The Fascinating Garnet

Black Garnet Earrings by Personaloasis

I have always found rocks to be interesting. They come in cool shapes and have neat patterns inside. Some of them sparkle in the sunlight. You can tumble them to make them smooth. They come in different colors. So, as a child, I often found myself poking around in the dirt to see what was there.

My first introduction to the garnet came as I sat on the ground outside somebody's house waiting on my Mom to finish talking. We were on vacation and visiting Mom's family in Upstate South Carolina. I had found some little pebbles that were pretty ordinary looking - clay colored, like everything else, actually. When I showed them to Mom, she told me that they were garnets. Now, I don't know if they really were, but it was pretty neat to think you found something that actually had a name that other people would recognize.

Garnet is the birthstone for January. They come in many different colors, though most people only think of red. Green, yellow and orange are other fairly common colors. Some types of garnet even change color in different types of light. Garnets can be translucent (more like gems) or opaque.

There are different types of garnet that come in various colors. You can use the designations to help narrow down your search for this lovely stone. Here are some of the more commonly available types.

Almandine is the most common of the garnets used as gems due to its transparency. It includes iron in the chemical makeup which gives this variety of garnet its deep red tones.

Almandine Garnet Post Earrings by tellurus

Grossular (also called Hessonite) includes calcium and aluminum in its chemical makeup. It most commonly comes in yellows, greens and browns.

Hessonite Garnet Earrings by lavajewelry

Pyrope garnets includes magnesium and aluminum in its chemical makeup. It ranges in color from deep red to nearly black. It can also come in a purplish red tone as well. If the Pyrope garnet is more pink or reddish lavender in color, it earns a new name - Rhodolite.

Pyrope Garnet Earrings by PersonalOasis

Spessartite (also called Spassartine) garnets come in orange shades ranging from an orange-yellow tone to reddish orange. There's a variety in the US that comes in a reddish violet as well. Spessartites include manganese and aluminum in their chemical makeup.

Spessartite Garnet Ring by JanishJewels

What type of garnet do you prefer?

Introducing Ryolite

Rhyolite and Pearl Earrings

There is so much diversity in our precious earth. It comes as no surprise that there is also a wide variety natural and modified, jewelry quality stones produced from the earth as well. The one we are going to feature today is called Rhyolite.

Rhyolite is created as part of volcanic processes and is similar to granite in its chemical make-up. Rhyolite comes from lava that cools too quickly to generate many visible crystals (like in granite) but not fast enough to make glass (like obsidian).

Much of the rhyolite in my bead stash is lighter in color with greens, grays (which often includes some crystalization) and some orange/brown in it. I do have some that is primarily this orange / brown tone and it is truly beautiful coloration. The stones are not uniform in coloration so each one is truly one of a kind.

If you are looking for earthy tones in greens or browns in your jewelry, consider rhyolite for its uniqueness and warmth of color. When people ask you what it is that you are wearing, you'll even be able to tell them a bit about the earth's generous diversity and how this pretty stone is formed.

Here are some other examples of rhyolite in jewelry. Enjoy!


This necklace from personaloasis uses a mix of rhyolite (the orange / brown stone colors) with red jasper for a warm, fall color delight.

Stone Necklace with Burgundy, Green - Rhyolite and Jasper

StregaJewellry uses rhyolite in the focal point of this wire wrapped prayer bead necklace design. The rich brown tones are also evident in these stones and paired beautifully with agate and bone. 

Blessed Bea Prayer Beads

Bright happy earrings from  ShadowDogDesigns feature green rhyolite and coral. Gorgeous!

AndreaTJewelry used green rhyolite and aventurine for these earrings that are handmade all the way down to the sterling silver ear wires! Lovely and perfect for summer fashions, too.

Green Rhyolite Beads and Sterling Silver Dangle Earrings

What is your favorite feature of Rhyolite? 

Brown is NOT Boring!

My brown shell necklace was included in this gorgeous collection curated by BlueTina. She's right, brown jewelry is not boring!

Brown Is Not Boring!

  Curated By: bluetina

ArtFire.com

Handmade Gifts

Blue Topaz is December's Birthstone

London Blue Topaz Pendant by  HelenesDreams

Topaz is one of my favorite stones. It's actually considered a mineral and is a hard, durable gemstone. Did you know that a completely pure topaz is colorless? Most have minor impurities of some sort, which gives them their gorgeous colors. Blue is one of the topaz colors, and it happens to be the birthstone for December, symbolizing love and fidelity. 


Blue topaz is rare in nature. Much of the blue topaz on the market today is another color of topaz that has been treated (though not dyed) to achieve the lovely blue tones. The various shades of blue each have names with the most common being Swiss Blue, Sky Blue and London Blue. London blue is a darker tone and is sometimes used in place of the more valuable sapphire. 


Enjoy some lovely, affordable examples of artisan jewelry featuring blue topaz. Surprise your loved one with a thoughtful birthday gift with their birthstone.

This ring is custom made by hand. It features a delicate flower and blue topaz setting. 

sakura flower ring by nellyvansee

These earrings are sterling silver with beautifully cut sky blue topaz stones in a setting.

Sky blue topaz Earrings by TwoSilverMoons

This handmade pendant features a Swiss Blue topaz briolette along with many other types of stones (including other topaz) in a variety of pastel colors. 

