Jewelry can be seen at Cluny Grey Jewelry

    Thursday, March 30, 2006

    Sunstone, Swarovski, Boro and Vermeil

    I am a huge fan of gold, even though I know that sterling silver is the rage (but gold is coming back "in" as a fashion must). I had to post this bracelet because I was so happy with the way that it turned out. Wonderful borosilicate beads are alternated with the new copper coloured Swarovski rondelles; the gemstone beads are sunstone, a pale sunstone, but still with the telltale sparkle that makes sunstone such a beauty. The turquoise beads are lampwork and the gold is vermeil. Many people are unsure what vermeil is (pronounced vair - may). The base of vermeil is actually sterling silver; then the sterling is plated with 24 karat (usually, it can be a lower karat) gold. In the world of handcrafted jewelry, vermeil is often the alternative to using actual gold or base metal plated findings. First, the choice of findings in, say, 14 karat gold is extremely limited and prohibitively expensive. Even gold filled items, though a good choice, are hard to find. Vermeil, perhaps because its base is sterling presents a choice for quality, yet affordable, gold findings. With care (don't go swimming in it, take a shower in it, wear it non-stop for days) and proper storage (actually a baggy is great), it will look great for years and years.
    This bracelet is up for auction on Ebay this week: check for Cluny Grey or user id: chloemarie99.


    Cluny Grey Jewelry

    Monday, March 27, 2006

    The Art of the Bracelet


    I have no special theme for this blog; I just got some different lampwork beads in from a bead artist I haven't used before, and it drove me to create. These beads were really not in sets the way so many usually are although some have similar colours. Just one lampwork bead is in the first bracelet, and it has a strong yellow, green, and an orangey-red with a touch of yellow, too. I decided to go crazy and used yellow agate, carved brecciated jasper, yellow calcite, and an Indian agate oval. I used a light chain for a second strand with a few little cubes of yellow calcite dangling from it in three places.
    I'm still using some Indian agate here, and some fancy jasper. The two lampwork beads are different but still in the same strong colour families. This time I used larger links and used just a half strand after finishing the first one. The charms are Indian agate and Karen Hill Tribes' sterling silver.
    I love to work with purple (always - even though I don't wear purple clothes really). The large floral encased lampwork bead on the left is from James Derrick Reeves, and the lentil on the right is one of the new beads (and one I really like). I was going to add charms, but now I'm not sure. The chain has patterned oval links and I have fastened it in 2 places so that it has a scalloped effect. I've used fluorite, a purple fancy jasper rectangle, amethyst nuggets, and a purple crazy lace agate rondelle.
    I am fond of mixing the chain with the bracelets having gemstones and lampwork combined. It gives a certain je ne sais quoi that I especially like.

    Cluny Grey Jewelry

    Monday, March 20, 2006

    Lampwork and Gemstones and Silver, Oh My!

    I have got to stop buying lampwork beads or I am going to be broke. But they are so enticing, even on an internet page. I like them best when they are combined with gemstones although later this week I'm going to start doing a few with just lampwork and Swarovski crystals.
    One of my favorite lampworkers is James Derrick Reeves; I use his beads all the time, and I have used them in the bracelet above. I love his colour combinations. This particular set had turquoise with 2 tones of purple - a very pinkish purple or almost magenta, and a true purple. I used some of the beads in the set with some fantastic amazonite that I'd bought recently - amazonite that is a very nice clear turquoise colour (I'm having a difficult time finding pretty amazonite lately). I added a couple of purple crazy lace agate faceted rondelles and a charoite barrel. I favored the Thai sterling silver from the Karen Hill Tribes: an intricate rose charm, a pretty toggle clasp, and a great cap that I inserted amazonite into to look like a flower bud charm. Spring is practically here!


    Wednesday, March 15, 2006

    Chisca!!

    Another stone for me to fall in love with! This time it's muscovite: a relatively soft stone but with great sparkle! And sparkle does it for me! In the bracelet above (if you're not familiar with the gemstone) the muscovite is the purplish stone with flecks; there are ovals and rectangles - all smooth. Oh, but that sparkle, like little pieces of glitter stuck beneath the surface! The colour of muscovite reminds me of biting inside a ripe plum (the colour - I'm not chewing on the muscovite). I really like this bracelet, and not just because of the muscovite. I like the faceted Cape amethyst nuggets, the half strand made of opal-lined glass beads, the little rectangular charm from the Karen Hill Tribes that hangs from it, and of course the lampwork beads: the larger by James Derrick Reeves and the smaller by Burt Gumeson (my 2 favorite lampworkers). If it doesn't sell (it's up for auction on Ebay this week), I'm thinking about keeping it for myself.

    Cluny Grey Jewelry

    Monday, March 13, 2006

    The Challenge of Polymer Clay


    Along with making my regular jewelry, I have been playing with polymer clay, a very interesting medium that is fascinating to work with because of the ability to blend or swirl colours. The top pendant was just a colour experiment - I love the metallics, so I always have to introduce the copper, gold, or silver in with it. The next piece is my first attempt at making a rose; I made the rose, and fired it, but haven't yet sanded or smoothed it or coated it with a gloss. Keeping fingerprints and nail prints out of the finished product I see will be a problem already, especially if I can't sand them out. How do others get the finished product to look so perfect?


    The next piece is actually two pieces blended into one bracelet. First, I am interested in chain maille, so the chain part of the bracelet was an experiment that ended happily I thought with mixing different rings together. Then I made the stone part of the bracelet in response to another Forum challenge at Art Jewelry magazine: my colours were soft blue, apricot, and lavender. Blue lace agate served for the soft blue, large freshwater pearls and sunstone for the apricot, and Cape amethyst for the lavender. When I combined it with the chain maille, I was quite happy with the result and felt I had risen to the challenge.


    The final bracelet is one I made thinking about the crisp navy blues of Spring - especially navy mixed with white. The rainbow moonstone I used has tons of flash, and I adore iolite. I also like double strand bracelets a lot. So i was rather satisfied with this bracelet as well. Not a bad week for jewelry!




  • Cluny Grey Jewelry