More Solid Natural Opal Rings

Most silver jewelry shops in my country have beautiful showcases with stunning jewelry items with Opal stones.in all sizes. The stones are mostly light blue with tiny flashy pieces in them. These Opals are actually a very thin layer of Opal stones with a piece of silicone attached to the back to strengthen them. Without the silicone these stones simply fall apart.


In contrast to the a/m stones, the ones which I use myself for setting in my own jewelry are totallty solid Opal stones, which I purchase directly from their cutters.


Recently I have handcrafted three new Koroit Opal rings from Solid Opal Stones which come from the Koroit Opal mines in Queensland Australia

 http://www.etsy.com/listing/95779564/freeform-silver-and-opal-ring-handmade

This stone is amazing. The colors are brown horizontal strips with stunning ochre in the middle and a spray of turquoise which glimmers with tiny hints of red .Reminds me of a miniature abstract painting.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/95618659/multicolored-opal-silver-ring

The sterling band of this ring is wide rounded and thick and proportionate to the size of the stone.
The stone  is amazing. Very unique!!
The colors are brown horizontal strips with pale sky blue stripes and a deep turquoise one.

Do I sound like I'm in love with these stones? - You bet I am!

I believe if you saw or held them in your hands, you'd love them too!

New Golden Dome Necklace

I have first handcrafted these gold dome earrings some time ago. I began by making them in sterling silver. Then I thought  they would look good in gold too, so I have offered an alternative to the silver earrings in gold

Silver Dome earrings

Gold dome earrings

Later I handcrafted a sterling silver necklace with one dome as a pendant hanging on a delicate silver chain:

Sterling dome necklace

Yesterday  I added a new listing to my Etsy shp with a necklace which is another addition to this collection of granulated domes:


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Gold dome necklace

I handcrafted this necklace by putting together nine granulated domes and then adding a double chain on each side of   the domes. Then I goldplated them in 24k gold. The necklace is worn close to the neck, as it is  18" long. I believe it is a great enhancer to any outfit!

My personal tips on How to store your collected handmade, or other, jewelry

I have been a jewelry collector, ever since I received my first heirloom from my mother. It was a gold heart locket and gold chain, with a photograph of my parents in it, and a tiny unpolished diamond on the front. I rweceived it when I was about 10 years old, and  many years later, these days, I still   like to wear it every once in a while

Some of the jewelry  we own has great sentimental  value to  us. They maybe  keepsakes from  a beloved person  or something you found in a jewelry shop which you love .Some of it may be valuable also for its worth in money , whether it is made of gold, silver and very prescious, or simply for the artistic value, when it was created by an a unique jewelry artist.

No matter, what the source of jewelry you own is worth, be it a gold pair of earrings, or a lovely cheaper pair made with beads, one should be aware that they should be protected from breakage, dust, humidity in the air, and tarnish. Handcrafted or industrial jewelry, can break easily, as it is fragile.

The reasons for this is that humidity causes your jewelry to look rusty which might lead to breakage. Imagine you wanting to wear a favorite pai of earrings you own and your dismay at discovering that it has become rusty. Not very pleasant. right? dust can contribute to this too. 

It is true the sterling silver  and gold jewelry can be easily cleaned, but why waste your precious  time on cleaning it, if you can avoid this?

The drastic changes of temperature between cold and warm weather, has an impact on your jewelry too., as metals have the quality of contracting. And expanding. This may "contribute" to cracks in your  favorite pieces. Therefore, it is well advised to keep your jewelry in a box where the changes of weather have no effect on it.

 The solution to this is very simple - just  keep your jewelry in a special box. Never leave it on a hanger near your mirror in the bedroom, even if this could seem very decorative. Keep a separate box for earrings. And one for your necklaces rings and bracelets.

There are many lovely jewelry boxes you can buy for very reasonable prices. They will serve you very well – keep your jewelry in a weather  protected place and do not forget that a cute jewelry box is a wonderful way to decorate your room,.

Here's a lovely jewelry box I have foun on Etsy:

You will find this handcrafted box in the  Etsy shopThedecorativebox. It is created from acrylic painted wood and decorated with rhinestones,silkflowers and more. I just love it. Looks perfect for storing jewelry in it.

My Etsy shop:

http://riorita.etsy.com/
http://riorita.etsy.com
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My new Blue beachglass jewelry ring and friends

very once in a while a customer asks me about a ring with beach/sea glass set in it. I then go to a box in my workshop where I keep all treashures of beach glass pieces, and search for a piece which may be suitable. I made the ring, then added tiny peices of 14k gold and a bezel and finally set the glass in it.

New blue beach glass ring set in sterling silver and gold

I was rather satisfied with the outcome, and so was my customer.

You will find more items with beach glass and more here:
http://riorita.etsy.com/





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As I looked for more Etsy shops with items whose subject would be the beach and sea, I found some very nice shops.The first was this one:

A beautiful print by a wonderful artist whose Etsy shop name is AlisaPaints.
The print is a copy of an original  painting  with soft pastel colors displaying two pretty girls seeking for sea shells on the beach.

 

Etsy shop name : AlisaPaints

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 I went on with my search and found those awesome pieces of what looked like broken pieces which the sea has tumbled for years upon years. The pieces were collected by two people, Sierra and Lonnie, who live on Kawaii and are the owners of the Etsy shop KauaiShellsandMore.

 They collect the pieces from the shores of Kauai in Hawaii.

Beach glass from KauaiShellsand More

Shop on Etsy : KauaiShellsandMoreEtsy 

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The third Etsy shop I chose for this post is that of carensilvestri.

  The owner of this shop lives in Southern California and specialized in landscape photography and enjoys photographing  the gifts of  Nature in Macro. She travels and practices her art mainly on the west coast. I love her !work and I am quite ceratain you will love them too.

Etsy shop: carensilvestri

More handmade jewelry designs:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/riorita

New Ancient Coin sterling jewelry

About 6 months ago, I visited a coin dealer's shop, I saw a few ancient coins there. I took one coin in my hand and - you know how it is when you suddnely fall in love ?! I felt a Flash! Bam! Alacazam!... Immediately I began to create handmade jewelry designs combining sterling silver and gold with ancient coins. Necklaces, bangles, rings.

Ancient coin Foxtail necklace:

New Ancient coin Ring in my Etsy shop For more of my handcrafted artisan jewelry pieces? Here's the link to my shop: http://riorita.etsy.com/ Thank you for viewing.