14K Solid gold jewelry Golden Rutilated Quartz necklace wire wrapped in 14K gold. Handmade Luxury collection by Arctida.

One of my most favorite semiprecious gemstones is Golden Rutilated Quartz. I love how simplicity of Quartz combines with extravagance of gold. The golden rutiles are not the actual gold but a mineral Rutile (composed of Titanium dioxide often with iron, occasionally with some minor niobium or tantalum) but nevertheless they look like real gold needles. I purchase a lot of Golden Rutilated Quartz for my jewelry and I have different sizes and shapes in my studio and off course the best and most unusual ones I use for my solid gold jewelry *Luxury collection*.

So here is my latest beauty - Golden Rutilated Quartz necklace in 14K solid gold. It is made of one huge Golden Rutilated Quartz smooth briolette drop 18x12 mm and faceted Rock Crystal Clear Quartz round bead.

 

For more of my solid gold jewelry click here 

Irina - Amethyst and Lapis lazuli necklace wire wrapped in sterling silver. Handmade cluster gemstone jewelry by Arctida

I've been making cluster gemstone necklaces for a while now and just wanted to show you my latest piece. This one is a birthday present for a friend who loves blues and purples :) Amethyst and Lapis lazuli necklace wire wrapped in sterling silver.

and here is some of my previous gemstone cluster necklaces...

Book locket necklace OOAK miniature ornate book pendant in fine silver. Handmade metal clay jewelry by Arctida.

The Autumn is almost here so it is time to present my new collection :) For the past 2 years I've been learning more and more metal clay/metal smith techniques and training, training and yet again training a lot. So most of my new pieces are made of metal clay or Argentium silver or combination of them both + gemstones of course :) I will still post some of my older gemstone/wire wrap jewelry pieces that I only now have the time to photograph but most of my jewelry will have a new touch.

So here is my first hinged 3D piece. This two-sided book pendant with intricate ornate pattern on both front and back was handmade by me using Fine Silver Precious Metal Clay (PMC). I've cut out the separate pieces of the book from clay (scroll down to see the last picture). All pieces were dried, sanded and polished while in the clay form and after more drying the clay parts were fired in a jeweler kiln to obtain metal form (fine silver 999). When in metal form it is time for metal smith techniques to finish the piece. All part were filed, burnished and tumbled to achieve the desired look and the book was finely constructed to its 3D form.

 

 

Here is what the book parts looked like when cut out of clay :)

Book locket necklace is for sale in my Arctida shop

Chloe - Citrine and Amethyst necklace wire wrapped in 14K gold filled. Handmade cluster gemstone jewelry by Arctida.

Its been a while I wrote something in this blog because as some of you already know I've given birth to my little boy last February :) And even though I didn't have the time for writing I did have time to make some new pieces of jewelry. Here comes the first one: Citrine and Amethyst gemstone cluster necklace wire wrapped in 14K gold filled.

Chloe - for sale in my Arctida shop 

DIY Honey Lavender salve tutorial. How to make a healing ointment recipe

I love using natural products for all of my personal care so I thought I’ll share with you my favorite recipe of Honey salve with Lavender that I’ve been making for my family for years.

Ingredients:
Olive Oil ~ 2 oz (57 ml)
Cocoa Butter ~ 0.5 oz (15 g/ 15 ml)
Beeswax ~ 0.7 oz (19 g/20 ml)
Honey, preferably raw honey ~ 1 tsp (5 ml)
Vitamin E ~ 1/2 tsp (3 ml)
Lavender essential oil (or your own choice) ~ 10-20 drops

1.    Combine Olive oil, Cocoa butter and Beeswax into a mixing bowl and melt in a double boiler or in a microwave oven.

2.    Allow salve to cool on the counter. When the mixture has cooled down to approximately 100 degrees Fahrenheit (40°C degree Celsius) you can start adding Honey and Vitamin E. The essential oils should be last. Blend the whole mixture well with rubber spatula, spoon or with the electric hand mixer.

 

3.    Transfer the finished salve into the smaller containers of your choice. Recipe yields approximately 100 ml (~ 3,5 oz) of product.

