Posts Tagged ‘birthstone beads’
Friday, January 15th, 2010
Thanks to Abby Wood for this image! ▼
People don’t sell beads, beads sell themselves. Especially February’s birthstone, amethyst!
What Abby said!
So I’ll just toss a couple amethyst-themed ideas your way. Enjoy!
"Spring Bears"
▲ Hang in there, February babies…Soon you’ll see what delightful things Spring Bears for you! You know what, you’re never too young for a Red Hat, or for amethyst beads… ▼
"Red Hat"
Your February birthday means days are getting longer already…so savor the Deep Twilight while you can! ▼
"Deep Twilight"
Have more amethyst inspirations? Yes you have. Share them. Here. Now. Link to ‘em 
Tags: abby wood, amethyst, amethyst beads, beads, birthstone beads, deep twilight bracelet, february birthstone, red hat purse clip, spring bears necklace
Posted in beads, birthstones | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
January Birthstone poem – the Garnet:
"By her who in this month was born..."
"...No gem save garnets shall be worn..."
"...They will ensure her constancy..."
"...True friendship, and fidelity."
For a range of garnet bead styles and prices, browse our secure online store!
And for sterling-quality precious-bead info, read our Gemstone Beads Index.
Tags: beads, birthstone beads, garnet beads, garnet birthstone, gemstone beads index, january birthstone
Posted in beads, birthstones | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
Where we check into possible birthstone plans for the upcoming month…
A great design you can make with tourmaline beads...
Tourmaline beads, the birthstone of choice for October, show some appropriately magical properties. Did you know that if you rub this stone, it generates a charge that attracts small objects like bits of paper or strands of hair? (I couldn’t find an image of this. Bummer. Please submit one if you’ve got one.)
True to its name (which originally meant “stone of mixed colors”), tourmaline is found in a very pretty palette of blue, yellow, pink, red, black, green and clear stones. Here are most of those colors in a strand that we sell:
Rings & Things also sells strands of the nice black tourmaline alone:
Here’s a great idea for using black tourmaline in a rosary:
David's Rosary uses the black tourmaline beads
And don’t forget tourmalated quartz. These beads technically include tourmaline, so they add to your options for “October babies”:
You’ll find lots more neat background reading at our Gemstone Index ‘tourmaline’ entry! And this is the time of year when you can come to our BeadTour bead shows to look for great new tourmaline, tourmalated quartz and many more gemstone beads not found in our catalog!
Tags: bead shows, BeadTour, birthstone beads, black tourmaline, black tourmaline beads, october birthstone, tourmalated quartz, tourmalated quartz beads, tourmaline, tourmaline beads, tourmaline birthstone
Posted in Rings & Things products, bead shows, beads, birthstones | 6 Comments »
Monday, August 3rd, 2009
Carnelian is an established birthstone for September.
I’ll let you browse our awesome stock of carnelian beads at your leisure…but before you click that link, let’s focus on a rarity: a carnelian trade bead.
Carnelian cubes - a rare tradebead treat!
You don’t see these every day, even if you’re an African-bead connoisseur. Five corner-cut beads to the strand, a reasonable price, and the joy of finding something really unique!
Have a favorite birthstone bead choice for September babies? Talk about it in a comment!
Tags: birthstone beads, birthstone trade beads, carnelian beads, carnelian trade bead, carnelian tradebeads, september birthstone, september birthstone beads, september gemstone
Posted in beads, birthstones | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
The standard birthstone for next month just happens to be well-represented at Rings & Things. Let’s play with peridot…
August's featured birthstone is...
Did you know about peridot?
- It’s also known as “Bastard Emerald”
- Peridot is technically a variety of olivine
- It turns out that quite a few “emeralds” in queens’ and kings’ treasuries are actually peridot!
- Peridot is claimed to increase eloquence and remove speech impediments, and, um…oh, what’s that word? (All this info & much more is in our awesome Gemstone Beads Index.)
Some of the styles of peridot that we stock are snazzy enough to wow any Leo/Virgo child of August. You can even tuck a tiny birthday gift or note inside this peridot & sterling ‘wish box’ pendant:
Peridot & sterling 'wish box' pendant
For guys you might prefer going with a chunkier style like these hefty peridot chip beads:
Peridot chunky chips
Or you can go really smooth and classic with sleek round peridot beads:
Smooth as velvet: peridot rounds
Just bear in mind (and please tell your customers) that peridot is often enhanced in order to smooth out tiny natural irregularities in its surface — So go easy on the exposure to hazardous chemicals. Also shield your peridot from high heat, deep cold, and hammers, okay?
* Alternative August birthstones are onyx or sardonyx, and carnelian.
