Autumn Jewellery, Opal for October & Halloween Beads

Collect your black & gold MrBead bag, 2014 calender and another free gift, and see us in the UK during October - for dates click here. First bead show this month is at Uxbridge 6th October, then Luton, Norwich and Sandown Park on the 19th.

See MrBead in the UK
Autumn Jewellery
Gems for the Fall
Opal - October's Gemstone
Halloween Beads
$10 or £6 Off our Beads

Tweet a link to this newsletter to all your followers - just click here. 
Follow us on Twitter at MrBead@UKMrBead and Nigel at Nigel@NigelMckay
Follow Nigel at his new site at NigelHayMckay.com and comment at his blog here.

If you weren't mailed this newsletter enter your e-mail address here to receive next month's newsletter

See MrBead in the UK Sunday 6th October 2013 - Beadwork and Bead Fair - Sports Hall, Uxbridge College, Park Road, Middlesex, UB8 1NQ.  Europe's leading Bead Event will be in its 21st year.  Excellent lighting, huge car park and ease of access from the M25/A40. Food and drink available all day! Full details here Saturday 12th October 2013 - Stockwood Hotel, Luton MrBead Show - 41-43 Stockwood Crescent, Luton, LU1 3SS.  Just off M1 junction 10 - half-an-hour from London.  From 11am to 4.00pm.  Full details & directions here Sunday 13th October - Norwich MrBead Bead Show - George Hotel, Arlington Lane, Newmarket Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR2 2DA. 11am-4pm. This hotel is only 10-minutes from Norwich City Centre. More details here.

Saturday 19th October 2013 - Big Bead Show - Sandown Park, West London. From London, take the A3 and follow the brown venue signs to Sandown Park. From the M25 exit at Junction 10 and follow the A3 towards London; exit onto the A307 and follow the brown venue signs. The Portsmouth Road car park is off the A307 Esher High Street directly in front of the main entrance. Details here. MrBead at Nottingham Budget Bead Fair If you would like us to call at your bead society in Britain during October (or early-January or next spring), please e-mail or tweet Nigel, or phone him on 07576134264.  None are too small & there's always some freebees for the organizers - don't be shy!

Autumn Jewellery

Autumn is a great time to make some classy seasonal jewellery.  Amber is ideal for this time of year, along with all types of brown, dark greens, gold, and misty yellow.  Pearls, nature's treasure from the deep, can be very effective mixed with other beads – especially as they come in autumn colours too.  Let these fabulous fall colours with a touch of gold capture your imagination as well as your eye. 

Try mixing contrasting colours like brown and gold with blues and green.  Some of the most popular gemstones that make fabulous autumn jewellery are listed below.  To see any of these gemstones in our US store, just click the picture.                                      return to top
 

 Agate
Agate is the obvious stone to use in Fall.  It forms by filling a cavity in its host rock, resulting in round nodules, with bands like the rings of a tree trunk, looking like eyes.  Agate was highly valued as a talisman in ancient times and has been used as a traveler’s amulet for centuries.  It is believed to bring good fortune, health, wealth and long life.  Some call its strange patterns 'cosmic caterpillar tracks'.  Others' swear that wearing these beads can heighten the spiritual consciousness and balance the body's physical and mental states.  Dzi is one of the most mysterious of all the beads known today.  These shiny Tibetan agate beads, patterned with mystical eyes are among the most treasured beads in the world. “Dzi” in Tibetan means:  "shine, brightness, clearness, and splendor.

  Carnelian
Another stone from the quartz family, usually bright orange to reddish orange. Carnelian is for confidence.  Said to help blood disorders and eliminate toxins from the body.  Carnelian is in tune with the energies of the Earth, making you feel anchored and comfortable with your environment.  A good stone for people starting new projects or who feel they are going nowhere.  It motivates, allowing you to find the energy to make the most out of life.

Citrine
”Citrine” comes from the French word for lemon, and is any quartz crystal or cluster that’s yellow to orange.  The darker, orange colours were traditionally the best, but today people prefer bright lemony shades to mix with pastel colours.  Sunny citrine brightens all jewellery, blending especially well with the yellow gleam of polished gold.  The yellow colour is a natural reviver, and citrine focuses the mind bringing a feeling of self-esteem.  

