The Beading Gem

Carol liked this hoop style of earrings so much that she made more than one. But she was able to custom design each pair differently. Here she has used a small blue tear drop mother of pearl (MOP)bead in the centre, flanked by coordinating glass beads.

The MOP is quite a bright shade of blue so Carol chose to keep the rest of the design subdued. The MOP then stands out more. The MOP bead has a lovely "shimmer" to its look which is not evident in this photo. For easy wear, the hoop is attached to the earhook thus speeding up the early morning routine.
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Did you know that all the gold ever mined weighed some 193,000 tonnes and could be fit into a cube 22 metres x 22 metres x 22 metres? I thought it would have been more. Much of this previously mined gold is still in circulation today.

This precious metal has been highly prized for thousands of years not just for jewelry but for its monetary value and other uses. The ingots on the left are estimated at USD3.5 million for this month - gold prices fluctuate.

Rather amazingly, 40% of all the gold mined in history has come in just the last 120 years and from one location - the Witwatersrand Basin in South Africa. Geologists suspect that the gold washed down from the surrounding mountains. Various theories on how the gold formed in the mountains are still hotly debated today.

New research reported in the science magazine, New Scientist, has shown that gold may not take millions of years to form as previously thought. Instead, it might take just take a single lifetime or even mere days.

Lihir Island to the north-east of Papua New Guinea is the site of the world's largest gold mines. The gold deposit/mine arose years after the volcanic island erupted and collapsed. Geologists have found that small amounts of magmatic fluid containing gold rise from the magma chamber below ground to augment the gold mine from beneath. This leads to the possibility of using artifical gold traps in a hydrothermal power station if it were economically feasible to do so. Builidng traps that can withstand the high pressures involved is expensive. With the high cost of gold, it may well be worthwhile in the future.

Gold is hard to find so this is very encouraging news for those of us who are fond of this precious metal.

Reference

"Instant Gold" by Phil McKenna in New Scientist : 20 January 2007.

Lihir Gold mine
http://www.lihir.com.pg/asp/index.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold

The new window beads in my collection also attracted another beader's attention. Dierdry liked the look of these blue window glass beads so much so that the design came together very quickly for her. The colour, as she pointed out, will go nicely with jeans!

Flat rectangular beads or gemstone tiles are ideal for bracelets.

Carol is now a keen beader with even keener eyes!

She spotted a new supply of window beads which look as if they are framed. The bracelet she created used black glass beads that have a copper-bronze framing. She spaced those out with seed beads with both black and copper-bronze seed beads which tied the whole bracelet together.
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It's still February so there is time for a mention of this special style of diamond cutting. The precision cutting skills of Japanese lapidarists in the 1980's produced loose diamonds which revealed incredibly brilliant facet reflection patterns that gave them their name, hearts and arrows diamonds.

When viewed through a special gemscope from the bottom, these round diamonds will show a pattern of hearts (top). The arrows are seen from above. They are tougher to make out in the second picture below so I have highlighted a couple of them to make it easier to spot them.

It takes skill and twice or three times as long to cut these diamonds. That is why they cost more but they are worth it as the diamond brilliance is superb which is to say, they are extra sparkly. If these diamonds are properly cut, they will show complete hearts and arrows all around i.e. perfect symmetry. There should be no missing, misshapen or misaligned hearts or arrows otherwise they are not true hearts and arrows diamonds as determined by exacting Japanese standards.

They were introduced into the North American market in the 1990's.

References

• All about Hearts and Arrows Diamonds including pictures of the special viewer 
• How they grade the hearts and arrows

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Isabel must like green alot as her specially designed necklace actually matches her pale green turtle neck top!

Her selection of a large dark green Czech crystal bead not only serves as a focal bead but it also ties in with the darker cardigan she is wearing. Isabel kept the design interesting by using different shades of green beads as well as different shapes. The peridot green beads are the next largest beads which are bracketed by smaller hunter green beads.

Isabel also used contrasting coloured beads which help accentuate the green ones. Like a lot of beaders, she chose to taper down her design using seed beads towards the clasp. A good idea in her case as the back end of her necklace is not visible under her turtle-neck.

Venetian beads and glass made on Murano Island are famous and much sought after today.

The glass artisans have been on the island for centuries ever since 1291, when the city of Venice ordered them to relocate to the island for safety reasons -the glass furnaces were fire hazards.