I bet some of you have sold, or been commissioned to make, August birthstone jewelry. You can share your experiences in a comment below!
Tags: August birthstone jewelry, August birthstones, birthstone beads, birthstone jewelry, gemstone beads, gemstones, peridot beads, peridot chip beads, peridot chips, peridot pendants, peridot rounds, round peridot beads
Posted in beads, birthstones | 5 Comments »
Monday, June 1st, 2009
Because July’s birthstones are a motley crew (see the end of this post), I’m picking out just one of them to feature, since there’s so much to know about turquoise!
July's featured birthstone: turquoise
Turquoise is the modern, more often seen replacement for the traditional July “Foundation stone”, sardonyx. I’d like to start out by showing you some of the affordable genuine turquoise beads that are available. (I’ll try to show similar-sized beads to make comparison easier.)
For the highest-quality birthstone jewelry, use AA-grade turquoise (natural turquoise) like these delicate 2mm rounds:
Also excelling in their class are A- to B-grade turquoise (stabilized turquoise) beads such as these nice Kingman heishi:
Good Mexican turquoise is also sometimes available. It’s often in nugget forms, like these extra-small beads:
Another variety of genuine turquoise, which is available reasonable prices, is stabilized Chinese turquoise. To illustrate this type, let’s look at some 2-3mm rounds:
For even greater economy, and a wider color range to work with, try some other stones that are called turquoise.
There’s African turquoise (actually a kind of jasper!), like these 3×5mm tubes:
Yellow turquoise (more likely a jasper or serpentine) is a pleasingly-colored stone often imported from China, like these 4mm rounds: 
Block turquoise is manmade from plastic resins and dyes. So it’s often one of the more affordable varieties, like these low-priced 2mm rounds: 
You might also be interested in our economically-priced “turquoise” magnesite. It’s a thrifty alternative and still looks pretty, like these 4mm rounds:
Finally, consider some other stones in the turquoise family (which you can read about in our Gemstone Beads Index). There’s apple-green turquoise and lime turquoise, for example. You can often find specially purchased, special-priced strands of these and similar stones at Rings & Things’ BeadTour bead shows…another great reason to attend when we’re in your town!
Other July birthstones run the gamut: ruby (also Summer’s birthstone), synthetic corundum, emerald (for Cancer), onyx (for Leo), and topaz (St. Matthew’s stone).Thanks once again to Bruce G. Knuths’ “Jeweler’s Resource” book for all of this information!
Tags: a- to b-grade turquoise, aa-grade turquoise, african turquoise, apple-green turquoise, beads, birthstone beads, birthstones, block turquoise, chinese turquoise, composite turquoise, july birthstones, lime turquoise, mexican turquoise, natural turquoise, turquoise, turquoise beads, turquoise magnesite, yellow turquoise
Posted in birthstones | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009
A showroom customer asked about the price of amethyst, particularly the “A” grade amethyst we carry. We had not noticed the recent price of this, so we asked our supplier who specializes in amethyst.
A-grade amethyst beads from Rings & Things...an investment?
She told us,
“Yes, Amethyst rough has kept increasing for the last two-three years. For the same price, we won’t be able to get the same quality rough. Since last year, I notice vendors in [market shops] are now selling the “A” grade amethyst by grams, just like peridot and aqua.”
So take a tip:
FYI for all birthstone / purple lovers. Don’t wait till you’re old to get hold of genuine amethyst beads, if they’re your thing!
Have more insider gemstone tips? You can share them with enthusiastic readers right here, in a comment!
May giveaway:
* You enter by leaving comments this month
* At the end of May, 2 winners will receive coveted Rings & Things goodie packs!
*So read the blog regularly, to enter a lot & to see if you won!
Tags: a grade amethyst, amethyst, amethyst beads, aquamarine beads, artificial amethyst, beads, birthstone beads, craft business tips, gemstone beads, Grow Your Craft Business, Grow Your Jewelry Business, lab grown amethyst, manmade amethyst, peridot beads, semiprecious beads
Posted in Grow your business, Trendspotting | 8 Comments »
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
We took a look ahead to find out the what June’s birthstones are. There’s a jumble of gems to work with!
Pearl is one of the most widely recognized June stones. It’s nice that recent years have brought countless new styles and shapes of affordable freshwater pearls, including the ones you see here. Have fun picking out a pearl that fits the personality of your June baby (or client!).
Agate is the other commonly used birthstone for June. It’s also the birthstone for Gemini, May 21 through June 20. Are you aware of the huge variety of agate beads available? This is another great browsing opportunity.
For a more unique touch, we’ve also found these stones used for June:
- Emerald (also the Spring gemstone, and Cancer’s birthstone, June 21 to July 22) — a popular color of glass beads
- Ruby (which is the Summer gemstone too, i.e. June 21 onwards) — there are lots of ruby-colored glass beads as well!
