Rhinestones have a glittering past. Originally rhinestones where referred to Czechoslovakian or Bohemian glass dating as far back as the 13th century in Bohemia and the Czech Republic. Both have a history steeped in beautiful hand blown glass as well as molded and cut glass.

This information packed article is sure to answer some of your most burning questions about Amethyst. Learn all you need to know about the history and origins of the Amethyst gemstone.

Wouldn’t it be nice to find real pearls from edible oysters? That would be the day when eating edible oysters would bring in not only food for the table but also pearl for jewelry. However, such thing is next to impossible considering that pearls do not grow in edible oysters.

Garnet is the birthstone for people born in the month of January and it is supposed to contain powers that will facilitate your night vision and help you to achieve success. It is also the traditional stone that symbolizes the second marriage anniversary.

BAYFIELD, Wis. – Rare, natural gems and local stones. A Bayfield silversmith has been working them into her pieces for more than 2 decades.Nestled along the south shore of Lake Superior you’ll find a Bayfield silversmith with a connection to the natural beauty of gems and minerals. “I was a rock hound when [...]

An alexandrite appraisal requires someone with a massive amount of skill, talent, dedication and knowledge. Not any individual that sees a gemstone can appreciate its true value, let alone qualify as an alexandrite appraisal expert. Working with and around jewels does not make someone an alexandrite appraisal expert. The status of appraiser shouldn’t come with [...]

The universe of colored gemstones is endlessly fascinating, for centuries, nearly every culture has held the belief that colored gemstones possess magical powers or the ability to provide the wearer with certain attributes.
This way of thinking has motivated the world of fashion. Natural gemstone jewelry is mystical in all of its beauty. Women need to [...]

There is something very mysterious about crystals. And, therefore, as soon as you don them, they lend a very enigmatic touch to your whole persona. Even if it is just one small little crystal, it can work wonders for you. No, this is no future prediction, though crystals have always been one of the favorite [...]

A GOLD ring and a gemstone found in a field near Upton Grey date back to Roman times, an inquest in Basingstoke heard.

The ring dates back to the third century, and the gemstone from the first or second century. They were found on January 18 last year by Martin Barker, a plumber and amateur treasure hunter from Middlesex, using a metal detector.

Sarah Whitby, deputy coroner for North East Hampshire, ruled at an inquest into the find, held at the Civic Offices, that the items were treasure.

They will now be valued by experts at the British Museum and are thought to be worth a few hundred pounds.

Ralph Jackson, curator at the British Museum’s department of prehistory and Europe, prepared a report for the inquest having studied the items.

The inquest was told he believes the carnelian gemstone bears a picture of a maenad – a female worshipper of Dionysus – the ancient Greek god of wine.

VAIL, Colorado — There are thousands of minerals lying on the surface of the earth and buried within its depths. Yet of these thousands, only about 90 are considered worthy of the name “gemstone.” What are the qualities that make us willing to give several months’ salary in order to own one?

Two very basic characteristics would be beauty and wearability. In considering the beauty of a stone, we look at color, clarity and the manner in which light plays on its surface or within its facets — a quality referred to as brilliance. Some stones are more likely to bend light and break it up into its spectral colors, two variables known as refraction and dispersion.

There is a continuum of each of these characteristics, and the higher a stone rates in these areas, the greater its rarity, and the higher its value. Let us consider a hypothetical pair of rubies: one is a rather pale or pinkish color; specks of matter or “inclusions” are easily visible within. Examining it under direct light, it seems somewhat lifeless.

Our second stone is a rich scarlet. Despite its depth of rich color, we can clearly see into the gem. No spots mar its interior and light sparkles and dances within its facets. Obviously, this second stone is far more valuable, even though the first may be several times larger. In evaluating our gemstones, then, quality has counted above quantity.

Just because a stone is beautiful, does not mean it is strong enough to be wearable.

There has been a great deal discussion about lab-created diamonds. Along with that talk, there is much misinformation and perplexity. The jewelry lover, who is interested in realizing the huge savings and aesthetic beauty that simulated diamonds offer, is often bewildered by the manufactured diamond industry jargon and available options. This article will categorically break it down in easy-to-understand terms so that anyone can make an intelligent decision when choosing a simulated diamond.

Thanks to aggressive publicity campaigns sponsored by the diamond industry, anyone buying a diamond can confidently go into the transaction armed with enough information to ask the right questions. In the pre-purchase stage, you’ll likely query the seller about the five C’s: carat, cut, clarity, color and cost. As long as you trust the jeweler, you can be confident about the value of the gem you’re interested in based on his or her answers. But what about pearls? What questions do you ask? What does a high quality pearl look like? What are traits to avoid? Here we’ll tell you what makes a pearl valuable. We’ll also give you questions to ask your jeweler and tools to judge these lustrous gems yourself.

Pearl Value Factors

While there is no international standard for grading pearls, there is a system that is commonly used to evaluate these beautiful colored gemstones. Developed by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the world’s largest non-profit institute of gemological research and learning, this grading system considers seven pearl traits when determining value. They are: size, shape, color, luster, surface quality, nacre quality, and matching. Let’s take a look at each one as it relates to the beautiful cultured pearl.

One of the largest natural pearls in the world will go on display tomorrow at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi.

The marvelous piece of nature’s gift named ‘Pearl of Sheikha Fatima’ is one of the rarest pearls found so far.

The exhibition is organized by the Abu Dhabi-based Pearl Revival Committee (PRC) under the patronage of HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Chairperson of General Women’s Union (GWA) and Supreme Chairperson of the Family Development Foundation.

The exceptionally rare pearl will be the major attraction of the Natural Pearl Display, which is being held in from 25th January 2010. The Display, which PRC is organizing with the support of Robert Wan, “the emperor of pearl”, will also feature a number of the world’s rarest natural pearls and pearling master collections, including a showcase from K.C. Bell, one of the world’s leading experts on pearls.

