Baubles

Earrings are a very important accessory. They are the jewelry closest to the face. Hence, they enhance one’s facial features. They can also brighten up the face.

A woman must not leave home without wearing a pair of earrings. They need not be sparkling with big chunks of diamonds or flashing with gold. A simple pair of pearl earrings will do to complement your outfit and make you look your best.

Most ladies I know love jewelry. If their budgets permit, ladies would probably buy a couple pieces of high-quality jewelry. A practical and, of course, fashionable choice would be buying 14k gold necklaces instead of ordinary gold-plated ones.

Buying gold jewelry may be more expensive but can be cheaper in the long run because these jewelry pieces are meant to last forever. Gold can be passed on from generation to generation. Jewelry can also be sold at a much higher price later on. Thus, it is a sound investment.

The Hawaiian Islands are famous for the beautiful black pearls found in their surrounding waters. When I travelled to Kauai last year for a work trip I wanted to do some shopping but I wasn’t sure what the island was known for. When a local told me about black pearls I was intrigued, I had never heard of a black pearl before. So, I went out shopping at some jewelry markets.

The first place I stopped in had just what I was looking for. The selection of black pearls was amazing. They came in sizes ranging from a tiny one the size of a pin head to another one the size of a man’s knuckle. I settled on a black pearl and diamond necklace. I couldn’t wait to get back to the mainland and show everyone my Hawaiian find.

A good portion of the American population is Jewish. And, the six-pointed Star of David is not a symbol most of us are unfamiliar with. You probably know the star is Jewish symbol, but do you know what it actually symbolizes?

First of a star of david pendant has six points that are meant to symbolize that God rules over the universe and protects from all six directions; north, south, east, west, up, and down. The star has also been used by Jewish warriors, such as King David, to shield them during war. Another more cynical suggestion is that the star could symbolize the internal strife that afflicts the Jewish nation: two triangles forming a hexagonal pattern.

Fashion is all about inspiration. Designers work off the lines that have come before them, constantly tweaking and reworking concepts to create new and innovative creations. But taking inspiration from multiple sources to incorporate into fashion is not only the job of high end designers. People do it every day.

Just look at the surge in popularity with horseshoe necklaces. Ever since Sarah Jessica Parker’s character in Sex and the City sported a diamond encrusted horseshoe necklace, they have been cropping up on necks everywhere.

But while Miss Carrie Bradshaw chose to wear multiple thin-chained necklaces along with her favorite horseshoe pendant, you can mix it up however you want. Perhaps you’ll pair the necklace with a sweetheart neckline dress. Perhaps you’ll wear it solo over a black, cashmere turtleneck. Whatever suits your personal taste, take that television inspiration and run with it!

Moissanite is a man made gemstone, created in a lab. 
But the minerals are nature-made silicon carbide.  Silicon carbide particles were discovered more than 100 years ago in a meteor crater in Arizona.  Dr. Moissan, a French chemist who received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1906, was the first to find  a use for this combination.  Initially, silicone carbide was used in industrial applications as first an abrasive and later used in semi conductors.

Moissanite created for gem stones is harder than sapphires, rubies, or emeralds, and second only to diamonds.  They are ten percent more brilliant than diamonds and have more fire.  My moissanite ring is a spectacular piece of jewelry!

Most diamonds found in nature are unsuitable to make jewelry with.  When they are not able to make beautiful jewelry they are used as industrial diamonds where the clarity and cut of the diamond are of no importance.  In fact, 80 percent of all diamonds found in mines are used in industry.  These diamonds are called bort diamonds.  The size usually does not matter in a bort diamond either as they are usually ground down to a fine power.  The immergence of synthetic diamonds has changed the diamond market.  They are trying to make a diamond that even the best experts looking at diamond stud earrings could not differentiate. 

Diamonds are the hardest known mineral in the world.  They are the best known allotrope of carbon.  An allotrope is an element that bonds together in various ways.  For example, both a diamond and graphite are allotropes of carbon, the difference being that the diamond has tetrahedral bonds, where as graphite has hexagonal bonds.  These bonds are extremely important as seen in the composition of these two minerals, one being extremely hard, and the other very brittle. The hardness of a diamond makes it impossible to scratch, let alone cut by any naturally occurring substance.  This makes the diamond perfect for jewelry as it will keep a polish and never tarnish.  This gem is used in diamond engagement rings to symbolize this bond that we are making with our loved ones.

The most precious stone in the beryl group is the emerald.  The word comes from a Greek word meaning green stone!  The emerald is the birthstone fror May and the stone commemorating the 20th and 35th wedding anniversaries.  The color comes from small amounts of chromium and traces of iron in the crystal.  The emerald is more beautiful in the daylight.

Inclusions are tolerated in emeralds.  These flaws assure us that the stone is a natural.  The emeralds has its own cut…the emerald cut.  This is a stone cut in a rectangular or square shape with oblique corners such as the emerald ring I got last year.

Emeralds are found in Columbia, Brazil, South Africa, Russia, and in North Carolina in the United States. 

One of the largest emeralds weighed 217.80 carats and was inscribed with prayer text on one side and with floral ornaments on the other.  It sold for $2.2 million in 2001.

The important criteria for diamonds involves four “c’s”:  clarity, color, carat, and cut.  Clarity is measured by the amount of internal defects, which are called inclusions.  Only about 20% of the diamonds produced are clear enough to become gemstones.  The other 80% are too flawed, and these diamonds are used for industrial purposes.  Carat is a measure of the mass weight of the diamond.  A carat is 200 milligrams.  Color in diamonds ranges from black, blue, pink, purple, green, violet, orange, yellow, brown, and a translucent white.  Yellow and brown are the most common.  To have color, the diamond has internal impurities, such as the most common, nitrogen.  Black diamonds have little bits of carbon.  Low saturation yellow and brown diamonds are in the normal color range, with a scale from D to Z, colorless to light yellow.   A blue diamond recently sold for $8 million.  The blue color was a result of boron impurities.  Cut does not apply to the shape of diamonds, but to the cutting   There are formulas devised for diamond cutters to get the most brilliance from each stone.  Modern round brilliant diamonds have 57 facets (polished faces); 33 are on the crown–the top half–and 24 are on the pavilion–the  bottom half.  Our diamond stud earrings get all A’s for the 4 C’s!