All about jewellery making

Today I am showing a necklace that I made for my Mum with stock from my bead shop.  I was very pleased with this combination of beads - the necklace includes quite a variety.  The pendant itself is russian jade and this particular example has very beautiful markings and colouration. 

The beads accompanying the pendant are green moss agate, hematite and freshwater pearl.  I used Bali silver bead caps and small Bali silver and hematite beads to create visual interest in terms of profile, shape and size.  The clasp is a Bali style pewter toggle. 

For this type of necklace I use bead stringing wire such as Acculon because it hold the beads nicely and is strong and I attached the pendant to the main body of the necklace by using a homemade headpin.  This type of headpin is very simple to make by forming a straightforward spiral at the end.  I used a wire-wrapped loop at the top for extra security.

Chrysocolla

Lately I have been using chrysocolla in my jewellery making projects (see my mossy glade pendant and chrysocolla wirework earrings) so I thought I would find out a little bit more about this beautiful stone. 

Chrysocolla is predominantly green but often displays many variations in shade and sometimes bears a turquoise colouration.  Chrysocolla crystals are formed when copper is exposed to both air and water and the colour value is influenced by other copper based minerals found to be present within the stone - these can include malachite, turquoise, cuprite and azurite.   High quality examples of chrysocolla show a surface covered by separate areas of blue and green that result in an effect resembling images of the earth from outer space. 

I personally think that chrysocolla is a beautiful stone although from a jewellery making point of view it is quite soft.  If you are using it in conjunction with wire embellishment be careful not to scratch the surface with the wire or your pliers. 

Chrysocolla naturally occurs in the USA, Israel and the UK (Cornwall).

Hematite

Hematite is a particularly versatile semi-precious stone.  It is the common mineral form of iron oxide.  Due to it’s high iron content hematite can sometimes be red but more often hematite beads are a dark steel grey and are finished with a high gloss.  The name hematite comes from the Greek word ‘haima’ meaning blood.  Hematite is widely available and relatively inexpensive.  It is found in the UK as well as Australia, Canada, Mexico and the US.

Due to their neutral colour hematite beads complement a wide range of other semi-precious stones.  Hematite beads are therefore very useful as spacers in jewellery making.  I always have some hematite tucked away in my jewellery making drawer for this purpose. 

Hematite beads and pendants are available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes including rondelles, discs, faceted beads, rice shaped and square.  Such shapes are quite easily purchased.

Recently magnetic hematite beads have become popular.  The iron content of the stone enables the beads to be magnetised.  Jewellery made from this magnetised hematite does not have clasps like traditional jewellery.  This is because the magnetism of the hematite holds the item closed.  This can make jewellery made from magnetic hematite very versatile.

NOTE:  If you have a pacemaker do not wear magnetic hematite jewellery.

I sell some hematite in my little bead shop, Bead Tree.

There is a long and ancient history associated with both zodiac and birth stones. Although various theories exist as to the origins of these traditions it is most commonly believed that in the Judo-Christian world they descend from the Breastplate of Aaron as described in the Bible (Exodus, chapter 28, verses 15-30).

The gemstones set within this breastplate corresponded to the 12 tribes of Israel, the 12 signs of the zodiac and the 12 months of the year. There is much debate about which stones were used for 2 main reasons. Firstly different translations of the Bible vary and secondly gemstones were identified by their colour alone in the ancient world. For example any red stone was known as a ruby. As a result lists of birth/zodiac stones can be found to differ quite substantially.

There was no common agreement regarding birthstones until the American National Association of Jewelers prepared their ‘birthstone list’ in 1912 (followed by the British National Association of Goldsmiths in 1937). However this caused some consternation as it seemed that the ancient tradition of birthstones was being utilised for crass commercialism. Indeed there are no hard and fast rules and opinions vary from tradition to tradition and culture to culture.

Here I have chosen to outline the most popular attribution of gemstones in the Western world today with some alternatives. Really it is a matter of personal choice and you might wish to consider which stone ’speaks’ to you. Particular colours are also associated with each month so any stone within these colours might also be appropriate (particularly if the main stone is too expensive, e.g. diamond!).

BIRTHSTONES

ZODIAC STONES

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Bead Tree - my bead shop offering beads (!!), jewellery making components and tiara making supplies.