String a labradorite necklace and bracelet, using crystals to highlight the stone’s shimmer
At first, labradorite (which is named for the Canadian peninsula where it was discovered) looks a humble gray, but it’s one of those rare things that improves with scrutiny. If you look carefully, it reveals an iridescent rainbow of blue, green, violet, and occasionally yellow, orange, and red. The colors (to vastly oversimplify) are produced when light refracts between layers in the mineral. Faceting helps to bring out the stone’s color and sparkle.
SUPPLIES
necklace
All crystals from Fusion Beads, fusionbeads.com.
- 16-in. (41cm) strand 13mm faceted labradorite rondelles (Fire Mountain Gems, firemountaingems.com)
- 20–24 6mm Caribbean blue opal crystal rondelles
- 28–32 3mm light rose AB satin bicone crystals
- flexible beading wire, .014 or .015
- 2 crimp beads
- toggle clasp
- chainnose or crimping pliers
- diagonal wire cutters
bracelet
- 13–15 13mm faceted labradorite rondelles (Fire Mountain Gems)
- 8–10 6mm Caribbean blue opal crystal rondelles
- 6–8 3mm light rose AB satin bicone crystals
- large-hole 5mm silver spacer
- ribbon elastic
- glue
INSTRUCTIONS
necklace
3. String a spacer and tie the ends with an
overhand knot. Trim the ends as close to the knot as possible, and glue the knot. Cover the knot with the spacer.
Instead of using labradorite, try beads with a neutral base color and an AB finish, like Czech glass nuggets or seed beads. The glass nuggets and matte root beer AB seed beads are available at Eclectica, eclecticabeads.com.
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