New Irish jewelry in Irish marble and sea pottery

Busy with work and part-time study, it's a rare pleasure for me these days to make some new pieces for my Etsy shop, Handmade by Amo'r.  Last night I gave in to the creative call and made a few pairs of earrings and some pendants to refill the virtual shelves with modern Irish jewelry.

Connemara marble and silver Celtic heart earrings

Made with Connemara marble and Celtic heart beads, 'Forever' earrings are unmistakeably Irish. This green marble is found only in the West of Ireland and comes in a wide variety of greens. These specimens are a rare shade of gooseberry with lime highlights. 

Read more about this indigenous Irish stone HERE.

This rustic, Connemara marble pendant with Celtic spirals has yet to be named and listed. Equally neat on both sides, with different types of spirals, it is fully reversible. The slab of stone is truly unique and gorgeous. 

You may keep one eye on the Connemara marble jewelry section of my store to find out when it becomes available.

sea pottery pendant from Dublin

Also waiting to be named and listed is this sea pottery pendant. I found this cute piece on a Dublin beach. It has been well buffed and leached by the ocean so it must have been rolling in the waves for decades. There is something nautical about it: the hint of blue looks like the sea in the distance with the sandy beach at the fore. The wire wrapping is secure and neat. I had the sails of a yacht in mind, but it somehow turned out like the letter A. Perhaps I secretly want to claim it for myself!  

You can learn a little about sea pottery HERE.

Cork red marble pendant (heart)

Here is a sneak preview of a Cork red marble heart I made yesterday. This stone is even rarer to find in jewelry pieces than Connemara marble is. You are more likely to see it in churches and cathedrals. This particular specimen is of the paler pink variety and is the last of this type of pendant I am likely to stock in 2015.

You can read a little about Cork red marble HERE. 

Inspirations From Nature. Heating It Up Again

sunset over Dublin on Summer Solstice, 21 June 2014 (own photo)

Last week was all about the sea on my blog, and cool blue shades of handmade jewelry with nautical themes. In contrast, this week I've been heating things up again with warm pinks and sizzling reds. I took the above photo on the summer solstice. As far as I recall, the sunset was more red than pink, but this is what my wee camera captured and this is what inspired me to bring in a little warmth to my Etsy shop.

pink crystal angel charm

These European, pink crystals are so highly reflective and sparkly that I find it almost impossible to capture the pink with my humble little Canon. On some monitors is may appear bluish but it is a delicate rose. 

I usually make angel charms like this to give to my friends and family if they have a baby girl. They make wonderful rear view mirror charms or tiny sun catchers for baby's room. The sparkly angel also comes into her own when hung on a Christmas tree amid fairy lights.

Red button butterfly pendant

I've just realised there is a bit of a winged creature theme going on too. 'Flutter' is an affordable, red and black button  pendant with a silver butterfly detail. It's ideal for that summer vacation.  I admit, I've made this button pendant before but I decided to reintroduce it on a new necklace. 

necklace on cotton crochet chord

The cotton cord was crocheted by my good friend and Etsy colleague, Mo of Huggle knits. I am a big fan of these chains as a stronger alternative to cotton or rubber chords, which can lose their clasps too easily. They close with a plastic button and loop so you can throw them on when on the go and they are comfortable and light to wear. They are easy to clean with a quick rinse in soapy water. And they go really well with my sea glass and sea pottery pendants!!  If you buy one, you can use them on any of my pendants so no need to purchase another chain.

red garnet earrings

'Ruby Berries' earrings are made with deep red garnets, which are semi precious gemstones. You can read more about this stone on my previous post: Garnets, January Birthstone. 

Irish, Cork red marble pendant

I always like to use local materials in my collection and one of my favourites is Cork red marble. This very rare stone is indigenous to Ireland and jewelry beads are scarce. You are more likely to find this stone in public buildings here, particularly churches.  Not too far from where I live in Dublin, fine examples can be found in the columns of John's Lane church. 

Celtic, spiral detail on the reverse of the pendant

However, the stone does lend itself to some unique jewelry.  'Rosanna' pendant is made with a beautiful heart shaped specimen, which was carved by a Galway mason. I reference my Celtic heritage a lot in my work. When wire wrapping this piece, I incorporated a silver spiral on the other side. You decide which is the front or back of the pendant!

Cork red marble earrings

Also recently listed, are the earrings to match. 'Rosanna' earrings are a discreet red and a simple style, hung, as always, on sleek sterling silver hooks. You can read more about this Irish stone in my previous post 'A Little About Cork Red Marble.'

A Little About Cork Red Marble

 

Ireland boasts a fair share of rare marbles. Cork red marble is a little less known in the jewellery world than the famous Connemara marble. This gorgeous, fiery stone is more often found in public buildings, and sometimes rosary beads, than in personal accessories. I am very proud to include this indigenous stone in my craft whenever I can get my hands on some beads. 

Cork red marble is mined in the South West of Ireland, in the region of Munster. Here's the science bit...It is a resedimented limestone, containing mollusks and other sea fossils suspended in red clay. It is thought these components were lifted from the ocean in turbulent storms and deposited on the land thousands of years ago.  Heat and pressure from rock and other deposits building up over centuries and centuries resulted in the formation of this hard marble known as Cork red.

The colour ranges in shade from a pale, pinkish coral tones to a deeper, or browner, brick red. The marbling is usually a pale, rose white-wash. Check out these images from the British Geological Survey. 

The paler varieties are often referred to as Rose Marble. The darker reds are not unlike red jasper in appearance but have distinctive marbling or patches. Historically, the stone was known as 'Rouge Royale.'

 

Famously it can be seen in the Chapel of St Patrick and the Saints of Ireland at Westminster Cathedral, London, alongside other Irish stones. (photo credit: Westminster Cathedral website)

Here in Dublin, the interior columns of John's Lane Church, Thomas St. are formed of Cork red marble.

If you are lucky owner of a piece of jewellery made of this rare stone, be careful how you treat it. It is a hard stone so shouldn't shatter as easily as some gemstones, but it wont take kindly to acids and chemical cleaners. Avoid ultra sonic cleaners too.

The kindest way to keep your Cork red marble and precious metal pieces looking well is to regularly use a silver polishing cloth on the metal and to store the piece wrapped in such a cloth or in an anti-tarnish box or baggie. Wipe any grime and residual perfumes cosmetics etc off the stone with a dry, lint free cloth or kitchen paper. An occasional wash in mild soapy water will keep silver or gold bright without damaging the marble. Pat the piece dry with kitchen paper and leave on a towel for a couple of hours at room temperature. Polish the metal parts with an appropriate cloth before storing.

Click for Rare Irish marble jewellery for sale on Etsy  

Click to see more posts about materials I use