Inlays: Be a trendsetter with a gem or bead within a gem ~ JEGEM.com Lifestyle Magazine

One of the coolest trends in jewelry is inlaid stones and beads. New for spring, these versatile jewelry pieces will bring your warm-weather wardrobe up to date.

Inlays are not new. The painstaking process consists of cutting different cabochon gemstones to fit precisely flush against each other, to create a specific design. One of the best examples of an inlay is our amazing orange-red coral and green spider web turquoise ring with mother of pearl and lapis lazuli inlays. A skilled craftsman cut each stone precisely to create this ring.

Other inlays make a pattern, like the flower link bracelet crafted from turquoise and lapis lazuli inlays, or our earrings with deep orange-red coral, lapis lazuli and mother of pearl inlays.

One of the best things besides the craftsmanship of these pieces is that you have a versatile piece of jewelry that can be a centerpiece for pulling other jewelry together. They also can be worn more frequently because they’ll match more pieces in your wardrobe.

Sometimes inlays are used to give a jewelry piece an interesting profile. A good example of this is our tone-on-tone green spider web turquoise bracelet. With the higher stone in the middle, the inlay gives the bracelet dimension.

Another sort of inlay isn’t two stones at all but a stone and a bead. We have several stunning pendants, earrings and rings finely crafted from amber that have a tiny dot of a silver bead in the middle, or in the case of our cute amber flower ring, slightly off-center. The light-catching silver adds some interest and depth to your jewelry pieces. Some of the pieces are thick enough to have coral set on the sides of the setting, an unusual, but updated, look that is sure to turn heads!

by Tammy