Handmade Designer Necklaces -Tibetan Agate, Turquoise and Vermeil

The photo does not do justice to the deep burgundy rusty red of The Tibetan beads.  If you look closely these beads have a crackled  finish. The beautiful large turquoise pieces are olive green and blue green, shot with black and dark brown veins. A perfect contrasted color scheme.  The vermeil  is silver washed with 24 caret gold. I purchased the vermeil  a long time ago.  Now it would be too expensive to use.


The Tibetan beads were found in a wholesale bead store in New York City. They were on sale and no one was buying them.  I was thrilled  to have a chance to own beads from Tibet, and I purchased as many as I could. I use them sparingly.  This is the second necklace I have made from my Tibetan cache.

Handmade Designer Necklaces - Spiny Oyster, Turquoise, Ashanti Brass

Hello 2011!  Lots of snow so there is time to  make necklaces.  The one above is made from spiny oyster. I bought it from a dealer in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  I have always loved the orange color of the spiny oyster which the Native Americans combine with lapis lazuli, turquoise, or varicite, all blue green colors.
The rough spiny oyster discs sat in the bead box for a long time as I just did not know what to do with such big rough pieces.
Finally inspiration struck . Ashanti  Brass from Ghana ends the run of spiny oyster discs separated by small pieces of turquoise.  I found "coral" bamboo for the sides and back of the necklace and used turquoise and spiny oyster spacers in between. A great necklace for a large person.