Pretty Good Jewelry

Rhodochrosite twist bead-link necklace + earrings

I have been told that the best rhodocrosite has a rich color with little to no banding.  These beads are cut so that the lighter bands tend to lie on one surface of the twists, & the body of the bead is a rich pink color.

The twists measure about 16x7mm.  I linked each with sterling silver wire, finishing with a Bali sterling silver s-clasp.

The necklace is 21 7/8 inches long (can be worn shorter by hooking the clasp between two beads as shown), with a weight of 1.5 oz.

I made earrings to match.  The French hooks, headpins, and daisy spacers on the ends are all sterling silver.  The dangles are about 3/4 inches long, and the earrings weigh 0.2 oz.

Price: $120 (shipping is free)

Rhodochrosite flat rectangle bead-link necklace + earrings

This beautiful pink stone is rhodochrosite. I used gold-filled wire instead of silver to link each 18x13mm rectangle bead.  Usually I like to pair pink with silver, but I thought, what the heck?

These stones have beautiful bandings.  There are some gray & black inclusions present, but they are very minimal, mostly showing up as shadows.  I finished with a vermeil hook & eye clasp from India.

The necklace is 21.25 inches long, with a weight of 2.1 oz.  The hook is a little too large to do the "hook between two beads" trick, but if you need a shorter necklace I can take one or more beads off.

I made earrings to match.  The French hooks & headpins are gold-filled, and the little daisy spacer on the end is vermeil.  The dangle is about 7/8 inches long, and the earrings weigh 0.2 oz.

Price: $115 (shipping is free)

Blue sapphire bead necklace

As I said earlier, not all sapphire is the beautifully transparent kind for which you can pay through the nose.  The sapphire in this necklace is totally opaque, and low enough grade that it's been drilled for beads.  They are still gorgeous, though, a lovely midnight blue. 

The sapphire beads are round & 6mm in diameter.  I strung them with small Bali (sterling) silver spacers, and finished with a silver lobster clasp.  The finished length of the necklace is about 17.25 inches, with a weight of 1.1 oz.

Price: $105 (shipping is free)

Turquoise faceted nugget necklace

This is the best turquoise I've ever had the privilege to handle.  The beads feel different from the ordinary grades, a bit waxy.  The color is a tremendous blue.  This is what fine turquoise looks like.

The nuggets are faceted, and vary in length from 17 to 24mm.  I used silver beads from Bali to set them off, and a Bali S-clamp to finish it.

The length of this necklace is 21.5 inches, with a weight of 1.6 oz.

Price: $248 (shipping is free)