RAW GARNET IN MICA

Winter tends to be a good time to beach comb. In the winter in certain spots on the north shore of Long Island, sand shifts out to sea for a while. As summer approaches it gets swept back in. This constant shifting of the earth lends itself to interesting things being uncovered during seasonal change.

One such exciting find for me this season happens to be January’s birthstone, tiny garnets growing in shiny mica. The image below shows about 4 tiny, raw garnets growing in mica. The garnets are brownish red in color and these raw gems are probably no larger than 3 mm. Too tiny to be cut into usable semi precious gems for jewelry making I’ll enjoy them as is, growing and nesseled in their host stone, mica.

There are many varieties of garnet. To name a few there is the reddish purple variety; tsovite, almandine, pyrope, rhodolite and tsavorite which is blueish green to yellow. Check out my blog post dated January 7, for more information on this beautiful semi precious gem stone.

It’s interesting to note that a perfect garnet crystal has been found in a natural diamond. The word garnet comes from the 14th century Middle English work gernet, meaning “dark red.” The word is derived form Latin granatum, which means “seed” and is called so because of the gemstone’s resemblance to the beautiful red seeds of the pomegranate.

Tiny garnets growing in a mica stone.

Close up of tiny red brown garnets growing in mica

BEACH STONE NECKLACE

Beach combing is one of my favorite activities. Some of the interesting things I find and bring home are for outside display while others are so special they make it to my bench, to be transformed into a jewelry or sculpture. Pictured below is one special find, a beach stone from our local shore line.

Mark and I were “rock shopping” as he likes to call it, at low tide, for stones. The unusual markings on this stone below stood out in the sand so home it came.

Creating jewelry from irregular stones or sea glass present a challenge in that stones and gems made for jewelry fabrication tend to be more uniform in shape and thickness. Not so in found objects.

The bezel is created from fine and sterling silver and has hand stamped ray patterns around the edge. The hand fabricated chain necklace features red aventurine beads that complement the minerals in the stone.

Beach stone necklace bezel set in fine silver on a hand fabricated sterling silver necklace.

Backside of the bezel set beach stone. 925 stamp and my makers initials are stamped on this back

Work in progress, fitting the bezel; Before setting the stone I test in in the bel. The strings under the stone will be used pull out it out of the bezel, should it get stuck.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Wishing you and your loved ones a very happy holiday season! A huge thank from the bottom of my heart for viewing my blog and supporting my handmade jewelry creations. It’s my pleasure to share my creative journey with you.

The best of the season to you and a happy new year!

Warm wishes,

Joanne

Photo by Mark Forman

NOVEMBER BIRTHSTONE

November offers 2 choices of stones to chose from to celebrate your November, topaz and citrine.

A citrine cabochon on my bench ready to be set

https://www.americangemsociety.org/birthstones/november-birthstones/topaz-overview/

DIMENTIONAL, KINETIC EARRING

I’ve been setting faceted gems at my bench. The design element I’m exploring in the pieces I fabricate subtly maximize play of light.

My most recent fabrication, shown here, is a 5 mm zircon, set in a backless, sterling silver, tube bezel with a dimensional leaf that hangs below. The faceted zircon is set in an opened back bezel which allows light to pass through the gem from behind the setting.

A dimensional, stylized, sterling silver leaf-shape hangs below the opened back bezel. To enhance the play of light on it I polished one side of the leaf with a high polish and the other, a mat finish. In turn, the bezel wall has a mat finish and there is a high polished “halo” edge where the gem meets the bezel.

Kinetic, dimensional sterling silver and zircon earring

SEPTEMBER BIRTHSTONE

The birthstone for September is the sapphire. It is renowned for its deep “cornflower” blue color, rich history and symbolic meaning of loyalty and nobility. While traditionally associated with blue, sapphires can come in a variety of colors. Blue however, is the most well known and prized.

Kashmir, Myanmar (formally Burma) and Sri Lanka are three historically important sources for the September birthstone. (Myanmar is also know as a source for jadeite, jade, spinel, zircon, amethyst, and peridot.) Additionally, significant quantities of sapphire have been found in Australia, Thailand, Cambodia, Madagascar and Montana, US. Other countries include Asia and Africa. Sapphires typically occurs around ruby deposits.

Sapphires were discovered in Kashmir around 1881 when a landslide high in the Himalayas exposed a large pocket of blue velvety gems. Spectacular sapphire began to appear farther south and from 1882-1887 thousands of large, beautiful crystals were recovered. The stones faceted from these crystals established Kashmir sapphires as the world’s most coveted gems. Production of those gems has been sporadic since then.



A miner in Sri Lanka using rudimentary washing techniques used for generation to search for sapphires.

Raw sapphire crystal

HOLLOW FORM PENDANT NECKLACE

One way to make dimensional shapes for jewelry is to create what is known as hollow form shapes. Hollow form jewelry pieces can be used for bangle bracelets, earrings, chains, etc. Both triangle pendants below are hollow form pendants, fabricated at my bench.

Hollow jewelry has an empty space or thin-walled interior, unlike solid jewelry which is entirely filled with material. This type of construction makes hollow pieces lighter and less expensive because they use lass material. Hollow pieces are a good option for larger, more intricate designs that would be too heavy or costly if made solid.