Notes:

•    Honey is a known source of the bacteria spores that cause botulism. The spores are not nearly enough to hurt an adult and have never been known to cause harm by applying to wounds. Still, to be safe, don’t use honey or honey salve on children under two years old unless the honey has been sterilized.

•    Heating raw honey past the maximum hive temperature of 95 degrees Fahrenheit changes honey’s essential composition and degrades its quality. It partially destroys honey’s beneficial enzymes and ‘boils off’ volatile compounds that account for the unique, delicate floral aroma of the honey. If you wish to preserve as much of the honey properties as possible, wait until the mixture has cooled off to 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35°C degree Celsius). Most commercial honey is already heated to 160-180 degrees Fahrenheit (70-80 °C degree Celsius) so if you are using commercial honey, you can add honey right after melting your oils/butters/beeswax together.

More of my DIY Homemade Beauty Recipes

Mosaic necklace – OOAK Apatite Emerald Iolite Lapis lazuli Peridot Pyrite and Blue Topaz necklace in 14K gold filled. Handmade gemstone jewelry by Arctida.

The Christmas rush is over and I finally have some time to show you my pretties. This one is another example of my Gemstone mosaic necklace series. The pendant was made with various gauges of 14K gold filled wire and decorated with Bali vermeil beads and stunning juicy gems: Apatites, Emeralds, Iolite, Green Agates, Lapis lazuli, Peridots, Pyrites and both Sky and London Blue Topazes.

If you are interested of ordering a mosaic necklace designed just for you, feel free to contact me :)

Ice and Fire - Amber Rock Crystal Clear Quartz silver gold necklace and earrings set. Handmade fine jewelry by Arctida

I'm a huge fan of fantasy books so it's only natural that I get my inspiration from the books that I've read. So here is the set that was inspired by the *A Song of Ice and Fire* book series. The popular HBO TV-series *Game of Thrones* is based on these books.

A little bit about the jewelry pieces: the focal was made using Fine Silver Precious Metal Clay (PMC) and decorated with 24K gold foil using ancient technique called Keum-boo. The chain and the earrings were handcrafted using genuine Baltic Amber and Rock Crystal Clear Quartz beads wire wrapped in 14K gold filled, 18K Vermeil and Argentium sterling silver (High tarnish resistance). 

 

For more of my pmc fine silver jewelry click here

Mosaic necklace – OOAK Fluorite Garnet Moonstone Pearls Pink Amethyst and Tanzanite necklace in sterling silver. Purple gemstone necklace by Arctida.

Lately, I've been playing a lot with so called mosaic gemstone necklace designs. I've made my first one back in 2009 as a present for a friend and I just realized that I've never shown it here on my blog. So here comes the first one in my mosaic necklace series with purple, lilac and violet gemstones and pearls in sterling silver.

 

If you are interested of ordering a mosaic necklace designed just for you, feel free to contact me :)

Harmonia - Agate Citrine Peridot Prasiolite emerald green Quartz necklace in sterling silver and gold filled. Handmade gemstone jewelry by Arctida

Here is another set of custom orders that I have had a chance to photograph so that I can show them to you guys :) All of them are based on my original *Harmonia* necklace that I first made back 2010. The gems vary a little bit and so do the swirls as I make them by hand each time, but the basic Art Nouveau style design is there. The gems that I've used are: green Agate, Citrine, Peridot, Prasiolite (aka green Amethyst) and emerald green Quartz. The metals are both sterling silver and 14K gold filled.

 

If you are interested of ordering a piece designed just for you, feel free to contact me :)

Deira - Personalized jewelry Birthstone necklace Statement necklace. Handmade gemstone jewelry by Arctida

Back in 2008 I've made a long statement necklace with combination of 7 different gemstones for myself (Deira). In the beginning I wasn't planning to have this design for sale but I started to have custom request from friends and coworkers who've seen it and wanted their own version. Usually people would choose the Birthstones that would have a connection to their family-members or gemstones from some special event/place in their life. So I thought I'll show you some of those that I've had a chance to photograph :)

 

If you wish to order your own Personalized Birthstone necklace, you can order it from Etsy or my Arctida webshop.