From the Vault: Sweet Honey...

This is a piece that I made years ago for a spread on bee-themed jewelry.  Unfortunately, it didn't make the final cut.  The magazine said that they had previously accepted a piece with the same clasp and they wanted to show more of a variety of bee-themed components.  The focal piece of this necklace is a bronze bee clasp from my family at Green Girl Studios.  It is paired with a multi-strand of honey-colored, hessonite garnets and whiskey quartz.  I arranged the rectangular beads in an umbra pattern, dipping from light to dark and back again.  To give the chain that connects the bee "hook" some visual weight, I added a Swarovski pearl dangle in light gold.

The thing that I love about this piece is that it can be worn with the clasp in the front, off to the side, or in the back.  It has a lot of versatility and can be either elegantly dressy or casual depending on one's mood or the dress code.