The glass industry was so important to Venice that glassmakers were singled out as the only craftsmen that could hold the rank of burgher (businessman) with special privileges such as impunity from prosecution by the Venetian State. Their daughters were also allowed to marry into the local nobility.



View from a Murano Island Bridge

Another reason for keeping the artisans island bound was to keep a close eye on them so that Venetian glassmaking techniques remained secret. Any glassmaker who was even suspected of breaking this secrecy were never questioned. They were sentenced to death and hired assassins would simply dispose of them. "He was eaten by a salamander" was the term used to describe what happened to these hapless individuals found stabbed and floating in the canals. Salamanders have long been associated with fire (like those in the glassmaking furnaces) - the alchemists believed the salamander was able to live through fire.

This draconian action did not last. Like the ancient Chinese who fiercely protected their silk industry by imposing the death penalty on anyone smuggling the silkworm eggs or the caterpillars out of the country, the secret eventually got out.

References
Chris and Janie Filstrup (1982). Bedazzled : The Story of Beads. Frederick Warne & Co.
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Susan is an experienced quilter and possesses a strong sense of colour and design. She knew what she wanted to accomplish from the beginning - design a bracelet that will match her silver and gold ring.

She chose Murano-style silver foil oval beads with a contrasting gold/yellow colour as the standout beads. She then added smaller beads including silver spectra beads to . The overall result shows that she accomplished her goal! The bracelet will also go with other metallic bracelets that she likes to wear on the same wrist.

Murano glass are made by Venetian glass artisans who have been practising their craft for hundreds of years.
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I have always loved African beadwork, not just for the colours, but for their inspiring and imaginative construction and patterns.The individual beads used are not in themselves interesting. Each is just a coloured bead. But as with good designers, it is how those beads are used that counts.

The Dinka are farmers and cattle herders from southern Sudan. The men are noted for their outstanding beaded adornments. The necklace at the left comprises of several strands which collectively makes the design larger than is possible with such small beads. The focal part of the design is achieved with slightly larger beads placed at the low point of the "vee". Without these larger beads, the design would just be a simple multi-strand necklace but with them, the necklace becomes eye-catching.


The most curious Dinka beadwork is the tight-fitting male corset. The design again plays on the "vee" pattern. The small beads form large bands of colour when used effectively together.

These garments are not just colourful but they also convey a message, a little like the Zulu beads For the Dinka, certain colours relate to the man's age group. Yellow, for instance is for men past thirty.

I think women everywhere would appreciate some scheme which denotes if men are single, married or divorced!!

References
Wikipedia : Dinka

Lois Sherr Dubin (1987). History of Beads : 30,000 years to present. Harry N. Abrams Inc.

Rob may be new to jewelry designing but he took to it effortlessly! For this project intended for a friend, he used two-hole metal slider beads decorated with either clear or red crystals. He colour-coordinated the rest of the bracelet with small glass beads.

Many women love bracelets for a couple of good reasons. Firstly, they are visible to the wearer, unlike necklaces and earrings. As the bracelet move on the wrist, the wearer constantly feels it and is reminded of something really pretty on their wrists!

On the downside, bracelets are difficult to put on by yourself. There are a number of different types of clasps for bracelets. The easiest to put on and off is the toggle and bar. But some woman may prefer other types like the lobster clasp if they prefer a snugger fit. And as always with designing your own jewelry, you can custom fit the length.
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Nine-year-old Erin impressed us at today's workshop with her quiet yet confident designing skills. She was able to come up with this glass bead necklace very quickly.

Her focal bead of choice from Widget's Beads was a beautiful brown flat oval bead with light swirls of colour. She spaced out other large brown beads throughout the necklace. The smaller beads in between were different in size and shape but they all stayed with the earth tone theme. It is definitely a unique necklace that can go with just about anything - even the blue tee-shirt Erin was wearing.
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I think bi-color gemstones are absolutely gorgeous. Here are three of them - I'll save fluorite for later. It does come in two colours but more importantly, it can come in several colours in a single piece.

Two are particularly costly but luckily for us beaders, there are many imitation glass beads. I hope that some of you will be inspired by these gemstones to incorporate two-tone beads into your designs.

Padparadscha

Gemstone.org : Ametrine

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The 2006 film, Blood Diamond, generated a torrent of articles in the media highlighting the serious problem of diamonds being used to fund civil war and armed conflicts in some African nations. It's not often that consumers face the stark provenance of what they buy and it clearly struck a chord.

