This looks like a very ordinary necklace of two sizes of black beads. . . but it isn't. Look closer at the larger spheres and you'll find that they are very tactile, filled with little dents and striations, only because nature had a major hand in them, not some factory in Hong Kong. They are lava stone, the product of a volcano somewhere that spews hot magna that cooled eventually into a stunning material, nearly matte in surface and studded with character. The small black spacer beads are not black onyx as I had originally thought but black tourmaline, an exceedingly elegant stone. Price: $90.
In that huge box of glass beads at my favorite bead store, I found these substantial pointy-end bullets of iridescent grass green glass that just cried out for a really spectacular pairing, a color that would stand up to the vivid verdency and yet compliment it. Right nearby was a wall of copper beads and these really fit the bill. They're solid copper spheres, 9 mm, corrugated for lightness, yet very substantial. The clasp I chose is a large, spring-loaded hook/toggle that is very architectural and beautiful in its own right. Price: $175.00
Western-style jewelry comes in and out of fashion, but really, it's a classic and is always right, like a strand of "good" pearls. I haven't seen nuggets like these in a long time and would suggest, because of the price, that they are made from reconstructed turquoise, ie. stabilized with some kind of resin or created from turquoise dust. Regardless, they're pretty and the price is right. I had some of these gorgeous corrugated carnelian beads left and together, with the knobby turquoise and the smooth, sophisticated carnelian, they make a pretty spectacular piece. Price: $200.
I saw these gorgeous iridescent turquoise glass "pillows" in a cut-out display at my bead store. What first attracted me was the color -- deep and rich, like the shimmery turquoise in a peacock's tail. I bought a bunch of the strands because they're gorgeous and they were relatively cheap. On the hunt for unusual glass beads, these filled the bill. I put them with a neutral gray-ish iridescent Czech glass roundel and a rhinestone magnetized ball clasp and made them almost 20" long, perfect for a deep V neckline or atop a wonderful fall dress.
Yes, these are slightly kitchy, being red, white and blue and all that. But can't you just see this with a white shirt and jeans? It's a fairly close-to-the neck "torsade" or choker made with lampwork cylinders of blue with tiny little evil eyes and Murano glass fishies in shades of blue with gold and white. Finally, a theme necklace! The red Czech fire polish beads really set the entire thing off.
