I enjoyed a leisurely hour or two playing with these luminous blue topaz stones after they arrived from India. I added silver beads in different places along the strand. I tried out a few different silver pendants: an elephant... a bee. In the end I created a PPT presentation with about six different design concepts for my customer. Probably overkill. He told me to choose!
In the end I went with a very simple rhythm of stones with Karen Hill Tribe (African) hand-stamped silver beads flanked by smooth, silver roundels.
I chose a fancy silver hook clasp - easy to use - and an extension chain so the owner could wear it with any kind of neckline, including a turtleneck. Near the clasp I chose small Hill Tribe beads with flower stamps. Using a hook clasp is difficult when your fingers are right on top of stones - the thinner silver beads make handling the clasp easier.
Extender chains have a second purpose: they keep the necklace straight - the extra weight in the back holding the front in the right place. A nice stone or accent at the end of the chain creates a finished look from behind. I've had a sweet flowery charm for quite a while and it seemed like the perfect dangle for the extension. I'd held onto it because I paid a bit for it, and could never find a good enough excuse to use it. This necklace seemed like exactly what I'd been waiting for.
I also bought two matching blue topaz teardrop stones. I added a simple silver roundel above, to match the necklace and keep the stone the star.
Check out the gallery to see how I played, and were I ended up.