Posts Tagged ‘gemstone beads’

August’s featured birthstone: Peridot

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

The standard birthstone for next month just happens to be well-represented at Rings & Things.  Let’s play with peridot…

Peridot: August's featured birthstone at Rings & Things

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

Peridot & sterling 'wish box' pendant

For guys you might prefer going with a chunkier style like these hefty peridot chip beads:

Peridot chunky chips

Peridot chunky chips

Or you can go really smooth and classic with sleek round peridot beads:

Smooth as velvet: peridot rounds

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!

DON’T MISS OUR June-July giveaway:
* in our online store, find a fave product & review it there, then…
* …leave a comment about it at the contest article in our blog
* On August 3, five winners will receive coveted Rings & Things gift certificates!
* Enter often & see if you win!

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Posted in beads, birthstones | 5 Comments »

Featured bead: basic black onyx

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

They say the name comes from the Greek for “fingernail”.  I guess our featured bead does resemble the fingernails of some Gothic types I’ve known!

It would be a grave slight if I didn’t feature black onyx beads in this space.  These are a true standby for jewelry designers, with their lustrous gloss and their dark versatility.  They’re available in a huge range of styles!

Black onyx beads in a round, 4 millimeter style

Black onyx beads in a round, 4 millimeter style

If you’re shopping more to stock up your bead arsenal, with no particular designs in mind yet, try black onyx rounds like the 4-millimeter jobbies shown above.  By the way, that size is about 6 to the inch.  The smallest rounds that you’re likely to find are 3mm (or 8 to the inch); you can get bigger sizes like 6mm, 8mm and up.

Black onyx rounds are a classic bead for certain basics, like evening jewelry or the rosary market.  But they look great in higher-fashion environments too!  Check out this “Blackberry Necklace” design from Rings & Things’ ever-popular Design Gallery:

The Blackberry necklace, from our Design Gallery

The Blackberry necklace, from our Design Gallery

Don’t stop with the smooth rounds, though — faceted rounds of black onyx are some gorgeous beads!  Look at how these, in the 6mm size (4 to the inch), catch the light:

Black onyx, 6mm faceted round beads

Black onyx, 6mm faceted round beads

And other styles, like black onyx tube beads, have lots of promise:

4x13mm black onyx tube beads

4x13mm black onyx tube beads

I’ll leave you with one last inspiration.  One of my favorites in the Design Gallery is the Cute Cubes Squared necklace, which uses various black onyx beads in a dazzling way:

Cute Cubes Squared

Cute Cubes Squared

I’d love to hear about your own discoveries that you’ve made while designing with black onyx beads!

Leave them in a comment, below!

DON’T MISS OUR June-July giveaway:
* in our online store, find a fave product & review it there, then…
* …leave a comment about it at the contest article in our blog
* On August 3, five winners will receive coveted Rings & Things gift certificates!
* Enter often & see if you win!

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Posted in Featured Bead, beads | 4 Comments »

The price of amethyst, and how to benefit from it

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

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!

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Posted in Grow your business, Trendspotting | 8 Comments »

A jumble of June birth gems

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_20-629-06-036pearl_21-349-109-150pearl_20-638-09-2421

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_21-000-052-05agate_21-003-153-03agate_21-829-0551

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!

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Posted in birthstones | 4 Comments »

Next month’s birthstones: aquamarine, bloodstone, & jasper

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!

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Posted in Uncategorized, designing | 6 Comments »

New beads: brown lava stone

Thursday, February 5th, 2009

Lava rock beads have caught on in recent times.  Their pockmarked surfaces have a really interesting feel.  Because they’re basically pieces of pumice, these beads are also surprisingly light–with tiny holes all through them, they’re full of air!

Most of these beads so far have been glossy and black, from the treatments applied to their surfaces.  Rings & Things has just added another great color, brown lava stone beads.  They’re an earthy matte hue, and we have them in a lot of shapes and sizes!  Look how nice this stone looks in corner-drilled and regular cube shapes:

Does that make anyone else think of brown sugar cubes?

There are also plenty of brown lava beads with curves that contrast wonderfully with their naturally uneven surface texture.  Have a look at some rondelles and rounds to see this effect:

You can see how impressive this stone looks in all kinds of beads.  Do you think it might set off metal beads nicely, the way the black lava stone does?  Will it pair with wood?  Hmmm, azurite makes a nice planet-Earth bead…  How about brown lava stone beads of various sizes to represent a few of our rougher neighbors in a solar-system necklace or bracelet?  (Mercury, the Moon, Mars?)

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!

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Posted in New products | 3 Comments »

4 November birthstones

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

“4 November birthstones”?  Mistake, or silly pun on today’s date?

Neither!  Here’s how there can be 4 different birthstones for November…meaning four times as much market for your jewelry creations this month!

STONE 1:  The original source of today’s usual birthstone list is the “Foundation Stones” of the book of Revelations, in the New Testament.  According to that ancient list, November’s birthstone is topaz.  The modern list agrees, and the traditional list of “zodiac stones” also has topaz for Sagittarius (November 23-December 21).

STONE 2:  But!  The modern birthstone list, established in 1952, contains an alternate November stone, citrine.

STONE 3:  Notice how Sagittarius doesn’t cover the whole calendar month?  Another sign occupies the beginning of the month, which is why the other November zodiac birthstone is beryl — the stone of Scorpio.

STONE 4:  There’s also a traditional list of stones associated with the 12 apostles in early Christianity, where Matthew is associated with November.  His stone is amethyst, which is also the stone of November’s guardian angel Adnachiel (in ancient rabbinical writings).  This gives us our fourth birthstone for this month.

All of this great information, plus the stones for the other 11 months and much more, is in Bruce G. Knuth’s superb book “Jeweler’s Resource: A Reference of Gems, Metals, Formulas and Terminology for Jewelers“.  Thanks for this Rings & Things staff favorite, Bruce!

Got to have even more options?  Check out Rings & Things’ selection of birthstone-related products!

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Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

New catalog, new gemstone prices

Friday, October 31st, 2008

As you know, Rings & Things puts out a catalog every 2 years.  (Our 2009-2010 catalog is coming in the New Year!)  Part of the catalog-production process is to review and revise prices as needed.

For the last two catalogs–that’s 4 years–we chose to not raise gemstone prices across the board but rather “eat” vendor price increases we received over the years.  Unfortunately this year we are forced to implement a price increase for most gemstone beads.

The reasons for the price increase are varied:

  • Lack of “rough” material means higher prices for finished gemstones. Gemstones are not a renewable resource.
  • Competition for high-demand gemstones has increased prices.
  • Vendors have given us multiple price increases over the years.
  • The US dollar has lost exchange value compared to the Chinese Yuan (RMB).
  • Inbound freight cost has increased over 15%.
  • China, where most gemstones are processed, has implemented three cost-of-living minimum-wage increases for its workers.
  • New EPA-style laws in China raised our prices.
  • China has changed their tax laws, which caused an increase in prices.
  • Our desire to maintain a higher-quality gemstone than some of our competitors requires us to seek out new vendor sources at higher prices.

The average price increase is about $1.25 per strand at wholesale price–but many items went up only 25 to 50 cents.  A few items have had a larger price increase due to the multiple vendor price increases we’ve received over the last four years.

We appreciate your business over the last several years, and our commitment is to continue delivering you the highest-quality gemstone beads at the best prices we can.  We think you’ll see and appreciate the difference as always!

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Posted in Catalogs & supplements | No Comments »