A natural salt-water nacreous baroque pearl – length of 4 inches (10.2 cm), circumference of 6 inches (15.2 cm) and 856.58 carats (171.3 gram) in weight – the pearl is almost twice as large as the Hope pearl, which is displayed at the British Museum of Natural History, and almost 11 carats heavier than the Burma pearl. It has been incorporated into the design of a stunning sculptural jewel of a Centaur, a Greek mythological creature that was believed to be half man and half horse; the pearl forms the torso of the Centaur, with the remaining parts sculptured in gold.

Are all Tahitian pearls black? What’s the difference between a cultured pearl and a natural pearl? Are freshwater pearls inferior to saltwater pearls? Are South Sea pearls really golden?

Good questions. With all the different pearl colors and types out there, it can be difficult to know just what you’re looking at. For those interested in buying pearls, or for gem enthusiasts who wish to learn more, here are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about pearls.

You want to know what to look for when making a loose tanzanite or gemstone purchase? A little guidance and knowledge will help you avoid the common pitfalls when making your next purchase.

So…you’ve been looking to purchase a quality tanzanite on the internet and you need some help determining what characteristics you should be looking for in a quality gem. This article is intended as a resource to help guide you through a successful tanzanite purchase by avoiding many of the common pitfalls that some consumers become entangled. These pitfalls can often leave a sour taste in your mouth and make you a little head-shy about purchasing tanzanite online.

There is something about a cameo that it truly captivating. Be it the attention to fine detail, the elegance of the portraits, there is simply nothing quite as beautiful as a cameo, and they never go out of style. Cameos can be made from variety of materials, such as abalone, wood, bone, coral, ivory, agate, glass, plastic, various shell types, and layered hard stone which comes in a variety of colors.

Molded cameos are usually made of glass. They usually consist of either one or two colors. Often the colors are swirled together. Glass cameos are usually quite shiny. Molded cameos are also molded from plastic. The wedgwood style cameos were made from plastic. Plastic makes a terrific imitation shell cameo. Older cameos were often made with celluloid using two colors. Occasionally, but not very often, natural materials are molded. One way to tell if a cameo is molded is to look for a roundness in the detail and a lack of sharp and precise lines. To identify glass cameos look for the presence of mold marks and ridges or dimples on the back.

Shell cameos are carved from a single piece of shell. Shell is soft, so it is very easy to carve. Shell cameos are usually two colors. Shell cameos have a thin concave back, with the exception of abalone and mother of pearl which are usually flat on the back and somewhat thicker. Coral Cameos are usually a single color, and also have a flat back.

(Nov. 5, 2009) — For more than 25 years, all attempts at culturing pearls from the queen conch (Strombus gigas) have been unsuccessful — until now. For the first time, novel and proprietary seeding techniques to produce beaded (nucleated) and non-beaded cultured pearls from the queen conch have been developed by scientists from Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI).

With less than two years of research and experimentation, Drs. Héctor Acosta-Salmón and Megan Davis, co-inventors, have produced more than 200 cultured pearls using the techniques they developed. Prior to this breakthrough, no high-quality queen conch pearl had been cultured. This discovery opens up a unique opportunity to introduce a new gem to the industry. This significant accomplishment is comparable to that of the Japanese in the 1920s when they commercially applied the original pearl culture techniques developed for pearl oysters.

Amethyst in Jewelry: Amethyst is the traditional gem for the 4th, 6th and 17th wedding anniversaries. It is used as faceted stones and is carved in various shapes. Amethyst gemstones are used in necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets, brooches, and pendants. This highly praised stone is also shaped and used other items such as hair accessories, key rings and watches.

Colorful gemstones are just anybody’s dream to have. Their natural colors more than match your very fashionable dresses. Their sheer range could strike you spell bound. Gemstones are precious or semiprecious mineral stones which when cut and faceted can be used as jewels.

There is more to gemstones than just being jewelry items. They are regarded as lucky when worn specific to an individual’s birth month. Before we deal with this aspect in detail lets see the classification of gemstones.

Classification and Characteristics of Gemstones

There is a tri-level classification of gemstones namely, groups, species and varieties. Simply put, rubies which are red in color belong to conundrum species which in turn belong to hematite group. Others like emerald, aquamarine, goshenite, heliodor and morganite, all of them belong to that variety known as beryl. There are over 150 different species available.

Adornment around the neck continues as the key trend in jewelry this season, the easiest way to update a look. Moreover, in these economic times, shoppers want value for their money, so the more versatility that can be wrung from a single item of jewelry, the more its perceived value. The result is that a single necklace or a single combination of necklaces is often burdened with the task of updating many ensembles in a wardrobe.

A necklace, more than any other item of jewelry, needs to be chosen with consideration of the garments with which it will be worn. Almost any necklace, long or short, complex or simple, can work with a simple sheath dress, a garment that lives for adornment. But with the cooler weather arrive styles of garments that are not as forgiving in their requirements.

One of the trickiest of such garments is the blouse. Created from a soft, even fluid, fabric such as silk, a blouse is too fragile to support the weight of a brooch, let alone recover from the puncture marks it would cause. Long (or long-ish) sleeves limit the number of bracelets that can be worn. And thus the necklace becomes the adornment of choice.

Jewel-neck blouses, like sheath dresses, love adornment. So long as the necklace(s) are visually dominant over the short neckline of such a blouse, any style necklace, long or short, works well. When a jewel-neck blouse is layered under a blazer or jacket, that third piece will guide the placement of a necklace.

Blouses with collars, ruffles and button fronts are much trickier to adorn with necklaces, and several recent items in the fashion magazines demonstrate this point.