At Silver and Strands, we bring your vision to life through custom design silver jewelry that’s truly personal and expressive. Our story began with a passion for individuality and quality craftsmanship. From intricate rings to meaningful necklaces, every piece is crafted with attention to detail and a commitment to timeless style. Our mission is to create more than accessories—we design keepsakes that speak to your unique story. Using ethically sourced materials and hand-finishing techniques, we ensure each creation meets the highest standard of artistry. As a brand rooted in authenticity, Silver and Strands believes in jewelry that connects emotionally and aesthetically. Whether it’s a gift, a statement, or a daily favorite, our collections are built to inspire. With a thoughtful custom design silver jewelry process and a focus on you, we offer an experience where creativity, elegance, and personal expression shine through every silver piece.
My Story
Jewelry by Marcia Ruhl
I can’t remember a time when I didn’t really enjoy jewelry. My girlfriend and I had been to an Arts and Crafts show and decided we could create something too and began fooling around making very unsophisticated rough jewelry designs. Over the 20+ years I have been doing this, my designs have morphed into unique, beautiful pieces. Everything is hand crafted by me and appeal to a wide variety of clients. They are seeking one-of-a-kind jewelry that is well-made with great attention to detail. I have to completely love a piece before I offer it for sale and am very proud of that attention to detail.
My jewelry is, in my opinion, is artwork. I spend a great deal of time coming up with a design, deciding what beads should be included, and revising designs. Pieces can take anywhere from a couple to 20+ hours putting it all together. Revisions take place in this stage also.
Other interests of mine include Western horseback riding and showing in Ranch classes, SCUBA diving, downhill skiing and travelling. I love spending time with our family including our children and grandchildren. I will always prefer making memories as opposed to gathering “things”. (Except beads) I reside in southeast Florida after living for 3 decades in the southern Arizona desert where I practiced Family Medicine.
About The Jewelry
Marcia utilizes an almost unlimited
array of high-quality components from
around the world.
My materials come primarily from the Tucson Gem and Mineral show where I have access to beads and other components from around the world. I also shop for beads when I travel looking for local flavor and uniqueness. I utilize all kinds of crystals including Swarovski and Austrian. Many precious and semi-precious beads, various minerals and agates, coral (which was harvested already dead), lapis, malachite, freshwater pearls, aquamarine, apetite, turquoise, amethyst and too many others to mention, go into my work. All metals including clasps, chains, spacers…are either .925 (sterling silver) or .999 fine silver. The fine silver is only present in pieces which are created from Art Clay Silver or PMC which I will explain further.
One technique I utilize in every piece is wire-wrapping. This allows a piece of wire to be closed into a loop. The loop is completely closed and is used to attach an earring to an ear wire or stud. When I attach beads to each other or to chains, this same type of loop is used so my pieces do not come apart when a 2 y/o grabs it! Wire-work can be greatly expanded to become not only functional, but also decorative. When I wire-wrap, I want each circle of wrap to be as close as possible to the loop and progress to the end in a very tight, neat series of wraps.
Stringing beads can be quite simple or difficult. Most beads have a center hole that the wire is passed through. The smallest beads I use have a hole which is only visible using a jeweler’s loop -seed beads. It takes about 2 hours to pass 16″ of seed beads. When using multiple types of beads, spacers and bead caps, it can take more or less time depending on the complexity of the pattern. My most labor intensive pieces I call “caterpillar” bracelets. There are 100-250 individual beads that are each wire-wrapped onto a pin with a head. It takes about 3 minutes to wire-wrap each bead like this. For 100 beads, this translates to 300 minutes which is 5 hours. Then the wrapped beads are strung with spacers or other beads and finished with a clasp, wire ring to attach the clasp and usually an extension chain so the piece is adjustable in size. The whole process takes 6-7 hours. People wonder why beadwork is expensive and this example gives an idea of the labor involved. This does not include the cost of all of the components.
When you look at my jewelry, you will notice that no 2 pieces are alike. It would be nearly impossible to recreate a piece as the materials may never be available again.
I have never had a piece come apart, but if one does, please return all of the components you can gather and send them to me. I will recreate the piece as best as possible, but I may have to substitute something. I will cover shipping back to you.
Quality Products - We Promise!
One of a Kind
All pieces are individually handmade
01
Top Quality
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Handmade
No mass produced pieces.
03
Jewelry Care
Beaded jewelry will last a lifetime if cared for correctly. Any type of silver will gather a tarnish or patina that is grey to black. This is best removed using a soft non-lint jewelry cloth specifically for sterling and fine silver. There are also chemicals that you can dip silver in that quickly removes all tarnish. It is too harsh for most soft beads such as coral, pearls, lapis, malachite and other natural stones. Natural stones have separate cleaners that are very good at cleaning these types of stones and maintaining their shine.
To prevent tarnish, wear your beautiful pieces. To store it, keep it in the dark in a sealed bag. They specifically make bags to prevent tarnish, but I think they may be more expense than they’re worth.
Beaded pieces are almost always on beading wire. To maintain the shape of a necklace or bracelet it is best to hang or lay it flat in your jewelry box. If there’s limited space, you can coil it, but do it as loosely as possible. Do not allow it to be wadded up or not lying flat. The beading wire will eventually take on the shape you left it in. If it hasn’t been too long, a crooked wire will straighten with hanging it up.
If a piece breaks (I have never had a piece come apart) collect all of the components, you can find. Locate a reputable bead artist and they may be able to find matching parts and repair it. Having a picture of the design will come in very handy. You should photograph all of your jewelry anyway just for inventory or insurance purposes.
