So Did Yours Make The List - Southwest Designs

Well...it's that time of year when I do a 'replay' and 'revisit' my favorite designs from the year. There were plenty this year and it's been really tough to determine which one to put as the Best of the Year. We'll start with the Southwest Flair Collection.....see if your favorite or the one you purchased made the list!

Our Southwest Flair Collection is a twisted mix of classic and modern styles. The majority of the stones used in this collection are turquoise, spiny oyster, coral, magnesite, jasper, agate, and onyx. The natural stones are combined with different metals, glass and crystals, lampwork and dichroic glass. 

Here's the Best of 2011 from the Southwest Flair Collection.....

This design (to the right) features a nice silver textured pendant, turquoise barrels, Arizona ivoryite, and a touch of faceted crystals.

This design (to the left) was a dip into a one-solid color theme featuring a nice ax shaped sponge coral pendant, red (dyed) coral disks, lampwork and cloisonne beads with long chain extenders.

In this design (to the right) we combined several techniques, wire work and charming. At the center drop is a beautiful turquoise doughnut pendant and tons of charms in faceted crystals and cultured freshwater pearls. A couple of lampwork beads on the ends and everything is strung onto a braided leather cord.

Earrings (to the left) were not to be forgotten and this pair is all about the dangle and charms of faceted crystals!

This is a custom order (to the right) for a customer that loves turquoise and I added in copper colored cultured freshwater pearls and copper metals. The set included a bracelet that was sized to the customer's wrist. 

Stay tuned for the rest of our 'Best of the Year' from each collection!

Metallic Tech Geek Element

It looks to be like a metallic tech geek something or other; but really it's Bismuth.  Bismuth; a cool, geek/tech, metallic, and strange, usually lab created element that is grown in all kinds of odd shapes and reflect very different metallic colors. This is a new find for me and one that is just striking and a very eclectic addition to our Fossil-Mineral-Rock Collection.

These are very heavy and fragile eggs in a purified form of bismuth, artificially grown and lab created. The crystals grow at a very rapid pace forming very unusual and interesting shapes. The colors are natural and form from an iridescent tarnish that shows many refractive colors upon exposure to air. The edges of the crystals are fully developed, but the interior spaces are hollowed, which causes the step lattice formation. Because of their rapid rate of growth and brilliant colors, no two are ever exactly alike.

Here's a little about Bismuth......Bismuth is very interesting and unusual, it is a metallic chemical element which is classified among the group of elements colloquially known as 'poor elements' in the periodic table. The element has a number of uses, making it common in industrial applications. In addition to occurring in various minerals, bismuth also can be found in pure form in nature, though very rarely.
 
 When it is pure, bismuth is white with a reddish tinge, and sometimes almost pink. It is a crystalline chemical structure which makes it extremely brittle, and it is rather unique among the elements for having a liquid state which is more dense than its solid state; water shares this interesting property. On the periodic table of elements, bismuth is identified as Bi, and has an atomic number of 83.

Bismuth, the name for the element comes from the German Wismuth, which means derived from webe Masse, which means “white mass”. The element was known in the ancient world, although it was sometimes confused with tin and lead. By the 1400s, people had begun to suspect that bismuth was a distinct chemical element, but it was not isolated until 1753; Claud Groffroy is typically given credit for the identification of bismuth as an element.


Browse our Timeless Designs shop at Ruby Lane to see and purchase these latest beauties!

Shop Small Business Saturday - Nov. 26th!

Celebrate Small Business Saturday with Timeless Designs!

This Saturday, November 26th, is a big day for all small businesses. It's the second annual Small Business Saturday®, when people across the country come out and shop to support their favorite local businesses.

For this BIG event, Timeless Designs has marked down select items 10%-30% off regular prices! Get a jump on your holiday shopping and support small business this Saturday, November 26th.

Visit Timeless Designs online shop to see our selection of collector fossils, minerals & rocks and our always popular custom artisan jewelry.

Carved Gemstone Bears

Carved from gemstones of the world and these are from Madagascar.  They are just a few of the new items in collectable fossils, minerals and rocks that we will be carrying. They have a high glossy polish and feature some of the world's finished gemstones. They are all very lovely and a great addition to any collection.

Ocean Jasper Bear (to the right) – beautiful colors and several spots where some have formed crystallized; even the 'eye' appears to be crystallized.

Labradorite Bear (to the left) – very striking and stunning gemstone, this is some of the best labradorite I've seen in a long time.

