The Emerald Days of May

I love May, the month of my birthday, for its flowers, green leafy beginnings shooting from the ground, and for the life that suddenly moves from inside stuffy houses to the fresh and fragrant outdoors. I always think of it as the month of emeralds, and the emerald is truly an appropriate birthstone for May. I love working with emeralds and I especially like to combine them with other gemstones. Today, however, most of the jewelry pieces that you see here have emeralds mixed only with sterling silver and lampwork beads. The emerald bracelet above is an example since it features only emeralds and sterling silver in two strands. Little charms hang around the bracelet and give it the life that this May birthstone deserves while opaque and transparent emeralds in different shapes and sizes mingle with one another.
One of the things I love about making jewelry is that I can make it affordable. At one time, few people could ever afford an emerald bracelet or necklace or even earrings. But using emeralds of different quality that have been made into beads, I can make a piece of emerald jewelry that you can wear forever - and it is the real thing!
Above, is an emerald bracelet with one lampwork bead that gives it a lively touch, while the emerald bracelet below features three of our nicest lampwork beads as the focal for the bracelet.
And the last emerald bracelet is extremely simple: a sterling silver bangle with four light-coloured fluted emeralds set in sterling scallops.

The earrings that you see here are also genuine emeralds, again mixed with sterling silver. I love the dainty chandelier earrings with three little faceted emerald rondelles dangling from each earring.
Finally, a cultured freshwater pearl emerald necklace with genuine emeralds. Keishe pearls are my new favorite pearl; their iridescence is generally particularly strong and their uneven shapes make them shine all the more.
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emerald necklace

May: The Month of Emeralds

I adore emeralds: it's no secret. The emerald is my birthstone and I am delighted by its colours whether the palest green like pond water to the dark translucent greens that one can see in the Tower of London in the Crown Jewels of England. Emeralds also remind me of one of my favorite places, India, as do rubies. Say the phrase "emeralds and rubies" and India instantly springs to my mind with all its beauty, strangeness, and mystery.

It is a joy to work with emeralds whether they are gem quality or opaque or totally included and rustic. The very knowledge that they are emeralds still imbues them with mystery and exoticism (I have some very crude uncut emeralds that a friend brought me back from Mexico; they are rather rock-like, but I still cherish them).
I am still trying to organize my new studio, but did have some time for the emerald bracelets that you see here. As you can see, I do like mixing emeralds of different quality for a unique texture and range of colours. An AA emerald may be beside an included, opaque stone, but each acts as a foil for the other.
I will be writing more information on emeralds, their history and the beliefs surrounding them. By the way, the largest cut emerald is known as the Mogul Emerald, dates from 1695,and although it was discovered in Colombia was carved and set in, yes, India! I will be going to see it soon, for it belongs to the Smithsonian's National Gem and Mineral Collection.