Summer In Dichroic

This new summer piece features triangular dichroic glass in matching pendant and earrings! At the focal I’ve used a lovely dichroic glass pendant in wild colors of pink, copper, green and some gold and touch a red....the bail is hand wire wrapped in brass non-tarnish wire and left with swirling coils.

The pendant is then accented with tons of charms…all twisted by hand onto brass colored headpins in faceted crystals of green, yellow, peach and pink and all strung onto a light olive colored silk cord! The matching earrings dangle with same cluster of crystals and tiny dichroic pendants.

Visit our online Timeless Designs store at Ruby Lane to browse and purchase our artisan crafted designs!

Caring For Your Gemstone Jewelry

You have bought or received as a gift the most incredible piece of gemstone jewelry, now how to keep it that way. Caring for your gemstone jewelry is an essential necessity for any jewelry owner, as gemstones are a durable material, and they do require care, so that when handed down as heirlooms in the years to come, they are just as brilliantly remarkable as they are to you now, to be cherished forever.

Most transparent and hard gemstones can endure being cared for by simply cleaning the jewelry with mild nonabrasive hand detergent and a soft bristled toothbrush; then dried with a soft clean cloth. It is wise to place a soft washcloth in the sink covering the drain, as doing so will aid in preventing any gemstones from becoming chipped or falling down the drain while you are cleaning your jewelry.

Some would suggest using ultrasonic cleaners, while this may be the fastest method for cleaning your jewelry; it is also the quickest way to damage your gemstones. Be very careful when using an ultrasonic cleaner, make sure that your gemstones can withstand such cleaning before using this type of method.

Here are some suggestions for cleaning and caring for your gemstone jewelry.

•Use 2 cleaning bowls. One that has warm water plus the cleaning liquid and one that has only warm water to rinse.

Note: If you are using sinks, place a soft washcloth over the drains, this will help to keep stones from going down the drains and also help to prevent possible chipping.

•Use lukewarm water, never use hot water.

•Use a mild dishwashing liquid or mild jewelry cleaning solution. One that is safe for your specific jewelry gemstones and metals.

•Several soft, clean, dry cloths (1-for cleaning and 1-drying)

•Small, unused soft bristled toothbrush

The process is simple, fill your sink with warm water, add a little drop of mild dishwashing liquid and swish around to make bubbles. Carefully, place a few pieces at a time in the sink allowing them to soak a few minutes (don’t overload the sink as this may cause jewelry to hit against each other causing chips, cracks and/or damage). Then take each piece out and carefully clean with the soft bristled toothbrush.

Caution, you only need to use a toothbrush if you have a piece of jewelry that has tiny cracks, holes, and small places where dust and dirt can get in; otherwise, there is really no need to use a toothbrush. Rinse in a separate sink that only contains warm water. Place the jewelry on a soft cloth and carefully dry your jewelry pieces. As a side note, allow an hour or so for your jewelry to 'air dry' to make sure that all water is gone before placing back into their jewelry box or containers.

Cleaning your jewelry doesn’t have to be done often, but several times a year to protect your gemstones. As a rule of thumb and if in doubt, clean your gemstone jewelry with warm, soapy water. Avoid harsh chemicals or high heat which can cause gemstones to fade or crack. And try to store your gemstone jewelry in a clean jewelry case out of the reach of harsh light or sun to prevent fading and possible damage to your gemstones.

As a last note, it is also wise to have a jeweler check any gemstones that have been put in settings at least once a year. This is to make sure that the prongs are secure and your gems are safe. When in doubt, ask a professional jeweler about the care and cleaning of your new gemstone jewelry.

Hot Hoop Dangles For Summer

 

New style of hoop earrings that dangle for the summer! 

These earrings are light and breezy and feature coral colored chips, lapis and turquoise…see these and other styles just added to our online store!

 

Browse and shop our custom crafted jewelry collections at our Timeless Designs store on Ruby Lane!

Summer – A Little Bold Chic or Traditional

Summer is here and with it new jewerly designs.......these are just a few of the newest additions from our studio and are perfect for the summer season! Bright, bold and somewhat a little more traditional they are both light-weight necklaces using a mixture of natural stone, ceramic & crystals beads and even a little bit of bone.

Boldly bright shades of green turquoise (stabilized) chips, creamy irregular rondelle bone beads, with a little splash of ‘bling’ in crystals. The necklace features a lovely smaller agate pendant from Brazil; it is almost clear with a center color of olive and slight crystallization. I have hand wire wrapped it in non-tarnish brass wire to bring out the more earthy tones.