 Coral
Coral was long thought to be a strong talisman against evil spirits and hurricanes.  It is also said to reduce blood flow.  Naturally its colour ranges from white to red, but most red coral these days is dyed. However, these days almost any colour can be made by dying white coral. It grows in branches that look like underwater trees.  

 
Flake Stone
The most common flaked stone is goldstone which is ideal for autumn jewellery.  A man-made stone, first created by alchemists trying to make gold - however, all material has properties, these are transmitter stones.  Causing light to pass through you in order to convey or receive a medium.  Revitalizing, energizing, and encouraging a positive attitude and individualism

Jade & Aventurine
For 5,000 years Imperial China used the word "jade" as something precious.  Because jade is said to have all the attributes most valued in society.  A symbol of purity and serenity, it is delicate, but will not break - is beautiful, but not impermanent, it can be flawed with lines, but still pleasing. It is believed to radiate divine unconditional love and balance the emotions.  The most famous type of jade carved in China is from Burma, with shades of green, lavender, yellow, white and grey. 

Jasper
Jasper was highly valued in ancient times, not only for its beauty, but also for its magical and medicinal properties.  Jasper is known as the “patron stone of counselors and healers”.  Red jasper is an intensely protective stone, stabilizing the aura and bringing contentment.  Poppy jasper is dark red with black flecks.  Picture  jasper is pale brown with darker patterns - named from pictures formed by patterns caused by trapped fossilizes algae.  Fancy jasper is creamy brown with lavender or green swirls.

Lapis

Malachite & Rhodonite
Malachite is green with irregular black banding. Its green stripes have the ability to soothe and bring rest - helping sleep, meditation, the circulation and balancing emotions.  The copper content helps rheumatism.  The magic of malachite is also thought to attract love and wealth.  Some say malachite travels the world in search of energies to change.  Rhodonite is usually pink to red or orange, very popular in 18th-century Russia where it was used extensively to decorate the Russian court.  Rhodonite has similar properties to malachite. 

 Mookaite
Mookaite forms in Western Australia. An Australian aboriginal healing stone that bestows strength. It helps heal wounds and encourages the desire for variety and new experiences.  Mookaite helps us to be kind to others is a very protective stone too.

Pearl
The least expensive cultured pearls today rival the most expensive natural pearls ever found.  Natural freshwater pearls occur in mussels for the same reason saltwater pearls occur in oysters.  Foreign material inside a mussel can't be expelled.  To reduce irritation, the mollusk coats the intruder with the same secretion it uses for shell-building, nacre.  To cultivate a pearl, farmers slit the mussel and insert small pieces of live tissue from another mussel.  This can produce usually odd shapes. So for more roundness, the Chinese now reshape rejected pearls into spheres, and then nucleate mussels with them.  Being an organic gem, grooves, pits, or dents are expected.  Freshwater pearls are popular for their colours: white, silvery-white, pink, red, copper, brown, lavender, purple, green, blue, and yellow.  These are usually dyed these days.

Tigers Eye
Tiger's-eye is polished to show its characteristic band of pearly luminescence, resulting from light reflecting off its thin parallel inclusions in the quartz.  Colours range from a rich golden yellow to dark brown. Tiger’s-Eye is good for those worried about health.  It also builds will-power and inner-strength.

 
Topaz
Topaz is a common gemstone that has been used for centuries in jewellery. Usually golden brown to yellow colour. The Egyptians said that topaz was coloured with the golden glow of the mighty sun god Ra. This made topaz a very powerful amulet that protected the faithful against harm. The Romans associated topaz with Jupiter, who also is the god of the sun. And Greek legend has it that topaz could make the wearer invisible and would change colour in the presence of poisoned food or drink.

What is Opal?
All of Natures fury can be seen in fine opal. Like a Rembrandt: fire, lightning, all the colours of the rainbow and the shine of far seas. Australia supplies about 95% of the worlds opal from the outback. Aborigines there believe their creator came down to Earth on a rainbow to bring the message of peace to all humans. And at the spot where his foot touched the ground, opal was born.
                                       
The name Opal could have came from many places. In Greek Opallios translates as colour change, and to the ancient Romans Opalus was a stone from several elements. Pliny, a Roman author, wrote that opal combines the sparkle of Almandine, the shining purple of Amethyst, the golden yellow of Topaz, and the deep blue of Sapphire.                                     

