Category Archives: Stone Jewelry

The History Of Crystal

Crystal Jewelry

Crystal

In science, a crystal is a solid substance in which the atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The word crystal is a loan from the ancient Greek word (krustallos), which had the same meaning, but according to the ancient understanding of crystal. At root it means anything congealed by freezing, such as ice. The word once referred particularly to quartz, or “rock crystal”. Most metals encountered in everyday life are polycrystals. Crystals are often symmetrically intergrown to form crystal twins.

The history of crystal dates back thousands of years to the Mesopotamian times. Lead oxide was used to enhance the brilliance of glass as used today, but applied in differently. This was an alternate to the popular rock crystal which was more expensive, harder to cut and less refractive.

In the year 1676, George Ravenscroft revolutionized the methods of adding the lead oxide, which brought lead crystal a major step closer to it’s mass production of today.

In 1892, Daniel Swarovski invented a machine to cut jewelry stones perfectly. In 1895, he moved his company, known as Swarovski, from Bohemia to the Wattens, Austria where he used the Rhine River as a source of energy to run the company’s machinery. From here the name “Rhinestone” was born. Today the word “rhinestone” is used for leaded crystal coming from any country though.

Swarovski is the highest quality crystal stone manufacturer in the world today. Stones are made in many other countries other than Austria as well, most notably Czechoslovakia, Germany, China, Israel and others.

Crystals are used for healing, meditation, energy work, storing information, protection, grounding, and channeling. Many have specific shapes such as crystal skulls and singing crystal bowls, used for healing, balancing, awakening, and scrying.

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Carbonado, The Black Diamond

Black Diamond

Black Diamond

Black diamond or have official name as Carbonado, is a natural polycrystalline diamond found in alluvial deposits in the Central African Republic and Brazil. Its natural colour is black or dark grey, and it is more porous than other diamonds.

Carbonado has been described from Brazil and the Central African Republic. The source formations are thought to be Proterozoic conglomerates. In Siberia similar material is known as “yakutite”. Diamond referred to as carbonado has also been reported in a few iron meteorites such as Canyon Diablo and Chuckwalla. It does not seem to occur with normal diamonds in kimberlite pipes, suggesting a very different mode of origin.

The carbonado was first recognized as a form of polycrystalline diamond as long ago as the 1840s, when it was discovered and placer mined in Brazil, S.America. It has since been found elsewhere, e.g., Venezuela, eastern Australia, and the Ubangui region of the Central African Republic, where it is known as `carbons’.

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Beads, The Beauty And The History

Beads

Beads

A bead is a small, decorative object that is usually pierced for threading or stringing. The word bead comes from the Anglo Saxon words bidden (to pray) and bede (prayer.) The history of beads is long and rich. Beads can be made of many types of materials. The earliest beads were made of convenient natural materials; when found, these could be readily drilled and shaped. As human technology became capable of obtaining or working with more difficult natural materials, those were added to the range of available substances. The same was true of new synthetic materials when created. In modern manufacturing, the most common bead materials are wood, plastic, glass, metal, and stone.

Glass was discovered about 3,400 years ago, and since then has become a very important material for the bead-maker, user and wearer.

A pair of beads made from Nassarius sea snail shells, approximately 100,000 years old, are thought to be the earliest known examples of jewellery. Beadwork is the art or craft of making things with beads. Beads can be woven together with specialized thread, strung onto thread or soft, flexible wire, or adhered to a surface (e.g. fabric, clay).

Beads may be divided into several types of overlapping categories, based on different criteria such as component materials, manufacturing process, place or period of origin, surface patterning, or general shape. In some cases, such as millefiori and cloisonné beads, multiple categories may overlap in an inseparably interdependent fashion.

Prayer beads are known world-wide, and help the user recite prayers and keep track of the sequence and number of the prayers. Worry beads, also common around the world, help with decision-making, and keep the hands busy. Beads continue to be used as talismans to protect the wearer against evil, and as amulets to bring wisdom and fortune.

The history of beads dates as far back as 40,000 years with the advent of modern people. They have been made by every culture since then.