- Moonstone (also famous for going so great with a basic black dress!)
- Alexandrite — remember you can use glass beads in this color too
- Beryl (St. Thomas)
You can learn about the physical & metaphysical properties of gemstones like these in the new edition of our popular Gemstone Beads Index!
Have you seen other great birthday-jewelry ideas for June? Post them here in the Comments!
May giveaway:
* You enter by leaving comments this month
* At the end of May, 2 winners will receive coveted Rings & Things goodie packs!
*So read the blog regularly, to enter a lot & to see if you won!
Tags: agate beads, alexandrite beads, beads, beryl beads, birthstone beads, emerald beads, freshwater pearls, gemstone beads, gemstone beads index, june birthstones, moonstone beads, pearls, ruby beads
Posted in birthstones | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009
Plan ahead for May birthstones!
There’s one main birthstone for May, emerald. This is also the seasonal birthstone for Spring, so it’s doubly appropriate. For an economical emerald look, think about glass beads. Anything from these metal-core Calypso™ (“Pandora”-style) lampwork beads…
…to the ever-popular, economical Cosmic Crystal™ bicone…
…can be an evocative way to play on the emerald theme. Just search our online store for “emerald”! Or for “sapphire”, which some consider a birthstone for Taurus. Now that’s multi-purposing your components!
Speaking of zodiac signs, Gemini’s birthstone is agate. We always seem to have dozens of varieties of it at Rings & Things’ BeadTour bead shows, and you can always find agate beads in our online store. A couple of favorites are Botswana agate, like these faceted rounds…
…and blue lace agate, like this bib:
Less well-known May gemstones, according to various traditions, are chrysolite, carbuncle, and chalcedony. For reliable, honest background information, you can look these and many more up in our popular Gemstone Beads Index!
What’s your favorite May birthstone, or birthday jewelry? Share it in a comment below. You can even link to pictures of your own creations!
April giveaway: “DIY Display Ideas”:
* You enter by leaving comments under the March 31 giveaway announcement
* At the end of April, 2 winners will receive coveted Rings & Things goodie packs!
*So read the blog regularly to see if you won!
Tags: agate beads, bead shows, beads, BeadTour, bicone beads, birthday jewelry, birthstone beads, blue lace agate beads, botswana agate beads, calypso beads, cosmic crystal beads, emerald beads, gemstone beads index, lampwork beads, may birthstones, multi-purposing, multipurposing, pandora-style beads, Rings & Things bead shows, sapphire beads
Posted in birthstones, multipurposing | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009
Planning ahead for March birthstone jewelry? Our crystal ball (actually a book we sell) says you can use aquamarine or bloodstone. Some folks use jasper too!
The zodiac says March is the month when most Pisces are born (February 20-March 20). Since Pisces is “the fish”, the hue of aquamarine (literally “sea water”) is a great color theme to use in birthday jewelry for these folks. Enjoy the organic feel of gemstone chip beads,
or make a more regular design by lining up some smooth round beads.
Perhaps better for quick-tempered Aries (March 21-April 19) would be bloodstone. An intriguing thing about this gemstone is how variable the colors can be, since it’s a combination of dark green with deep red in various proportions. Check out these 8mm rounds to get an impression of the color range:
And sometimes you’ll find this stone much more on the green end of things, like these 12mm rounds.
Jasper is a whole world unto itself. There are so many varieties in such a phenomenal range of hues–it’s worth browsing our catalog to absorb them. A couple of my favorites will give you an idea what I mean. There are fancy-jasper faceted diamond-shaped beads:
Another variety is leopardskin jasper, shown here in 8mm rounds:
Yet another type is ocean jasper. How about these tip-drilled puffed marquise beads?
And don’t forget to browse for color matches. We always have hundreds of styles, including aquamarine-colored glass beads!
Have a March birthstone-inspired jewelry tip? Share it here by Replying in the comments section!
Exciting news: every month, we’re going to hold a lottery right here on the Rings & Things blog. Here’s how it will work:
*At the beginning of each month, I’ll announce a new lottery.
*You enter by leaving Replies, also known as blog comments. Comment on any post(s) this month.
*At the end of the month, I’ll randomly draw 2 names to receive surprise goodie packs!
Tags: aquamarine beads, aquamarine beads wholesale, birthstone beads, birthstones, bloodstone beads, bloodstone beads wholesale, buy aquamarine beads, buy bloodstone beads, buy gemstone beads, buy jasper beads, gemstone beads, gemstone beads wholesale, jasper beads, jasper beads wholesale
Posted in Uncategorized, designing | 6 Comments »