Wired Agate Pendant Sets

Pendants are again coming back into style this season, many like either just the single pendant to wear with their own earrings and accessories; while others prefer to have a complete set with pendant and matching earrings. We've done just that, some of pendants have now been matched up with different earring designs, mostly in long dangle styles featuring tiny hoops and glass seed beads & pendants. Here's a look at just a few of our pendant sets.....

  

Autumn Wonder in Brazilian Agate slice hand wire wrapped in brass non-tarnish wire; the light clear to beige-orange colors are earthy and soft for any outfit. Matching earrings are in tiny double hoops with complimenting colored seed beads and honey colored faceted pendant.  Pendant comes on the beige silk cord.

Clear blue season in another Brazilian Agate slice hand wire wrapped in silver non-tarnish wire; this one pendant shows more of the clear with just a few streaks of blue running along the side. Matching earrings are in tiny double hoops with glass seed beads and dagger shaped pendant.  Pendant comes on the blue ribbon cord.

  

 

Beauty in Brazilian Oco Agate slice hand wire wrapped in silver & brass non-tarnish wire for a two-tone look. The pendant has soft delicate features and colors of tan, rust, white, and hints of blue. The matching earrings are tiny triple hoops with two coordinating soft colored glass seed beads.  Pendant comes on the beige silk cord.

For these and many other pendants in both sets and singles, visit our online store to browse and shop!

Earthy Fall Design in Morocco Fossil

This new fall design features a beautiful and uniquely colored orthocreas fossil. Normally you see this fossil in black and white colors; however once in a while you get the rare slate with slight off coloring of olive or green and brown shades. This fossil comes from the fossilized squid found in Morocco.

Orthoceras are a famous and very large fossil deposit of animals that can be found in Morocco, North Africa. Ancestors to ammonites, Orthoceras are extinct sea creatures, and depending on what source you refer to, they date from the lower Ordovician to Triassic ages (500 to 190 million years ago). 




As they died, their shells accumulated in great numbers on the sea floor where they were aligned by currents, buried by sediments, and transformed over the ages preserved in black limestone. Today, this prehistoric sea floor is ironically, found in the dramatic Atlas Mountain Range in southern Morocco at the northern fringe of the Sahara Desert.







 

The necklace strands are crafted with natural nuggets of prehnite stones, ceramic coins and metal accents in braided disk and puffy smooth spacers. The fossil is hand wire wrapped in a two-tone look of gun-metal and silver non-tarnish wire.  The squid fossil really shows the chambes and is a very nice pendant.

Browse our Rock Yard collection for more jewelry featuring hand wire wrapped fossils!

Chic & Bold in Black & Purple

I love this necklace set, it is fast becoming one of my favorites! I started at the focal with a beautiful black agate pendant in the shape of an off-set donut; it has a nice smooth high polish. I have accented and bailed it using non-tarnish silver wire. 

   

The strands of the necklace are what really make this one rich in color; faceted graduated deep purple amethyst. The natural stone is just striking against the black and cream colors. 

There are also faceted barrels of onyx that have been painted in cream geometric patterns. The metal accents are braided light-weight silver tone pewter disks. It has been finished with a textured t-bar goggle and includes matching dangle earrings in the same amethyst stones.

Visit Timeless Designs online at Ruby Lane to shop and browse our uniquely artisan crafted jewelry collections!

Hand Wire Wrapped Fall Agate Slice

This new necklace set features an all naturally colored Brazilian agate slice pendant! The colors of orange and rust with some cream remind me of a deep fall sunset. I have hand wire wrapped it using non-tarnish brass wire with lots of twists at the bail.

  


I wanted this necklace to be versatile enough to wear any time of year, so I put softer bright colors within the necklace strands itself. I started with creamy smooth glass pearls, green marbled ceramic beads that hare caged in gold tone wire, and a little bit of sparkle with faceted rondelle crystals in light fall colors.

This piece is both elegant and classy using a variety of techniques; wire wrapping, caging, and mixing of ceramic, glass pearls and crystals with a lovely natural agate stone.