In North America, the use of beads and their manufacture was limited to a difficult production in gold, jade, bone, blue-green stone turquoise and hand polished shell beads. Thousands of years prior to European contact, geographical location determined the kinds of beads produced. Prehistoric Southwestern cultures traded turquoise throughout the western regions and into Mexico. Marine shells from the Florida coasts were traded north and made into beads in Illinois. They were distributed to the agricultural societies of the Mississippi, Ohio and Illinois River valleys about A.D. 1100.

Historically, beadworking was part of a social pastime where friends and family would bead together at the same table and discuss the issues of the day or just socialize. Today, cosmopolitan issues generally overtake friends and families and the individual must find time for the craft.

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The Black Jet

Jet Stone

Jet

Jet is a geological material and is considered to be a minor gemstone. Jet is not considered a true mineral, but rather a mineraloid as it has an organic origin, being derived from decaying wood under extreme pressure.

The English noun “jet” derives from the French word for the same material: jaiet. Jet is either black or dark brown, but may contain pyrite inclusions, which are of brassy colour and metallic lustre. The adjective jet-black is better known perhaps than the substance from which the descriptive phrase derives.

Jet is a product of high pressure decomposition of wood from millions of years ago, commonly the wood of trees of the family Araucariaceae. Jet is found in two forms, hard and soft. Hard jet is the result of the carbon compression and salt water; soft jet is the result of the carbon compression and fresh water.

The jet found at Whitby, England is of early Jurassic (Toarcian) age, approximately 182 million years old.

Jet occurs in black or dark brown and is a variety of coal known as lignite. The finest jet comes from England, and it is also found in the United States, Poland, France, Germany, Spain, India and Russia.

Jet neutralizes negative energies. Hold a piece of jet to clear negative vibrations.

* To release stress, combine jet with lepidolite.
* Psychic protection and purification – use jet with black tourmaline or smokey quartz.

Jet is grounding and balancing, and as it also carries a negative electrical charge, is good for drawing power and knowledge to the bearer. Made of burned, then fosillized trees, it helps to tap into the ancient wisdoms and transformative powers of the Earth. It is also helpful in stabilizing finances, and is said to soothe migraines.

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Organic Gemstone

Organic Gemstone

Organic Gemstone

Organic gems are a group of gem stones whose creation is associated with living organisms which are formed from once living material changed over time into a stone.

Organic gemstone jewelry was popular with the Victorians in the 19th century. Shells were carved to make cameos, delicate seed pearls were used to make elegant parrures or sets of jewelry consisting of pendant earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. Coral was also fashioned into parrures or coral beads with red and pale pink being the most popular colors.

Some stones which we refer as ‘Gemstones’ were once living organisms or were formed by living organisms. In other words, Organic gemstones are gems that are derived from animals, plants or other organisms while they are living or after they die and the usually do not have cleavage as do rock gemstones.

There are several types of Organic Gemstones used to make Gemstone Jewelry. The gems in this category are pearl, amber, coral, ivory, ammolite, shell and jet.However, the most popular among these stones is Pearl. Red Coral is also a popular choice of many.

Types of Organic Gemstones

Amber

Amber is the fossilized resin of a tree. The color of Amber varies from transparent to semitransparent and generally from light yellow to dark brown, but can be orange, red, whitish, greenish-brown, blue, or violet. This stone resembles and is named after ambergris, a sweet smelling secretion of the sperm whale once used in perfume making. Amber has a hardness of 2-2.5 Mohs scale. Amber was the much preferred jewelry of Victorian era. This gemstone is considered as a good luck stone.

Jet

Jet is a shiny black stone and is formed from the remains of wood in a similar process by which coal is made. Jet is also called lignite. This stone has a hardness of 2.5-4 Mohs scale. This stone became extremely popular as mourning jewelry after Queen Victoria wore it on the death of her husband Prince Albert in 1861. This stone is considered as a gem for spiritual enlightenment.

Ammolite

Ammolite is the fossilized remains of ancient sea anemones. Ammolite is similar to the opal in appearance and often has a cracked or mottled surface. This cracking can give the stone the look of ‘dragon scales’ or a stained glass window.

