Creating a Focal Bead Bracelet

Creating a Focal Bead Bracelet

Its not often that we see clear skies in Washington! Usually they are some shade of gray :) So we picked these two colors to create a lovely bracelet. I used Hemimorphite (7654c) for the focal bead and Cat's Eye Quartz (9201) beads for the accents.

Up to 50% off ClearSky Hued Beads

This color category includes Abalone, Aquamarine, Hemimorphite & More!

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Up to 50% SultrySmoke Hued Beads

This color category includes Hematite, Labradorite, Cat's Eye Quartz, Tahitian Mother of Pearl & more!

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May Birthstones - Emerald, Agate & Sapphire

May Birthstones - Emerald, Agate & Sapphire

Both the Traditional and Modern birthstones for May is Emerald. Emerald is a member of the Beryl family and is 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs Hardness Scale. Emeralds in antiquity were mined by the Egyptians and in Austria. A rare type of emerald known as a trapiche emerald is occasionally found in the mines of Colombia. A trapiche emerald exhibits a "star" pattern; it has raylike spokes of dark carbon impurities that give the emerald a six-pointed radial pattern. Emeralds come from three main emerald mining areas in Colombia: Muzo, Coscuez, and Chivor.

The Ayurvedic Birthstone for May is Agate. It is a microcrystalline variety of quartz (silica), chiefly chalcedony, characterised by its fineness of grain and brightness of color. Although agates may be found in various kinds of rock, they are classically associated with volcanic rocks but can be common in certain metamorphic rocks. Agate is a 7 on Mohs Hardness scale.

The Mystical Birthstone for May is Sapphire. Sapphire is a member of the Corundum family and is 9 on the Mohs Hardness Scale. Sapphire is one of the two gem varieties of corundum, the other being the red ruby. Although blue is the most well known hue, sapphire is any color of corundum except red. Sapphire may also be colorless, and it also occurs in shades of gray and black.

See more Emerald, Agate & Sapphire Beads here.

Earth Day a Beautiful Concept

The Silver Rose is going green in ways that contribute to a healthier and sustainable planet. We have recycle bins in our work place and actually right along side our desks. We support local and online green business. Our regard for the earth includes driving small light carbon foot print cars and Eco-friendly cleaning products.

We carry products that are environmentally friendly such as pearls, boxwood beads and bone. Pearls are a renewable resource easily grown and harvest by local people thus creating jobs in remote areas and an encouragement to keep local waterways clean and viable. Boxwood is a quick growing ornamental tree that also encourages good farming practices and respect for nature. Bone when used in carving uses all the parts of the animals thus cutting back on waste. Turning something into a work of art that would generally be thrown on to a waste pile.

It has been a turn around to look back on how earth friendly has taken on new meaning and given respect where once we earth lovers were called tree-huggers and looked on as a rather second class citizen and just not too bright. Now it's seen as the right thing to do. This is a change I love to see!

Please look around you and see all the ways that you are helping keep our planet healthier and thus more sustainable for those that follow and give yourself a great big hug.

Sylvia C. Rose-Johnson ES

Creating a Toggle Pendant Necklace

How to create a toggle pendant necklace

Do you have a pendant bead that you love, but you don't know what to do with it? I love this limbcast agate disc pendant bead. The mossy inclusions are so intriguing! I felt that it needed more than just a simple pendant and decided to set it off using carnelian agate beads. I strung the carnelian agate beads simply on a 22K Vermeil clasp and wire-wrapped the pendant bead to the loop of the toggle clasp. This way I can wear it in front like a pendant or in back for an unexpected twist!

Emeralds, the modern birthstone for May, are a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6,) colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium.Beryl has a hardness of 7.5-8 on the 10 point Mohs scale of mineral hardness.

Agate, the traditional birthstone for May, is a microcrystalline variety of quartz (silica), chiefly chalcedony, characterized by its fineness of grain and brightness of color. Although agates may be found in various kinds of rock, they are classically associated with volcanic rocks but can be common in certain metamorphic rocks.

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April Birthstones - Diamond, Sapphire & Opal

April Birthstones - Diamond, Sapphire & Opal

The traditional birthstones for April are the Diamond and the Sapphire. Diamonds are the hardest known natural material rating a 10 on the Mohs hardness scale. They are composed of carbon and have been used as adornment since antiquity. Diamonds are thought to have been first recognized and mined in India, where significant alluvial deposits of the stone could be found many centuries ago along the rivers Penner, Krishna and Godavari. The diamond is also the modern and Ayurvedic birthstone for April. See our post on creating a diamond bead necklace here.

Sapphires are any color of the stone corundum except red. Red corundum is known as Ruby. Sapphires are a 9 on the Mohs hardness scale and are also the birthstone for the month of September. Madagascar is the world leader in sapphire production (as of 2007) specifically its deposits in and around the city of Ilakaka, but Sapphires are also found in the USA, Myanmar, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Australia, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tanzania, Kenya and China.

The mystical birthstone for April is the Opal. Opal is a 6.5 to 5.5 on Mohs scale of hardness and generally has a 3-10% water content but it can have as high as a 20% water content. There are several varieties of opal. Precious opal is the most widely known and shows fiery flashes on a white or dark background. Fire opal is commonly red, orange to yellow and has no flash. Peruvian opal is a semi-opaque to opaque blue-green stone found in Peru which also has no flash. In the Middle Ages, opal was considered a stone that could provide great luck because it was believed to possess all the virtues of each gemstone whose color was represented in the color spectrum of the opal. It is also the birthstone for October.

See more Diamond, Sapphire and Opal beads here.

What is a Pearl?

What is a Pearl?

A pearl is created when an irritant triggers a mollusk’s defense mechanism. The mollusk creates a pearl sac to seal off the irritation and deposits layers of calcium carbonate over the irritant. This calcium carbonate, a combination of aragonite and conchiolin is called nacre, which makes up mother of pearl as well. In cultured pearls, the irritant is typically a piece of mantle tissue from another mollusk.

Read more about Pearl Farming and its Positive Affects on the Environment here.

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Boxwood and the Environment

Boxwood and the Environment

For thousands of years Netsukes have charmed their viewers. A huge detraction to this exquisite form of legend/myth telling was that fact that they were carved out of Elephant Tusk. As the planet has become more aware of what happens to the magnificent elephants, it has made this extraordinary art form repugnant as well as illegal to own for many. The switch to boxwood has made these enchanting objects a green product as boxwood is an easily farmed wood. Boxwood is carved green when it is soft and as it dries it hardens. It is used in it's dwarf form for topiaries in the west and the larger variety for ornamental and even furniture carving in China and other eastern countries. It is an ecology friendly solution to preserving an ancient art when boxwood is used to carve Netsukes and other object d'art.

35% off Boxwood Beads!

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