Many people are now asking how they can avoid purchasing such diamonds. One sure way is to buy a Canadian diamond. Not surprisingly, Polar Bear Canadian diamonds are gaining attention because of the ethical mining practices in Canada. Each diamond is laser-etched with a tiny polar bear in its girdle which marks it as a conflict-free gem. Diamond discoveries since the 1990's have made Canada the third largest producer of diamonds in the world. So this northern producer will clearly benefit from the movie.

Simulated diamonds are also being pushed as alternative sources. The least expensive is high lead glass crystal like Swarovski. Cubic zirconia, the best known synthetic diamond, has been around since the 1970's. More recently, the lab-cultured moissanite diamonds have been publicised as a superior type of synthetic diamond. They're more difficult to tell apart from natural diamonds and costs far less. The jury is still out whether their sales will take off. All being said, mossainite diamonds are still synthetic and may well languish the same way cubic zirconia has for decades. Four out of five engagement rings sold today are gem-set with diamonds, real ones. Will this movie honestly change the expectations of future recipients?

The diamond industry is trying to regulate themselves with the Kimberley Process which involves the certification and secured transport of diamonds to reassure buyers that they are clean. Critics have been quick to point out that blood diamonds still do enter the supply chain either through illegal smuggling into market countries or "laundered" through countries like Ghana where they are falsely certified. With public awareness of the diamond certification process at an all-time high as a consequence of this movie, false certification and illegal smuggling attempts will rise. In early February 2007, US Customs agents seized 11,000 carats of illegal diamonds in Arizona.

If we were to stop buying natural diamonds because we are afraid of unintentionally purchasing a blood diamond, then arguably the people we will hurt the most are those who have already suffered terribly during those bloody years of civil war. Small scale alluvial mining is still carried out in Africa. An estimated 1 million miners hunt for diamonds through the back-breaking methods of panning and sieving. Poor Sierra Leone diamond miners are still eking out a precarious livelihood. Already at the very margins of the diamond industry, they are extremely vulnerable to market shifts. They are very afraid indeed of the backlash from this movie. For them, the furor generated by this movie cannot die down soon enough.


References

The Polar Bear Diamond Company
http://www.polarbeardiamond.com/

Diamond simulant
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_simulant

Swarovski
http://www.swarovski.com/index/

Looking for the 'big one'
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15842523/

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents seize over 11,000 carats of smuggled diamonds : http://www.diamondintelligence.com/magazine/magazine.asp?id=4767

Diamonds seized : http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/11/stories/2007021115770600.htm

Oscar-nominated film unearths curse of Sierra Leone's 'blood diamonds' by Mike Pflanz:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/26/wleone26.xml

Conflict diamonds
http://www.amnestyusa.org/diamonds/document.do?id=ENGPOL300022007


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Cathie had in mind a blue necklace as a gift for someone. Blue is a favoured colour of choice of both men and women and of all ages. This necklace is sure to please.

She chose three dyed mother of pearl square tiles for the front of the necklace. Different shaped metal beads - tubes, large rectangular and corrugated- formed the basis of the rest of the design. However, Cathie also used blue sodalite chips to accent the necklace and tie in with the focal beads. She later planned to restring the beads as she changed her mind about the length of the necklace. That is the beauty of creating your own jewelry - you can custom fit the necklace to suit the person.

I like the first two because they are about pearls!

Pearls before swine
Of biblical origin, it means offering something of quality to those who can't appreciate it.

Matthew 7:6 (King James Version) : "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet."

Pearls of wisdom
Proverb of unknown origin.

The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.
Chinese Proverb

Diamond of first water
Of best quality. Originally from the gem trade to describe the clearest diamonds and therefore the most valuable. For centuries, diamonds were assigned grades such as first water, second water, third water comparing to the clarity of water.

A diamond is forever
De Beers Diamond company's advertising slogan since 1947.

A diamond in the rough
Description of a basically good hearted person who lacks refinement and finesse which is a metaphor for unpolished diamonds with the potential to be fine gemstones.

Diamonds are a girl's best friend
Song sung by Marilyn Monroe in the movie "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (1953) - hear her on the Youtube video .

A cut above the rest
Most likely refers the relative value of different ways in which gemstones are faceted. The cuts that better show off a gemstone's brilliance (sparkle) or fire (internal rainbow flashes of colour) are more valued.

NB The origin of "jaded" is from Middle English word "iade" which means cart-horse or nag and has nothing to do with jade!

