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Copper beads add warmth to designs

By Bethany Waldrop Keiper

"What is Africa to me: Copper sun or scarlet sea...?" -- Countee Cullen

The gleaming copper beads we admire now have a long history in far-away lands. Copper was discovered in prehistoric days gone by, with some sources mentioning copper beads as old as 9000 BC being found in the Middle East. About 4000 BC, it is believed that copper was first used in pottery in North Africa.

A little closer to home, American Indians also used copper. The styles of jewelry were different for every tribe, but the finished products were often hammered and etched copper pendants and earrings, and copper beads. Beautiful natural stones were also often a part of  their jewelry designs.

A modern-day natural necklace of garnet chips gets a pretty accent from a framed, embossed copper leaf bead charm. The charm gets a little extra character from the addition of a few extra garnet chips and a small double-dotted circle accent bead. The warm tones of copper blend well with garnet, January's birthstone.

 
From the chip beads to the charm, this design presents a nice mix of textures and shapes, all in a natural theme -- from the small berry shape embossed in the large bead to the dotted berry-shaped accent bead at the bottom of the charm to the deep berry reddish tones of garnet itself. The framed copper leaf bead with its garnet and copper dangle could easily be duplicated into a matching pair of earrings for a complete ensemble.
 

Continuing to take jewelry design cues from nature, I combined these beads. I've met quite a few copper-haired, blue-eyed women -- actually, I meet one every day when I look in the mirror -- and so this design is based on the combination of those colors.

These smaller copper crosses look great with just about any bead. Their shine and shape provide the perfect spacing and size to accent your favorite beads, and their color adds a special touch, something warm and out of the ordinary from the basic gold or silver. Here they are paired with 6mm Czech facetted firepolished beads in medium blue AB.

Continuing on our copper tour, in ancient Greece, copper was associated with the goddess Aphrodite or Venus in mythology and alchemy, owing to its lustrous beauty and its ancient use in producing mirrors.

Bringing things much closer to home -- under your skin, in fact -- the mineral copper is an essential nutrient for animals, where it is found primarily in the bloodstream. Copper metal is described as a metallic pinkish red, so, all things considered, is it any wonder that it looks so perfect with red beads?

Rich, radiating red is a perfect partner for warm, glowing copper.

In this design, large, smooth red rounds border a complicated 12mm copper bead with lines and circles. Small, dotted copper accents and deep red Swarovski crystal bicones are perfect in between the larger beads. Repeat this pattern again and again for a beautiful necklace in the richest of glowing colors.

 

Resources:

Framed Copper Leaf Bead with Embossed Design; shiny Copper Plain Cross; Medium 12 mm Copper Bead with Center Lines and Circles, and small Double Dotted Circle Copper Bead all courtesy of and available through The Bead Peddler.  http://www.beadpeddler.com

Native American jewelry information from Native Languages of the Americas, a site dedicated to the preservation of endangered American Indian languages. http://www.native-languages.org/

Copper history information from WebElements, the periodic table on the WWW. http://www.webelements.com/  

 

 

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