For more selection in fall pieces, browse our online shop to find your mixed autumn treasure!

Early Signs of Fall in Ammonite Fossil

This necklace design is from our Rock Yard Collection and features a lovely colored ammonite fossil pendant. The pendant shows crystallization in the center of the ammonite and some of the chambers. I’ve hand wire wrapped it using non-tarnish brass wire.

Also featured in the necklace are striking borosilicate glass lampwork beads with light green, white and black fine lines inside clear glass; additional lampwork beads in red and light green against a black background with bumpy knobs on the sides for accents.

The rest of the necklace has natural stones of green jasper that are accented with gold tone star bead caps and wooden beads with a thatched pattern.

Get an early start on your fall accents for the coming season; stop by our online store at Ruby Lane to browse and shop our collection of artisan crafted jewelry.

Light-Weight Design of Jasper

This design is from our Southwest Flair Collection and features a beautiful red jasper pendant. The pendant is a nicely shaped triangle with a high polish and lovely light golden matrix veins running through it. I have hand bailed it using brass non-tarnish wire.

The necklace strands are crafted using wooden rondelle beads that have a soft texture feel to them. Next I added in golden rutilated quartz that has been faceted and shaped like hexagons; metal accents are in gold tone pewter daisys and round beads.

It is a light-weight necklace in a classical design with a little pop in the colors of red, golden yellow and browns.

Jasper is an opaque and fine grained variety of Chalcedony. It is found in all colors including: red, brown, pink, yellow, green, grey/white and shades of blue and purple.

It often contains organic material and mineral oxides which give it interesting patterns, bands and colors. Many of these patterns resemble landscapes with mountains and valleys, thus the name "picture" is part of the name of many well know jaspers.

Jasper was a favorite gem in ancient times and is referenced in Greek, Hebrew, Assyrian and Latin literature.  Found worldwide, a wide variety of named jaspers is found in the western areas of the Unites States; California, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Washington.

A Heavy Mix of Amethyst & Turquoise

In a previous post (just a few down, find out all about amethyst) I posted about amethyst and in one of the pictures there was a large chunk that I had wire wrapped as a pendant. Here is the finished product of that pendant and what I ended up mixing with it.

The pendant is a nice chunk of raw amethyst from Uruguay, hand wire wrapped in non-tarnish silver wire.

I have made it the center focal to this heavy necklace set; mixed with nice barrel turquoise (stabilized), beautifully faceted agate that is a matrix coloring of black-dark blue and tan and a few faceted amethyst rondelle crystals.

Browse and shop our artisan jewelry collections store Timeless Designs, online at Ruby Lane.

Back by Popular Demand -- Single Wired Pendants

I haven’t done many single wired pendants in a while and many people have been asking for them this summer. A jewelry trend shift for the summer and maybe the fall; many people have been asking for single pendants then mix and matching earrings. So I brought back this popular line using different stones, fossils and minerals; giving everyone a mix to choice from!

These pendants are found in our Wiry Legends and Rock Yard Collections. Stop by our shop Timeless Designs online at Ruby Lane to find your pendant treasure!

Holectypus Echinoid – Sand Dollar from Madagascar (to the right)

Orthoceras Fossil from Morocco (to the left)

Light Green (natural color) Agate Slice from Brazil (to the left)

Deep Amethyst Chunk from Uruguay (to the right)

My Latest Wired Challenge Piece

One of my favorite things is to go over to the mineral company and see what new ‘goodies’ they have gotten. This can sometimes be a dangerous trip; it becomes like Christmas and I act like a kid in a candy store, but I have fun when I’m there!

I knew that they had just received a brand new shipment of Amethyst this week, so I was excited to see what the smaller pieces would be like; especially since he told me they were a very deep dark purple, more than they have had before and quite high quality. To my surprise when I arrived and we started going through the shipment, he handed me this delicate little piece and said “I new this was one that would be perfect for you to wire wrap”.

