The Color Purple

My mother LOVED jewelry. Like as in, "I'm going to skip lunch for 4 months so I can buy a ring." She had it bad. I did not inherit her obsession with jewelry, but I like it (as do most ladies.) I'm more interested in the nature of the stones and where they come from, as opposed to wearing the latest 'bling.' I present here her purple collection.

My mom particularly loved amethyst and lavender colored jade. These pieces are 6mm lavender jade beads, a 40-carat amethyst gem set in 14K gold, and 10-carat amethyst earrings set in sterling silver. All these sizes are approximate, which is why the tape measure is there. If you see something obviously wrong, let me know.

Next are a couple of rings, earrings, and an earring and pendant set. The ring on the left is lavender jade and cz; the ring on the right is something called 'tanzanite' and cz set in gold plated sterling. The earrings are amethysts set in 14K gold; the set is amethyst set in sterling with marcasites. One of the posts is missing on one earring. I included a close-up of the amethyst earring in gold (dang, my cuticles look terrible, LOL.)