Racheloj

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Jewelry Trend: Clear and Chunky

The First of the new Fall Collection. The jewelry trend is clear and chunky with chains. Yes, chains are still in, and are not about to go away anytime soon. The trend with chains is to wear them with gemstone or other jewelry. While there is a "minimal" side of jewelry (and you'll see some more of that later) most of what was on the Fall runways and in the fashion magazines is big and chunky, glittery and glitzy. Although not all of it looks wearable (especially for daytime wear), crystal quartz is a great exception. This natural stone is sparkly and looks great when cut into big chunks and sharply faceted as you see with the bracelets here (above and below). The quartz bracelet above is mixed with gold (high quality 14k goldfill - and gold is everywhere! Don't worry though, if you are a silver fan, it is still a staple in jewelry this Fall. Below is another quartz bracelet that combines faceted quartz crystal with sterling silver chains in three different sizes. It gives a wonderful edgy look to a business suit, and of course, it looks great for going out. We often think of the drama of quartz crystal against a black background, a black dress, a black cashmere sweater, but quartz also looks fantastic with white! And white is big this season.

Below are two pieces of jewelry made with what looks like quartz but is actually a very high quality, beautiful resin; it's wonderfully sparkly! The earrings are accented with flower decorated earwires in white sterling silver. The good news is that while the earrings have lovely faceting and flash, they are actually much lighter than they would be if they were actual quartz crystal. The same is true of the handmade necklace below; although it looks just like inclusion-free quartz crystal, it is actually a lightweight resin (this resin jewelry showed up everywhere on the runways this year, Spring and Fall) making it much easier to wear for a longer length of time. The large olive shaped chunks hang from a sterling silver textured chain. It's a personal favorite!

Tomorrow: More from the new FALL COLLECTION 2010!

Friday, April 11, 2008

Quartz: Frozen Ice

Pliny the Elder, Roman naturalist, contended that quartz crystal (or rock crystal as the colourless variety is sometimes known)is actually ice that has become permanently frozen over a long period of time. When I see some of the quartz stones I have with beautifully faceting that are flawless to the eye, it's easy to see why he believed this! Quartz is created in hydrothermal areas, so it's no wonder that where I grew up in Hot Springs, Arkansas, we found quartz in our backyard, sparkling in rock formations that formed small bluffs and hills. Although there are real diamonds that are found in Arkansas - indeed anyone can go to Murfreesboro and go diamond-mining for a small fee - I still think of quartz crystals as Arkansas diamonds.

Because of this, and because genuine diamonds are so expensive, I offer quartz crystals as alternates to the April birthstone which is the diamond. For women who don't care for small, delicate jewelry, quartz crystal is the perfect alternative since very beautiful pieces of eye flawless rock crystal are easily obtainable and affordable for most people. Another plus is that quartz looks equally good with gold or silver accents. The Quartz Jewelry that you see here is just a small sample of the quartz jewelry pieces that we have on the Cluny Grey Jewelry website. On the Quartz Jewelry page you will see quartz bracelets, earrings, and necklaces. The earrings that you see below are some of my favorites for two reasons: I adore the great pearl cabochon earwires and the sterling swirls of wire that wrap around these pretty rock crystal nuggets. Another great plus with quartz crystal is that it is dressy enough to go to a cocktail party with that little black chiffon number, but casual enough to wear everyday without looking too glitzy!

Finally just to add some colour to this post: on our Unusual Jewelry page you will find the colourful bracelet below handcrafted of lampwork beads by Suzanne Celestine, some very pretty almost translucent rhodochrosite and chrysoprase -not a usual combination, we think. Rain Song has two strands of gemstones and sterling silver from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes, including a very pretty toggle clasp with a silver flower set on the toggle ring.

Now, if we survive the rainy season here (I'm about ready to call it monsoon season since the last two weeks or so has rivaled monsoon season in southern India), it will be Summer!