Pearl

Pearl is considered the king of all organic gems and is formed inside the shells of oysters and mussels. Pearl has a hardness of 2.5-4.5 in the Mohs scale. Natural pearls come in various shapes: round, pear, drop, egg, and others. They also come in various colors, such as white, cream, light rose, cream rose, black, gray, bronze, blue, dark blue, blue green, red, purple, yellow, and violet. Pearl Jewelry is considered as the Symbol of Beauty and Elegance and was part of the royal jewelry.

Ivory

Usually the elephant’s tusk is referred to Ivory but these days’ teeth of hippopotamus, walrus, wild boar and some other mammals also serve as ivory. Ivory jewelry was popular during the Victorian period. Since many animals that have ivory tusk were killed to get their tusk the import and sale of ivory is strictly banned in many countries of the world.

Coral

Coral is the skeletal remains of marine animals. Coral has a hardness of 2.6 to 2.7 in the Mohs scale and is found in semi translucent to opaque and occurs in white, pink, orange, red, blue, violet, golden, and black. Coral is used to make figurines, cameos, carvings and beads

Everything is beautiful…

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Corundum

Corundum

Corundum is a crystalline form of aluminium oxide with traces of iron, titanium and chromium. It is a rock-forming mineral. Corundum is the second hardest natural mineral known to science. The hardest mineral, diamond is still four times harder than corundum. The hardness of corundum can be partially attributed to the strong and short oxygen-aluminum bonds.

The name “corundum” is derived from the Tamil word “kuruntam” meaning “ruby”, it is derived from the Sanskrit “kuruvinda”.

Corundum is rare gem and has crystal lining in their atomic structure. When these are taken nearer to the light, these look like sparkling starts. Star sapphires should be used to render proper guidance and should be minimum 3 carats. The purer variety of corundum is colorless.

The most important of the gem families, corundum provides us with two of the best-known stones: ruby and sapphire. The popularity and price of these gemstones remain strong due to the beauty, durability and versatility of the material. Unfortunately, however, the ongoing development of synthetics, imitations and enhancement treatments has made the task of choosing and buying sapphire or ruby complex and sometimes risky.


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Diamonds Are Forever

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond, looking from the ancient Greek it has meaning as “unbreakable,” “proper,” or “unalterable”. It is one of the best-known and most sought-after gemstones. Diamonds have been known to humankind and used as decorative items since ancient times; some of the earliest references can be traced to India.

Diamonds are the hardest substance on earth. They are more brilliant than any other natural gem. Their sparkling fire, durability, and rarity make them the most prized of gems.

The most popular diamonds are colorless. However, most diamonds have a light tint, usually yellowish or brownish. Yellow diamonds as of recently have gained popularity and are commonly available. Perfectly clear diamonds are much more valuable than tinted diamonds. Very rarely, diamond occurs in deep hues of red, blue, and green. Such diamonds, known as “fancies”, are extremely valuable.

The cut, or facet of the diamond, is the manner in which the diamond is cut. The most preferred cut is the brilliant cut, a facet specially designed to bring out the most “fire” in the stone. Sometimes, this cut cannot be given, either because of flaws or cleavage habits. Other cuts are not as valuable as the brilliant cut. Much planning must be taken before cutting a diamond, as a slight error in the facet may greatly decrease the value of the stone.

The size of a diamond is measured in carats (abbreviated as “ct”). A carat is equivalent to 0.2 grams (about 0.007 ounces). Another weight measurement sometimes used for small for diamonds is the point measurement (abbreviated as “pt”). Each point is one/one hundredth of a carat. For example, a stone weighing 34 pt weighs .34 ct. Larger diamonds are worth more than proportionally smaller ones, meaning a 3 ct. diamond surpasses the value of three 1ct. diamonds.

Diamonds from Indian deposits were known in ancient times. In the West the limited use of diamonds began in the late Middle Ages. The diamond, was thought to give its wearer strength in battle and to protect him against ghosts and magic.The first river-bed diamonds were probably discovered around 800 B.C.

Diamond has some types, which are:
Bort – dark colored, imperfectly crystallized, opaque diamond. May also refer to a fragment of a gem quality diamond.
Fancy – deep red, green, blue, or purple diamond
Canary Diamond – diamond with a deep yellow color

Diamond is a great assistance for all brain diseases. It is beneficial in stomach area. Diamonds strengthen the owner’s memory.