Also see A Jewelry Box of Quotations

References
The Phrase Finder

For more tutorials check out my Jewelry Making Tips

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Valentine's Day might well see some men popping THE question to their lady loves. Did you ever wonder how the custom of engagement and wedding rings ever started?

Betrothal rings go back to Roman times. The gimmel ring sometimes called the fede (hand in hand) ring were associated with betrothal and weddings. Later on, Italian Renaissance jewelers made many of these. The gimmel ring has two hoops - each half may well have been worn by the betrothed couple which were joined at some point of the wedding ceremony much like today when the groom places the ring on the bride's finger. Fede rings may also have been used to pledge a contract or brotherhood.

The Roman custom of such pledge rings was adopted by early Christians as wedding rings. The ring was worn on the third finger as it was believed that a vein there connected directly with the heart. The vein was called vena amoris, Latin for vein of love. The actual ritual of placing the ring on the bride's finger in the wedding ceremony goes back to the 11th century. Did you know that in medieval times, the wedding ceremony took place at the church door?

In 1549, the "Book of Common Prayer" of Edward VI specified that the ring should be placed on the third finger of the left hand. Even after that clarification, brides continued to wear their rings on other fingers and even on the right hand. Today, many Western cultures do wear their rings on the left hand but there are exceptions in countries such as Germany, Norway, Bulgaria, Chile and India where the right hand dominates.

My friend who belongs to the Eastern Orthodox church wears her ring on her right hand because that is the hand which is used to make promises and oaths. It is also the hand that they believe acknowledges the presence of God through the sign of the cross. This stems from the fact that most people are right-handed.

No one really knows when plain gold bands came to be used as wedding rings. When Mary Tudor married Philip II of Spain in 1554, someone noted she wore "a plain hoope of gold without any stone in it because maydens were so maried in olde times". But many brides preferred (even today) gem-set wedding rings.

Until 1947, women chose a variety of gemstones for their engagement and wedding rings. That year, the De Beers company launched their "A Diamond is Forever" campaign to boost flagging diamond sales. The promotion was so successful that today, 4 out of 5 engagement rings are now set with diamonds.

Photo Credit : NatsPhoto on Stockxchng.

References

Ernle Bradford (1967) Four Centuries of European Jewelry. Spring Books.

Hugh Tait. (1986) Jewelry : 7000 years. Harry N Abrams Publishers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_in_the_Eastern_Orthodox_Church

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_finger

This was Debbi's very first ever creation. She was so surprised that she could "make something that she could wear in public!"

She knew she wanted something black as the necklace would therefore go with much of her wardrobe. The first metal bead to catch her eye was the large Celtic pendant. She finally decided on the other smaller Celtic beads and interspersed them with different sized gunmetal glass beads. Viola! A unique design is created.
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Consuelo Vanderbilt (1877-1964) was the granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt who started the famous family fortune. She was beautiful and incredibly rich and thus a great marital prize in a time when socially advantageous marriages were arranged between wealthy American girls and land-rich but cash-poor English aristocrats.

The making of millefiori or millefiore  beads, a type of mosaic beads, requires great technical skill on the part of the glass artisan. "Mille" means thousand and "fiore", flowers in Italian, which is an apt term for the "candy" variety of glass beads.

Several thin canes of glass are heat fused together then pulled to form one long rod which is then cut horizontally to reveal the patterns. Many of these rods could also be used with more coloured glass to form an even more intricate rod which miniaturises the component rods.

This technique is not new - the ancient Romans used it which is not surprising since they were famous for their mosaics. But the millefiore technique itself was specifically developed by Italians in the 15th century.

The technique is reminiscent of rock candy sold in many British tourist towns like Blackpool and Brighton. These are made in the same general fashion except with rolls of colored sugar dough.

For those of us without glass making skills and a handy glass furnace, colored polymer clay from a local craft store offers us a chance to make these types of beads. Here is a short polymer clay video showing how simple millefiore beads are made.



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Red is my favourite colour and it is Linda's favourite too! She made earrings using milleflori or milleflore beads. These intricate glass beads are diagonally holed square flat tiles which she paired with Czech red glass cubes. The two types of beads were the same colour but the design decision of using two different shapes worked! Metal beads were also used to tie in with the use of sterling silver earwires.

Milleflori means thousand flowers in Italian. Indeed, the Italians were the the masters of this form of mosaic beads. Check out the next post on these beads and why they rock.
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