Newbies This Week!

I have been so busy transitioning back into life in sunny Singapore....but this week I managed to list a few brand new items onto Bohemian Butterfly's Etsy shop.

First off we have MILLY, a gorgeous and delicate Moonstone triple drop toggle necklace. The colours are just so pleasing to the eye and work really well with the high shine of Sterling Silver. I would imagine this to be an ideal gift for a young girl or a bride for her wedding day.

Then we move on to ATHENA. Well, what can I say, this piece is truly wearable art. Aquamarines, Green Onyx, Turquoise, Moonstone and Amazonite have all been wire wrapped onto a sturdy Sterling Silver cuff frame to create an abstract sensation. As you can tell I'm pretty pleased with how this piece turned out! I think this is definitely a style we will continue with at Bohemian Butterfly!

Finally, I listed only yesterday, the ONE ring in Green Aventurine. This is a new range of rings we have introduced to our collection at Bohemian Butterfly which highlight the simple elegance and beauty of a singular stone. We select stones that are particularly appealing and hand wire wrap them into rings. Soon there should be one to suit every colour palette!

More new items to be listed weekly. Please check in at www.BohemianButterfly1.etsy.com to see our collections. Many apologies to those of you have been patiently waiting for our main website to be up and running again....it seems to be taking me forever! I will make every endeavor to make it available to you all shortly.

Have a great week!

Bohemian Butterfly Needs your Votes!!

Bohemian Butterfly is very happy to be featured on the wonderful Linda B's blog and we need your votes!

Linda has posted a great selection of her top Etsy finds and our BOBBLE ring in Amethyst and Blue Lace Agate was one of her picks. There is a poll for readers to select their favourite item and at the end of the voting the artist with the item with the most hits will be interviewed by Linda for her blog. How cool is that!? We were so happy to have been selected but we got even more excited when we found out about potentially being interviewed :)

This is a great idea and we thank Linda for her ingenuity....what a fabulous way to get people involved with all things handmade.

We would love the opportunity to tell people our story and share our love for jewellery and the art of making it...but that will only happen if we get your votes....so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, pretty please, go to http://linorstorecom.blogspot.com/ and vote for the Bobble Amethyst Ring.

Thanx! ♥

New beginnings...time for change.

We know it has been a long time since we have blogged and wanted to reassure you, our reader that there is nothing to worry about. Bohemian Butterfly has simply been going through some changes. We have been in this business for almost six years and a lot has happened to us both professionally and personally.

Bohemian Butterfly is truly the result of a lifelong love affair with jewellery and the art of making it. We have been blessed to have had all these years of experience and to have met so many fantastic people. However the time has come to finally make some changes....

As a result of personal opportunities that have come about for both of us, we will no longer be able to devote the time we originally had to Bohemian Butterfly. That does not mean we have stopped making jewellery. How could we ever?! We are simply moving in a different direction.....going back to what it was we loved about this industry from the very beginning... hand-making jewellery. As such we will no longer be designing pieces for wholesale production and we will be concentrating solely on bespoke and custom designs, whilst continuing to provide the original ready made pieces we have grown to be known for.

Bohemian Butterfly is no longer based solely in London, we have spread our butterfly wings and will for the time being be operating from both Singapore and London....truly international!

Bohemian Butterfly will be developing our website to reflect these changes and as such it will be under construction for the foreseeable future....but don't worry, because we have just opened an Etsy shop and will have our Twitter and Facebook maintained to keep you up to date with any and all of our latest news. And of course there is always this delightful blog!

As always we delight in all things jewellery related....please don't feel that Bohemian Butterfly is no more, like a butterfly we have simply gone through a metamorphosis of our own. Bohemian Butterfly is still very much alive and kicking, albeit in a different capacity. Please feel free to continue to contact us whenever you have any jewellery related queries or custom and bespoke orders.

Here's to the future! ♥

Shimmering Opals for those born in October

Opal is the birthstone for those born in October. It is known for its rainbow iridescence. They have a light or dark body colour that may be either translucent or transparent. The opals we see most often in jewellery have a milky-white base with varying flashes of colour. The name "opal" is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit upala meaning "precious stone" or the word opalus in Latin which also means "precious stone". Most opals mined today are from Australia although opals used in ancient times came from the former Czechoslovakia. Unlike other gemstones, the opal is non-crystalline and is formed from a hardened silica, which is a mineral found near the earths surface in areas where ancient geothermal hot springs once existed.

In Asia the stone is viewed more favourably as a symbol of hope rather than in Europe, where it has been regarded as unlucky since the 14th century.

Ancient monarchs treasured opals (presumably before the 14th century), both for their beauty and their protective powers. They were set in crowns and necklaces and worn to ward off evil and protect the eyesight. They were also ground and ingested to ward off nightmares.

