Garnets are a related group of minerals that have been used as gemstones since the Bronze Age. Although many people associate garnet with a deep-red color, there are in fact many more colorful varieties. This broad range of colors has kept garnets popular throughout the decades, as different colors can match different clothing and trends of the time. Background and Types of Garnet The term ...

Ever fancied trying your hand at mining for your own gemstones? Well if you happen to be in the vicinity of Philipsburg, Montana this summer you can do just that, at Gem Mountain – one of the most abundant sources of sapphires in North America. Gem Mountain was first established back in 1890, and has since produced over 180 million carats of Montana sapphires of every known color available, incl...

This week, Jamaican-born jewelry artist Anna Ruth Henriques announced the release of her latest piece, a “Mini Heart” pendant which quite literally takes the form of a mini human heart. The stunningly unique piece, crafted from sterling silver, 18-karat gold and small inset rubies, is aimed at raising funds for the charity Doctors Without Borders, and is part of a campaign aptly named ...

Jennifer Kirkpatrick is the designer behind Bella Photo Jewelry, a company that hand makes unique and beautiful photographic jewelry. Jennifer with her Children Jennifer was originally a busy website designer working from home. After the birth of her son in April 2006, followed by her daughter in September 2007 she found her new role as a mother an extremely time consuming one, and was intent on f...

Amethyst is a violet (or purple) variety of the mineral quartz, the second most abundant mineral in the Earth’s continental crust. Also amethyst has been found all over the world, extremely large cuts are rare. This is primarily due to its unconventional crystal structure, which is unlike any other variety of quartz. Background The purple color of amethyst was originally attributed to the ...

A ruby is a gemstone variety of the mineral corundum, and is highly recognizable due to its blood red or pink color. Other colors and varieties of corundum are known as sapphires, and it is rubies and sapphires - along with emeralds and diamonds - that make up the four precious stones. Background Historically, rubies have been mined in Thailand, Cambodia and Afghanistan. Newer deposits were discov...

Tanzanite is the gemstone of the purple/blue variety of the mineral zoisite. It is notable for its remarkable color, which can change from blue to purple to burgundy, depending on the light and the angle it is viewed at. Due to its fascinating color (shown here) it has gained prominence in the jewelry trade in the relatively short time is has been discovered. New York jewelry company Tiffany’...

Sapphires are gem varieties of the mineral corundum, which due to the presence of other trace elements such as iron, chromium or titanium can be found a number of different colors, such as blue, purple, pink, orange and yellow. The exception is red, as a red sapphire is labeled as a ruby. Sapphire has a remarkable level of hardness (nine on the Mohs scale, and exceed by only that of the diamond, t...

Today’s article looks at the unusual story of how one man’s childhood experiments of creating fire using a magnifying glass has evolved into a unique and profitable jewelry business. As a teenager, Bretwood Higman would experiment with a magnifying glass on the beach near his Alaskan home, transforming gravel into black glass and setting fire to zinc-based pennies. Today this has progr...

In these days of major chain stores and the decline of retail independents, in this article we take a step back and tell the story of the Folsom Jewelry Store, which was located on the corner of North Main and Hampton Avenue in Sumter, South Carolina, in one of the city’s oldest and most historic buildings. F. Haltom Folsom worked as a watchmaker for the Mason jewelry store until the America...

The recent Las Vegas jewelry shows saw top manufacturers Swarovski and Le Vian both offer their predictions for jewelry trends in 2010. Le Vian unveiled their predictions on Sunday May 31 at its Red Carpet Revue, its annual event held in collaboration with Harper’s Bazaar. The trends from the runways of fall 2009 were examined, and Chief Executive Officer of the company, Eddie LeVian, was th...

It is often said that a top-quality gem is ageless, but a recent story published in the Deseret News, Utah’s second largest daily newspaper, appears to prove that a top-quality jeweler can also continue to shine. McKay Diamonds in downtown Salt Lake City has just turned 60 years old - no mean feat in the days of high-street chains and busy malls, but even more admirable when you discover tha...