09/06/2026
From Gemstone Strand to a Finished Piece of Jewellery.
Cairngorms Smoky Quartz, often simply called “Cairngorm” in jewellery and gem circles, is one of Scotland’s most historically important gemstones. It is a distinctive variety of smoky quartz ranging in colour from honey-brown and smoky grey to almost black. The finest traditional stones came from the Cairngorm Mountains in the Scottish Highlands, giving the gem its famous name.
Here’s a little glimpse into my workbench before creating a piece of jewellery using the Cairngorm Quartz. I settled on using Bullseye Malachite with the quartz as spacers. The other components are sterling silver with a 3mm turquoise gemstone and quartz feature at the end of a 1.5” extender chain. One of my favourite parts of the process is imagining all the possibilities and combinations of the strands.
The trio of bracelets I’ve used a combination of Smokey quartz, Amazonite and Malachite.
What’s your favourite combination?