Bootiful Blue, Aquamarine & Spring Beads
24th February 2019
Come to see us next weekend, 2nd-3rd March in London at Kempton Park Gem n Bead Fair – Full details here.
For details of our shows booked so far this new year click 2019 Bead Fairs.
With global warming, it could be 20c, but just in case: don’t let snow put you off. We’ll still be there – and it’s warm and dry inside!
We’re off to Lanzarote for 3-nights after Kempton Park, so orders will be delayed shortly between 1st to 6th March.
Content:
Bootiful Blue
Aquamarine For March
Spring Beads
Early Bead Fairs
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£5 or US$6 MrBead Discount
£5 or US$6 off all UK orders over £15 (or EU over £20, US $20) at the above stores. Key SPRING at checkout now, as offer ends Friday 1st March. Cannot be used with any other discount.
Bootiful Blue
As we say in Norfolk, blue is ‘bootiful’! And there’s lots of blue in Norfolk.
It’s not by chance we sell more blue beads than any other hue. Blue is the most popular colour. Everyone loves it and wears blue jeans.
The sky and the sea is blue when at its best. The colour represents freedom, open space, creativity, inspiration and sex. As well as trust, loyalty, confidence, sincerity and faith. The colour of the spirit, bringing rest and tranquility – with religious meaning, believed to repel bad spirits.
A cooling colour of intuition, confidence and intellect that is said to balance the mind and body. Electric blue is dramatic and exhilaration.
However, excessive blue can be negative, bringing sadness – but too-much means blue walls, blue furniture, blue everything! All blue clothes with jewellery to match is the dress of successes – look at rock stars, actors and the super-rich.
Blue portrays importance and confidence. ‘The Boys in Blue’: British police officers, and ‘corporate blue’ pinstripe suits. Representing conservative stability. Royal blue is for respect and superiority. Blue means trust and wisdom.
Terms that use blue:
- Red, white and blue : Loyalty & Red
- white and blue: Patriotism
- Navy blue & white : Sailing
- Out of the blue : Something unexpected
- True blue : Loyalty, trustworthy, and faithful
- Feeling blue: feeling the calm from blue
- Blue blood: royal birth
- Blue ribbon: top prize
Blue Beads
Blue gemstones are said to calm, especially in times of crisis. They also make it easier to communicate with loved ones, encouraging words from the heart.
Blue gemstones
- Chalcedony
- Aquamarine
- Lapis Lazuli
- Moonstone
- Garnet
- Cornflower jade
- Pearl
- Tanzanite
- Turquoise
- Kyanite
- Flourite
- Sodalite
- Amazonite
- Amethyst
- Larimar
- Hawk’s eye
- Spinel
To see these blue beads in our store click MrBead.co.uk or MrBead.com
Aquamarine – March’s Gemstone
Aquamarine is March’s stone – a blue-green gemstone from South America, meaning Water of the Sea.
The stone believed to protect sailors. Folklore also says that aquamarine protects against gossip, but will pick up spirits. It is an excellent stone for meditation, bringing great peace and serenity. Use it for your spring jewellery designs.
Aquamarine is the treasure of mermaids, and those legends have it that for aquamarine to be truly powerful, it must be immersed in sea water and bathed in sunlight. The gemstone is also supposed to have powers that reach to land too, helping married couples solve their problems and drive off evil.
Aquamarine is associated with the thymus gland and is very soothing worn as a necklace.
Also thought to help coughs, reduce fluid retention and calm the nerves. The Romans used aquamarine for stomach troubles and believed it could cure liver and throat problems. Aquamarine brings courage, aids quick intellectual response, and gives peace while protecting the aura.
Colour ranges from a very light turquoise blue to a bluish green. Darker blue colours are the best with greener being less valuable. Check the clarity of the stone. Because aquamarine has a light pastel colour, it is important that it be free of flaws or inclusions.
Examine the cut and check light reflects evenly off the surface of the gem and that there are no scratches. Look at the stone from several different angles to be sure. Aquamarine is usually heat treated and sometimes irradiated. However, it will become paler if left out in the sun.
