Jewelry Blog

Emeralds, as other precious gemstones, are rare and highly precious. These spectacular green colored gemstones can allure anyone easily. It is said that emeralds can also be used to cure many astrological issues besides being used as part of a jewelry article. An emerald is one of the most expensive gemstones in the world. As it falls under the category of precious gemstones and has a limited availability in the market, a real and authentic emerald is very difficult to find. Only an expert gemologist can strike the difference between the real gem and its look-alike. However, it is essential for every prospective buyer to know about the potential challengers of a real emerald gemstone.

Most of the times while shopping for gemstone jewelry retailers try to sell off either imitations of real gemstones or other stones that closely resemble them. Such clever sellers try to mislead the buyer and sell such inappropriate gemstones under the name of the real ones. For an emerald, gemstones like chrome diopside, chrome tourmaline and tsavorite garnet can prove to be potential threats. These three gemstones not only resemble each other but also display quality such as durability and optical properties as good as that of the real gemstone.

Chrome diospide exhibits a bright green color which is as refreshing to the eyes as lush green tropical rain forests. As it is a relatively soft gem to be used in heavy jewelry articles, a chrome diospide is mostly seen embedded in earrings or brooches. Thus, when buying a pair of earrings or a brooch made using emerald, one must keep an open eye to save himself from falling prey to the beauty of a chrome diospide.

Chrome tourmaline marks its origin in Tanzania. This spectacular green colored gemstone displays subtle hints of blue or yellow. Its durability and lesser number of inclusions as compared to an emerald make it easily distinguishable. As a result of its tantalizing green shade and low price, chrome tourmaline is considered to be a highly suitable alternative for an emerald and appropriate for custom jewelry.

Tsavorite garnet is recognized by its rich yellowish green shade. It is named after the region it is principally found in — Tsavo Park situated in East Africa. Its brilliance, clarity and suitability to be used in jewelry have earned it the status of the highly appropriate alternative for an original emerald. It is extremely important for a buyer to get as much knowledge as possible regarding these gems before buying such a precious gemstone as emerald.

Tweet

Almost every person on this planet loves to own a piece of silver metal jewelry irrespective of the age, gender and nationality. Silver is an amazingly refreshing metal both for the eyes and the mind. However, there are so many different kinds of silver available in the market that it becomes a very daunting task for an amateur to choose an appropriate silver accessory without seeking advice from an expert. Thus, one must know a few important things about silver metal which includes its various kinds and their unique features, before making a purchase.

First of all, it is extremely essential to know what is silver. Silver has been in use for medicinal as well as body adorning purposes since the past hundreds of years. Traces of this bright and shiny metal are majorly found in the mines of Australia, Mexico and Peru. In its pure form, silver is not believed to be apt for jewelry making as it is too soft to be molded into various shapes. Considering that, many hard metals such as copper or lead are added to this metal to achieve the desired solidity. Silver, besides being used in jewelry, also acts as a great healing agent for wounds and skin diseases. In the earlier times, people used silver to heal injuries met in the wars or to treat skin diseases encountered due to allergies.

Next important thing to be aware about is the types of silver available in the market and how is each kind different from the other. As mentioned earlier, the pure form of silver which contains 99.9 percent metal is too soft to be used in silver jewelry making supplies thus, the principal form of silver used in making ornaments is known as sterling silver. It contains 92.5 percent of pure silver in combination with 7.5 percent of metal alloy that provides it the required hardness. The first authentication symbol of sterling silver is its hallmark which says “925”.

Another type of silver jewelry is created by coating a silver layer over a base metal to give the appearance of Silver from the exterior, however, it is not silver entirely. Silver plated jewelry is quite inexpensive as compared to sterling silver accessories. It also has a short life because the silver coating wears off soon after a few uses. And thus, it requires regular polishing and re-coating.

Many jewelers try to cheat the buyers by selling silver coated jewelry under the name of sterling silver. Thus, one must make sure to check for the hallmark sign before buying to avoid falling prey to such trickery.

Tweet

Freshwater pearls are one of the most cherished and enticing jewelry accessories in the world. These pearls are the favorite choices of jewelry designers who are constantly allured by their elegance and grace. Are you also fascinated with pearl beads? Do you want to know how are they cultured? If yes, you must read on.

