Jewelry Articles
Winter 2017 Jewelry Trends
Snowy-white pearls are back in fashion for this winter, according to Vogue. Chunky and funky strings layered with petite and pretty, over a sweater and showing under your favorite coat, puts you at the cutting edge this season. Chokers are back, too, with a goth/punk edge, silver-dipped or leather, or massive pieces that keep your chin up this winter.
Single, high-impact earrings, like a chandelier-style dangle, make everyone take a second look. Even better, wear two different earrings you love to light up your mood in the darker days of the year. You'll smile every time you look in the mirror.
Handmade Necklaces - The Glory of a Galaxy Around Your Neck!
Sometimes nature sparks my creativity. Consider the night sky...a sweeping wonder of light from distant, spinning galaxies. Imagine grasping that light, compressing it, and placing the miniaturized glow around your neck!
The Art Bead necklaces I make give reality to that beautiful wreath of captured light.
If a galaxy consists of gravitationally bound systems of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust and dark matter, my handmade necklaces consist of systems of equally remarkable seed beads, Swarovski Austrian crystals...
My Beaded Jewelry, Your Body: Beautiful Art!
Art is the wonderful expression of our creative skill and imagination. Usually, we picture a painting or a sculpture or a work of music, but I offer this thought -- jewelry, too, is art, appreciated for its beauty and emotional power.
The beaded jewelry I make is singular, each piece rising from the blending of my imagination with my skill in selecting and combining the perfect elements to create a specific piece of jewelry. Like all artists, I do it for the simple joy of creating.
The Three C's of Beaded Jewelry: Cost, Color, and Creativity
But enough about the cost, let's talk color! Winter is here, which means fashionistas are looking for holiday hues like gorgeous emerald green or spunky Hyacinth red, both of which can be found in Swarovski's huge collection of seasonal colors.
Famous Gems and Beaded Jewelry: Wallis Simpson's Cartier Panther
The Powerfully Regal Ruby Gemstone
The ruby gemstone is the epitome of fiery luxury in the jewelry world. On the Mohs scale, rubies rate a hardness of 9, leveling up with diamonds and moissanite. A familiar structural relative to the sapphire, rubies are from the prized corundum category.
Rubies generally range in pinks and intense reds. Interestingly, the ruby is so close to the makeup of the sapphire, that pink rubies are considered pink sapphires in some regards. The line often gets blurred during the classification.
Ancient Beaded Jewelry: Roman Glass
Looking at Roman glass is like looking at time. Centuries in the soil gave it a ghostlike patina, colored shadows glowing on the surface. It's amazing that so fragile a material survived, which is why museums treasure their ancient Roman glass objects.
Upscale glass in Rome
Glass-working was slow to come to Rome, but travelers to the east, especially Syria, were fascinated by it and soon imported glass was all the rage. It wasn't cheap. One rich man was entertaining Emperor Augustus at dinner when a slave dropped a glass goblet and broke it. The rich man immediately had the slave killed. Augustus may have been a battle-hardened general, but this was too much. He said nothing, but proceeded to pick up and drop every remaining goblet, smashing the entire set.
