Category: Semi-Precious

2mm Semi-Precious Beads

We have a spotlight on 2mm semi-precious beads right now.  They may be small but don’t underestimate their ability to create a stunning bracelet with the addition of a few findings.  2mm faceted semi-precious beads are difficult to manufacture.  You can imagine how easy it would be to break a small bead during the sanding process.

Simply draped you can see right away that these are not your average beads.  These 16 inch strands are in stock in limited quantities.

This grouping includes tourmaline, labradorite, lapis lazuli, pyrite and rhodonite.

I loved the rhodonite and pyrite and used them for the bracelets.  I chose to unstring them all and place them in a storage jar.  I don’t want to lose one single bead.

They have great holes and I strung them quickly using bead stringing wire.  I opted to use gold findings, so for one bracelet I used Ez-Crimps to close my stringing ends.  If you have not used them, I can tell you they create professional ends in the quickest time.  For the second bracelet I used a traditional wire guardian and crimp.

Products used in two bracelets shown

2mm Rhodonite strand

2mm Pyrite strand

Beadalon 19 Strand stringing wire BRIGHT

Small Gold Tattoo Om symbol charm by TierraCast

2nd TierraCast Om Charm in gold currently out of stock but we have it in silver.

Ez-Crimps from Beadalon

Wire Guardians in gold

Gold Crimp Tubes

Gold Lobster Clasp

Gold Magnetic Clasp

Gold Jump rings for clasps and charms

Earth’s Jewels Pendant Ideas for Necklaces and Earrings

All pendants feature Earth’s Jewels semi-precious stones.

#1  Jasper from Earth’s Jewels Yellow Jade/Quartz/Jasper Dyed box and White Magnesite Natural 

#2  White Magnesite Natural  and Turquoise Magnesite

#3  Black Onyx from Black Onyx/Black Obsidian/Agate/Jasper  box and Red Bamboo Coral Dyed.

#4  Rose Quartz

#5  Red Bamboo Coral Dyed  and Crystal Quartz

#6  Green Aventurine and Hematite

#7 Amethyst

#8  Tiger Eye and Sodalite from Sodalite/Magnesite/Jasper Dyed Box

#9  Obsidian from Onyx/Black Obsidian/Agate/Jasper  box and Hematite

#10  Turquoise Green and Turquoise Green and Black

All beads from the Earth’s Jewels pillow packs linked here.

New Matte Semi-Precious Beads

Matte gemstones look unpolished and have a softer appearance. In fact, it takes longer to craft matte beads as they require additional tumbling to get this “frosted” surface. The description we landed on is that they feel almost velvety.
Some of your favorite stones will look different, such as matte rose quartz which is a lovely pastel color you may find more appealing.  They can be paired with softer fibers, light colored suedes and other stringing materials.
They are also right on trend for men’s jewelry.
Our new Earth’s Jewels Matte semi-precious collection
includes the most sought-after stones:
Amazonite, Lava, Crystal, Sodalite, Hematite, Dog Teeth Amethyst, White Howlite, Aventurine, Blue Turquoise Stabilized, Rose Quartz, Yellow Jade, Tiger Eye, Peach Aventurine, Cherry Quartz, Map Stone, Dyed Agate Red/Green, and Striped Agate in Red/Brown, Rose, Natural and Blue.
Two options:
Collection is available on beautiful header card linked here.
16 inch strands linked here.

Out of This World Tiered Necklace

Out of This World Tiered Necklace for Perles et Cetera Magazine
by Carmi Cimicata, John Bead Corp Marketing and Social Media Manager

Published Autumn Issue 2017 in French

 

I have been thinking a lot about our planet lately. Our connection to the sun and the other planets in our solar system are mysteries we have yet to truly unlock. With these thoughts in mind I attempted to create a necklace that would showcase our solar system in a necklace. I felt like I was back in high school as I tried to remember the order of our planets and what their most basic colours were.

The first step was to find beads that would resemble the planets. Happily, my company John Bead Corp has a rather large selection of semi-precious beads. Our solar system has eight “official” planets, which orbit the Sun. I reviewed the planet colours on “Ask an Astronomer” and selected the matching semi-precious beads that would work best on my necklace.  Amazonite beads are usually in a mixed color strand. You will find beads that are pale blue to brown with this gemstone. I also used yellow jade for my gold Saturn, red jasper for Mars, agate for orange and white Jupiter and some sodalite for Earth’s white and blue.

