Andante
Designer Jewelry
Not
Trendy but Timeless!
Where
you will find Unique Fine Handcrafted Designer Jewelry. For those
who Desire Unique Wearable Art Jewelry,
that is One of a
Kind. I love to combine Unusual Cabochons and Faceted Gemstones.
Preuit Collection Hurricane Katrina Benefit
(click on photo to see other artwork)
274 Carats of Faceted Black Onyx with Tons of Sparkle. 86 Carats of Leopard skin Jasper. 14 Kt. Gold and Brass Accents. Matching Earrings in 14 Kt. Gold.
This Piece of Andante Designer Jewelry was DONATED for a Raffle to be held at the Preuit Collection Fine Art Gallery 3115 Harborview Dr. in Gig Harbor WA. on Dec. 10, 2005 in Support of Hurricane Katrina Victims.
Click Here to see other Art being donated.
What
Makes My Jewelry So Special…
1)
I hand select all my faceted gemstones and cabochons… a
cabochon is a natural rough rock that has been cut, shaped
and polished. There are a lot of people that don’t know this.
(all of my cabochons have been hand-shaped, cut and polished)
This is an Art form of its own.
Each rough rock has a design in it and sometimes to get that
special design a lot of material is wasted. A lot of time
goes into polishing
the cabs as well. I also look for unique stones that are
rare or unusual to set my jewelry apart. The colors and texture
play an
important part as well.
2) The Faceted stones I use are Top Quality… The
cut is what gives a faceted gemstone its beauty and brilliance.
I like to use larger
faceted gemstones with my designer cabochons which adds
to the value, also concave cuts like on the White
Topaz… typically
the White Topaz will be flat like glass…but with a concave
cut it looks like a Diamond. The same goes for a White Sapphire.
For those of you that may not know…. Topaz is a Precious
Gemstone, not a Semi-precious gemstone.
3) The
same goes for my gemstone beads. I spend hours
at gem shows looking for high quality beads, that are unique
and unusual….
there are a lot of cheap beads out there and they have many flaws
in them. I always go back to the old saying… if
you want quality… you have to pay for it!
I use a lot of 14 Kt. Gold in my designs… Most
of my Clasps are 14 Kt. Gold… I like using brass as well to give an aged
look.
4)
The Design Process …. Much time and thought goes
into each design. Sometimes I can make a design in just a few
minutes, which I attribute to divine inspiration. Other times
I may
redo
the design 3 or 4 times before I’m satisfied.
5)
Buying Pearls — there are so many kinds and
qualities… I
use Akoya Cultured Pearls of AA or AAA quality white and
black … it
takes 4 years and longer to get an AA or AAA Cultured Pearl….
and for the Tahitian Pearl it takes 10 years. That’s
what makes them so expensive!
The Freshwater Pearls I use are
A and AA because you want that unusual shape there
and you
won’t get
that AAA rating.
6) Most all of my Designer Jewelry is One of a Kind, but there are a few Pendants that I get from different Manufacturers.
Tip…
If you want to know if a pearl is real put it between
your teeth… it
should always feel gritty!
Thank You for taking the time to visit my web site.