Types of Opal                              
Fine opals shine and sparkle in a continually changing play of colours called Opalising. Depending on the rock and location they have names like Harlequin, Peacock, Mexican, and Fire Opal. Most opal has this play of colours except Common Opal, a name give to all others, like Pink Opal. Because demand outstrips supply, fine opalizing opal is very very expensive, so is sold in individual beads for hundreds of US dollars each. Therefore, the type of opal common in necklaces is non-opalizing opal - usually pink opal from Peru (more below).

Opals fantasy-like play of colour is caused by small spheres of silica creating interference and refraction manifestations. The spheres, which are arranged in compact structures, dissect light through the gemstone, turning it into the rainbow effect, always new and different.    return to top

How to Value Opal          
The most important criterion for determining the price of fine opal is the play of colour, the colours themselves and their pattern. If red appears when looking through the stone, all the other colours will also. Value also depends on body colour, transparency, and original location. Body colour can be black, dark or light, or coloured. Black Opal or a dark grey body has the most brilliant play of colour. Black Opal from Lightning Ridge or Mexican Fire Opal is the best. Crystal opal, is the next best, and should be more transparent with a deep play of colour. White or milky opals show more diffuse colour and are the cheapest.

To best bring out the play of colour in a fine opal, the stones are cut and polished to round or oval cabochons, or any other softly domed shape. Only the best qualities of Fire Opal are suited to faceting. The opal cutter removes any impurities using a diamond cutting wheel, before working out the rough basic shape, fine cutting, and finishing with sandpaper and polishing with a wet leather wheel.

How does Opal Effect You?
Opal is thought to solve depression and to help its wearer find true love. Opals are supposed to enhance the positive characteristics for people born under the sign of Cancer. With Black Opal recommended to Scorpios and Boulder Opal for Aries. The opalizing effect reflects changing emotions and moods of people. People prefer different opals for different moods. Opals are like human emotions: each type creates different feelings.         return to top/a>

Peruvian Opal             
Peruvian Opal comes in faint pink, light blue and light mint-green tones. From the Andes Mountains near San Patricio, Peru, just like the name implies. Although native South Americans have been using the stone for more than a thousand years, it only became widely available commercially within the last decade or so. It is usually translucent to opaque with no play of colour and often has lots of black and tan dendrites. Most Peruvian Opal beads are semi-opaque to opaque.   Peruvian opals metaphysical properties are similar to other opals. Helping to intensify your traits and characteristics and deepening your personal understanding. Peruvian Opal in particular is used to activate the heart charka and to assist you during spiritual journeys.

Looking after Opal               
Due to 2 to 6% water, opals easily become brittle and if stored too dry or exposed to heat over a longer period of time, they will show fissures and the play of colour will fade. Therefore, Opal jewellery should be worn as often as possible, for then the gemstone will receive the needed humidity from the air and from the skin of its wearer. In earlier days opals sensitive surface was oiled, but today they are sealed with clear resin.   

                                                  top of page

Have a Spooky Halloween with Orange and Black Beads!    Skull Beads Skull beads are very popular right now - we sell loads!  They're ideal for Halloween and students have been hanging them on their rucksacks all year.  Skulls remind that we all have to die. Skulls show that life is not permanent and are a symbol that we are all flirting with death. See our many skull beads at MrBead.com or MrBead.co.uk . Orange & Black Beads With Halloween just around the corner, we thought it fun to look at orange and black gemstone beads. You can't celebrate Halloween without using the colours black and orange. They are also great to wear during autumn since orange matches the beautiful fall leaves, and black is a classy tone that will compliment every colour. The classic gemstones in these colours are orange carnelian and black onyx. Carnelian gets the brilliant orange colour from iron oxide, and black onyx is usually made by treating chalcedony or agate with a sugar solution and then carbonizing it with heated sulfuric acid. Colour enhancements for these stones are so common that majority of carnelians and onyx sold today are enhanced agate. However, this makes the stones available in larger sizes and at more affordable prices. Other stones in these colours are fire opals, pearls, and orange aventurines for sunset tones - and obsidian or jet for black beads. It may also be fun to combine copper findings with onyx beads if you want a classy jewellery that you can wear year- round but would still have a hint of Halloween. Checkout some of our spooky gothic jewellery at our sister store, click: AwesomeRings To see our Carnelian beads click MrBead.com or MrBead.co.uk For our Onyx beads click MrBead.com or MrBead.co.uk                      return to top