The planets, in order of their distance from the Sun, are Mercury (Gray), Venus (pale Yellow), Earth (blue and white), Mars (reddish brown), Jupiter (orange and white bands), Saturn (pale gold), Uranus (pale blue) and Neptune (pale blue).  This printed solar system became my template. I did not want too much empty space in the middle of my piece, so I went with five strands instead of eight.

I chose a pretty yellow jade pendant for my sun. I knew the first strand on this tiered necklace needed to be centered properly with a focal piece. I used a good beading wire to create all five unique tiers. Once the first tier was measured and the pendant was in place, I was able to set all the planets in locations similar to how they looked on my printed solar system map.

My rough measurements for strand lengths did not help. I quickly realized my strands were going to need tweaking and I had to “eyeball” each tier.

Since I needed to see where each “planet” would be set it was easier to set aside my ruler and use my own judgment for the right lengths. In order to ensure that each tier would hang properly I needed to cut slightly longer lengths of stringing wire so I could add or subtract wire depending on where my planets were. Taping my tiers was a very helpful part of the process.

When I figured out where a planet needed to be, I marked my wire, set a crimp in place and flattened it. Then I strung my bead and placed and flattened a second crimp to keep it secure on the wire. For tier two, I only had one bead to set.

I finished both ends of each wire with an Ez-Crimp. I taped each tier to my board to keep the strands sorted and the wire properly shaped.

I used jump rings to attach all my finished tiers to five-hole coupling bars. A lobster clasp and jump ring completed the necklace. It was fun and relaxing to get all the beads set. I started to get really good at flattening my crimp beads too!

I think my finished necklace does indeed resemble our solar system!

(P.S. I thought long and hard about adding Pluto, even though it isn’t considered a planet anymore. I might just attach a small dangling bead to represent it.)

Supplies Used
Semi Precious Yellow Jade Pendant
Semi Precious Round Beads for the eight planets
Gold Crimps
Beadalon EZ-Crimp Ends, Gold
Beading Wire – Softflex Medium Flex Wire
5 strand coupling bars
Small Jump rings
Lobster Clasp and Large Jump Ring

Tools Used
Japanese Style Side Cutter Pliers
Econo Flat Nose Pliers to open and close jump rings
Crimping Plier to attach Easy Crimps to wire
Needle nose plier to flatten crimps

Blue Goldstone Jewelry with Hamsa Hand Charms

Blue Goldstone is a man-made stone. Its sparkle comes from flecks of copper.  They say that Blue Goldstone is a helpful aide for children who are afraid of the dark. Goldstone, like diamond, is a good deflector of unwanted energies, and is highly regarded in the spirit realm as a protection mineral.  “Called the Stone of Ambition, it is said that Goldstone will assist in attaining one’s goals. In keeping one’s emotions stable and calm, this energy generator revitalizes one’s personal energy field, building confidence, courage, a positive attitude and promotes vitality.”  Our blue goldstone strands are linked here.

“The Hamsa Hand is an ancient Middle Eastern amulet symbolizing the Hand of God. In all faiths it is a protective sign. It brings its owner happiness, luck, health, and good fortune. The hamsa hand has a wide variety of different spellings which includes hamesh, hamsa, chamsa, and khamsa.”
Our TierraCast hamsa charms are linked here.

Spelling Secrets with Semi Precious Stones


In the current issue of Perles et Cetera, a premier French publication for jewelry makers, we have a new semi precious project step by step.  This is the English translation.
Designed by Carmi Cimicata for John Bead Corp. and Perles et Cetera.

Spelling a word by using gemstones is a style of jewelry called “acrostic.” Similar to acrostic poetry, when the first letter of each sentence creates a word, acrostic jewelry uses the first letter of a gemstone to also create a word. It creates a hidden meanings or messages in the design.

As an example, LOVE in an acrostic jewelry piece might be a Lapis bead next to Opal, next to Verdite next to an Emerald. In England, one of the most popular words to spell out was REGARD, which usually featured Rubies (2), Emerald, Garnet, Amethyst, and Diamond. They also used DEAREST or the name of a person in sentimental jewelry for engagement rings or anniversary gifts. Antique rings, bracelets, brooches and pins featuring unique gemstones may in fact be acrostic jewelry and you would have never known.