A gift of opals symbolises faithfullness and confidence. Below are images of both uncut and polished opals....stunning, wouldn't you say?

Images courtesy of www.robertsjewels.com and www.gemstoneslist.com

S is for September....and Sapphire

September is the month to remember the beautiful blue of Sapphire, the stone of loyalty and fidelity. Sapphire has long symbolized truth, sincerity and faithfulness. As a result of its symbolism, Sapphires are often a popular choice for engagement or promise rings. Even Prince Charles chose a Sapphire engagement ring for Princess Diana. The image below is of a five year anniversary gift commissioned from Bohemian Butterfly. The ring features five hand selected Sapphires set onto a custom designed Sterling Silver ring band.

These stones come in a range of yellows, pinks, and greens, as well as the better known blue variety. The deep blue "heavenly" Sapphires were, and to some extent still are, deemed holy: popes, cardinals and bishops have worn them since the Middle Ages.

According to tradition Moses was given the ten commandments on tablets of Sapphire, making it the most sacred gemstone. As Sapphires were thought to represent divine favor they were the gemstone of choice for Kings and high priests. The Persians even thought the earth rested on a giant Sapphire and that the blue of the heavens was its reflection.

Sapphires are without a doubt beautiful stones. They are ever popular and heavily symbolic.

Next month...Opals for October!!

Peridots in August

As promised we are continuing with our month by month commentary on birthstones, and as it is August, the stone of the month is Peridot.

Often called the 'evening emerald' by ancient Romans, who noticed that its green colour shone even more vividly in lamplight, Peridot is a naturally lush olivine green colour. The most important deposits of Peridot are on the so-called 'serpent isle' - the volcanic island of Zebirget in the Red Sea. According to Greek Legend, vicious snakes lived on the island, guarding the precious stone and killing anyone who appraoched it. Hmmmmmm........

It may also interest you to know that in the Middle Ages, Peridot was believed to dispel the darkness and terrors of the night. It was such a popular stone that even King Edward VII wore it for good luck.

Not to be a buzz kill but we like Peridot simply because of it's amazing colour. It is such an impressive green and looks stunning not only as a feature stone but also as a complimentary stone. An example of Peridot in use is the Bohemian Butterfly Eve Necklace. The Peridot not only brings a contrasting colour to the piece but in doing so, makes the Citrine and Smokey Quartz colours really pop. Also pictured is an amazing example of an uncut and unpolished Peridot which highlights the strong colour of the stone even when it is in its most natural state.

Next month we will attempt to share with you all the interesting facts we have on the Sapphire, September's birthstone.

Peridot image courtesy of www.mineraltown.com

Care and Cleaning...Looking after your handmade jewellery the right way.

There are so many different bits of advice floating about on the world wide web about how you should care for your jewellery. It's not all bad, but as we are Handmade Jewellery artisans we thought it would be a good idea to offer our advice on how to look after our jewellery.

The first and probably most important piece of advice we can give you is to NOT use the jewellery liquid dip you can buy commercially in most retail outlets. In our years of experience this has proven to give precious metals an amazing shine, but this literally only lasts 24 hours, by which time your gold or silver jewellery starts to look dull again and in some cases (especially with silver) it even looks more tarnished than when you began cleaning it. Instead we would recommend you use an ultrasonic cleaner with the necessary cleaning agents. Or for those of you who do not want to shell out money for a piece of equipment, a simple cleaning cloth impregnated with tarnish remover should do the trick. Usually, jewellers may also provide a cleaning service and depending on the extent of the job or value of the piece, this should only be at a nominal cost or even free. For more valuable pieces you could even consider adding a rhodium platinum plating as this will prevent it from tarnishing all together, but will require frequent re-plating.

Of course we must add that stones require a different level of cleaning to metals. Unlike metals, stones don't tarnish. However, stones can be fragile and even porous and therefore require attention themselves. It is recommended that for stones, anything with chemicals should generally be avoided. A simple wipe with a soft cloth will suffice.

There will always be conflicting advice pertaining to cleaning of jewellery, often for marketing reasons. At Bohemian Butterfly we think the simpler the better. If you are generally conscientious and make the effort to look after your jewellery, cleaning them should be a breeze!

It is always a good idea to store your jewellery in sealed storage such as jewellery rolls and boxes. You will never escape the inevitable tarnishing that will occur from wearing your precious baubles, but your pieces can also tarnish and damage if neglected and thrown around rather than stored properly.

Essentially, care must be taken when wearing and storing any type of jewellery if you would like to preserve its beauty. However, we feel its necessary to remind everyone that this is especially so with handmade jewellery. Why? Well handmade jewellery is just that, made with an individuals hands and it will have the characteristics and traits that come along with this method of manufacturing. We like to think of handmade jewellery like pieces of art. Wouldn't you handle a Picasso with extra care?

Love your jewellery and it will love you ♥