Black Spinel Collection

At Bead Fest Philly this year, I bought several strands of tiny faceted black spinel gemstone beads. I love black spinel--it is a pure black and has a lot of sparkle! My intention was to use these beads to make a crocheted rope necklace to sell at the Red Tulip Gallery. But I wasn't happy with the little samples I made, so I needed to try something else. I found that I could knot these tiny faceted beads onto silk cord and I could do some bead weaving with them as well (if I used a size 13 needle and the finest bead thread). The results: my black spinel collection of necklaces and earrings, available at Red Tulip Gallery. 

Using silk bead cord with a tiny wire needle attached (because the holes in these 2mm spinel beads are really tiny), I knotted the spinel beads onto the silk, one at a time, with a top-drilled freshwater pearl in  between groups of 10 spinel beads, and then, to increase the rhythm at the center of the necklace, between groups of 5 spinel beads. This necklace sold a few days after I put it in the gallery.

Using brick stitch, I created a circle motif that I used in a pair of earrings and as the pendant for a necklace. The circle motif pieces use tiny faceted silver Czech charlotte seed beads in addition to the spinel.

Using gold Czech charlotte seed beads, spinel, and rice-shaped freshwater pearls, I created this square motif with a triple fringe at the bottom. It made an elegant pair of earrings and worked well as the pendant for a necklace, too.

Little pearl and spinel flower motifs form the center of this necklace, while pearls surrounded only by the gold Czech charlotte beads carry the rhythm through the rest of the necklace.  Of course I had to make pearl flower earrings to match.

Finally, a pair of silver "starflower" earrings and my personal favorite, the gold triangle earrings, in which 14k gold-filled hammered triangles support an inverted triangle made of brick-stitched spinel beads with a freshwater pearl drop.

Bead weaving is usually done with glass seed beads and crystals, but using gemstone beads is possible, if you find the right combination of gems, needle, and bead thread.