Not officially part of the Spring Collection, but still an integral part of the Cluny Grey Jewelry Collection are our Swarovski crystal pieces. Whether the crystals stand alone in a jewelry piece or are mixed with freshwater pearls, as we often do, or with gemstones, Swarovski crystals are classics and the jewelry pieces we make from them are classic also. Above, this Swarovski crystal handmade necklace is very special with its two circles of golden crystals defining the ends of the necklace and the special Swarovski crystal rings hanging from them. This is really a type of short lariat necklace. Below, Swarovski crystals in the silver shadow colour mix very well with silvery freshwater pearls and sterling silver in this freshwater pearl necklace. Large cosmic and graphic Swarovski crystals are at intervals throughout the necklace for discreet sparkle. Because the crystals do not have an AB coating, you could actually wear this to the office with a business suit.
Although not sold as a set, the Swarovski crystal bracelet below looks great with the first necklace, above, while the Swarovski crystal bracelet below it looks great with the silver shadow pearl necklace. The third Swarovski crystal bracelet is made of uncoated Swarovski crystals in large sizes for a sedate sparkle that is still full of WOW!
Of course, we always have gemstone bracelets, and the labradorite bracelets you see below are some of our favorite. The flashing gemstones with its blue, yellow, green and aqua fire is always beautiful!
Below the labradorite is a gemstone bracelet handcrafted of pretty tourmalinated quartz. The paler green is perfect for Spring, and the toggle clasp features a cabochon of green onyx set in it.
More favorites: a sapphire bracelet with a borosilicate artist's lampwork focal bead and some of our favorite sterling silver; a spectacular aquamarine bracelet that is surprisingly mixed with rubies and has an outstanding hexagonal thick opaque ruby for a focal. The second strand is a simple chain maille chain with a single charm boasting a cabochon ruby set in its middle. The aquamarine slabs are gorgeous, and the bracelet has a cabochon ruby bezel set into the toggle clasp as well.
The last two bracelets star smoky quartz; one smoky quartz bracelet rocks with pretty faceted and carved beads of rose quartz; the other has lovely lampwork beads and sterling silver spiral charms that add colour and texture to it.
Below are two more views of the necklaces featured today. Please give me some time to get these priced and on the Cluny Grey Jewelry website. I have so much new jewelry that I've made that I am really running behind!
I love the sound of "lazy Sundays" although mine are usually not lazy at all. I often spend them working on photographs and the website if I've been able to make any jewelry that week. But I still love the concept and even though I'm working, it's as though the work isn't really work since I'm doing it on Sunday! It may be January, but I am busy working on new Spring jewelry; meanwhile, here are some pieces that will be on the website in the next day or two if they are not already. Above is a unique bracelet with a special wirewrapped focal bead, a faceted rectangle of rose quartz, and 5 strands of rose quartz rondelles interspersed with different gemstones - rubies, citrines, tourmalinated quartz, apatite, and amethysts. (It's my new favorite!). Below, you can never have too much labradorite! This labradorite bracelet is made up of two strands of different sizes and shapes of labradorite beads with little charms of labradorite hanging from the strands, and sterling silver accents.
I've been very interested in pearls lately, mixing and matching them with different elements. Below is a coin pearl bracelet with red magma Swarovski crystals (I love this red magma colour!) A sterling silver handmade rose and leaf from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes hang from one side of the bracelet. The freshwater coin pearls have a lovely nacre.
(See
Gemstone Earrings)
More pearls below: freshwater pearl earrings in pink with light rose Swarovski crystals match the pearl bracelet with its flower accents, including a pretty flower decorated toggle clasp in sterling. The last two pieces are simple coin pearl necklaces, the first with Swarovski crystals and sterling silver, and the second with vermeil and keishe pearls.
It is truly the Christmas season! Every year, it creeps up on me, it seems, earlier and earlier. NO, I don't have my Christmas shopping done; the tree is not yet up (it should arrive by Fedex on Thursday, a nice fresh Fraser fir) and I am as busy as I can be! And it's only the 7th of December - I can remember when that date would have meant ages and ages until Christmas, but not any more.
I do really love the Christmas season. Here in Arlington, we've already had our first snowfall, big, fluffy flakes that looked like feathers falling from a goosedown pillow. Lovely.
Today, just a small sampling of some of the new pieces going on the website. I can't seem to get them all on there and priced fast enough!
First, above is a labradorite bracelet that is a bit different from most of those I make. It's a smaller scale, and it has apatite in it to match the flash of the labradorite stones. Below, a sunstone bracelet features lots of sterling silver charms, a sterling Thai Karen Hill Tribes chain, a special lampwork bead, and pretty, flashing sunstone nuggets, rondelles, and triangles. Adding to the sparkle is a special marcasite toggle clasp. Sunstone looks great with many colours since its sparkle perks up black and other neutrals and it's a great complement to blue and green. If yo
u like to wear coral jewelry in the summer, sunstone is the fall and winter equivalent.
The freshwater pearl bracelet also features chain from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes and charms and beads (sterling of course) in an ocean them. The lampwo
rk bead that is the focal is one of master lampworker Robin Weber's special beads.
And in keeping with the idea of the ocean, next is an abalone necklace with an unusual pendant. The abalone shimmers and shines; the pendant is reminiscent of seaweed waving in the ocean currents. The middle branch holds a large oval of abalone; one side has a faceted oval smoky quartz and a faceted marquise rhodonite garnet, the other, a round faceted peridot and an oval faceted blue topaz.
