My bead collection is a vital part of my design business. Over these many years I have purchased a variety of gems. In the early years I bought whatever was bright and beautiful and did not give much thought to the type of gem, the quality of the gem or the origin of the gems. Let’s just say I have learned a LOT over the past years. Most of the those early finds are long gone. Now When I attend the gem shows, or search product online, I am more discerning. Like any other business person, I learn from my earlier errors!

Natural Turquoise and Amethyst Collection

The image above shows you my current beads of natural turquoise and amethyst. These are two of my favorite gems to work with. The turquoise is all natural and most of it is from the Sonoran mines in Mexico. I still hang on to a few of the turquoise chips and believe they are from a Chinese mine.

Amethyst beads are labeled as AA, A or B grade quality. Many of mine shown in the image are AA grade. the rest are A grade. The main difference in the quality is the deep color and the clarity. Each of my designs is created to be worn for many years and then passed down to future generations. So I want the best quality gems that will withstand the wear and time.

Other gemstone beads in my collection

I should mention that this box of amethyst and turquoise has companion boxes of other types of beads.

Overall I have 6 such cases comprised of malachite, peridot, azurite, tiger eye, red creek jasper, picture jasper, rhodochrosite, moonstone, rose quartz, coral, amber and cultured pearls.

One whole case is filled with onyx and hematite. I think I might have overdone the purchasing of these particular gems! Many of the hematite gems are heart shaped and are just waiting for my inspiration on how to design with them.

I forgot to mention amber! About a year ago I got the chance to purchase some free-form Baltic amber beads. Not one to pass up on such an opportunity, I now have several hundred amber beads! By now you might wonder if I am obsessed with gems. I am proud to admit that you are right.

Some days I wonder if all these are necessary. Then I will be working on a design and realize that I have so many options to create the perfect pair of earrings or ring. It is all worth it!

Cabochons are for another post

Most of my work uses cabochons in the design process. These are flat backed gems that require a bezel to adhere them to metal. This collection is enormous. Perhaps a future blog will highlight these gems. Stay Tuned!

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The post A peek at my Beads Collection appeared first on Alene's Adornments Blog.

If you have been reading my blogs or following me in a variety of places, then you have heard me use the term cabochon. The photo above shows you a sampling of the personal collection I use for jewelry making.

First, what IS a cabochon and how was it named?

Cabochons (cabs for short) are stones that are cut, polished and shaped with a domed top and flat back. This shape allows them to be formed easily into bezels and become part of a jewelry design.

Now the fun part. Caboche is a 16th century French word meaning head. Imagine a person with a bald head and you get the picture. So cabochons are named after bald heads!

How does a lapidary choose the best part of the stone slab to create the cabs?

I purchase my cabs from talented people who make a living cutting stones. These people tend to have an eye for choosing the best part of the stone slab. Yes it is possible to use the whole slab and cut multiple cabs.. but unless you have perfect slab.. you will end up with some duller of more fragile cabs. These are not the quality that most serious jewelers will use. Most slabs have areas in them that are visibly more beautiful than others. Moreover, most slabs will contain tiny cracks in certain areas. If the cab is created from one of these areas, the cab will eventually crack or at least have an ugly crack running though it!

My Experience with cabochons.

Recently I took an all day class to learn the basics of lapidary. It was fun, challenging and hard. While I may try my hand at repairing a few broken cabs, I have no desire to shift gears and create my own. I will leave the cab creating to the talented lapidary that I now rely on to provide me the finest gems.

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The post What exactly ARE Cabochons? appeared first on Alene's Adornments Blog.

What a wonderful world this would be if I could create gorgeous jewelry and have it work out the first time.. every time. Sadly the life of a jewelry designer is not so black and white. Over the years I have learned so much from my mishaps. At least this is the way I choose to think of my mistakes. I am the eternal optimist. The pendant shown here has gone through several transformations before it emerged as an Azurite gemstone pendant with a Druzy quartz accent. This pendant started out with a petrified palm root gem. I was so excited to design with my newest find. I had multiple issues getting the bezel to solder in all areas. This should have been the red flag but I was determined to create using this gem.

