This week I've been playing with pearls (if you can't tell). I especially love silver pearls, but except for the silver, I really didn't play with any of the coloured pearls I have. I really wanted to work only with my freshwater white pearls in different shapes and sizes, but as usual I got sidetracked because I think that both navy and black look so good with silver. and these silver freshwater pearls have a beautiful nacre, so it seemed a shame not to use them. The top bracelet features the very special lampwork beads that I don't get to buy that often, but that I love because of the way they are laced with metallic silver. I decided on 3 strands for the bracelet to counteract the delicacy of the pearls and to carry off the lentil lampwork beads, threw in some great "shadow" Swarovski crystal, and a lot of Karen Hill Tribes silver.
I've loved coral since about 1976 when I had a fabulous coral and navy necklace (the coral was a bright peach) that looked fantastic against a tan. Coral and pearls are classic and rather Victorian; throwing in the silver modernizes this bracelet quite a bit. I made a similar version with gold and 4 strands instead of 3.
Great iolite nugget beads inspired this bracelet. Iolite is so hard to get a good picture of! I can never get the depth and translucence of the stones to show through. The iolite looks great with the silver pearls - take my word for it.
And finally, pearls and... genuine sapphires! They are not gem-quality, of course, and they are opaque, but they look wonderful with white pearls and the ornate sterling silver beads and charms. I'm happy with the earrings also. Some of these are on auction on Ebay this week: user id: chloemarie99 or search for Cluny Grey or check out the Cluny Grey Jewelry website.
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