 This new little piece is so delicate and small; it will be an excellent specimen to wire; however the challenge will be working the wire in and around the frail delicate crystals and hopefully not breaking anything in the process. There is no outer ridge to work with like normal, just lots of tiny crystals; this is what makes this piece such an excellent specimen, at least in my optioning. I’m up for a challenge and this one definitely will be just that, so stay tuned, when I get it finished I’ll be posting the finished product! I’m not sure what I’ll do with it once it’s been wired; rather I’ll put it into a necklace piece or let it stand alone as a single pendant, which it most definitely can do!

A variety of vitreous quartz with purple, violet, or red-purple colorations, amethyst derives its name from the ancient Greek amethustos, meaning literally “not drunk’ as it was believed to guard against drunkenness. Traditionally associated with purity and piety, amethyst has also always been favored by royalty as purple is considered a regal blue. 

Found in most countried where grantic rocks are exposed, amethyst occurs in alluvial deposits and geodes. Its coloration is principally due to traces of iron, and it is sometimes color-zoned due to twinning or preferential absorption on the rhombohedral faces. Major commercial sources of amethyst are Brazil, where it occurs in geodes that are frequently human-sized; but it is also found in Uruguay, Siberia and North America. Crystals from Brazilian and Uruguayan deposits are most often found as radiating masses, with individual crystals appearing as pyramids. Lower grad Brazilian and Uruguayan amethyst is frequently turned into citrine by heat treatment, which changes its color. Where both amethyst and citrine occur naturally in the same stone, the name is ametrine.

Amethyst has a long history as a gemstone. In the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, amethyst was highly valued and was used to create cylinder seals, engraved with a religious design and the owner’s name. The engraving was transferred to legal documents in the form of clay tablets by rolling the cylinder over the tablets. The ancient Egyptians also valued amethyst, using it in much of their jewelry. The Greeks wore an amethyst for protection against magic, homesickness, evil thoughts, and drunkenness. This is why wine was preferably served in amethyst beakers. In antiquity amethysts were also known as “stones of Bacchus”, because out of jealousy the goddess Diana had changed a nymph with whom Bacchus had fallen in love into an amethyst. It is said that the traditional properties of amethyst will alleviate migraines and improves concentration. It is said to attract justice and protection against burglars and thieves. It also wards of danger and violent death. It is the stone of Pisces, brings clarity to the conscious and unconscious minds and the birthstone for February.

Several pieces of amethyst have been wired and are available in our online shop as pendants; this beautiful piece to the left never made it to the website, it was sold right away!

The focal is a beautiful amethyst chunk, surrounded by faceted deep purple amethyst crystals and chunky turquoise nuggets.

Fossilized Sand Dollars

Fossils come in many different shapes, sizes and varieties; one of the newest for us to work with in jewelry design is the Holectypus Echinoid, or sand dollar fossil. Holectypus, fossil echinoderm genus, of the extinct echinoids genus are much like the modern sea urchins and sand dollars.
 

This species are found as fossils exclusively in marine rocks of Jurassic to Cretaceous age (between 200 million and 65.5 million years ago).  The echinoids, having such an extremely long fossil record, are often used by scientist and paleontologist for dating rock strata and fossil locations.

The Holectypus was bun shaped with a flat bottom and arched back. The mouth of the echinoids is at the underside of the animal. These are rough looking fossil specimens as most have some cracking and chipping on the top of the shell, but the underside of the specimens are very well preserved. The echinoid has an exoskeleton or outer shell with no inner skeleton. This animal lived mostly in shallow seas and would have moved about on the sea floor by way of moving their long spines that stuck out from their shell; eating mostly algae. Today, many collections, both private and public, are comprised of many different species of fossil echinoids.

Our newest designs to our Rock Yard Collection feature the Holectypus Echinoid from the Cretacous Majunga Basin, Madagascar. Each one is unique and has been hand wire wrapped in non-tarnish wires. Each necklace design is unique......

....this one to the right reflects a Mediterranean or Egyptian design style with a mix of golden citrine nugget chips, faceted indian agate and amethyst crystals. 

