A Feast for the Eyes: Color Fun for Jewelry Making!

I’m an artist and am lucky enough to work here at Rio Grande, with a catalog full of beautiful gemstones, metals, findings, and more. I make jewelry here and there, and I mostly create collage. (I’m working on combining my collage with my jewelry making, but that’s a story for another day.) One of my true sources of inspiration in any of my creations is color, so I’m going to bring my fine arts experience into this blog post today and make it almost completely visual. Following are nine possible combinations of stone + metal + stone (or glass). These combinations are mere suggestions of colors you might put side by side—I  hope they can be a jumping off place for you and your own inspiring palettes!

There are myriad ways to add color to your work, including finishing your metals, and there are so many metals and textured finishes to choose from, such as PMC in silver, bronze, copper, and gold. Following is a list of great links to posts from our archive here on The Studio, all of which touch upon metal finishing options and I've also thrown in some PMC inspiration for fun:

For the Blackest Black: Kliar E-Coating Extreme Black
Show Your True Colors: The Stunning Palette of Kliar E-Coating
In The Spotlight: Steve Joslin Shares The Joy of Gilders Paste
Electroplating: Add Flash AND Combat High Metals Prices
Blogs We Love: PMC Sterling Grab Bag  (See the many looks of PMC Sterling!)

Also, you might enjoy a few color resources, including our 2013 Color Trends resource on Rio's website, and SwatchMatic, a free app for Androids from Google. You can use SwatchMatic to make color swatches of objects in your environment for play and inspiration.

Consider these combinations, and tell us what inspires you!

Black Mother-of-Pearl  + Sterling Silver + London Topaz

Almandine Garnet + MIDAS Black-Brown Patina + Amethyst

 

  White Mother-of-Pearl + Silver and Copper Mokume Gane + Wood

 

Onyx and Crystals + Kliar E-Coating Extreme Black + Pink Druzy Quartz

Red Amber + Sterling Silver + Green Aventurine

Anastasia Topaz + 14K Yellow Gold + Peridot

 

Bronze Simulated Pearl + Bronze (in Urchin Pattern) + Lemon Quartz

 

Created Opal + Silver Filled Sheet + Green-Gold Murano Glass

Grey Pearl  +  White Gold and Argentium Silver Mokume Gane + Champagne CZ

So, what are some tried and true color combinations that you like to use in your jewelry? How have your favorite colors evolved over time? Do they reflect your environment? What’s the wildest color combination that has worked well in your creations? Share your color inspiration with us!

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