Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Vintage Style Rhinestone Brooch Romance en Gris

Drum roll please! I finished this delicate rhinestone brooch that was inspired by rare Swarovski crystal rhinestones. Combining grey and hematite with bright silver turns even the warm copper finish of the metal components into cool and calm color-scene. 
The silvery long hollow beads look almost like they were shiny ribbons tucked through the metal plate :) I used one of my pocket watch stands/boxes on the second photo. It's such a beauty that I shall make a separate post for that. This vintage style rhinestone brooch looks so delicate and romantic in it!

grey, jewelry, brooches, rhinestone jewelry,




Trummipõrin palun! Ma sain valmis vintage Swarovski Romance en Gris ehtekividest inspireeritud prossi. Kombineerides halli ja hematiiti koos kiiskava hõbedaga, muutus ka muidu sooja tooniga vask vastavalt jahedamaks.
Pikad õõnsad klaashelmed paistavad nagu oleks hõbedane lint tõmmatud läbi metallist alusplaadi :) Teisel fotol kasutasin antiikset taskukella alust/karpi. Ma arvan, et see tõeline iludus väärib kohe eraldi postitust. Vintage stiilis ehtekividega pross sobib suurepäraselt selle romantilise ja õrna karbikesega!

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Soon Finished: Romance en Gris and Hollow Metallic Glass Beads

Beautiful find from one of my treasure hunts - vintage Swarovski rhinestone Romance en Gris - was truly inspiring. So I looked around my bead collection and found some pretty ones that matches perfectly!

Vintage (or even antique) hollow glass beads with silver lining have similar steel-like cold beauty as the rhinestones. The round steel-grey hollow beads are dyed and will get lighter and lighter in time as it wears off. Long-shaped beads have mesmerizing pattern - it's a fine art!
vintage Swarovski rhinestones Romance en Gris, hollow glass silver-lined beads in flat round, patterned long and dark dyed styles, new Czech faceted beads in hematite color
Materials of my next project: vintage Swarovski rhinestones
Romance en Gris, hollow glass silver-lined beads in flat round,
patterned long and dark dyed styles. And new Czech faceted
beads in hematite color.

vintage glass beads. vintage style jewelry
These hollow glass beads have silver lining and dark grey dye
on the surface. The dye will wear off in time, revealing shiny silver.

vintage style jewelry
Gorgeous long flat hollow glass beads with mesmerizing pattern.
It looks like these are made of textile :)

vintage style jewelry, rhinestone jewelry
And here are four Swarovski rhinestones in this
beautiful and rare color called Romance en Gris.

Imeilus leid ühelt mu aardejahilt - vintage Swarovski ehtekivid Romance en Gris värvi - osutus väga inspireerivaks. Nii ma vaatasin ringi oma helmeste kogus ning leidsin mõned, mis sobivad kividega ideaalselt!

Vintage (või isegi antiiksed) seest hõbetatud õõnsad klaashelmed on sarnase teras-külma iluga nagu Swarovski ehtekivid. Terashallid ümmargused helmed on pealt värvitud ning hakkavad kuludes üha heledamaks ja heledamaks muutuma. Piklikel helmestel on kaunis muster. See on saavutatud läbipaistvate klaasvarraste kombineerimisel mustrina ning seda omakorda venitades ja vinti keerates. Tegemist on peene kunstiga!

Monday, March 28, 2016

Vintage Baby Hat with Mercury Beads

Here's a cute vintage baby hat. White silk is embroidered with silver lined bugle beads and a selection of mercury beads (silver-lined hollow glass beads): small round and round flat.

Round flat mercury bead in the middle of the pattern surrounded by
smaller mercury beads and silver lined bugle beads (oxidized).
Photo from eBay

old fashion, fashion history
Seller of this baby hat assumes it's from 1930-50s.
Photo from eBay.

vintage, old, fashion, history
These are the beads I have. Same shape, with a slight pressing mark
running across the center and beads have little "neck"
around the holes where the beads were cut off.


Siin on üks armas beebi müts. Valge siid on tikitud hõbetatud pulgakujuliste helmeste ja kahes suuruses "mercury beads" (õõnsad klaashelmed) tüüpi helmestega.

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Long Patterned Vintage Hollow Glass Beads

I have these very interesting silver-lined hollow glass beads (mercury beads). Just take a look! They have this delicate and very fine texture that creates a pattern. There are no coloring, only transparent glass that is coated with silver solution from inside. Each bead has very fine textured stripes vertically, that are actually inside the bead. And also you can see horizontal (bit tilted) stripes that I can feel with my fingers - these are on the surface of the bead. Together the lines create this awesome effect like metallic threads in lamé fabric.