Freshwater pearls take shape either in a natural way or through manual culturing. The natural cultivation of these pearls is very rare, as the climatic conditions must match with the physical state of the oysters to give birth to the freshwater pearls. Thus, in most cases the process of cultivation is initialized manually. The pearls formed out of such human interference are known as cultured freshwater pearls. However, in this procedure the sanctity and authenticity of the pearls is kept completely untouched.

In this process the nuclei of a natural pearl is kept near the genitals of an oyster. This commences the natural process of pearl formation within the oyster. The duration of formation of a single pearl is between three to six years. Once the pearl is fully formed it is surgically removed from the oyster.

As the process of generating freshwater pearls is very long, their price in the market is quite high and sometimes unaffordable. These pearls are, thus, sold together in a large amount through specific reliable dealers. These wholesale pearls could be purchased through various online jewelry retailers.

Tweet

Pearls are famed for their wonderful beauty and worn by both men and women. Pearls are of different kinds – saltwater and freshwater. They can also be classified as natural and cultured. Natural pearls are obtained without human intervention whereas cultured pearls are produced through human intervention.

Saltwater pearls are created by placing an object called mother-of-pearl into the oyster. The oyster subsequently coats the object with nacre. For making freshwater pearls a small piece of mantle tissue is inserted inside the mussel. Freshwater pearls are created in more volume than saltwater pearls. Hence they are less expensive than salt water pearls.

For producing cultured freshwater pearls (artificial) water must be warm. It was not known for ages of how pearls were made naturally. However in recent times this mystery has being unraveled. When a foreign substance enters an oyster crystalline calcium carbonate is secreted which envelops the substance and subsequently leads to the formation of a natural pearl.

Pearls beads whether natural or cultured are a joy to behold. They are extremely popular and will remain in vogue in the future. The pearls beads are prized assets for anyone lucky enough own them

Tweet

Cancer, represented in images as a crab, is considered to be the zodiac sign for those who are born between June 22 and July 22. Crab has a huge symbolic significance that hints towards the characteristic traits of people born under this sun sign. As the crab is very tough from the outside and equally soft, shy and introvert from the inside, in the same way a Cancerian is generally seen to be very defensive and detached from the face value, however, they are extremely passionate, affectionate, friendly, loyal, devoted and sensitive on the emotional ground. These people are highly insecure and lack confidence. As per the general observation, Cancerians usually have health problems related to chest and stomach.
Gemstones such as Amber, Brown Spinel, Beryl, Opal, Ruby, Fire Agate, Calcite and Dendritic Agate are few of the mostly recommended for the Cancerians. But, astrologically, the problems related to health and emotional imbalance of the persons displaying the characteristics of the zodiac Cancer can be rectified by the wearing any of the following gemstones.
Agate: This semi precious gemstone belongs to the family of Chalcedony gemstones. It is found in a great variety of colors, shapes, and textures. Agate gemstones are considered to be one of the most creative examples of naturally patterned stones. The stripes on these stones look extraordinarily beautiful and exotic. Agate signifies good luck and health, thus, it works wonderfully for the wearer, especially, if the person belongs to the Cancer zodiac sign.
Emerald: This green colored beautiful gemstone represents the planet mercury. It is believed that emerald can bring prosperity, love, luck and a blissful married life for the wearer. Apart from that it also increases the ability to concentrate and thus, it is considered to be appropriate for Cancer as their zodiac sign.
Moonstone: Moonstone is a semi precious gemstone that represents the planet moon. Recognized by its creamy white translucent appearance this beautiful gemstone is extremely radiant and glows like moon. Thus, it symbolizes love and affection. It is believed to be one of the most suitable gemstones for the Cancerians.
Pearl: Pearl is a gemstone, which is believed to be highly apt for this zodiac sign. It is also related to Moonstone, white coral and milky agate. It symbolizes peace of mind. Thus, it is recommended to people who have bad temperament levels.
All the above listed gemstones can be worn in any preferred form of jewelry; however, such astrological gems must always be worn after being recommended because they can also have many adverse effects.

