Montana Sapphire

This is my entry to the etsy-beadweaver August challenge, First Ladies of Style. I got these BEAUTIFUL montana crystals from Artbeads.com , and when I saw them, I knew they had style written all over them! I think one of the finest jewelry combinations of all time is the sapphire and diamond, so I decided to surround these beauties with crystal AB crystals(and lots of them!).

The focal piece for this necklace is a whopping 40X27 mm tear drop (or "fancy pear" as they call it) that is nothing less then drool-worthy. What a pleasure to work with! I don't know about the rest of you, but montana is not one of my favorite swarovski colors (its not bad though), but when I got this crystal...WOW! Most people that have seen it didn't even realize that it was montana! What a beauty! I surrounded it with 4mm crystal AB crystals, and then connected it to its little rivoli buddies (also surrounded by crystals )2 size 14mm rivolis, and 3 size 12 mm rivolis on each side of the necklace. After 2 days of contemplation (okay, really I was trying different ideas, and ripping them back out ) I decided to go with braided herringbone ropes to finish off the straps. Both the ropes, and everywhere else in the necklace I used size 11 delicas and size 15 seed beads in a silver-lined crystal.

For the toggle I used a sparkly wheel (original pattern designed by Nikia Angel) made with 4mm montana and 4mm crystal ABs and a peyote tube for the bar. I will say again, just how beautiful these crystals from Artbeads.com are, and I cant wait to get started on the crystal copper rivolis (that also came from Artbeads!) I plan to use for the etsy-beadweavers September challenge, Indian Summer Dreams!

If you want to see the rest of the creations that the etsy-beadweavers made for this challenge and to vote for your favorite, got to the etsy beadweaver blog between August 9th and 15th !
If you are interested in buying this piece, please visit my etsy site at http://www.beadwoman3.etsy.com/