The hollow glass beads are different in size but measure mostly
8mm long, 4mm wide and 2mm thick.
antique beads vintage
All the beads are bit different with the pattern varying.
Also some beads have silver lining turned dark due to
oxidizing near wholes.
The beads are bright as silver! Here are also some silver lined
"mercury beads" that are dyed in dark on the surface.

Mul on sellised huvitavad õõnsad klaashelmed (mercury beads). Vaata pilte! Neil on hästi õrn ja peenike tekstuur, mis loob huvitava mustri. Siin ei ole mingit joonistamist või värvi, ainult läbipaistev klaas, mis on seestpoolt hõbetatud. Igal helmel on tekstuursed piki-triibud, mis asetsevad klaasi seespoolsel küljel. Horisontaalselt (natuke viltu) lained on tunda väljapoolt, kui näpuga üle helme tõmmata. Need triibud ja lained tekitavad tekstiili-laadse efekti, nagu lamé kangas on metallniidid.

Friday, March 25, 2016

Vintage Rhinestones Romance en Gris

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Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Vintage Swarovski Romance en Gris Rhinestones

Want to see what I found on one of my treasure hunts? This is awesome! Years ago I got these rhinestone in rare color of Romance en Bleu. Now I came across a box of rhinestones in color of - Romance en Gris!
As the name suggests the rhinestones main color is grey. Holding the rhinestone in different angles they reveal shades of bluish. Many facets of the stones - and there are many! - catch the light and make stones look like they're always moving.
The package of Swarovski Romance en Gris rhinestones
have seen better days, don't you think?

The vintage rhinestones are in perfect shape. The color of
Romance en Gris
is such a beautiful statement
of the color grey

Tahad näha, mis ma leidsin ühel oma aardejahil? See on lihtsalt nii äge! Aastaid tagasi õnnestus mul saada ehtekive, mille nimi on Romance en Bleu. Nüüd on mul karbike kividega, mille nimi on - Romance en Gris!
Nagu nimigi viitab, on kivikeste peamine värv hall. Kui hoida ehtekivi erineva nurga all, siis on see kohati isegi sinakas. Kivi erinevad tahud - ja neid on tõesti palju! - püüavad valgust ning panevad kivikese sädelema nagu see oleks kogu aeg liikumises.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Antique Reception Gown 1895-1896

I would like to share a gorgeous gown from Augusta Auctions. It's a gold silk gown embroidered with beautiful hollow glass pearls. From the close up you can see that some of the hollow glass pearls have little rim visible and there's one pearl crackled (right, the bottom neck string). The smaller beads were once sparkly and had silver lining. Silver has oxidized with years and turned into dark grey. 
Antique Reception gown 1895-186
Intricate embroidery with hollow glass pearls and seed beads.
Silver lined seed beads have turned grey due to oxidation.

Tahtsin jagada ühte imeilusat antiikset kleiti Augusta Auctions'ist. See on kuldne siidikleit, mis on tikitud kaunite õõnsate pärlitega. Lähivõttelt on näha, et osadel õõnsatel pärlitel paistab väike pikendus augu ümber, nö "kael" ja üks pärl on purunenud (paremal, kõige alumine kaela ümber olev kee). Väiksed helmed olid kunagi sädelevad ja neil oli hõbetatud sisu. Hõbe aga on aastatega osküdeerunud ning muutunud tumehalliks.

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Discovering Glass: Hollow Glass Beads

Long metallic hollow beads and
pastel color hollow glass pearls.
In center a salesman sample card
with hollow pearls and dyed
hollow beads imitating coral, jade,
jet or onyx and turquoise.
Hollow glass beads are beads that are blown from glass tube and formed into shape by hand or a mold. Smaller beads are blown from a hot glass tube that is in a mold. Hot glass takes the shape of the mold and a rows of beads are created. After inserting a color or silver into the tube, the beads are separated by cutting. These are usually dyed from inside but sometimes are colored on the surface. Dye on the surface is very likely to be worn off. Surface of the glass can also be given a matte treatment that gives the beads a frosted look. Transparent topaz, opaque black, satin/atlas glass and other kind of glass was also used when making hollow glass beads.

Most of the hollow glass beads are the ones that have shiny silver lining. These metallic hollow glass beads are sometimes called mercury beads because there was mercury used in the beginning of the production. It was soon replaced and the receipt of the formula has changed over the time. Also real gold was used in the early days. Metallic hollow glass beads are still in production and are widely used for example making decorations for Christmas.

Metallic hollow glass beads dyed in pink.
Bigger flat beads have frosted finish.
Small beads measure 2-2,5mm.
Earlier glass pearls were also made of hollow glass tubes and dyed with essence d'orient (a liquid formula with fish scale powder). Hollow glass pearls were mostly formed by hand one at the time. Handmade pearls have different sized holes (the bigger one was where glass blower inserted the air) and of course the size and shape vary. Small pearls were made in a row and these have similar shaped holes that have a "neck" with cut edge (like the metallic hollow glass beads are made today). Hollow glass pearls in jewelry were replaced by solid glass beads covered with pearl-coating as chemical industry made its progress. And while hollow pearls were still in use in garment embroidery up to 1940s the revolution of plastic superseded with its lower price, durability and bigger array of colors.

