The more experience I gain making jewelry, the more I gravitate to vintage materials. From the beginning I've used vintage charms, but my most recent thing is vintage beads.
Vintage beads are usually better made, they also have the charm of being unique--like these vintage Swarovski crystal beads from the 1960s. They aren't produced anymore, so I bought out the whole supply that my bead store had, but that was only a couple of dozen.
This bracelet has a very feminine, 1940s feel to it. I would wear it with a dress, or a simple cashmere sweater, maybe.
The beads are shaped just like coffee beans (appropriate for someone like me who lives in Seattle and whose first action every morning is to put the coffee on), and they came in two colors, deep red and purple.
I mixed the two colors in this bracelet, and spaced them with freeform sterling silver flowers. I love these little flowers, and you'll see them a lot in my jewelry. The bracelet closes with a claw clasp and has an extender chain so that it adjusts to fit most wrist sizes. The clasp and chain are sterling silver.
The photo above gives the true color of the beads, but it's easier to see the design in the photo at left.
This bracelet is one-of-a-kind.
Price: $90. The price includes taxes, postage, and insurance to U.S. mailing addresses.
