Pretty Good Jewelry

Black banded agate rectangle bead-link necklace

These agate beads have been permanently dyed black.  (I washed them to make certain that the color wouldn't come off.)  I bought them because of their beautiful banding: on some the banding is very faint, but it is present.  (I have more black agate necklaces here and here.)

The beads are pillow shaped rectangles, measuring about 20x12mm.  I linked each bead with sterling silver wire and then finished with a Bali sterling silver s-clasp.

The finished length is 21.75 inches (can be worn shorter by hooking the clasp between two beads as shown), with a weight of 1.6 oz.

Price: $40 (shipping is free)

Silver lantern, round, and wave bead necklace + earrings

Here's an all-sterling silver necklace for you!  The lantern beads are from Bali and are about 12mm in diameter.  I had to put 2mm silver beads on the lantern ends to keep them in place, because the wave beads are only 1.5mm in diameter.  The wave beads are about 18mm long, and the round silver beads are 6mm in diameter.  I finished the necklace with a lobster clasp.  The necklace is 17.75 inches long, and weighs 0.6 oz.

I made matching earrings with sterling silver headpins and French hooks (and 2.5mm round beads on the ends to keep the lanterns in place).  The dangles are about 0.75 inches long, and the earrings weigh 0.2 oz.

Price: $44 (shipping is free)

SOLD

Hypersthene 7mm necklace + earrings

These hypersthene beads are a very deep brown, almost black.  Their highly polished glassy surfaces have chatoyant depths.  Gorgeous!  (I have another hypersthene necklace here.)

I strung the beads with Bali vermeil spacers, and finished with a vermeil s-clasp.  The finished length is 18 3/8 inches, with a weight of 1.3 oz.

I made matching earrings with gold-filled headpins and French hooks.
The dangles are 1 1/4 inches long, and the earrings weigh 0.2 oz.

Price: $47 (shipping is free)

Smoky quartz & gold-filled chain necklace + earrings

The first two pictures were taken in direct sunlight, and the third in indirect light.

These are some fabulous beads, so marvelous that instead of putting them all in one necklace as I normally would do, I picked just a few to be focal points.

Here's a couple of closeups, in the direct sunlight and out of it:
Glorious!

Okay, that's enough gushing for now.  How about some facts?  The beads are smoky quartz, and they're shaped into puffy faceted dice.  They measure about 10x10x10mm, or roughly 14mm from hole to hole.  I linked the dice with my favorite gold-filled figure eight chain, finishing with a gold-filled lobster clasp.  The necklace is about 17 5/8 inches long, and weighs 0.3 oz.

(I have other smoky quartz necklaces here, here, and here.)

The matching earrings are made with gold-filled stud posts and headpins.  The dangles are about 1.5 inches long, and the earrings weigh 0.2 oz.

Price: $39 (shipping is free)

Biotite flat oval bead-link necklace + earrings

I love stones which have something going on in their depths, which is why I bought these biotite beads.  The surface color is black, but underneath there's a golden brown glitter!

The beads are flat ovals, measuring 18x13mm.  I joined each with gold-filled wire, finishing with a vermeil hook & eye clasp.  The necklace is 20.75 inches long, with a weight of 1.6 oz.

The matching earrings are made with gold-filled French hooks & headpins, with little vermeil spaces on the ends.  The earrings weigh 0.2 oz.

Price: $37 (shipping is free)

Larvikite 8mm necklace + earrings

My supplier for these beads called them "black labradorite", which is yet another name for larvikite aka larkivite (if you're a bad speller) aka "Canadian blue pearl" aka "Norwegian Pearl granite".  This lovely stone has a ton of aliases!

Anyway, these round larvikite beads are 8mm in diameter.  The stone's base color is a dark gray mottled with black botches and high-lighted with silvery and blue chatoyant flashes.  I strung them with Thai silver beads (99% pure silver, from the Karen Hill Tribe) and finished with a Bali silver hook & eye clasp.  The necklace is almost 17.5 inches, with a weight of 1.2 oz.

I made earrings to match, with sterling silver French hooks and headpins.  The dangles are about 1 1/4 inches long, and the earrings weigh 0.2 oz.

Price: $38 (shipping is free)

SOLD

Larvikite flat rectangle bead-link necklace + earrings

I had the hardest time finding out information about this stone until I found out that I had the name wrong: it's larvikite (named after Larvik, Norway, one of the places where it can be found, as the Wikipedia article says).  I was calling it larkivite, and from the websearch I did, I am not the only one.

Anyway.  I first encountered this under the name "Canadian blue pearl", but it's not a pearl, & although it has blue flashes, it's more of a gray.  Whatever it is, I like it very much!

These particular beads are flat rectangles measuring 18x13mm.  I linked each with sterling silver wire, finishing with a Bali sterling silver s-clasp.

The necklace is 20.75 inches long (you can wear it shorter by hooking the clasp between two beads as shown), and weighs 1.9 oz.

I made earrings to match.  The French hooks and headpins are sterling silver; the silver beads on top of the larvikite are Thai silver (from the Karen Hill Tribe) & thus 99% pure silver.  The dangles are about 1 1/8 inches, and the earrings weigh 0.2 oz.

Price: $40 (shipping is free)

Blue onyx necklace + earrings

These semi-translucent onyx beads are a beautifully vibrant blue.  The color isn't natural--they are permanently dyed, and I washed them several times to make sure.

The beads are round, 6mm in diameter.  I strung them with Bali vermeil spacers, finishing with a vermeil s-clasp.  The necklace is 17 inches long, and weighs 0.9 oz.

I made hoop earrings to match.  The hoops are 3/4 inches in diameter and are gold-filled, as are the small 2.5mm end beads.  The earrings weigh about 0.1 oz.

Price: $45 (shipping is free)

White howlite 4mm necklace with detachable pendant + earrings

Howlite is one of my favorite stones (one of many, I know), so when I saw this fabulous pendant, I knew I had to purchase it & create a necklace for it.  (I have another howlite necklace listed here.)

The pendant is set in sterling silver, and weighs 0.5 oz.  It measures about 1.75 inches from the top of the bail to the bottom edge.  It even looks fabulous from the back!

I made the matching necklace with 4mm round howlite beads and 3.5mm Bali silver saucer beads, finishing with a sterling silver lobster clasp.  The necklace is 17 inches long and weighs 0.4 oz.
I made hoop earrings to match.  The hoops are sterling silver (as are the little silver beads on the end), about 1 inch in diameter.  They weigh about 0.1 oz.

Price: $58 (shipping is free)

Pink chalcedony 8mm necklace + earrings

I've been keeping my eye out for pink chalcedony beads (pronounced kal-sid'-ney).  The color in these is very pale, barely there, but look at that lovely glow!  (I have blue chalcedony necklaces listed here, here, and here, and a green chalcedony necklace here.)

The beads are round, 8mm in diameter.  I strung them with sterling silver star-shaped beadcaps, and finished with a fabulous sterling silver hook & eye clasp:

The finished length is 17.25 inches long, with a weight of 1.3 oz.

The dangles on the matching earrings are about 1.25 inches long.  The French hooks & headpins are also sterling silver.  The earrings weigh about 0.2 oz.

Price: $54 (shipping is free)