Moreover, diamonds give faith, purity, life, joy, innocence and repentance. They assist in developing concentration and in beeing straight-forward and honest. It is believed the diamond loses its brilliance with the health of the wearer, regaining it only when the owner recovers. Diamond is an antidote to poison and is capable of detecting poison by exhibiting a moisture or perspiration on its surface. Supposedly, the higher quality the diamond, the better it supports these qualities.

Last, Diamonds are forever. It symbolizing persistence, loyalty and a woman.

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Boulder Opal

Boulder Opal

Boulder Opal

Boulder opal from the Opalton mine is often characterized by many many veins of colorful, fiery opal running through the hard ironstone. Most boulder opal is mined in Australia where thin veins of opal form within the brown ironstone matrix, creating a wonderfully unique picture stone.

Boulder opal occurs in two main forms, ‘seam’ and ‘matrix’. When opal intrudes into cracks and seams in the host rock (usually ironstone), it is called SEAM boulder opal. Seam boulder opal is often ‘split’ along the seam so as to produce one or two faces of opal material.

The gemstone Opal is the official October birthstone as adopted by the American National Association of Jewelers in 1912. It is also the birth stone for the Zodiac sign of Libra.

Boulder opal is very durable due to the ironstone backing the opal forms on. Because water content within the opal is very low it almost never cracks or crazes as it ages.

It is believe that boulder opal is good to aids inner beauty, faithfulness, and eyesight and helps recall past lives.

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The Magnificent Star Sapphire

Star Sapphire

Star Sapphire

A star sapphire is a type of sapphire that exhibits a star-like phenomenon known as asterism. Star sapphires contain intersecting needle-like inclusions (often the mineral rutile, a mineral composed primarily of titanium dioxide that cause the appearance of a six-rayed “star”-shaped pattern when viewed with a single overhead light source.

Naturally forming Star Sapphires are usually more expensive, especially if the Star Sapphire is deep and rich in color. Sapphires, as well as Star Sapphires can come in a variety of colors including most notably blue, but also green, colorless, orange, brown, purple and violet.

The word Sapphire comes from the Latin word saphirus meaning blue. Sapphires and Star Sapphires were prized possessions of kings and queens. They were used for talisman and for their perceived medicinal qualities. It should be noted that red Sapphires do exist, however they have the privilege of being called Rubies.

The Black Star of Queensland is believed to be the largest star sapphire that has ever been mined, and it weighs 733 carats. The Star of India (weighing 563.4 carats) is thought to be the second-largest star sapphire, and it is currently on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.


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The Brightfull Spinel

Spinel Gemstone

Spinel

One of the most beautiful and rarest gemstones available today is the Spinel. While you might be able to find a gemstone called Spinel at your local jewelry stone, it is probably synthetic and only loosely based on the beautiful qualities of true Spinel.

Pure spinel is white, but impurities give it a wide range of colors. Almost all colors are used in jewelry, but the most valuable and popular color is the deep red. These red gems closely resemble rubies, and the two may be difficult to distinguish. In fact, until the late 19th century, there was no distinction between ruby and red spinel, as they look identical and are found in the same localities. Nowadays, distinctions can be made through hardness and x-ray tests. Many famous old “rubies” were found to be Spinel. The enormous “ruby” that forms the centerpiece of the royal crown of England (the Black Prince’s Ruby) was determined to be spinel.

Spinel was usually associated with Rubies, due to the fact that large red Spinel were found in the same mines that Rubies were mined at. Since they had the same characteristics and practically looked the same to the naked eye, they were often believed to be Rubies. Many Spinels were worn by kings and queens throughout history and even are included on many priceless royal artifacts such as the Black Prince’s Ruby, the 170 carat red Spinel that is set in the Imperial State Crown of England and a Spinel is also part of some of the British Crown Jewels. Henry V even wore Spinel as part of a battle helmet.

Besides red, Spinel comes in a wide variety of beautiful colors including green, blues, purples, orange, pink and a very prized hot pink. Spinel is associated with many other gemstones including tourmaline and garnets. They are all made from the elements iron, chromium, zinc and magnesium, however they have differing amounts. Some of these minerals can even include nickel and aluminum. Usually these differences will create specific colors and attributes.

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