CHERRY BLOSSOMS, Faceted Garnet Gemstones Woven on Artisan Sterling Silver Hoop Earrings

Description

CHERRY BLOSSOMS, Woven Garnet and Sterling Silver Artisan Hoop Earrings

I made these frames myself from heavy gauge sterling wire, hammered to work harden it and give it a nice clean shape. The hoops are just a hair over an inch in diameter.

I wove the small, high quality, faceted garnet gemstones directly onto the frame with smaller gauge wire. The aaa grade garnet is a lovely rich red color that shows fantastic glimmers of purple, pink, and violet in the light.

Garnet is one of my favorite stones. Today I might even say it is my favorite, though I suppose I'm a bit fickle and tomorrow it might be peridot or carnelian. But it's always in the top three. It's gorgeous, it's a luminous, deliciously ripe red that is so richly colored you just want to eat it up. The only downside to garnet is that it's fragile, meaning that it's difficult to get good quality stones without really paying for them. You can't drill a big hole in a little garnet gemstone and expect it to stay together like you could through jasper or quartz. It's more like iolite or peridot in that there are tiny holes and quality gemstones are costly, because they are hard to produce. i.e. It's precious because it's difficult. Like a beautiful woman, I supppose. But we're worth the extra effort!


These gorgeous hoops would make a great gift for you or for someone special in your life. They are beautiful and will certainly be enjoyed for years to come with proper silver care.

Not wearing them in the shower or during your workouts will go a long way. Storing them in a drawer or a jewelry box when you're not wearing them will help even more. The inevitable tarnish can be easily wiped away to make your jewelry look brand new with a simple jewelry cleaning cloth. I use sunshine brand cleaning cloths, but I'm sure that other brands work well too. They are saturated with cleaners so you just have to rub them on your jewelry and the tarnish comes off on the rag. When the rag is black, you toss it. You never wash it. I don't think I've ever actually thrown one away. They just keep cleaning forever.

Thanks, peace, love!

Let me know if you have any questions or special requests!

About the materials used to make these earrings and other
Meshel Designs originals:

SILVER: All metal components in my pieces are either fine or sterling silver, and I incorporate many, many Bali sterling beads into my work, as I appreciate the great attention to detail and the handmade beauty of these beads.

GARNET: Garnets are very popular and sought after gemstones. Due to their high refractive index, garnets display great brilliance and luminosity. The rich color of the red garnet used in these earrings reminds me of the seeds of a ripe pomegranate. There are two types of red garnet. The first is pyrope, a spirited red stone, often with a slight brownish nuance. The second is rhodolite, a mixed crystal of almandine and pyrope. This popular garnet is a magnificent velvety red color with subtle violet or raspberry undertones. I believe the garnet in these earrings is rhodolite garnet due to its velvety appearance.

Added on Nov 05, 2009

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United States	$2.00 USD	$0.00 USD
Everywhere Else	$2.00 USD	$0.25 USD

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