Tanya Lochridge

Kazuri – just can’t get enough of these gorgeous beads. The black and gold designs are high on the list of favorites. Although, I do have one strong favorite, which you probably know is the red with gold combo; I can’t resist the black and gold designs. This is the first time I have used this bold gold aluminum chain in a design and can I say that” I love it.” I thought I would start doing a version of bead collections on each bracelet, as it is so hard to just choose one or two to feature. This design includes a crosshatch, a spiral and a bead with open dots. Complementing the Kazuri beads are the sparkliest (I know that's not really grammatically correct but it describes what I see) of Czech glass fire-polished faceted glass beads in a two-way technique that includes crystal clear and gold. Just look through some of my designs and you’ll be quick to notice that these glass beads are among my favs and so they show up a lot.  Then there is black goldstone, which is really hard to find. Lucky for us I happened on these beads during one of my Tucson excursions and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I find some more next year. Not a gemstone -- goldstone is manmade – incorporating bits of copper into the molten glass to give the effect of gold and was first created in 17^th Century Venice. That’s a long time ago! I have loved it for years…but not quite that long. I added a few bits of Czech pressed glass in bicone fashion in black and if that wasn’t enough, I added a few matte black saucers to the mix, to set off the Kazuri beads. It all comes together with the giant high polished gold aluminum chain, closing with the oversized c-ring clasp (also known as the Signora clasp).

Measures 8” in length and has a one-inch extender. Keep in mind, the girth of the bracelet makes it wear a bit smaller than one would think for the length. Please don’t ask me to explain – it just takes up more room on your wrist which makes the length fit shorter. Heck…I should have paid more attention in whatever class it was that probably tried to teach me this kind of thing. But, hey, I was a kid in school – so I didn’t listen! While it looks pretty incredible all alone on your wrist, I couldn’resist the urge to style and stack it a bit. So, for your viewing pleasure here are a few ideas to get your creative mind going and you can learn more about the Kazuri story and the beads by clicking the link shown at the bottom of this page. It's a good thing...supporting Kazuri beads and the women who make them. Handmade in the USA using domestic and imported components. From the Tanya Lochridge Jewelry Kazuri Collection.