Napoleon Bonaparte designed the jewelry that ultimately exposed me to acrostic jewelry. He worked with a jeweller in Paris and always enjoyed marking special occasions with both large and small keepsakes. The Nitot jewellery house became the official jeweller of Napoleon in 1802. (They eventually were renamed the House of Chaumet.) The son of the founder, François Regnault created jewelry, crowns, sword hilts and more for Napoleon, both his wives and his court.

It is the gifts that he created for his second wife Marie Louise that caught my attention. He had the jeweller spell out his birthday, her birthday and their wedding anniversary in three beautiful bracelets. From the moment I saw these bracelets I was enchanted. I can’t think of a more romantic way to memorialize an important day. It becomes a secret between the gift giver and recipient and when worn, a constant reminder of their private celebrations.

Napoleon 15 Aôut 1769
Natrolite, Amethyst, Peridot, Opal, Lapis, Emerald, Onyx, Natrolite [15]
Agate, Opal, Uranite, Turquoise [1769].

Marie Louise 12 Decembre 1791
Malachite, Amethyst, Ruby, Iris, Emerald, Lapis, Opal, Uranite, Iolite, Sapphire, Emerald [12]
Diamond, Emerald, Chrysoprase, Emerald, Malachite, Beryl, Ruby, Emerald [1791].

27 Mars 1810, 2 Avril 1810
[27] Malachite, Amethyst, Ruby, Serpentine [1810], [2]
Amethyst, Vermeil, Ruby, Iris, Limestone [1810].

Creating an acrostic jewelry piece is a lot less expensive today than the pieces jewellers created in the 1800’s. Designers, jewellers and weekend hobbyists have access to many semi precious stones by simply visiting a local bead store or by placing an order online. Sometimes gemstones are even less expensive than glass or resin.  I work for one of the largest distributors of gemstone beads in Canada and we even have an Outlet attached to our warehouse that has many of these strands ready to purchase, at great prices.

For this project I decided to create a set of jewellery that features my own name. It will be a secret just between you and me. People will only notice the pretty gemstones and will never know that it carries significance. I have a plan to create sets of acrostic jewelry for friends and family using their names or special dates. I can’t wait to see the look of surprise when they read the notes I’ll include explaining why I used the gemstones I did for their gifts.

My project began with a review of the Crystal Bible by Judy Hall. I wanted to make a list of gemstones that had first letters linking to my own. The first letter of my name “C” was simple; Carnelian is a favourite. The last letter of my name “I” was a little harder. This letter is usually a descriptor for a gemstone such as Indian Topaz or Iris Opal. I then wrote my first alphabet gemstone-shopping list.

I settled on these strands after reviewing all the possibilities in our semi precious bead category at John Bead.

Carnelian for the C,

Amethyst for the A,

Rainbow Agate for the R,

Mookaite for the M and

Iron Zebra Jasper for I.

Once I knew which gemstones I wanted to use, I started to select the shapes. This took some thinking. Did I want big square beads, rectangles, rough cuts, round or chips? Sometimes having too many options makes designing very difficult. I settled on three shapes; ovals, rondelles and round. I knew that these would work well for a set of jewelry that also included earrings.

I also selected round wood beads for the body of the pieces. Wood is lightweight, fairly inexpensive and would allow me to just use a few semi precious beads per project. My stash of beads to match the alphabet will need to include one or two strands per letter of the alphabet. That means I have twenty-one more gemstones to select to complete my alphabet and the hunt is part of the fun for me!

Last but not least I gathered rhinestone rondelles. Who can resist a little extra sparkle? In the bracelets Napoleon designed, the diamonds and gold created the most beautiful frames. I wanted to bring some of that glamour to these simple stringing projects.

Once my gemstones were in the right order, spelling out CARMI, I made several sets for a necklace, bracelet and two earrings. I used various sizes of stones and spent some time deciding which colours worked best. All gemstones strands have various shades throughout, so I was able to select lighter Mookaite beads and even one that looked marbled. The necklace I strung with bead wire. The bracelet was made with elastic cord and the earrings feature the semi-precious beads stacked on a headpin and added to a pre made earing shape.

My jewelery set is unique, lightweight, sparkly and it was fairly inexpensive to make. Now I just need to decide which family member names I will work with next. Happily, that will mean more trips to the bead store for gemstones!

All products shown are from John Bead Corp.