I enjoyed fabricating two versions of hollow form, textured, triangle pendant necklaces. One is 60’s inspired with beads, loops and links with twists of metal, holding it all together. The other more of a contemporary piece.

textured hollow form pendant, sterling silver

BEHIND THE SCENES WORK IN PROGRESS

The love of learning new ways to create with metal keeps me engaged at my jewelry bench.

New to my skill set is folding metal, as seen in these dimensional, textured sterling silver earrings.

FOLDED COPPER TOWER WITH MESH TEXTURE

NATURE INSPIRED PENDANT NECKLACE

Sky and earth are my muses in recents creation from my jewelry bench.

The round domed circle refers to the moon rising above the landscape. Its brillance shimmers through a thin vail of clouds on a somewhat dark fall night. Partly obscuring the moon are flowing plant vines, symbolic of forest or the horizon line below the sky.

The earth stone, red river jasper, is bezel set in sterling silver with 3 granulated gold balls. Red river jasper symbolizes vitality and connects with the root and earth star chakras, providing a sense of stability and connection to the earth.

Harvest moon and earth necklace

Cresent moon inspired earrings, patinated sterling silver

AUGUST BIRTHSTONE

Peridot, spinel and sardonyx are the 3 birthstones for August. Peridot is known for being formed under extreme conditions as it’s found in the hardened lava that carried it from deep within Earth’s mantle as well as in meteorites that traveled from outer space. The spinel birthstone was under appreciated until recently, as today’s consumers look for an alternative to ruby, a gem with which red spinel was mistaken for centuries. Sardonyx is the original August Birthstone, with a history that dates back more than 4,000 years.

JULY BIRTHSTONE

Ruby is the July birthstone and it’s one of the most coveted gems. The name is derived from the Latin word ruber, meaning red, the color of love and passion. Few things catch the eye like the ruby birthstone. The finest color of the this birthstone is a deep red with a hint of purple, it’s called “pigeon’s blood” in the trade. A variety of the mineral corundum, ruby gets its color from trace amounts of the element chromium. The more chromium, the stronger the color red.

JASPER EARTHSTONE

One of my favorite stones is jasper and there are many types to be found. I recently acquired a beautifully patterned leopardskin jasper stone, cut by hand from a very talented lapidary artist. I bezel set a magnificent oval stone in fine and sterling silver and paired it with picture jasper beads which were the perfect compliment. t

An earth stone .

A recently completed necklace made of lepord jasper and beaded picture jasper.

GARDEN HARVEST

This year, my garden rewarded me with the most spectacular light burgundy, cascading amaranth. I’ve tried to grow this elegant annual for many years and the results have been meager.

Threads of burgundy tuftlike “pearls” drape downward on flexible stems and terminate in elegant spirals. This beautiful plant is an annual and it comes in several colors including green, pink, deep burgundy and white. One is more beautiful than the other.

I’ve harvested this amaranth and have been drying it for future use. It’s guaranteed to make a breathtaking display.

Burgundy amaranths from my garden

Cascading amaranthus with roses and greenery.

Green cascading amaranth used in a formal table setting

SOME NEW BRACELETS

I’m posting some bracelets that I’ve completed over the course of the past year. All four were skill building challenges and have expanded the scope the practice of my metalsmith skills.

From left to right; sailors chain bracelet, an ancient type of loop in loop chain; center are two rigid link bracelets which include unique hand-made, sterling silver embellishments and orange carnelian beads. Far right piece is a hinged bracelet that consists of several sterling silver panels that are imprinted with a leaf and vine pattern and then patinated to enhance the pattern. All the panels are connected with hinges.

JUNE BIRTHSTONE

The month of June has 3 birthstones. The choices are alexandrite, pearl, and alexandrite. (Alexandrite happens to be the stone often used to celebrate a 55th wedding anniversary.)

Why not one of each, after all it’s your birthday!

MAY BIRTHSTONE

The gemstone for May is the emerald. It is a symbol of rebirth, is believed to grant the owner foresight, good fortune and youth. Emerald, derived from the word “smaragdus” means literally green in Greek.

Emeralds were mined in Egypt as early as 330 BC. Egyptians used the gem in both jewelry and burying stones with monarchs as symbols of protection. Cleopatra is perhaps the most famous historical person to cherish the gemstone. The oldest emerald are estimated to be almost 3 billion years old.

Like diamonds and other gemstones, emeralds are judged according to the 4 C’s, clarity, color, karat and cut. Vibrancy of color and saturation are valued factors.

APRIL BIRTHSTONE

The birthstone for April is the most prized gemstone of them all, the diamond.

Diamaonds are traditionally associated with strength and resilience, purity and clarity, and eternal love. They are the hardest material on earth.

Diamonds come in a range of colors with clear being associated with the April Birthstone. Other colors include brown, yellow, red, pink, blue, green. The more vivid colors the more valuable the gem is. Because colored diamonds are desirable, and colored gems can be created in the lab. These would be called color treated diamonds would be those diamonds whose colors is created in the laboratory.