Denim Den: Note from Washington, D.C.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Note from Washington, D.C.

I'm still in Washington, D.C. enjoying the city, shopping, museums, and mostly visiting with my son and daughter-in-law. Before I left home, in the flurry of getting out Christmas orders and packing and making sure that my dear kitties were well taken care of, I did manage to pack 2 of my favorite necklaces, just in case I got a chance to wear them. The top one is a favorite of mine that I'm thinking of keeping and I really made it with myself in mind. The light green largest middle gemstone is a roughly faceted emerald; the large aquamarines are natural and undyed and a lovely blue. The smaller gemstones are rubies, sapphires, and more emeralds. There are also larger rubies and sapphires in faceted sapphires as well as more faceted emeralds in a rough emerald shape. Fourteen karat goldfilled round beads up to 5mm accent the precious gemstones, and for ease of fastening, I used a goldfilled toggle clasp since this is only 16 inches in length.

When I was making it, I was thinking of wearing it with a beautiful 18 karat gold cross that my husband bought me for Christmas in Portugal about 3 years ago; it's one of my signature pieces of jewelry that I wear constantly. When you have a signature piece of jewelry like my cross, I think that sometimes it becomes such a part of you that it's not necessarily as noticeable as it should be; the gemstone necklaces worn above really becomes a foil for the beauty of the cross and it looks new all over again (it always looks beautiful). Of course, the gemstone necklace also looks great alone, as does the tourmaline necklace. Mixed gemstone necklaces are so versatile that are almost a jewelry wardrobe within themselves. And if you have a signature piece - even if it's a bracelet, an additional strand of mixed gemstones can really dress it up and make it perfect for an outfit you may have thought it didn't look right with before.

The handmade necklace above was made entirely out of tourmalines; I got really fortunate and found some faceted tourmaline rondelles in pretty colours ranging from almost black to dark emerald green to pale green to pink. The focal points are three gorgeous pink faceted rectangles that resemble an emerald cut. Once again, I accented with fairly large 14 karat goldfilled rounds. This necklace is also a choker, slightly shorter however than the one above.