Genuine Gemstones for Your Jewelry Projects - Part 1

Jewelry Fit for a Princess on a Pauper's Budget

Jewelry making has become a hugely popular craft pursuit. Craft stores offer a large array of beading materials and most cities even have bead stores devoted to nothing but supplies for creating your own distinctive jewelry. Of course, an internet search will turn up hundreds of sources for beaders.

Once you start buying beads, look out, you are quite likely to get hooked. For some reason, beading is more highly addictive than most other craft pastimes. Something about beads feeds an appetite to get more, more, more, and squirrel away the beautiful little objects like a magpie.

Since creating jewelry is an expression of your own unique imagination and artistic ability, any material that works for you is valid. Shells, wood, glass and all sorts of other materials can be used for terrific jewelry.

Something about semi-precious gemstones, however, takes us to a higher level. Perhaps because every culture in the world has valued these minerals for centuries and used them to fashion their most important objects, we feel a certain awe at their intrinsic beauty.

If you've already mastered a few basics and made some earrings, a simple necklace or bracelet and are craving more beading experiences, consider upgrading to real gemstones. Scared of the price tag? Relax, beads for real gemstone jewelry are more affordable than you might imagine. I certainly have no intention of buying a genuine pearl and garnet necklace with my budget, but I made one for myself for about $16.

The trick is to become familiar with gemstones that are reasonably priced and learn how to buy them. Traditionally, five gems were labeled "precious gems". They were diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and amethyst. Over time, amethyst became more abundantly available and was demoted to the "semi-precious" category. Let's not even consider the first four; that type of shopping is strictly not budget friendly.

The semi-precious label covers hundreds of naturally occurring rocks and minerals, so many, that some are quite obscure, including names totally unfamiliar to even ardent jewelry makers.