Tweet

Amethyst is a precious gemstone that belongs to the family of quartz. It is one of the most popular gemstones in the jewelry industry. In earlier times it was used to heal the wearer from intoxication or to prevent the effects of excessive drinking. Thus, it was named amethyst which is derived from the Greek language and translates to “not intoxicate” or “not drunken”. Most of the times when we talk about a traditional amethyst gemstone, we can only think of it as a purple colored gem. Surprisingly, if a purple colored amethyst comes in contact with a high degree of heat its color changes to green. And, that gives birth to a green amethyst. Most of these amethyst beads used in gemstone beads necklaces.
Usually, green amethyst is created artificially in a lab by heating the purple amethyst under high temperature till it changes its color to pale green. However, it has been noticed that quartz crystals can also turn into green color under naturally hot climatic conditions such as near volcanoes. Such green amethysts are found in the form of crystalline clusters on the California-Nevada border.
Technically, the actual name for a heated purple amethyst is “greened” amethyst, but, usually people refer to it as “green” amethyst. As amethyst gemstones are sensitive to heat they must be kept away from high temperature environments while in use. These stones generally start changing color at a temperature as low as 250 degrees. Therefore, it is always advisable to keep the purple amethyst away from heat in order to retain its color.
Green amethyst resembles precious green emerald. Its exotic green color and brilliant clarity gave it a high ranking amongst other gemstones of the same group. During the olden times, green amethysts were a symbol of affluence and power. Many historical princes and princesses have been seen wearing these beautiful gems as part of their ornaments. Although today, these stones are sometimes addressed as a poor man’s emerald as it gives the similar appeal as an emerald at a much cheaper price.
Everyday, several pieces of stunning jewelry are created using these bright and shinning gems such as necklaces, rings, earrings and bracelets. They make a great and enchanting pair with white diamonds. The rarity of these green amethysts sometimes provokes jewelers to make their fake imitations. With a little research and knowledge one can easily distinguish between a real a green amethyst and its synthetic counterpart. The process of production of a green amethyst determines its price. If the gemstone has been formed naturally it would cost much higher than the one produced in a lab. However, in the end it certainly proves to be worth its price.

Tweet

The making of sterling silver jewelry is an art and it has been there for a long period and it would continue to be there in the future. Sterling silver jewelry has become popular among the young and old alike. Though in the olden days, sterling silver was used to make cutlery, vessels, tumblers today it is used for crafting sterling jewelry. Some of the silver jewelry that is much sought after by both the genders include earrings, chains, bracelets, pendants and rings.

A pendant is a jewel that has a loop at top through which you can pass a chain. Silver pendants are one of the pieces of jewelry that would never go out of fashion. The designs of pendant are varied ranging from simple ones to more intricately and stone encrusted ones. Silver beaded pendants would not only blends with casuals but also with semi-formals and any kind of evening gowns or suits.

Remember, silver is a metal that blends all skin tones and complexion. Hence there is a great demand for silver jewelry among the women folk. Silver pendants are made from sterling silver and German silver.  You can buy a pendant and match it with a chain to make a silver jewelry set. If you can get a pair of earrings to match the pendant and chain there is nothing like it.

It is a common trend among the youngsters to wear pendants that match their outfit. They would have a few pendants and a single silver chain that they would mix and match to complement with their apparels.

Silver pendant would also make a wonderful gift for any occasion. There are different kinds of pendants for all age groups to choose. Senior adults would like to own a piece of religious pendant such as cross while the youth would prefer motifs of flowers, birds and animals.

Silver cross pendants are in rage today as gifts for religious occasions. Cross pendants are available in various finishes ranging from antique, rustic, polished and hammered. You would also find sterling silver cross pendants studded with precious stones such as turquoise, topaz, moonstone, garnet, sapphire and pearls. Religious people would loop a chain through cross pendant and wear it on their neck. Some would prefer to string it to the rosary.

Birth stone pendants are in vogue. You can gift yourself with a birthstone pendant or to your beloved ones. Birth stone pendants would make a wonderful birthday gift. One thing is for sure sterling silver jewelry is here to stay.

Tweet