> EARRINGS: ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES

THE CONTEST IS STILL ON, PEOPLE! :)

When working as a jewelry artist, the possibilities in designing a new piece of jewelry are almost endless. At least in theory. In practice, they are usually limited by the availability of materials, sometimes by the wishes of a customer, and of course by the skill of the designer. ;) 

Amethyst briolettes with
wire wrapped bail

Same basic design, but with
carnelian briolettes and bead
caps

A pair of earrings, however, is the one kind of jewelry that doesn't pose much of a challenge even for a beginner. Of course, there are many extraordinarily elaborate earring designs on the market, from donut jewelry and artfully wire wrapped and hammered designs to soldered, punched and cold-fused pieces and fancyful and fantastic ear cuffs. To just mention a few. But the basic design, a hook and a bauble, can be done with very limited materials and skills.

Since there is so much to say about earrings, and also in answer to ichselbst's comment to yesterday's contest post (THE CONTEST IS STILL ON, PEOPLE!), have a look at (just a few of) the possibilities of earring designs. If you know the answer to the contest, mail me, and you get chose from one of the designs. Or just tell me what you'd like and get a completely new and totally customized pair of earrings for your trouble. :)

Personally, I love making earrings. I always have to hold myself back so as to not overcrowd the earrings section in my shop and neglect the others.

Wire wrapped open hoops with
citrine chips. Can be done with
all kinds of gemstone chips.

Also a very early design. Deep
black and faceted obsidian
beads adorned with a silver
leafy bead cap and a seed bead.

One of the very first designs I made were simple chain earrings with briolettes. I chose amethyst briolettes, cut a chain in two different lengths, created a (not very artful, but very creative ;)) wire wrapped bail for the briolettes to attach them to the wire, added hooks, and the first in a long line of chain earrings was finished.

Other kinds of earrings that I've experimented with include wire wrapped designs. 

There are designs where the wire takes the center stage and the gemstones are just an embellishment. The citrine and tourmaline hoop earrings are examples of that. 

Then, you have wire wrapped donut earrings. You can always attach donuts to readymade donut holders and wear them as pendant or earring, but they don't look half as interesting as a donut in a 

wire wrapped 'cage'. 

Of course, the wire versions can't be detached from one donut and re-attached to another, but they are much more fun to look at.

Most elaborate and most
recent design as of yet.
Wire wrapped sodalite
donuts.

Same basic design as the citrine
hoops, just bigger and with black
and red tourmaline discs.

Two other forms is the wire ear hook and the freeform wire design. Earhooks are quick to make and very versatile, you just need chips of a variety of gemstones. The freeform design is fun to make, but can also be tricky because it's, well, ... freeform. :D Not everything turns and bends just the way you imagined it.

Playful design, twisted strands of
wire, knotted around a big jump
ring, with ruby, emerald and
sapphire discs attached,
accentuated by crystal briolettes.

Below, you can see other examples of earring designs. Almost all of them, and many others, can be found in my shops, so don't hesistate and browse a little. :) 

Long fancyful shoulder dusters.
Two frosted and one clear
faceted smoky quartz bead atop
a long and pointy bead cap with
added chain fringes.

Wire ear hooks, adorned with
green peridot chips.

Elaborate chandelier design with
petrified wood and sterling silver
beads.

Red tourmaline chandelier
earrings, connected with chains.

Marriage between fluorite cubes
and seed bead tubes. Design is
very versatile.

Chain earrings with acoya pearls and three different lengths.

Cute thick tiger eye discs wrapped
in a freeform copper wire
conglomerate.

Simplest but nevertheless elegant
way to do briolette earrings,
just wrap up the bead,
attach to hooks, finished.

Heavy (also because they swing
a lot on the ear) earrings made
from onyx circle, smoky quartz
and engraved rock crystal.

And yet another version of the
simple chain earring design, this
time with three lengths of chain and
acoya pearls.

Cute small tiger eye chandeliers,
connected with wire and chains.

Simple double-bead chain
earrings.