Amethyst Cabochon

Another cabochon challenge. The stone is a beautiful amethyst, and it's quite big at 35mm x 25mm. It's big for me, as this is actually the biggest stone I had to bezel.

The client requested that as much of the stone be exposed, as it is quite stunning. Therein lay the challenge for me to bezel it securely enough and yet keep much of the stone exposed.

To make sure the cabochon is bezeled securely, it's important that the initial ring of beads fits snugly around. At first I used size 11 Delica cylinders but realized that I would only have one transition to a smaller size bead to clench the stone, so I pulled it off and used size 11 round Japanese seed beads. These are slightly bigger than Delica cylinders so it would allow me for two transitions to the size 15.

When I was able to get the front dome shape already, the tricky part now was to continue the back portion in such a way that the cabochon itself didn't slide around out of place. So I temporarily placed masking tape on the front so I can tug at the transition beads without distorting the bezel itself.

This way I was able to tighten my rounds at the back and my cabochon stayed in place. It's especially helpful as this cabochon is quite heavy and it's easy for it to slip and slide while working on the back so the tape kept it in its place.

This is how the back looks. Even though I added more rows for stability, it doesn't show at all in front. It feels really snug and secure too.

Emerald Bezel Earrings

Next project - tricky faceted emeralds. The back part is more domed than the front, and is also faceted. Not sure then if you can call them cabochons.

Started out with Delica cylinders in gunmetal color with black size 15s. The client requested black.

Not content yet, I added another layer of edge beads, I chose metallic dark purple 15s for this.

Then I made a loop and placed a 2mm Czech fire polished round for a bit of contrast.

Then decided to add 15s in another layer around the bezel but not at the edge as I didn't want the visible surface are of the emerald to get smaller. The 15s are in a color similar to the Czech round.

I think it looks much better now. The client wanted it simple and elegant so I hope the extra touch of the 15s tied in with the Czech rounds to give it visual unity.

Three Bezel Rings

And here are the three rings I've been asked to make.

Resting on my beeswax bar :)

Moonstone Bezel ring

Last ring for this batch is this a moonstone bezel. I used rainbow blue Delica cylinders and various 15s and 13s.

I put size 15 silver-lined gold seed beads along the edge of the ring band for a bit of embellishment.

Cat's Eye Bezel

Yet another bezel project.

A client asked me to bezel this green cat's eye stone. It's a 10mm x 12mm cabochon.

It ended up getting pointy at the ends, which kinda makes it look more cat-like I think.

Phantom Quartz Ring finished

Finished the Phantom Quartz ring, used flat herringbone for the ring band for a change.

Phantom Quartz Ring

Working on a new project. The stone is a phantom quartz, a cabochon around 24mm x 16mm. Quite tricky for me to bezel as it is elongated.

It's quite lovely, there are flecks of green within the crystal itself so I decided to use a green Delica with silver lined brown size 15s to cinch it. Of course there's still the usual 13 Czech charlottes.

I bezeled it in such a way that the stone itself is clear and you can see right through it. It's interesting how the stone refracts images around it in such a way that even though the back is bezeled quite tighter, it isn't showing in front.

Here is the back.

Cabochon Bezel Ring finished

Just finished the ring. The stone is a 8mm x 18mm blackstone diopside.

I decided to add single Czech 13 charlottes along the edge of the ring band.

Back to Pearl Orbit in a while. :)

Cabochon Bezel Ring

I got a request today to make a quick cabochon bezel ring. So I set aside the Pearl Orbit project for the meantime to work on the ring.

The stone is oval, around 8mm x 12mm. It's such a stunning stone. It has these little light refractions similar to Tiger's Eye, but it crisscrosses in two directions and only at a certain angle to light. It's pretty special.

The cabochon belongs to my client. She said it's just lying around and she was reluctant to have it set in silver and wanted something different.

I started working on the bezel itself a couple of hours ago, and I used size 11 Delica cylinders. I used size 15 rocailles for the reducers and size 13 Charlottes for the embellishment. I didn't want to overdo the embellishment because I didn't want to distract too much from the beauty of the cabochon and wanted to make it my focus.

I was thinking of making a flat herringbone for the band but decided that peyote flows more smoothly and therefore will be sturdier because everything fits together nicely. Will continue the band tomorrow.

The picture can't capture the beauty of the stone well enough.