I had a custom order that didn't work out. A good customer sent me a photo and asked if I could replicate it to make 3 rosaries. It was a beautiful oval tourmaline, sterling silver wirewrapped rosary. It had a remarkable light blue cameo center. I'd never seen anything like it. So, I gathered resources and offered an estimate, which he accepted. But after I had all the parts on hand, most of the tourmaline beads, which are a fairly uniform oval, predictably (for nuggets) wouldn't accept even 24 gauge wire. I'm in some serious pain at this point. I was unhappy about having to use that fine of a wire in the first place because with wirewrapping, it can get brittle and snap too easily to suit me. So I explained to my customer, who understood I think, and refunded his deposit. A long story short is that I have 5 strands of tourmaline on hand I wouldn't ordinarily have. I love, love, love tourmaline, but it's too pricey for my plans. Ouch, in other words. The rosary parts aren't my favorites, but they are nice and will be used eventually. I'm not one to make returns, so I see a lot of tourmaline nuggets in my future. I really prefer to design a rosary myself because I'm so picky about all kinds of little details and also because of surprise problems like this, but custom orders are important,too. I really didn't like having to disappoint a good customer. Anyway, here we go...photos above are of the first two of a boatload. Posting for sale soon. Blessings, everyone. Debbie
