Pretty Good Jewelry

Carnelian coin and chain necklace + earrings

There's something about cherry red carnelian that I just adore, & when I saw these 8mm round coin-shaped beads, I pounced.  Yummy!  (You can see my other carnelian necklaces here and here.)

Usually, I use 1 strand of beads per necklace, but this time I decided less is more.  I made seven carnelian and gold-filled wire links, and then connected them with my favorite figure 8 gold-filled chain.  I finished with a gold-filled lobster clasp.  The necklace is about 16.5 inches long, and weighs 0.1 oz.

I made matching earrings with more chain and carnelian beads, hanging them from gold-filled posts.  The longest dangle is about 1.75 inches, and the total weight of the earrings is 0.1 oz.

Price: $34.10 (shipping is free)

Carnelian oval cabochon earrings

I am discounting this pair of carnelian earrings up front because as you can see, they don't match: one stone is opaque and the other is translucent.  Oh dear!

The mismatched stones measure 7x5mm, and I set them in gold-filled post earrings.

Price: $12.25 (shipping is free)

Garnet heart-shaped earrings

These garnets are backset, meaning that they were placed in the sterling silver settings from behind and that the prongs which hold them in place are also in the back.  Some jewelers prefer backsettings for faceted gems so that the light can more easily shine through.  The downside, in my opinion, is that you don't see the edges of the gem as you do in frontsettings, which makes the stone appear smaller.

Anyway, these garnets are faceted hearts, measuring 5x5mm, with a total weight of about 1 carat.  The silver posts are also sterling silver.

Price: $22.90 (shipping is free)

Red picture jasper heart necklace + earrings

Here's some red picture jasper for you!  (I have another red picture jasper necklace here.)  The red beads are heart-shaped, and measure about 10x10mm.  The sterling silver beads are 8mm twisted hogans.  I finished with a Bali silver hook & eye heart clasp.

The necklace is about 17.3 inches long, and weighs 1.2 oz.

I made matching earrings by hanging dangles from sterling silver post earrings.  The dangles are made from sterling silver figure-8 chain, sterling silver headpins, sterling silver 2.5mm rounds, and red picture jasper hearts.  The longest dangle is 1.75 inches, and the earrings weigh 0.2 oz.

Price: $61.40 (shipping is free)

Brecciated jasper rice bead-link necklace

Brecciated jasper is sometimes called "poppy jasper".  It usually has a lovely brick red background, with patterns of beige & brown.

These oval beads are rice-shaped (round in the middle and tapered on the ends), and measure roughly 16x8mm.  I linked each with gold-filled wire, finishing with an Indian vermeil s-clasp.

The necklace is almost 23.5 inches long, with a weight of 1.6 oz.

Price: $38.40 (shipping is free)

Red picture jasper twist oval bead-link necklace

This stone is just fabulous!  The vendor from whom I purchased these beads called it red picture jasper.

The beads are 4-sided ovals which have been carved so that the sides twist slightly rather that being straight from side to side.  They measure about 16mm long & 8mm thick.

I linked each bead with sterling silver wire, and finished with a hook & eye clasp from India.  The necklace is 24.5 inches long (can be worn shorter by hooking the clasp as shown) and weighs 1.8 oz.

Price: $39.30 (shipping is free)

Red agate nugget bead-link necklace

These beads are tumbled red agate nuggets, ranging from about 16 to 25mm in length.  They are linked with gold-filled wire, with a Bali vermeil S-clasp.

The length is 24 inches  (can be worn shorter by hooking the hook between two beads).  The weight is a hefty 4.1 oz.

Price: $32.85 (shipping is free)

Apple jasper coin bead-link necklace

Coin means that the bead is flat, usually circular.  These particular coins are jasper & 18 mm across.
I linked each bead with gold-filled wire, & used a gold-plated hook& eye clasp.

The length is 22.25 inches (length is adjustable) & the weight is 1.9 oz.

Price: $32.20 (shipping is free)

Red tigereye 10mm necklace

The 10mm refers to the size of the red tigereye beads.  The little gold spacers in between are Bali vermeil.

 
                                       

The clasp is only gold-plated, but it's a nice good-sized lobster type, easy to open.

These beads are truly lovely.  I took a picture in direct sunlight so that you can see how they glow.

Tigereye generally shows chatoyancy .  There's an "eye" effect you see as you move the stone (hence the name), and these beads are especially bright, with a very nice color.

The length of this necklace is 18.5 inches, with a weight of 2.3 oz.

                                                                                    

Here's a closeup:

Gorgeous!

The price is $30  $25 (shipping is free).