Swiss Blue Topaz Sterling Cluster Necklace by ppennee

See even more blue topaz creations in this coordinating collection on artfire.com curated by me!

Which topaz is your favorite? Will anybody in your life be the lucky recipient of a blue topaz this December? 

Orange Gemstones

Fall is the time of year when we all enjoy warm, earthy colors. The gorgeous leaves and the golden tones of harvest are so inspiring. I thought I'd use this inspiration to highlight several of the often lesser known semi-precious stones that can claim orange as one of their tones. Sit back and enjoy!

Carnelian

Carnelian is made up of mixture of the minerals quartz and moganite called chalcedony. It gets its rich color from iron oxide which is considered an impurity in the stone. Carnelian can range in color from a light orange to reddish brown.

This gemstone bracelet by katyanne includes a variety of stones, including carnelian.



Sunstone

Sunstone is a type of mineral called feldspar that crystallizes from magma. It comes from the USA and Norway mainly. Sunstone's orange color comes from bits of copper that are included inside. The amount of copper influences how deep the color is. Sunstone is the official gemstone of Oregon, USA.

Sunstone and pearl necklace by BigFatUselessCatDesigns



Aventurine

Aventurine is a type of quartz stone that has inclusions that make it opaque and shimmery. Aventurine comes in many colors. Green is the most common, but a peachy orange is also available. Orange aventurine most often comes from Russia, Chile or Spain.

This aventurine necklace pendant was made by PinkSunsetJewelryDesign.


Agate

Like Carnelian, Agate is also a type of chalcedony and is most often associated with volcanic rock. There is a huge variety of agate available for jewelry and in a variety of colors and banding patterns.

This red agate includes orangy shades too! Red agate and aventurine earringsby OAKCreationsJewelry


Autumn Jasper

Jasper is such a versatile and wide ranging stone. It's name actually means "spotted or speckled stone" and that is a true description! Jasper is a chalcedony that is opaque and often banded in some way.  Autumn jasper is variety that includes a mixture of sage green and orange shades speckled throughout the stone.

Autumn jasper jewelry set by DalyCraftWorks


Onyx

Onyx is another chalcedony. While black is the most well known color for onyx, it actually comes in some vibrant shades of red and orange.  Onyx is often treated or dyed to obtain the colors we see today.

Zebra onyx stones are used in these chandelier earrings by personaloasis


So, what stone catches your fancy? Are there other orange stones that you'd like to share?

Unique Teacher Gift Ideas for Under $20

by PersonalOasis
It will be time for teacher gifts for the holidays soon. If you are looking for a more unique option than donating a few bucks to the pool this year, consider handmade, artisan jewelry!

Consider the tastes of your child's teacher, and I'd bet you can find something that would delight and impress her without breaking the bank. Here are some great options for less than US $20.


... a simple pair of sparkling red earrings that would work for the holidays but also all year around - US $13.00

Red Earrings - Faceted Glass by PersonalOasis

... a pair of real faceted garnet earrings in a wine red color with gold accents- US $13.00

Long Garnet and Gold Earrings

... Calla Lily Flower necklace that has great detail in the pendant - US $16.00

Calla Lily Flower Necklace in Silver

... a natural stone bracelet in browns and mustard yellows, simple and stylish with the colors of the season - US $16.00

Mustard Yellow Bracelet with Red Brown Jasper and Crystal

There are lots of additional options at personaloasis.artfire.com (for more casual and business casual jewelry) or personaloasis.etsy.com (for more formal jewelry, including bridal.) Try it out!

How Long Should My Necklace Be?

Buying jewelry online can be difficult - often because you cannot check the lengths of interesting pieces up against your body. Handmade jewelry often comes in non-standard sizes as well - which is GREAT!! when you're a non-standard size yourself, but how do you determine what size that you need? 

Measuring Jewelry
Many handmade jewelry artisans measure their jewelry based on the linear length of the piece. So, for example, 

• a bracelet may be laid out on a flat surface and measured from end to end to come up with its length measurement. 
• Same thing for a necklace or anklet. 
• Earrings are often measured from the top to bottom, but pay attention to the information in a listing as some artisans measure the dangle of the earring rather than the entire piece.

This method of measurement is easy and intuitive. As a result, you can measure yourself with a piece of string (that you then measure with a ruler etc) or a flexible tape measure to determine how long you prefer your various styles of jewelry to be. I prefer a string as it drapes a bit more like jewelry would and can give you a more realistic length to allow for comfort as well.

You can either measure yourself to see what lengths you prefer or check to see what the length offered would look or feel like with your string. REMEMBER!! Artisan jewelry can often have lengths adjusted to your needs at little to no additional cost.

I know, I know - sounds like a lot of effort to figure out your size ranges. Reality is that it will help you with local as well as online purchases and only needs to be done once! 

TIP: For bulky jewelry items, the length measurement can be a bit misleading if the bulk of the jewelry item would cause the circumference of the piece to be substantially less than its measured length. In these cases, you will want to look at the sizing of the bulky part and subtract that from the length to see if the end length will still work for you. 

So, what is your preferred necklace length?


Tape Measure photo: By Simon A. Eugster (Own work) [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons