CRYSTALS, GEMS AND JEWELRY

[veronika23]

I know a few of us share a passion for crystals and jewelry as well as makeup so thought I would start a thread on this. Share your stash, finds, whatever!

[Mcakes]

OMG these are gorgeous @k617! Thank you for sharing ❤ I've always been curious about your other pieces. A full strand of those Tahitian pearls would really be a treasure! Did you take your pearls certification from GIA? I'm working on my Graduate Gemologist from them. 

[k617]

That's very cool @Mcakes! No, this isn't an official certification with GIA but just a course that a bunch of the big pearl online vendors that operate in the US work together to put together for the Cultured Pearl Association of America. There was a lot of misinformation about pearls lately especially with the horrible "pearl parties" which told people they have a $50 pearl from a $10 oyster which really is worth a few cents to a dollar.

I took it just for fun and the photos, I don't plan to use the knowledge outside of forums really!

[Titian06]

@k617 - I absolutely LOVE pearls!  I am drooling over every one of your pictures!

[k617]

Thank you, @Titian06 😄

[alexasteph]

@k617 Those are all gorgeous! The pearls and the mermaid necklace are so stunning. 

[veronika23]

Thanks for sharing!  I really like that Sea of Cortez pearl and metallic white Edison pearl strand. I don't know much about pearls but some are very pretty for sure. Looks like a lot of work!  I still have a tourmaline stone that needs to be cast into metal... I just never settled into a design for it. lol

[veronika23]

@k617  well crap I still can't reply to your comment...  That is very cool! Who knows maybe you'll end up doing that 😉

[k617]

Thank you @alexasteph @veronika23!

V - I took a pearl certification course offered for free by a business that sells pearls... the industry is very fascinating!! DH jokes that if my current job doesn't work out, I should become a pearl farmer (he already calls me that whenever I get some new pearls for projects)

[Beadshopgirl]

One of my favourite semi-precious stones is chalcedony. I wear this bracelet nearly every day. The braided wire is an ancient technique called Viking Knit. I used 24 gauge sterling silver wire to make it. 

[Tamara76]

What a lovely bracelet!  You never cease to amaze me! @Beadshopgirl 

My mom has recently gotten into jewelry making, but she makes her own glass beads in her kiln (she is super inspired by Murano glass) instead of using gemstones.  I know that a ton of love and lots of work go into this type of a hobby, so I can definitely appreciate your lovely art!  ❤️

[PrettyPaint]

@Beadshopgirl That's beautiful. I'm not familiar with chalcedony, but I love that!

[KatieJiang]

@Beadshopgirl  That is probably the prettiest bracelet I have ever seen in my life!

[Titian06]

@Beadshopgirl - Your bracelet is so pretty!  Silver jewelry and blue gems will get my attention every time!

[veronika23]

Wow! Love the color!  No surprise there though 😄

[k617]

That is some amazing wirework @Beadshopgirl! I'm still getting the hang of wire wrapping, can't do much besides the basics to join beads together. I love weaves and elaborate designs like this!

[veronika23]

@prettyinpa  think you will like this too. I'm sorry I didn't tag you sooner. 😞

[prettyinpa]

@veronika23-  Thanks for the tag, this indeed is my kind of thread!  Will post pics when I'm not on my phone. I got to see a huge part of Liz Taylor's collection in the big show that Van Cleef & Arpel's had a few years ago.  Plus a bunch of their historical stuff.  If anyone is into really old jewelry, there is ancient Egytian and Peruvian jewelry at the Penn Museum in Philly. Plus real mummies if you're into that kind of stuff!

[veronika23]

Cool @prettyinpa 🙂 Looking forward to see your stuff 🙂

[Beadshopgirl]

From Wikipedia:
"Fingal's Cave is formed entirely from hexagonally jointed basalt columns within a Paleocene lava flow, similar in structure to the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland and those of nearby Ulva.

In all these cases, cooling on the upper and lower surfaces of the solidified lava resulted in contraction and fracturing, starting in a blocky tetragonal pattern and transitioning to a regular hexagonal fracture pattern with fractures perpendicular to the cooling surfaces. As cooling continued these cracks gradually extended toward the centre of the flow, forming the long hexagonal columns we see in the wave-eroded cross-section today. Similar hexagonal fracture patterns are found in desiccation cracks in mud where contraction is due to loss of water instead of cooling."

[darkiceis]

This is so pretty and unreal looking. Let's all go into the cave of wonders and see where it takes us!

[greeneyedgirl107]

@lmi82 Thanks for the site recommendations!  I will look into them when I have spare time!  Have you read "A History of Jewelry?"  I took it out of the library a while back and read the beginning - fascinating stuff!  I wish I had finished it.