The bottom unique bracelet bracelet (2 views) features a large focal emerald nugget, faceted rondelle sapphires. faceted rondelle emeralds, large faceted ruby rondelles and faceted rectangle rubies. The sterling silver bracelet has a pendant with a cabochon ruby in a bezel setting.
If you are still Christmas shopping, we are starting to send everything by Priority mail (no charge to the customer) to make sure that it reaches you by Christmas. Give a unique gift to someone special! If we don't have something you like, please see our blog list for other "indie" jewelry dealers!
I love Thanksgiving; it is my favorite holiday of the year. This year was especially good because we had children at Thanksgiving - my new grand-daughter and a three-year-old guest. What was remarkable was that we managed to have Thanksgiving here in Arlington, in an ill-equipped apartment instead of at home where all the good china, crystal, and pots and pans are. I hope that we are better equipped next year! Tomorrow is what is known as "cyber-Monday", supposedly the day people do online Christmas shopping. I'm not sure about that, but just in case, I've been trying to tidy the website and get things listed by tomorrow. There will be a few new jewelry pieces also.Above, a labradorite bracelet flashes its iridiscent colours, while below, a unique bracelet has a favorite mix of mine: lapis, turquoise, and carnelian.
Below are salvation bracelets,
both made of genuine gemstones, that make marvelous Christmas gift for those who wish to show their faith. The second salvation bracelet features a large emerald nugget, a large ruby rondelle, and a large, smooth sapphire nugget as well as onyx, rock crystal, and citrine. It also has unusually elaborite sterling silver accents.
The bracelet that you see above is not rose quartz, but a very, very pretty pink chalcedony. Its matching chalcedony necklace also features a sterling silver chain with extra charms hanging from it.
Finally, a special piece: a smoky quartz bracelet has a special turtle clasp that features a golden Biwa pearl as well as a cabochon peridot set in its back.
I hope that you've recovered from your Thanksgiving feast and are getting ready to enjoy the holidays!
Yes, I actually had some time to make jewelry! The three bracelets here are the beginning of what I hope will be a constant stream of new jewelry! Although I have not had time to add them to the website, they will be on there in the next day or two. The top bracelet is fire agate and carnelian and will be listed on the Fire Agate Jewelry page, the middle is black onyx (
Unique Bracelets,
and the labradorite bracelet can be found on our Labradorite Jewelry page.
It's a crisp, cool night here in Arlington, Virginia, but really lovely, clear and cloudless with stars which you can see despite the lights of Washington and the surrounding city. I do love it here on the top floor looking out across the cities; it's a great place for a studio! Now, if I can get some work done, I'll be doing really well! If you live in the free world, you probably know that I am a first time grandmother - and a very lucky one at that. It's not just that my new grand-daughter is healthy, beautiful, clever (yes, I can already tell!), but I actually get to spend time with her and with my daughter-in-law, a rare treat since we have never lived in the same city before. They are usually very, very far away. I find it inspirational, and although I'm still behind in my work, I'm working much harder and will be caught up soon. The excitement of being in a place I love and with people I love makes me work more efficiently; I want to make the most of every moment.So far, I haven't made a lot of jewelry since I've been catching up on orders, but I did make a couple of labradorite bracelets that you see above and below. I've gotten in some new coral, tourmalines, and a lot of sapphires that I will be working with soon. The two labradorite bracelets will have prices on them soon, I promise!
Meanwhile, enjoy the beautiful days!
Blue topaz is one of the birthstones for December (lapis and turquoise are two others). The necklace above features some of my best London blue topaz mixed with rainbow moonstone. The blue flash of the rainbow moonstone looks great with the deep blue of the topaz. The London blue is gem quality - very beautiful and the moonstone has flash though it may not show up in this photo.
Labradorite has always seemed a "winter" gemstone to me, perhaps because it calls to mind the mystery of the cold north, the northern lights, reindeer in Lapland. I also like to mix it with aquamarine because the aquamarine picks up the flash in the labradorite - it's a combination make in heaven! Below are labradorite-aquamarine earrings with the aquamarine and labradorite hanging from chandeliers and earwires with a heart-shaped theme. Below the earrings, a labradorite bracelet with the addition of aquamarine. The labradorite that you see here is full of green, blue, and aqua flash; unfortunately, I can't seem to get all the beads to flash at the same time. However, one of the beautiful effects of labradorite in jewelry is that movement reveals the flash excellently, so a bracelet with labradorite is the quintessential labradorite jewelry since every twist of your wrist sparks blue flashes!
Labradorite necklaces may not move as much as a bracelet, but they exhibit flash with every turn. The flash is even more pronounced when a bit of aquamarine, such as you see here, is added to the necklace, seeming to prolong the hint of blue/aqua/green evanescence that runs along the necklace. In the necklace below, the bezel-set, cabochon lapis pendant glows!
If you aren't finished with your Christmas shopping, you'd better rush! (Yes, I'm talking to myself again!) Remember that each piece of Cluny Grey Jewelry comes in a velvet or leather pouch and a gift box, and we'll ship to whomever you wish! First class shipping is free in the USA!
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More favorites: a sapphire bracelet with a borosilicate artist's lampwork focal bead and some of our favorite sterling silver; a spectacular aquamarine bracelet that is surprisingly mixed with rubies and has an outstanding hexagonal thick opaque ruby for a focal. The second strand is a simple chain maille chain with a single charm boasting a cabochon ruby set in its middle. The aquamarine slabs are gorgeous, and the bracelet has a cabochon ruby bezel set into the toggle clasp as well.
