Western Birthstones

I don't know about you but I can never seem to remember the birthstones for each month so I thought I would list them here in jewelry form.  I hope you enjoy them!


January - Garnet





February - Amethyst



  

March - Aquamarine

 

April - Diamond



 





May - Emerald

 

June - Pearl



July - Ruby




 

August - Peridot





September - Sapphire



October - Opal


 

November - Yellow Topaz



December - Blue Topaz













Organic Gems

This is a list of items called organic gems:  pearls, shell (mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell), coral, ivory, amber, and jet.  Found on land and underwater, these gems are formed by the biological processes of living organisms.  Interestingly, pearls are the second best seller of gems after diamonds.

Some secondary organic gems are tagua nuts, dinosaur eggs and shark teeth.  A tagua nut is a dried seed pod found in the rain forests of Ecuador.  These gems are used commonly to make jewelry.

Organic gems are soft and porous and can scratch easily.  They can also absorb chemicals like hair spray, perfume and cosmetics.  Because of this, they should not be worn during vigorous activity.  These gems should not be stored in closed containers for long periods of time.

Wow, time has flown by. I cannot believe my last post was in April! Bad, bad girl. Well, I did do a show in May so I have been busy!

Let's talk about birthstones. Apparently we have several options for choosing so if you don't like your stone read on. You can choose, modern, traditional, mystical, ayurvedic (holistic), day or season. I will list all of them below in this order.

January - garnet, garnet, emerald, garnet

February - amethyst, amethyst, bloodstone, amethyst

March - aquamarine, bloodstone, jade, bloodstone

April - diamond, diamond, opal, diamond

May - emerald, emerald, sapphire, agate

June - pearl/moonstone, alexandrite, moonstone, pearl

July - ruby, ruby, ruby, ruby - sorry all you July people!!!

August - peridot, sardonyx, diamond, sapphire

September - sapphire, sapphire, agate, moonstone

October - opal/tourmaline, tourmaline, jasper, opal

November - yellow topaz/citrine, citrine, citrine, pearl

December - blue topaz/turquoise/tanzanite, zircon/turquoise/lapis lazuli, onyx, ruby


The day for each month is the same for all:

Sunday - topaz/sunstone

Monday - rock crystal/pearl/moonstone

Tuesday - ruby/emerald/star sapphire

Wednesday - amethyst/lodestone/star ruby

Thursday - sapphire/carnelian/cat's eye

Friday - emerald/cat's eye/alexandrite

Saturday - turquoise/diamond/labradorite


The season is the same for all:

Spring - emerald
Summer - ruby
Autumn - sapphire
Winter - diamond

Now you know you have many choices for your birthstone!

Fashion Trends vs. Fashion Fads

Recently there was an article in my local paper written by Gary Salter, a local jeweler. In the article he explained that there is a difference between jewelry fads (or fashions) and jewelry trends. He said the difference was that a fad bursts on the market with intense excitement and interest by the public but can just as quickly disappear. A jewelry trend usually takes more time to get established, but has a longer life.

Jewelry trends can be initiated by cultures and countries that spread from one country to the next. A few examples would be:

Ireland - Shamrock designed jewelry, Celtic designs and trinity knots.

Greece - Intricate woven wire filligree, worry beads and Greek key designs.

Rome - Coiled snake bracelets and hoop earrings

India - Elephant designs.

France - Necklaces that form into brooches.

Religion, Hollywood celebrities, movies and television all play a part in jewelry trends. Politicians, nobility and their wives can play a part in a jewelry trend. A notable example is Jackie Kennedy.

Yellow gold is making a comeback this year but silver may become popular again because of our current economic situation. Small gemstones mixed with white or colored pearls will be a big trend this year. Rough cut natural gemstones will also be popular.

Wow! I can't believe almost 10 days have gone by since my last blog. I have been making earrings for a show I will be in this May. The show is in Watkinsville, Georgia which is near Athens. It is called Southwerks Art Festival. Come by and check out my work if you have a chance.



The earrings I have made in the last couple of days have been made from many different types of gemstones and beads. Today I used carnelian cushion beads on gold-filled wire. For those of you who don't know what carnelian looks like, it is a beautiful orange color. I made another pair from garnets which are a lovely reddish brown color.

Making jewelry is so exciting to me because there are so many beautiful materials to work with. Every time I go shopping for materials I come across something that is new to me. For example, Sardonyx and Indicolite are two materials that I had never encountered. Since there is always something new to work with when designing jewelry it is always a delight!

Tomorrow my goal is to make necklaces to go with some of the beautiful new spring colors. It shouldn't be too hard since the colors are great and the stones are waiting!

2009 Jewelry Trends

What is popular in the jewelry world these days? Well, bangle bracelets, big link necklaces, layered and multi-chain necklaces, Turquoise and anything goes for earrings. You can mix up metals and other materials. Also, the ethnic/tribal look is still popular.

The current jewelry fashion is for each piece to make a statement. Whether you choose a necklace, bracelet or ring think big is better!

You can never go wrong with pearls! The picture above is a necklace that I designed and created using Swarovski glass pearls. They are a beautiful chocolate brown. The chain is heavy in look but light in weight. I have it on my website at www.doublesjewelry.artfire.com. I made simple brown pearl earrings to go with it.

Have you ever found the perfect outfit but not been able to find the right jewelry to go with it? I know I have in the past. Well, I love to do custom work. You can send me a picture and I can make just the right thing for you.

Fashion Colors for Spring 2009

Do you know what the hot new colors will be for spring and summer this year? Well I didn't either so I did a little research and the following is what I discovered. Pantone is the fashion world's king of color and this is what they say are the Top 10 Fashion Colors for Spring of 2009.

Palace Blue(a cross between sky blue and a strong navy),Lavender, Rose Dust(a pinky blue), Slate Gray, Fushsia Red, Salmon Rose, Vibrant Green(mossy mid green), Dark Citron(almost olive), Lucite Green(soft green) and Super Lemon.

The next time you go shopping check the clothes to see if this if true or not. In the meantime I need to get busy and start making pieces that will complement these colors.

I also read that brown will be the new black for this season. It shouldn't be too hard to find lots of smoky quartz, tiger's eye, different jaspers and natural chalcedony to design beautiful necklaces and earrings for this spring and summer.

In fact, I already have a couple of lovely chocolate pearl and tiger's eye necklaces on my website at www.doublesjewelry.artfire.com. If you get a chance to look at them, let me know what you think.