  

...this set to the left a more chic tribal and ethnic design constructed with a couple of carved onyx stones with a matte finish, painted onyx, turquoise, and rare Arizona ivoryite.

Visit our online Timeless Designs store to browse and shop our collections, featuring uniquely artisan crafted jewelry!

Ancient Fossils of Ammonite

Ammonites are one of the most popular of the fossils, both for collectors and jewelry designers. They are mostly from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Peridos that evolved into a great variety of forms. They can be found in a vast range of different shapes, sizes and structures. The movement of different species may have depended on their shape. Some of them are big and round, while others are thin and disc-shaped, some have shells that are quite small and others are very large. Ammonites are marine creatures that may have moved freely in the water, though some of the largest may have browsed more on the seabed.

The spiral coiling of the ammonite shell does not usually extend upwards. Instead it is coiled in a flat plane, with both sides of the shell depressed in the center. The ammonite shell itself has a large body chamber at the shell opening. This chamber reaches back for about half a whorl. Usually the animal lived with the body chamber at the lowest point, and the rest of the shell above.

 

We often feature many designs using the ammonites; which are hand wire wrapped.  The range of soft earthy colors or sold balck are perfect for any seasons!

Browse and shop our custom jewelry collections at Timeless Designs on Ruby Lane!

Wired Agates of Summer

Light, small and full of brilliance…these lovely agates just right for the coming summer season! Hand wire wrapped in silver non-tarnish wire, the agates are from Brazil and all naturally colored.

Look for these and many other artisan crafted styles for the coming summer season at our Timeless Designs shop on Ruby Lane!

Naturally colored green & clear agate slice -- hand wire wrapped in non-tarnish silver wire. 

  

 

Brazilian Oco Agate slice -- all natural color with center crystalization -- hand wire wrapped in non-tarnish silver wire.

Agates: Balancing physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual energies; perceptiveness, strength, inspiration, awakening talents.

Different Wire Bail Techniques

Though I’m no expert by any means; there are many different ways you can wire a bail. Whether you are using a cabochon, drilled or glass pendant, how someone finishes off the piece by making the bail will sometimes make or break a particular piece. I’ve learned many different styles of bails, incorporating my own little style into some of them as my own ‘added touch’. But in the mainstream, whatever you create, make sure it sets off the pendant or piece; rather the pendant will stand on its own or be incorporated into a necklace.

Here is a simple bail to the left that many people call a ‘rabbit ears’ or ‘simple bail’ or ‘tv ears’; whatever your definitions, it’s how the bail is finished either with swirls, spirals, or whatever makes the pendant ‘pop’.

This bail to the right, is a spin of the rabbit ears simple bail. All I have done is modify it a little and twisted wire back and forth between the ‘ears' to give it a textured look.

 

With these two bails, I learned the one on the left in a wire working class with a national instructor.

What I did was modify it slightly to be used with a coil, to the right, instead of a graduated bail.

On this last bail to the right, I simple used a regular pic-bail and highlighted it with large double coils. It really added to the piece and as an added bonus, it gave a large silver look near the bail and a very textured look and feel to the necklace design.

Learn from others, take their advice and expertise and create your own piece of art. It’s just a matter of letting your imagination run and creativities explode!

Ammonite Fossils All Wired Up

 Ammonite fossils are sought after by almost every shopper, they are all unique from their colors to the fossils encased within the ancient sea sediment. Millions years old and coming from African regions of Madagascar, these little fossils are quite stunning in their own right and in each one you can see the crystallized chambers.

I’ve hand wire wrapped them in non-tarnish brass wire, then mixed them into new necklace designs with all different looks – from crystals to cultured freshwater pearls, cloisonné beads and natural stones.

Southwest meets Old World; turquoise and jasper paired with a center focal ammonite fossil pendant

 

Classy and sassy; ammonite fossil pendant incorporated into cultured freshwater pearls and cloisonné beads

For more of these and other uniquely artisan crafted jewelry, browse our collections at our online Ruby Lane shop!