Hmm, reference pics for the "red stone" necklace? Couldn't find them on youtube.
Lacking said pictures, I can only make general comments, but I do have a number of ideas sparked by what you said.
First, ideas for the red stone.
Idea #1.
See http://sweeterlemon.com/2011/11/14/nail-polish-jewelry-tutorial/ I haven't done this myself, but I bookmarked it in anticipation of trying it out some day. You would need (a) a glass cabochon or dome (b) a backing for the cabochon (c) transparent strong glue (d) red and glittery nail polish (with perhaps black nail polish or orange or gold)
The reason I like this idea is that you could make something that is unusual, that makes one think of a magic amulet, by layering the nail polish to be red/gold and glittery. The downside of this is, of course, that it will take more effort, and you might not be able to find the materials.
Idea #2.
Swarovski crystal. http://www.firemountaingems.com/ is a US supplier; I've never bought from them because it makes more sense to buy from Australian suppliers because of the exchange rate and postage. But they do seem to have good prices for beading stuff. I suggest Swarovski because their stuff is beautiful (though expensive) and you can get pendants in various shapes.
Another important thing is that they have a colour called "fire-opal" which may be even more fitting for your purpose than plain red - or it may not; I'm not sure how much wiggle room you have with the colour. The "fire-opal" colour is a gradation of red to orange to transparent.
Second, thoughts on stringing material. You want something "archaic", something less conventional than a simple chain.
A. Leather thonging. A single strand of round leather thonging, either black or dark red, would have a "primitive" cachet, and would be simple. Black would probably be easier to obtain; the red colours I've seen are usually too bright and tacky.
B. Plaited leather thonging. Round or flat, probably black. Just like the single strand, only you plait it to make it more interesting.
C. Chunky and/or antiqued chain. You can get "antiqued" chain which is deliberately darkened, rather than being shiny. And chunky-looking chain would also be less modern-looking than delicate chain. Of course, these are going to be more expensive than leather.
D. Red beads on tigertail. Probably a mix of red seed beads and red or fireopal crystal beads. If you were going with a red pendant, you could probably use Czech firepolished faceted beads rather than Swarovski faceted beads; as I said, Swarovski is expensive.
I hope that's enough ideas to get the juices flowing.
Wow! Thank you so much - this advice is going to be massively helpful. The "juices" are definitely flowing; I can't wait to start looking around for potential stones and settings this weekend!
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Lacking said pictures, I can only make general comments, but I do have a number of ideas sparked by what you said.
First, ideas for the red stone.
Idea #1.
See http://sweeterlemon.com/2011/11/14/nail-polish-jewelry-tutorial/
I haven't done this myself, but I bookmarked it in anticipation of trying it out some day. You would need
(a) a glass cabochon or dome
(b) a backing for the cabochon
(c) transparent strong glue
(d) red and glittery nail polish (with perhaps black nail polish or orange or gold)
The reason I like this idea is that you could make something that is unusual, that makes one think of a magic amulet, by layering the nail polish to be red/gold and glittery. The downside of this is, of course, that it will take more effort, and you might not be able to find the materials.
Idea #2.
Swarovski crystal.
http://www.firemountaingems.com/ is a US supplier; I've never bought from them because it makes more sense to buy from Australian suppliers because of the exchange rate and postage. But they do seem to have good prices for beading stuff.
I suggest Swarovski because their stuff is beautiful (though expensive) and you can get pendants in various shapes.
Another important thing is that they have a colour called "fire-opal" which may be even more fitting for your purpose than plain red - or it may not; I'm not sure how much wiggle room you have with the colour. The "fire-opal" colour is a gradation of red to orange to transparent.
See: http://www.firemountaingems.com/details.asp?pn=H205497CY for the fire-opal pendant.
There seems to be a bigger range of "magma red" and "Siam" pendants, though.
See Swarovski pendant red and Swarovski pendant siam.
Second, thoughts on stringing material. You want something "archaic", something less conventional than a simple chain.
A. Leather thonging. A single strand of round leather thonging, either black or dark red, would have a "primitive" cachet, and would be simple. Black would probably be easier to obtain; the red colours I've seen are usually too bright and tacky.
See: http://www.firemountaingems.com/details.asp?pn=H201319BS for example.
B. Plaited leather thonging. Round or flat, probably black. Just like the single strand, only you plait it to make it more interesting.
C. Chunky and/or antiqued chain. You can get "antiqued" chain which is deliberately darkened, rather than being shiny. And chunky-looking chain would also be less modern-looking than delicate chain. Of course, these are going to be more expensive than leather.
See: http://www.firemountaingems.com/shopping.asp?skw=KWCHAINCOPPERNECKLACE for copper chains (which include silver-coated and black-oxidized looks too). These particular ones already have fasteners for your convenience.
D. Red beads on tigertail. Probably a mix of red seed beads and red or fireopal crystal beads. If you were going with a red pendant, you could probably use Czech firepolished faceted beads rather than Swarovski faceted beads; as I said, Swarovski is expensive.
I hope that's enough ideas to get the juices flowing.
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