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I don't use a lot of jade in my designs, but when I saw these beautiful carved flowers, I had to have them. Made by hand, no two are the same and they make perfect centerpieces for jewelry.

I've been trying to come up with some new slave bracelets and these flowers are just perfect. Grossular garnet (or grossularite garnet) is a beautiful variety of garnet. Ranging from deep green to pale green and bronze, it is mostly found in Siberia. Other colors of the mineral are found in Tanzania and Kenya, which form the more popular tsavorite garnet.

This lesser used gem is reminiscent of a forest palate and sparkles so wonderfully in the light. When paired with jade, the colors just come to life.

I started out by wrapping the jade flowers so that other beads could be attached to them. I tried stringing garnet onto beading wire, but the connecting crimps took up too much room and the cluster of silver was distracting. Instead, I chose to wire wrap them in threes, graduating the color as I went.

Tripling them like that made the color variation much clearer than wrapping them singly. Once the bracelet part was complete, I made a fine chain loop for the middle finger and started wrapping the connectors in place.

When that was done, the base bracelet felt a little bare against all the intricacies of the upper part. So, I wrapped some extra loops of beads onto the bracelet to give it some shape. I had initially hoped to use a jade ring as a loop for the clasp, but found that closing it was fiddly due to the thickness of the stone. Instead I opted for a large silver ring.

I love the way it turned out: it's so delicate and the colors work really well together. I think it's perfect for adding a little nature-loving charm to your outfit without going overboard.

See the Sterling Silver, Jade and Grossular Garnet Slave Bracelet here.