Originally beads were carved out of what were thought to be plain lumps of rock and pebbles in beautiful brilliant colours, these have now become to be considered semi-precious and precious stones that are much treasured and used widely by talented jewellers in creating handcrafted jewellery designs.
Semi-precious stones have been used to create beads for centuries and now designers use these to create unique pieces of handcrafted jewellery. Here are only 5 of some of this stunning semi-precious natural stones.
Crafted beads and cabochons were and they still are crafted from what we now know as semi-precious and precious gems, today many lesser know stones which are referred to a semi-precious gems are used to make handmade beads. They are readily available in lots of different shapes and sizes and carved into many beautiful shapes. Along with the beads that have been made from the semi-precious stones you will find polished pendants both smooth and carved and these are used extensively in the creation of unique handcrafted semi-precious jewellery.
Many of these pieces have strings of these semi-precious beads both with beads of the same size and shape and others with graduating sizes. Many designers use and eclectic mix of different stones and sometimes adding pearls and crystals into the mix. The use of these stones can make some truly original pieces of handcrafted jewellery.
The beautiful rich amber coloured semi-precious stone Carnelian sometimes known as poor man’s Amber and the beads that are made from this are usually translucent and have been manufactured for 1000,s of years. The beads are traditional oval in shaped and the colour will range from reddish orange to red and orange and can be as pale as milky white. The natural stones are often heated so that they produce more brilliant colours.
Agate is available to use in a stunning collection of bright natural colours, some of these stones have striations and some clouds of beautiful contrasting colours. Natural Agates are a very versatile stone when it comes to jewellery making as it is very easy to work with and polished pieces of this stone look lovely as pendants.
Amber is a remarkable stone that has been made from fossilised tree resin and is the most amazing rich golden colour. Beads crafted from this stone are not fully opaque but they are not truly translucent either. They give off a warming glow and when warn they become warm to the touch. In some of the stones fossilised insects and dragonflies can be seen and sometimes designers of semi-precious jewellery use these in their handcrafted designs
The natural semi-precious stone of Aventurine is available in more than one colour. This stone in dark green is beautiful and it is also available in red/orange and a golden brown colour. The stone has tiny pieces of natural minerals in the stone that catch the light and shimmer and glisten in the sun and this affect is known as “aventurescence†It will depend on the mineral deposit in the stone as to the colour of the sparkle. If it has a yellow/silver hue then is due to mica, red or gray shimmers are due to hematite being present and these beautiful green shimmer is due to fuschite.
Within the bead and handcrafted jewellery industry chalcedony refers to a solid stone that will go from translucent to opaque semi-precious stones and they have a wax like lustre. The colour that is the most popular among these stones is a bluish gray colour, other colours like white, orange, yellow, pink, red and purple. This semi-precious stone has been used since prehistoric times and was used in tool making.
These are only 5 semi-precious stones that the designer uses to create their unique handcrafted jewellery designs. Earrings, bracelets, pendants, jewellery sets, rings necklaces are all produced from these and many other natural stones supply the designer with inspiration to produce unique and original designs for us to purchase.
If you are looking for a unique handmade necklace design, pairs of earrings that have been handmade from semi-precious beads, a handmade jewellery sets with matching earrings, necklaces and bracelets or a unique individually handcrafted bracelet design then there are many of these designes availavle at Jade Jewellery UK that has been offering her unique and original designs for over 10 years and has not only unique designs in her collection but also limited edition designs.
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