Linda's Crafty Inspirations: Montees

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Montees

The first time I'd heard of these pretty little gems was in one of Kelly Dale's YouTube beading video tutorials. I didn't give them much thought though because I figured they were out of my price range and I was right. The subject came up recently on my Pinterest "Crafty Inspirations" board when Dolly Smith posted her lovely bracelet HERE. She made it from Kelly's "Montee Embellished Pearl Bracelet" video tutorial, which is the one I had seen. You can watch HERE.

Here is Dolly's bracelet:

Dolly sent me enough of the same blue montees she used to make a bracelet and I've been trying different things with them to find just the right pattern to suit my style. So, I thought I'd blog about montees just for fun. I don't really know much about them but they do seem to pop up here and there on blogs and in Etsy shops, etc. I think they're technically called "Rose Montees" and they're made by Swarovski and also by Preciosa. There are also some called Chaton Montees. The difference appears to be in the type of stone in the setting. Rose Montees are a bit flatter due to the flat backs on the stones. Chaton Montees are thicker because the stones have a point on the back. The ones I have are Rose Montees and they're about 4mm in diameter. 3.9mm is the actual size and the size is referred to as "16ss" (stone size). Mine are in a gold metal setting with two holes in the base that form an "X". There is also another type that I've seen that have two parallel holes. I found a tip somewhere online that suggests using FireLine with montees because the metal edges of the setting can cut regular Nymo type thread.

ROSE MONTEES

CHATON MONTEES

I have to say that they are fun and easy to work with and add a nice sparkle to beadwork. I'm pretty sure that I know what I'm going to make with mine as you'll see below. First, here are some links for inspiration as well as some places to buy them.

PLACES TO BUY MONTEES

Dreamtime Creations

Fusion Beads

Shipwreck Beads

Crystallized Montees Etsy

Aria Design Studio Etsy

Bead Me A Story Etsy (acrylic montees)

Off the Beaded Path
Click the size links to see what Kelly has for sale. Her site gives the impression that she only has one color/size in stock but there are lots of them there.

PATTERNS USING MONTEES

Rosanna Swarovski Rose Montee and SuperDuo Bracelet (Isabella Lam - Etsy

Pacific Lace Swarovski and SuperDuo Bracelet (Isabella Lam - Etsy)

LUMINOS DUO Bracelet (Isabella Lam)

Sparkling Posie Earrings (ArtfulBeadStudio Etsy)

Starry Night Super Duo Necklace (ArtfulBeadStudio Etsy)

Wrist Full Of Posies Bracelet (ArtfulBeadStudio Etsy)

Bow Tie Bracelet (YouTube Video by Kelly Dale)
Buy the pattern HERE

Bow Tie Necklace (YouTube Video by Kelly Dale)
Buy the pattern HERE

Perfect Storm Necklace (YouTube Video by Kelly Dale)
Buy the pattern HERE

Queens Jubilee Earrings (YouTube Video by Kelly Dale)
Buy the pattern HERE

Two Hip to be Squared Bracelet (YouTube Video by Kelly Dale)
Buy the pattern HERE

Easy Montee Earrings (YouTube Video by Kelly Dale)

Halo Bracelet (no video available)
Buy the pattern HERE

Montee Embellished Pearl Bracelet (YouTube Video by Kelly Dale)
Buy the pattern HERE

Montee Lace Bracelet (SianNolan Etsy)

Copper Pearl Montee Metal Bracelet (darlovely on Craftsy)

Below are the samples that I made last night. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to make the version with the black bicones. I ran out of thread while adding the picots on that sample and I do plan to add them to my final bracelet. My husband agreed with me that the picots balance out the proportion of the design. Although I like the pearl version, I like how the blue montees really pop against the black bicones. They seem to fade into the background on the pearl sample. I went with a brighter bronze color for the seed beads in my sample to try and get close to the gold color of the settings on the montees.

Here's the break-down: