August 22nd, 2008 at 3:29am |
A few years ago a hitherto unknown and unusually interesting occurrence was discovered in Tanzania supplying green, so-called prase, opal, which owes its color to a small nickel content derived from weathered serpentine. Since the opal here, as in all the other localities, crops out relatively near the earth’s surface in fairly easily workable rocks, [...]
Read the rest of Smooth Jewelry Inlay Opal: the Patchwork Harlequin continue…
August 14th, 2008 at 3:32pm |
In her magic garden of crystal blossoms deep in the earth, the Earth Goddess cherished a treasure of choicest excellence, to which she gave an abundance of melting colors, as well as high refraction (1.72) and vivid fire (0.02 1), notable hardness (8) and complete absence of cleavage. From the sum of this generous endowment [...]
Read the rest of Gemstone Jewelry Lover Spinel: Herald of the Princely Corundums
August 12th, 2008 at 8:07pm |
ALL stages of imaginable color possibilities are captured by this gemstone which, in addition to white and black, embraces every hue to be found in the spectrum, not only in pure tones but in all the fine nuances of innumerable shades, transitions, and mixtures. Should a collector set himself the task of amassing all the [...]
Read the rest of Tourmaline: the Crystallized Jewelry Kaleidoscope
August 11th, 2008 at 1:26am |
Over and above the gemstones are still numerous minerals which make beautiful gemstomes in cut form as well as completely fulfilling the requirements of beauty, rarity, and durability. Their popularity and their market success are mostly determined by their great rarity; because of the latter they are all the more coveted by collectors. Contrary to [...]
Read the rest of Gemstone Collector’s Viewpoint
August 5th, 2008 at 10:23pm |
Lazulite, as the exquisite royal blue lapis is also called, differs from all other ornamental stones in that it is not a mineral but a rock which—evolving through pneumatolytic alteration from a contact-metamorphosed limestone—is made up of several minerals in varying amounts. As unique as this chemical composition is its unequalled night-dark blue, which Pliny [...]
Read the rest of Lapis Lazuli: A Starlit Sky
August 5th, 2008 at 10:18pm |
The interest of its gnarled banding, which unlike most other ornamental stones is not multicolored but patterned throughout in contrasting shades of light to dark green, has earned malachite many admirers. In ancient times it was likened to the innumerable green shades of mallow leaves.
Read the rest of Malachite: Greens Galore!
August 3rd, 2008 at 9:17pm |
The display by malachite in its captivating symphony of greens is repeated by rhodochrosite (Greek rhodon = rose; chros = flesh color) on an equally grand scale in rose-red alternations. The latter is no less prolific in original designs of convoluted banding; with unflagging inventiveness it imprints its patterns in light and dark pink tones. [...]
Read the rest of Precious Gemstone, Rhodochrosite and Rhodonite: Inca Rose and Peach Blossom
July 31st, 2008 at 3:07pm |
The Bauhaus continued to influence art and design establishments throughout Europe, particularly in Britain and Holland, during this period. Designers searched for forms that would be minimalist, universal and democratic. Artists and craftsmen saw themselves as ‘pioneers who were liberating the world from the bonds of tradition’. Studio Crafts were established in art schools in [...]
Read the rest of Artist Jewelers in Europe and America
July 31st, 2008 at 3:01pm |
Wendy Ramshaw is an artist-jeweler who has been making jewelry since the late 1960s in a variety of precious and non-precious materials from paper, Perspex and wood to I8ct gold. She has stated recently that:
‘I enjoy looking at jewelry and I enjoy wearing jewelry. These are, in simple terms, the real reasons why I am [...]
Read the rest of Wendy Ramshaw Headpiece Sculpture in Gold and Semi Precious Stones
July 30th, 2008 at 8:30am |
Clear crystals make their impact through the magic of color, vividness of luster, and play of light. The enchantment of opaque ornamental stones is kindled by their colors and ravishing color schemes, as well as by the endless array of patterns resulting from their inexhaustible combinations and permutations. Tortuous bands, apparently fortuitously arranged circles, and [...]
Read the rest of Agate Carving and Engraving: The Glyptic Worthless Arts
