Jewelry Blog

Here is the reveal from last week:

The gem that has strong pleochroism
Which of course most of you got right,
Exhibiting a blue to violet range
Is the gemstone we call, IOLITE!

Congrats are in order for Crystal, Abby, Tricia57, MFig, Tara, Anita, Angie, gimmejewels, Barbara, Eve, jtvaddict, CherylD, Matthew, Rick Pucko, Daisha, Sue, and Lili (Mom1).

WHEW!!  Your gemstone knowledge is fantastic! Keep those guesses coming!

Fast Facts about Iolite

• Iolite has very strong pleochroism, which means it changes colors when viewed from different angles.  This optical property can be viewed without any special instruments or equipment.  While iolite is most commonly a blue or violet color, it can sometimes show brownish streaks.
• History claims that the Vikings used iolite as a light polarizer, which assisted them in seeing through the haze in determining the exact location of the sun.  Over time, common gemstones that have been confused as iolite include sapphire, benitoite, and even tanzanite.
• Deposits of Iolite span worldwide, including Myanmar, Brazil, Madagascar, and the United States.  On Mohs’ scale of hardness, iolite is a 7 to 7.5.  This makes it a perfect choice to enjoy set in jewelry.

Due to its intense popularity, JTV is currently sold out of iolite gemstones.  Please check back often for new arrivals. Browse our selection of iolite jewelry.

Sometimes you have so many beautiful beads it’s hard to decide which ones to use for a design. That was my dilemma when I started making these sterling and crystal earrings. However, soon I decided not to decide and created these colorful and sparkling earrings. I combined four colors of bicone shaped Swarovski crystal beads and dangled them beneath one clear aurora borealis square Swarovski crystal bead. Now they match a multitude of outfits, and I get to enjoy using more than just one color of beads.

You’ll need:

2 colors each - 4mm bicone crystal beads*
2 - 6mm AB square Swarovski crystals
2 Eurowires
8 headpins
4 daisy spacer beads
6 inches of 22 gauge sterling wire
Round-nosed pliers
Wire cutters
Chain-nosed pliers
jeweler’s file

* For the earrings pictured, I used the following color of crystals: tanzanite, emerald, light amethyst, sapphire. So, that’s a total of 8 - 4mm beads. Of course, remember that you can use whatever colors you have available or whatever colors you choose to mix.

1. Add one green crystal onto a head pin, and then insert the head pin through the hole in the daisy lampwork bead.

You probably already know about the “in” colors picked out every season by Pantone. However, knowing about them and using them in your jewelry designs can be two different animals. Color is super important in jewelry designing, especially if you work with bead weaving and/or stringing techniques. Being able manipulate colors and how they work with each other can often separate you from the many other beaders out there.

Long time beader, author, and color expert Margie Deeb has made her career around the idea of color. You may know her from some of her books such as The Beader’s Guide to Color. She also has a new book soon to be published called The Beader’s Color Palette.

Along with her books on color, Margie has developed some smaller pdf-type files she sells through her site, most recently the Color Report for Bead Artists (Spring/Summer 2008) ($9.95 US). It is a 15 page pdf file with 40 palettes, similar to the one pictured above. She based her palettes on the Pantone colors, and then includes sample jewelry pieces as well as various color combinations and bead ratios to try out. Though this is not a “how-to” make jewelry file, as in you won’t get directions on how to make the jewelry pieces pictured, you will get a number of different color combinations, some mirroring the jewelry pieces she provides as examples of how the colors would look in a finished jewelry piece.