One of my on-line discoveries is a dealer who has the most beautiful cloisonne beads. These have Persian-design arabesques of jade green, peach and gold swirls. I paired them with my little peach coral rounds, some vermeil and these gorgeous Russian green amethysts which are the color of very fine Chinese jade. They are opera-length which means that they hang down to cleavage level. The clasp is a filigree tear-drop of vermeil with a pearl-shaped faceted peridot.
Yes, indeed, I really love this amazonite bead for its luster, its translucency and its versatility. So, I created a double long necklace that wraps nicely out of the amazonite accented with blush peach coral rounds, stunning vermeil beads and colorful gold-trimmed cloisonne butterflies dressed up in navy and aqua. The clasp is one of my mini-domes in vermeil from my adorable silver guy in Southern California. We finally got to meet at the recent GLDA show at the Mirage at the end of May. I wish I would have had hundreds of bux to spend. The guy has spectacular stuff. I'd been buying from him on-line for years and this was the first time that we met. I couldn't wait to get home and string something with his beautiful silver and vermeil goods. They all come equipped with built-in guards so you won't lose a piece made with them. Price: $425.00.
For years, this fabulous sterling silver clasp stayed in my box of clasps and toggles. I had yet to find a bead stately and formidable enough to use it on. I thought I might use it for a multi-strand piece, maybe ten strands of mini-baroque pearls or something, but when I saw these massive Chinese turquoise "gumballs," something clicked. They are probably 22mm which ain't teensy, that's for sure. The bell-shaped ends of the clasp hugged the beads perfectly. I threw in some star-shaped Bali silver roundels -- nothing too distracting from the size, color and heft of these beautiful turquoise beads. And. . . just look at the price! $200.00.
The filigree jeweled cross, Tibetan silver in origin, is another eBay treasure. I didn't want to put it with turquoise, however, because I thought it would look too typically Wild West, so when I found this spectacularly clear, blue-green amazonite which is a perfect color match to the turquoise in the cross's floral shield, I thought it would be perfect. I added the bright blue lapis roundels, bought from the Afghani bead dealer who I always work for at the GLDA each spring and this unusual necklace was born. I completed it with a sterling silver mini-dome from one of my favorite silver dealers in California.
I'd been mousing around on eBay to see what kinds of interesting beads and pendants I could find when I came across this little beauty -- a sterling silver skull with a crown. It sat around on my work table for about three months when the red jade came in from Hong Kong. Perfecto! I strung the jade with the skull and livened it up with brushed silver daisy roundels , faceted black onyx and a beautiful silver-twist toggle. I know that the skull which was a real fashion icon for the past few years is probably past its prime as cutting edge fashion, but this weighty little silver guy is just too, too cute. Price: $300.00.
At the end of May, 2008, I again worked the Gem and Lapidary Dealers Association show at the Mirage for four days. Across from Mr. Kameyab's booth was this young Chinese kid who had a table full of very sparkly, faceted beads. Nobody came to his station the first day. This was his first year and the booth was small and slightly off the beaten track. When there was a lull in sales, I went over to look at his merchandize and found these incredible pale, transparent green amethyst beads that were irregular, faceted and fascinating to look at. Strung, they were a jumble of reflective surfaces. I made one complete necklace out of the strand and had a few beads left over which I put with rhinestone roundels, gray iridescent Swarovski crystals and a mixture of stick, baroque and flat-sided pearls in a three-strand torsade or twist necklace. The result is this subtle necklace with surprising zots of flash. I strung it on one of my beautiful three-strand adobe-patterned silver slide clasps from my dealer in California. This is a real beauty and a bargain at $675.
