Yes I confess. I am a gemstone and rock junkie. It started out slowly. I began designing jewelry using copper and sterling. Right away I knew that gemstones were going to be part of the designs. In the beginning I learned about a few basic stones and used them exclusively. Amethyst, malachite, turquoise, tigers eye, sodalite, rhodochrosite and picture jasper adorned most of my … [Read more...]
Where in the World can you find Charoite?
Charoite is a gorgeous lavender gemstone that I work with in my designs. It is gorgeous on it's own of course. But pair it with amethyst or moonstone and the gem just pops. Early on in my work with the gem, I researched it and discovered that it is only mined in Russia. This is one of the details about charoite that makes it even more unique and desirable. Recently I was … [Read more...]
Finished! Several designs now done.
yes I am nearing the finish line for the designs I started a few weeks ago. The Holidays got in the way of having them done in a more timely fashion. Then again isnt that what holidays are all about? Celebrating with family and friends. The 3 designs shown here are the first three out of the gate. I have a few more rings to show you in the image below. For now I want to … [Read more...]
Chaos at the Jewelry Bench?
Not really. I know it has that chaotic vibe but actually I have a feel for everything and where it has been placed on the bench. Currently I am doing some soldering so I need the soldering board. In my case I use the bottom board for protection of the wooden bench. I have learned over the years that you just cannot be TOO careful when working with fire! Thankfully I have not … [Read more...]
Moving into phase 3 of my new designs
As you can see I made some progress since the last blog! In that episode I had just selected the designs I wanted to work with, including several new gemstones. So I skipped as step before showing you this video. Basically that step showed the first soldering done. This one shows the soldered designs attached to their backing plus I have indicated a few of the components I … [Read more...]