Blue Calcite Bear (to the right) – shades of blue and the polish brings out all the shades and depths of color.

Visit our online store, Timeless Designs at Ruby Lane for a selection of minerals, fossils and rocks!

Amethyst, The Purple Beauty

A variety of vitreous quartz with purple, violet, or red-purple coloration, amethyst derives its name from the ancient Greek amethustos, meaning literally “not drunk” as if was believed to guard against drunkenness. Traditionally associated with purity and piety; amethyst has also always been favored by royalty as purple is considered a regal hue.

Found in most countries where granite rocks are exposed, amethyst occurs in alluvial deposits and geodes. Its coloration is principally due to traces of iron, and it is sometimes color-zoned due to twining or preferential absorption on the rhombehedral faces. Major commercial sources of amethyst are Brazil, where it occurs in geodes that are frequently human-sized; deep purple colors are found in Uruguay, and also Siberia and North America. Crystals from Brazilian and Uruguayan deposits are most often found as radiating masses, with individual crystals appearing as pyramids. Lower grade Brazilian and Uruguayan amethyst is frequently turned into citrine by heat treatment, which changes its color. Where both amethyst and citrine occur naturally in the same stone, the name ametrine is sometimes used.

Traditionally amethyst has along history as a gemstone. In the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, amethyst was highly valued and was used to create cylinder seals, engraved with a religious design and the owner's name. The engraving was transferred to legal documents in the form of clay tablets by rolling the cylinder over the tablets. The ancient Egyptians also valued amethyst, using it in much of their jewelry. Egyptian amethyst came principally from Nubia, once a province of Egypt.

In modern times, amethyst is both faceted and cut and it has a widespread use as a carving material. Its most valued shades are a deep, rich purple, and a deep purple with a reddish tinge.

Visit Timeless Designs online store to browse among jewelry designs featuring amethyst stones, raw wire wrapped pendants and amethyst collectibles.

32nd Annual Christmas Showcase - San Antonio

Get a jump start on your holiday gift giving and shopping.....

32^nd Annual Christmas Showcase

Freeman Coliseum – San Antonio, TX

Saturday, November 19 - Sunday, November 20

Hours: Sat - 9am-5pm & Sun – 10am-5pm

The booth is located in the Coliseum, main floor under the alcove!

Avoid the lines and traffic at the malls; come join us for the last "BIG" show of the season!!

We will have all new selections featuring.....

Raw Collectables Fossils, Minerals & Rocks

Southwest Flair; classic and modern styles in turquoise, coral, magnesite, and onyx  

Mystic Artisan; high-end elegance in agate, jasper, pearl, dichroic glass, Swarovski crystal, and more

Wiry Legend; funky wire techniques in links, swirls, wraps, cages, and use of other metals  

Rock Yard; old earth comes to life using fossils, minerals and raw rocks  

Pendant Sets & Single featuring wire work

Year End Close-out Holiday Sale Items

 

........and so much more!

 So grab your list, put on some comfy walking shoes and join the holiday shopping festivities with hundreds of booths to shop from featuring some of Texas's most talented artists!

Hand Wire Wrapped Sand Dollar Designs

This past summer the mineral company I work with came across another new fossil, the sand dollar or Holectypus Echinoid and these little beauties come from Majunga Basin, Madagascar. They challenged me to wire wrap this dome shape fossil into a pendant. At first it was a little more than complicated, but after trying and working through different techniques, I was able to get it locked into place and wired as a pendant.  Since then I've done several different designs (see past posts) with them as a focal, however they have since become very rare to find and the reason, the Madagascar government has put a restriction on the Holectypus Echinoid, Sand Dollar fossil. 

The few I have left are quickly being bought up as the designs are listed at our online shop.

The pendant set features the sand dollar fossil wired in copper non-tarnish wire and can be removed from the ribbon cord and worn on other chains, collars or cords. 

I included a light-weight pair of swing long dangle earrings in tiny triple hoops with glass orange and yellow lined seed beads for accents.

The necklace is a premier piece, the focal is the sand dollar fossil wire wrapped in antique copper non-tarnish wire. 

I've accented it with large fancy copper beads, marbled rondelle disks of yellow calicate and faceted dark purple amethyst rondelles that are capped in fancy copper bead caps. 

For a clasp I chose a large half twisted copper t-bar toggle and matching earrings in dangle hoops using the same stones as the necklace.

For more custom artisan jewelry, visit Timeless Designs online at Ruby Lane!