Traditional and chic southwest style necklace featuring a beautiful turquoise (dyed) colored agate from Brazil; the pendant has natural citrine color with a few cream streaks and has been hand wire wrapped in non-tarnish silver wire. It is hung from strands of natural citrine chip/nuggets, a few ceramic Tibetan beads and blue Arizona turquoise (stabilized) and accenting metals.

Agates: Balancing physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual energies; perceptiveness, strength, inspiration, awakening talents. 

Citrine: Intuition, comfort, protection, creativity, physical energy, wealth, mental awakening.

Turquoise: Spiritual attunement, cleansing, healing, protection, valor, soothing, peace of mind, guidance through the unknown, romantic spontaneity.

See more summer designs…..just browse and shop our artisan crafted jewelry collections at our Timeless Designs online store!

Tiger’s Eye of My Son

My son joined me this year on my Tucson trip, which was the best ever! We had so much fun and while there, he picked up quite a bit of fossils and this strand of tiger’s eye, his favorite stone. I told him I would design something for him using this faceted stone and maybe mix in a little bit of bone that I had purchased too. The result is this really unique necklace fit for a young man…and he tells me that he really likes it!

The necklace is crafted of faceted round tiger's eye stones, a mix of creamy bone rondelles and gold tone metal disks.

Tiger’s Eye quartz is a semiprecious variety of quartz exhibiting chatoyancy, a vertical luminescent band like that of a cat’s eye. Unlike cat’s eye quartz, tiger’s eye is formed when parallel veins of crocidolite (blue asbestos) fibers are first altered to iron oxides and then replaced by silica. As a result, it is more opaque and has a rich yellow to brown color and when cut and polished, the stone has a fine luster. The major source of tiger’s eye is Griquatown West, in South Africa, but it has also been found in Wittenoom Gorge, Western Australia.

 

Legend says that the stone takes its name from its resemblance to the eye. This appears when the brown inclusions are cut in a certain way, just like the cat’s eye and falcon’s eye stones. For about a hundred years it has been highly sought after and used for jewelry or for therapeutic purposes.

The traditional properties of the tiger’s eye say that is an effective healing stone for bronchial problems, helpful in the cases of headaches and migraines and effective in lifting depression and promoting concentration.

Browse and shop our Timeless Designs store for your own custom artisan crafted jewelry!

Ancient Fossils of Ammonite

Ammonites are one of the most popular of the fossils, both for collectors and jewelry designers. They are mostly from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Peridos that evolved into a great variety of forms. They can be found in a vast range of different shapes, sizes and structures. The movement of different species may have depended on their shape. Some of them are big and round, while others are thin and disc-shaped, some have shells that are quite small and others are very large. Ammonites are marine creatures that may have moved freely in the water, though some of the largest may have browsed more on the seabed.

The spiral coiling of the ammonite shell does not usually extend upwards. Instead it is coiled in a flat plane, with both sides of the shell depressed in the center. The ammonite shell itself has a large body chamber at the shell opening. This chamber reaches back for about half a whorl. Usually the animal lived with the body chamber at the lowest point, and the rest of the shell above.

 

We often feature many designs using the ammonites; which are hand wire wrapped.  The range of soft earthy colors or sold balck are perfect for any seasons!

Browse and shop our custom jewelry collections at Timeless Designs on Ruby Lane!

Spring to Summer Rages Charms

Charms are all the rage this year; so for the big hit we came out with this charmed line last Fall and it was very well received. We brought it back again for Spring – Sumer and it has again been very popular. Most of these charmed necklaces feature Italian murano glass pendants and one that features a pink mushroom jasper stone pendant.

All the charms are faceted crystals, lampwork beads, cultured freshwater pearls,and natural stones; each charm is individually hand twisted and then looped onto the silk cord. For accents between there are an array of lampwork & cloisonne beads or faceted crystals. Each one is uniquely crafted as an individual piece that stands by itself.

They are all just beautiful…these are all sold quickly, but we will have more soon at our online shop!

 

Royalty in blue hues and purple (to the left)

Beach fun with octopus (to the right)

Spring time elegance of calilies (to the left)

Richly deep purples and amethyst (to the righ)

Pretty in pink mushroom jasper (to the left)

Modern in black and white (to the right)

Browse and shop our custom artisan crafted jewelry collection at Timeless Designs on Ruby Lane!