Clean aquamarine in with warm soapy water and a soft bristle brush. As with all gemstones, protect from scratches and sharp blows.
To see all aquamarine at MrBead.co.uk or MrBead.com
Spring Beads
Spring is a time of resurrection and birth – this means flower beads, and yellow, green and light colors.
Make a bright and matching spring necklace, bracelet & earrings. Green is this years colour – so choose lots of green beads to use in your designs.
Other spring colours to look for are yellow citrine, light green chrysoprase, chrysocolla, Chalcedony and chalcedony. See all our categories at MrBead.co.uk or MrBead.com.
Chalcedony – A Graceful Stone for Spring Jewellery
Chalcedony is another excellent gemstone to use for graceful spring jewellery. Its delicate, silky light-blue colour reminds of early morning mountain sky.
Try making matching chalcedony earrings and a bracelet. Use small beads with subtle silver spacers for style. Sell them in a white or light-blue box.
Romance
Chalcedony is ideal for the lady you love or to use on wedding jewellery. Some people even use chalcedony wedding rings. Set in white gold or silver, it creates just the right look.
What is chalcedony?
Its name is said to come from an ancient Greek town called Chalkedon, now in Turkey.
It is a fine-grained variety of quartz with a waxy luster and microscopic compressed crystals. Because of this structure, chalcedony is usually semi-opaque – which creates a soft glow as the light diffuses through the stone, ideal for graceful jewellery.
The Romans made seals from chalcedony, and the stone has been carved into ornaments for thousands of years. And in the past its heavenly blue colour explains why it had been called Mecca stone and St Stephen’s stone.
Colour
Chalcedony comes in every colour, but for jewellery it’s usually light milky blue with a hint of pink. Being porous, it’s been dyed blue and pale minty-green for centuries – and today sometimes its colour enhanced to emerald green and even tangerine and peachy pink.
Formation
Chalcedony is formed in volcanic rock cavities where silica-rich water flows through. Traces of iron oxide in the water create the pinkish and sometimes red colour.
The gemstone can be seen in the Arizona Desert, where petrified trees have formed from chalcedony replacing the ancient forest. Native Americas there called the stone sacred as they believed it brought stability to the tribe.
Properties
Chalcedony is a feminine stone, full of yin energy. Said to balance the emotions, bring stamina, and promote kindness. Also believed to be good for love as it lowers anger, depression and melancholy.
The gemstone absorbs negative energy and promotes a feeling of enthusiasm. It’s also believed to lower blood pressure with its anti-inflammatory properties and heal the lungs, so good for smokers.
History
Because there is so much chalcedony in many countries, it has been carved into arrowheads, tools, knives, cups and bowls for tens-of-thousands of years. Years ago sailors wore it as a talisman, and it is the birthstone for those born under the star sign of Sagittarius.
Source
The best chalcedony is mined in Chalcedony are from India and Madagascar, but it can also be found natural all over the US, plus in Burma, Brazil and Mexico.
For our chalcedony beads at MrBead.co.uk or MrBead.com
Early Bead Fairs
So far this year, all the bead fairs are booming, with record attendance. So much for Project Fear! Harrogate Gem n Bead Fair was so busy, my head was spinning after the first three hours.
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- Sat & Sun 2nd-3rd March: Kempton Park Gem n Bead Fair – Full details here.
- Sunday 10th March: Norwich Bead Fair – Full details here.
- Sat & Sun 16th-17th March: Brighton Gem n Bead Fair – Full details here.
- Sat & Sun 23rd-24th March: Cheltenham Gem n Bead Fair – Full details here.
- Saturday 30th March: Kilburm London MrBead Bead Fair – Full details here.
- Saturday 6th April: The Big Bead Show, Sandown Park – Full details here.
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To see all the bead shows we have booked so far click Bead Fairs 2019 – many more yet to add!
See our beads at MrBead.co.uk or MrBead.com
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