Turquoise Tie Earrings

I have bought a few pieces of turquoise at the two gem shows that I have been to. Personally, I am not a huge fan of turquoise. Not because I dislike it, but because I think a lot of finished pieces are just about how big of a stone they can have rather than any kind of intentional design. I also associate it really strongly with the Western style, which includes fringe and animal prints, two other stylistic choices that are not my favorites. So when I pick out turquoise for my own work I try to pick smaller unique pieces that can fit into my style rather than styling them like traditional turquoise.

Turquoise is a highly versatile crystal but it is heavily linked to healing properties. The Aztecs believed that it provided protection against negative forces, and thus used it liberally on their ceremonial masks and war gear. Today it is believed to be a "programmable" stone. Whatever healing intentions you program into the stone it will connect with mother nature and return to you.

Turquoise gets its eponymous color from a combination of copper and iron in the crystal, copper gives it the blue and iron the green so the unique color of any given stone can vary wildly. Traditionally turquoise is set in silver, but I wanted to highlight the strong copper veining in these stones so I chose a more bronze/copper look. I really like how it came out and I think that these don't look like normal turquoise pieces which is a positive to me.

This is also one of my favorite styles of earrings to make. I love taking these teardrop shape stones and hanging them inside a three dimensional beaded shape. I will post in the future a few other examples of this style that I have made. I am not sure why I am posting everything out of order but I pick what to post about based on nothing more than impulse!

These are available on Etsy here!

Supplies:

11/0 Black

11/0 Bronze