The Azurite pendant saga continues

I finally got the entire bezel soldered. Success! or so I thought at the time. I proceeded to attach the backing so I could later add the sterling chain. The final step is to place the gem in the bezel (the frame). When I did this I realized that when I had soldered the bezel multiple times, I warped the backing so it was no longer flat. So now the gem would fit but pop out at the slightest urging.

I searched frantically for another gem that would fit the bezel. Anyone who has attempted this fix knows it is an impossible task. What I did find was this beautiful blue/green azurite gem. It was too long for the bezel BUT with a little creative changes I was able to make it fit. It looks great if I do say so myself. Had I not given you this saga you may not have known it was a colossal mistake.

Other ‘learning experiences’ along the way.

In addition to this saga of the pendant, I admit to the following mistakes.

• Soldering the bezel to the base upside down. (cabs don’t fit that way)
• Cracking the stone when fitting it into the bezel
• Using too thin of a backing to allow for multiple gems
• Inserting the gem before I had completely shaped and filed the bezel

• and MANY MORE

Follow me on my design journey by becoming a collector. My collectors receive first look at my newest designs plus Collector-only discounts and specials. It’s Free. And you Get 15% off your first order.

Here’s How

Shop Here for all my Designs.

The post Jewelry Designs are perfect every time… NOT! appeared first on Alene's Adornments Blog.

This week has been challenging for all of us. Social distancing is the new reality for the next couple of weeks. Yes it has been crazy trying to purchase our basic groceries. What ARE people are doing with all the fresh meat and toilet paper??

I am finally getting used to being home and not popping out for errands whenever I want. Now many new options are emerging. My obsession with purchasing cabochons (gemstones that I can use in my designs) over the last couple of years has been just that. An OBSESSION. I am constantly seeing cabochons that say. Buy Me.. Buy Me please! Making these gems into finished design requires many many hours of labor and precise shaping. The gem should fit snugly but have the wiggle room necesary to insert the stone into the finished design. My skill level is good and has improved over time. HERE is my SILVER LINING!

The last several days I have been creating the bezels for these new gems. Previously when I worked on this process, I had a success rate of 70-80%. This means that 2-3 out of ten needed to be reworked. NOW my success rate is 100%!!! These few days allowed me to master this process! YIPPEE!

I hope you are discovering new skills or maybe just some much needed quiet during this time. We are all in this together.

Check out my Completed designs here.

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I know what you are thinking now… What IS a cabochon and why would someone be crazy about them?  [tweet_dis_img][/tweet_dis_img]Here’s the simple answer to both those questions. A cabochon is a gemstone that is highly polished, raised and rounded but not faceted. It features a flat bottom.

The word is derived from the middle French ‘caboche’ meaning head. 

Now for the other question. Why Am I Crazy about them?

• First –  they are gemstones. And I LOVE all kinds of gemstones.

• Second – these gemstones have flat backings so they can easily be set into a bezel. That being said, there is an art to setting cabochons.  This skill emerges with lots of practice.

• Third – they are addictive!

• Cabochons are particularly good when the stone is softer. The faceting process in this case would create more scratches and damages to the stone.  Gems, like this Tigers Eye requires this kind of shaping in order to show off the lighter shades , or the eye. this applies to sapphire too. The star inclusion would not be visible in a faceted gem.[tweet_dis_img][/tweet_dis_img]

The photo of my cabochons shown throughout this post give you an idea of the versatility and range of shapes. A few years ago I had the opportunity to purchase a large quantity of stones from a jeweler who could no longer work (due to his failing eyesight). Over the years he had not only accumulated many cabochons for his own business… but he had done much of the lapidary work as well. I am so privileged to have this collection to use in my own designs.

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This turquoise cabochon is part of the collection. You can see the original stone and ultimately the jewelry design that now proudly houses this amazing turquoise specimen.

Just in case you think I already have enough gems to last a lifetime (you are right of course)… I always seem to find some new treasures during the GEM SHOW in Tucson twice a year. When something catches my eye my mind starts spinning with ideas on how to use this in my designs. Then I am hooked and happily purchasing more and more.

Someday, I am sure the remnants of my collection will be passed on to another emerging artist. He or she can experience the same joy and passion I feel every time I look at my cabochons and decide which ones will be incorporated into my next masterpiece!

Visit my Web site today to see more designs created with cabochons

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