Tag: mineral

Rose quartz

Posted on by tomi_crafts
Genuine rose quartz  and sterling silver earrings 

After a few years as an aspiring artisan, I notice I am getting even more picky choosing what I want to work with. I am happy that I went into this thinking I needed to know where the gemstones originated.  I am also always looking for trustworthy sellers of gemstones, that can offer me variations my usual suppliers can not.

Fast forward to my newly bought strand of rose quartz from Madagascar.  These are oh so delicate and lovely. While the pink colour is not so saturated, it is natural after all, the quality of these are just stunning.

Rose quartz should always be stored in a dark place, as it can lose it’s colour very fast if  exposed to direct sunlight.

Busy days

Posted on by tomi_crafts

My time has not been my own since august. There has been so much to do with my daywork, and I have fallen behind in updating my inventory. I have however finished a necklace for a lovely lady that turned 40 recently. No pics alas. I was very happy with the result, and will probably make something similar again. Without a picture I am ensuring I am not making it exactly the same. Smart!

The stone I used in the necklace was Jasper Kambaba, A fun and special type of stone.

Jasper kumbaba earrings
Jasper kambaba earrings

Here it is used in earrings. It is not really a jasper, I am not sure why it is called that. Maybe because of the patterns. It is really a stromatolite with fossiled algea. Found in Madagascar, and as many of the minerals we carry in our ears and neck – millions of years old. Don`t you just love that. Wearing a piece of earths history!

Inspired by Art Nouveau

Posted on by tomi_crafts
Lapis Lazuli fish with handcrafted copper chain
Lapis Lazuli fish with handcrafted copper chain

I love how this handmade chain flows. There something art nouveau-ish about it I think. Maybe that is why I like it so much. This is a handcarved fish of Lapis Lazuli.

The copper chain concists of links joined by jumprings. The necklace is then tumbled for hours, and patinated, then polished.  It is a labour-intensive process, but I am very happy with how it looks.

Lapis Lazuli fish with handcrafted copper chain detail
Lapis Lazuli fish with handcrafted copper chain detail

Tiger`s eye

Posted on by tomi_crafts
Tiger`s eye
Tiger eye pendant gemstones

These are four tiger`s eye gemstone pendants I bought quite some time ago. I have an ever growing stash of stones I consider to be pretty. Pretty enough to store and hope for a time where I can sit down and create something with them.

Tiger`s eye almost let you think it`s not cold stone at all, but a fabric. Something that will feel soft to the touch. The shimmer feeling almost like folded silk. Especially when light falls on it in special angles, making the chatoyence of the stone come to life.

I am thinking these will eventually become parts of bracelets. The focal of course.

Moldavite

Posted on by tomi_crafts
SKU# 35 total
Handmade silver sterling necklace with moldavite pendant
SKU# 35 detail moldavite
The picture is taken with the sun as backdrop, in regular light it is more of a dullish dark green colour.

Moldavite is the result of a meteorite impact in Bavaria 15 million years ago. It is a form of glass, produced in the immense heat after the impact. I bought this piece from Magpie, my favorite gemstoneseller online.

It already came with a border wrap in sterling silver, so the choice of wire to use was obvious. I would have made that choice anyway, since this piece was quite costly. Moldavite is of the more expensive mineral to buy, since it only exists in a few locations and the source will be depleted in a few years. This is not AAA quality, those are more transparent than mine is.

I made a chain using sterling silver wire, and experimented with various solutions to combine it with. The one I ended up with was the best choice, it hangs beautifully on the neck. The challenge was to find a combination that would let the long link on each side lay correctly, and not twist.

Now I am contemplating whether I should oxidize the silver or not. Choices, choices.