When there was a search of cheaper alternatives for natural materials such as coral, turquoise, jade,  jet etc. the demand for dyed hollow glass beads boosted. Hollow glass beads were created the same way but dyed in different colors to resemble natural products. When business with colorful glass canes became more active then there was no need to dye colorless glass anymore. To get bright coral red the bead makers used white opaque glass as the core and added thin layer of transparent red to the surface.
Tiara with hollow red coral glass beads.
Photo from Creative Museum

Õõnsad klaashelmed on helmed, mida valmistatakse klaastuubist puhumise teel ning millele antakse helme kuju kas käsitsi või vormiga. Väiksemate helmeste puhul puhutakse klaastuub vormi sees nii, et puhudes kuum klaas võtab vormi kuju. Valminud helmeste rida värvitakse seest poolt ning lõigatakse lahti. Tavaliselt värvitakse need seest poolt, kuid on ka helmeid, millel värvikiht on väljas pool. Helme peal olev värvikiht aga kulub kergelt. Klaasipinda võib olla ka töödeldud matiks, mis annab helmestele jäätunud ilme. Läbipaistev topaas, läbipaistmatu must, "satin" klaas ja ka teisi klaase on samuti kasutatud õõnsate helmeste valmistamisel.

Metallic hollow glass beads in
various shapes and colors.
Enamik õõnsaid helmeid on seest hõbetatud. Metallivärvi õõnsad klaashelmed kannavad vahest ka nime "mercury beads", sest alguses kasutati metalses kihis elavhõbedat. See muidugi asendati kiirelt ning aegade jooksul on metalse värvi retsepti muudetud mitmeid kordi. Samuti oli alguses kasutusel ka päris kuld, millega kullati klaashelmeid seest või väljast. Metallivärvi õõnsaid klaashelmeid tootetakse ka tänapäeval ja kasutatakse (nt. jõulu-) dekoratsioonide valmistamisel.

Antique hollow glass pearls in various shapes and sizes.
Many of them have flat side so they stay in place when embroidered.
Varasemad imitatsioonpärlid olid samuti valmistatud õõnsast klaasist. Õõnsad klaaspärlid valmistati samuti klaastuubist ning värviti seestpoolt kalasoomustest valmistatud vedelikuga, mida nimetati "essence d'orient". Õnnsad klaaspärlid valmistati enamasti ükshaaval ja käsitsi. Käsitsi valmistatud klaaspärlitel on helme augud erineva suurusega (suuremasse puhus klaasimeister õhku) ning loomulikult olid pärlite suurus ja kuju varieeruvad (kuigi kasutati erinevaid tange vormimisel). Väikseid pärleid valmistati samuti ühe pika reana, mis pärast seest värvimist üksteise küljast lahti lõigati (nagu metalseid helmeid tänapäevalgi). Nendel pärlitel on mõlemad augud enamvähem samasugused ning augul on nn "kael", kus helmes teise küljest lahti lõigati. Ehete valmistamises asendati õõnsad klaaspärlid (täis)klaasist pärlitega (klaashelmes, mille peal on pärlmutrise värvikiht) siis, kui keemiatööstuse arenedes suudeti luua piisavalt kulumiskindel pärlmutrine värv. Ja kuigi õõnsaid klaapärleid on näha rõivastel kuni 1940ndateni, siis plastmassi-revolutsiooniga asendati need odavama, vastupidavama ja värviküllasema plastiku valikuga.

Lace gown (1915) with orange
coral colored
hollow beads
in round and tube shape.
Photo from smugmug.com
Kui otsiti odavamaid alternatiive ka teistele looduslikele materjalidele nagu türkiis, korall, jadeiit, jet jms. siis tekkis nõudlus värvitud õõnsate klaashelmeste järele. Värvitud õõnsad klaashelmed valmistati samamoodi kui õõnsad klaaspärlid, lihtsalt seest värviti need vastavalt seda värvi, millist materjali taheti imiteerida. Kaubanduse edenedes said paljud helmeste valmistajad enda valdusse suurema valiku värvilist klaasi ning läbipaistva klaasi seespidine värvimine polnud enam vajalik. Et saada korallpunast, tegi helme valmistaja läbipaistmatust valgest klaasist helme südamiku ning kandis selle peale õhukese kihi punast läbipaistvat klaasi.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Vintage and Antique Hollow Glass Beads

