Pretty Good Jewelry

Gray jasper wire-wrapped pendant

This is one of my first finished cabochons.  It's actually a piece of scrap jasper that I polished for practice, but when I saw the result, I fell in love with the shape.

I wrapped it with sterling silver wire, using the netted bezel technique.  The pendant is just over 2 inches long, and weighs 0.3 oz.  I am not including a chain, but if you need one let me know & I can add one for about $14.

Price: $15 (shipping is free)

GONE

Green amethyst pendant

This stone is a green amethyst, also known as prasiolite.  It's large and gorgeous, faceted in a rectangular cushion cut.  The stone weighs 24.06 carats, and measures 22.60x15.50x11mm.  I set it in sterling silver.

The finished pendant is about 1 1/8 inches long, and weighs 0.2 oz.  I am not including a chain, but if you need one let me know & I can add one for about $14.

Price: $29 (shipping is free)

SOLD

Peruvian pink opal wire-wrapped pendant

The first picture is in direct sunlight; the others are in indirect sunlit.

So anyway, this is the stone that started my experimentation with loose stones: when I saw it for sale, I had to buy it, even though I had only worked with beads before.  It's a 65.90 carat untreated Peruvian opal, cut into a 30x21mm oval cabochon.

I purchased several settings, but none worked, as the stone is over half an inch thick.  I knew I would have to wire-wrap it.

I used sterling silver wire in my own design.  The finished pendant is under 1.75 inches long, and weighs 0.6 oz.  I am not including a chain, but if you need one let me know & I can add one for about $14.

Price:  $60 (shipping is free)

GONE

Turquoise spiderweb oval wire-wrapped pendant

The first picture was taken in direct sunlight, and the others in indirect light.

This is my first wire-wrapped pendant (or at least the first I'll admit to: I did some previous practice wire-wrapping in copper).  The cabochon is one that I purchased on eBay.  It's blue turquoise laced with a dark spiderweb, measuring about 34.5mm by 25mm.

I used sterling silver wire for the wrapping, and a book for the pattern.  (I can't lay my hands on it at the moment, very frustrating!)  I set it aside for awhile, because I couldn't figure out how I wanted to add the bail (which is the loopy-thing that connects the pendant to the chain).  I made a woven bail, but it didn't fit in with the rest of it, so I made the very simple spiral bail that you see now.

The pendant is about 2 inches long, from the top of the bail to the bottom edge.  It weighs about 0.5 oz.  I am not including a chain, but if you need one let me know & I can add one for about $14.

Price: $25 (shipping is free)

GONE

Zebra jasper 6mm necklace + earrings

There are several different kinds of zebra jasper (I have a pink zebra jasper necklace listed here), and this green variety is one of my favorites.  (I have another necklace of this type here.)

The jasper beads are 6mm rounds, and the sterling silver beads are from Bali.  I finished with a sterling silver lobster clasp.  The necklace is just under 18 inches long, and weighs 0.8 oz.

The matching earrings are made with sterling silver French hooks and headpins.  The dangles are about 1 1/8 inches long, and the earrings weigh 0.1 oz.

Price: $44 (shipping is free)

SOLD

Oval pyrite bead-link necklace

Here's a necklace made with Fool's Gold(aka pyrite) oval beads and real gold-filled wire, finished with a vermeil s-clasp.  (I thought the beads were too heavy for earrings, but I do have pyrite earrings here.)

The ovals measure 18x13mm.  The necklace is about 22.5 inches long, and weighs 2.7 oz.

Price: $42 (shipping is free)

SOLD

Long time no see!

Sorry for the long absence!  I have no excuse, really.

This summer I've been exploring a new hobby: rock tumbling.  I started with a new rotary tumbler (and by the way, if you want to try rock tumbling yourself, this site will give you some good tips--although don't let the recommendation for separate barrels for all stages intimidate you, as you can get by on the same barrel with *thorough* washing--and this site is a great place for supplies).  Then I haunted eBay & scored another rotary tumbler, a vibratory tumbler (word to the wise: there are two different Thumler Ultra Vibe 10 models, so make sure you get the Industrial model), and a tile saw.  The vibratory tumbler finishes the rocks much faster than the rotary tumblers, and I use the tile saw to shape crude cabochons.

Here's some rocks from my second tumble, with some of my first cabochons:

The small round dark red stones are garnets, the blue stone at the bottom is sodalite, and the rest are assorted jaspers and agates.

I've been honing my wire-wrapping skills on both the stones I've polished myself, and on cabochons that I've bought pre-made.  I'll be posting the pendants I've made in the next few weeks, along with a couple of necklaces.

Before I go back to the day job, I'll leave you with one of my first wire-wrapping efforts, which I gave to my Aunt Marge:

I bought this turquoise cabochon on eBay.  It's Nacozari turquoise, and boy is it stunning!  The netted bezel weave I used is becoming one of my favorites, and I learned it from one of Eni Oken's tutorials.

See you soon!