Many people jump into the process of making jewelry and take shortcuts that only hurt them in the long run. Maybe they buy tools and supplies that don’t give them the results they’re looking for. Or they don’t treat their new tools right. Or perhaps they’re worried that their great new “original” design will make [...]
Read the rest of Costume Jewelry Making Shortcuts and Failures
We find enjoyment, it is true, in the agreeable green of grass and leaves, but incomparably greater is the pleasure of beholding an emerald; for its green is the most satisfying of all,” so Pliny extolled the aristocratic chieftain of the beryl family. Nevertheless, the reader has the feeling that even Pliny, despite his telling [...]
Read the rest of Emerald Fine Jewelry Kingdom: Symbol of Verdant Spring
For the first time we encounter in this delicate, virginal gem, a gemstone from the ranks of the rock-forming feldspars. Taken all together as a group, the feldspars are the most widely distributed mineral association. Their chemical composition divides them into three different combinations of calcium, sodium, and potassium coupled with alumina and silica, all [...]
Read the rest of Delicate, Virginal gem Moonstones: Child of the Dawning Day
ALL stages of imaginable color possibilities are captured by this gemstone which, in addition to white and black, embraces every hue to be found in the spectrum, not only in pure tones but in all the fine nuances of innumerable shades, transitions, and mixtures. Should a collector set himself the task of amassing all the [...]
Read the rest of Tourmaline: the Crystallized Jewelry Kaleidoscope
The interest of its gnarled banding, which unlike most other ornamental stones is not multicolored but patterned throughout in contrasting shades of light to dark green, has earned malachite many admirers. In ancient times it was likened to the innumerable green shades of mallow leaves.
Read the rest of Malachite: Greens Galore!
The Bauhaus continued to influence art and design establishments throughout Europe, particularly in Britain and Holland, during this period. Designers searched for forms that would be minimalist, universal and democratic. Artists and craftsmen saw themselves as ‘pioneers who were liberating the world from the bonds of tradition’. Studio Crafts were established in art schools in [...]
Read the rest of Artist Jewelers in Europe and America
Very quickly novelty and trinket manufacturers began to produce copies of couturier costume pieces, which developed the market for fashion jewelry. America, in particular, was well placed to apply the new manufacturing techniques to the jewelry field, and where Paris had led the trend for costume jewelry, it was America that chiefly propagated it. Less [...]
Read the rest of America and Mass- produced Jewelry, Plastic Jewelry
Jewelry in Britain at the turn of the century differed from the French because it was more backward-looking and still owed much to the Arts and Crafts. The British decorative motifs featured primeval figures and floral tributes combined with interlace patterns of Celtic origin. These pieces were made in finely crafted silver enriched with polished [...]
Read the rest of Art Nouveau Jewelry in Britain
Making badges and brooches out of clay is slightly more difficult than the basic techniques used for making beads. However, by using simple modelling techniques anything from strikingly modern designs to more traditionally elegant pieces can be made.
To make the Jewelry Badges
First find your motif. For first projects it is better to stick to simple [...]
Read the rest of Jewelry made of Clay: Beautiful Badges and Brooches
Whereas some costume jewellers of the late 20th century are happy to exploit artificial materials to create a contrived and sophisticated look, the dawn of a growing awareness of the value of natural products — like wood, paper and leather – means that strong references to all that is natural are now influential too.
Inseparable from [...]
Read the rest of Jewellery Designing Sources continue…