Looking through my bead collection I picked out some of the antique and vintage hollow glass beads. Light and fragile, like their not from this world! I'm planning to write a post about them in my "Discovering glass" section. Having some antique sample cards and looking through the web for old photos and museum items I find hollow glass beads absolutely fascinating! Here are some examples.
antique glass beads, embroidery, restoration, restoring antique garments
There are various types of hollow glass beads! In the center
you see hollow glass pearls in different shapes. These
are dyed with pearl color from inside.
Here you see dyed hollow glass beads that imitates coral.
Dyed from inside the dye has peeled from the glass.
Metallic "mercury beads" have tiny facets from the mold.
Metallic beads have gorgeous satin look
because of the frosted finish.
Vaatasin oma helmekogu  ja noppisin sealt mõned vintage ja antiiksed õõnsad klaashelmed. Väga kerged ja õrnad, nagu need polekski siit ilmast pärit! Ma plaanin kirjutada neist ühe tutvustava postituse "Discovering glass" rubriiki. Mul on mõned näidiskaardid ning leides veebis ringi vaadates vanu fotosid ja muuseumite eksponaate, võib öelda, et see on üks põnev maailm! Ülalpool tõin  mõned näited õõnsatest klaashelmestest.

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Long Romantic Necklace with Vintage Green Beads

The vintage handmade green beads from Japan were made into long and romantic necklace. They matched perfectly with the beads I had previously: big round beads and those long beads that look like the glass was knotted :)

I added creamy Czech glass pearls and crystal clear beads. Oh, and some rhinestone spacer beads to add sparkle!

These are the materials used: vintage handmade green glass beads
in various shapes and sizes (made in Japan), creamy
Czech glass pearls and transparent glass beads.
vintage style jewelry, green jewelry, long necklace
The long green beads have cute pearl collars!
These give the whole necklace this romantic flair!
sautoir necklace, green necklace, vintage style jewelry
Long necklace is such fun to use!
You may wear it twice around your neck too.
vintage style jewelry, green necklace, sautoir, collier
Long green "knotted" beads feel silky!
It's important for me that necklaces are nice to touch :)

Nendest vintage rohelistest helmestest, mis olid käsitsi valmistatud Jaapanis, sai üks romantiline ja pikk kaelakee. Need helmed sobisid ideaalselt varem hangitud helmestega: suuremad ümmargused helmed ja need piklikud, mis meenutavad klaasist sõlmitud pundart :)

Lisasin kreemjaid Tšehhi klaaspärleid ja läbipaistvaid helmeid. Ahjaa, ja veel kristallikestega vahehelmeid, et lisada sädelust!

Friday, March 4, 2016

Vintage Green Beads Ready for Action

Vintage green beads, handmade in Japan, are having a great time indeed! Here are some materials that I also will use with the green ones. Cream colored glass pearls and transparent glass beads from Czech.

Vintage käsitsi valmistatud rohelisi klaashelmeid Jaapanist on ootamas midagi põnevat! Siin on valik helmeid, mida kasutan koos rohelistega. Kreemikad klaaspärlid ja läbipaistvad helmed Tšehhist.

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Vintage Green Handmade Beads from Japan

In beautiful green color as semiprecious stone jade. I found these vintage beads that were handmade in Japan from US. I was secretly hoping that these will match with my other green glass beads. Bigger round ones were part of my jewelry collection with detailed metal oak leaves and acorns. Longer textured beads were bought ages ago but never used. And yes, it's a perfect match!

I'm planning to pair this green color with natural creamy pearl and make a long necklace :) This sort of green is not everybody's favorite. What about you, you like this green or your green is something different?



Ilus roheline värv nagu poolvääriskivil jadeiidil. Leidsin need ilusad Jaapani käsitsivalmistatud helmed ühelt USA edasimüüjalt. Ma salaja lootsin, et ehk sobivad need kokku juba varem ostetud helmestega. Suuremaid ümmargusi helmeid olen kasutanud tillukeste tammelehte kollektsioonis. Suured piklikud helmed on ammu ostetud, kuid kasutust pole leidnud. Ja tõesti, tegu on ideaalse sobivusega!
Plaanis on see roheline kokku panna naturaalse kreemja pärliga ning valmistada üks pikk kaelakee :) Selline roheline pole vist kõigi lemmik. Kuidas on sinuga, kas selline meeldib, või on sinu roheline mingit teist tooni?

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Rhinestone Brooch in Chocolate Colors

Rhinestone brooch in chocolate colors. This is my first gif :) I tried to capture the warm glow of the Smoked Topaz colored stones and flashes of light reflecting. But still it doesn't show the real beauty of this brooch...


Ehtekividega pross šokolaadivärvides. Minu esimene gif  :) Püüdsin pildile saada Smoked Topaz ehtekivide sooja kuma ja valguse peegeldust. Kui see pole ikkagi päris see, mida oma silmaga näha on...