Tree of Life Necklace by Shining Light Jewelry
Do an Internet search for "Tree of Life Necklace" and you will see thousands of beautiful pendants. I am sure that my own handmade necklace is in there somewhere, but after ten pages of looking through similar items, I have to admit that I was a bit overwhelmed! I even saw several of the exact same charm that is featured in my necklace. So what's a girl gotta do to get her handmade jewelry found in this endless pool?
Well one thing I have noticed is that there are lots of online sellers who will take a nice charm and put it on a nice chain and call it a "handmade" necklace. I guess that technically it IS handmade, but come on now, how much creativity and spirit went into that item?
The "Elegant Tree of Life Necklace" on my website is not just another "charm on a chain". When I began making this necklace, I had a certain feeling I wanted to portray. Earthy. Clean. Organic. Natural. I dug through a seemingly endless supply of gemstones and beads to find something to pair with the sterling silver tree of life pendant that would give it just the right feel. When I came across these natural prehnite stone chips I knew I had found the perfect match. But the search didn't end there! In a strand of literally hundreds of beads I had to find the right combination of color, shape and size to hand wrap into a charm to embellish the tree. The stones I chose fit together in an interesting diagonal pattern in a size that complements the tree nicely.
Okay, I admit that I didn't make the silver chain by hand, but I did add a hand wrapped prehnite stone at the clasp. I also attached an additional ring at the clasp that is larger than the original clasp. The larger ring makes it easier to secure the clasp when you're putting the necklace on by yourself.
The final details may not be apparent at first glance, but you will be glad they are there! Have you ever worn a necklace and the clasp is continually turning around to the front? How annoying is that! In order to keep the weight to the front of the necklace (and the clasp around back), I have attached the pendant to a link in the chain, rather than stringing the chain through the ring of the charm. To do this, I had to remove the original ring from the Tree of Life. Then I reattached the pendant using two sterling silver rings instead of just one. The intent here is to provide a backup ring in case a single ring were to open, which would allow the Tree of Life pendant to slip off and get lost.
You will find this kind of attention to detail in every single piece of jewelry I create! I do a writeup for every item I have listed on my website but not to the same extent as I have done for the Elegant Tree of Life Necklace here. As much as I love writing about my jewelry, I love creating it even more! So I have given you some details to look for when comparing quality handmade jewelry to "charm on a chain" jewelry. Have a peek in my online shop and the details may begin to stand out to you!
Find more items made by Annette from Shining Light Jewelry here: http://www.shininglightjewelry.net/
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