Silver has been used in items of jewelry for thousands of years, and is still regarded as one of the most popular materials for this task, especially for wedding and engagement rings. Perhaps the main reason for this is that silver perfectly complements almost every skin color and tone, and will always catch the eye of an admirer. Buying a silver jewelry set can be an extravagant purchase, how...

The clover-shaped design is a popular trend in items of jewelry, and is in fact the signature of Van Cleef & Arpels. In this article we take a brief look at this famous jewelry company. Van Cleef & Arpels is a high-end jeweler that is renowned for their handcrafted custom jewelry. Bracelets, necklaces, watches and brooches are some of their most popular items, and will cost the customer an...

Sunday 4th October saw the 47th annual Art in the Park event at Boulder City, Nevada, where a wide range of interesting jewelry items were on display. A artist of note was Karen Carmichael, who spent 35 years dancing and performing acrobatics on Broadway, has performed for European royalty, and even top-scored on ‘Star Search’, but five years ago decided to retire and turn her hand to ...

With its intense blue hue, golden ’shimmer’ effect and Arabian origin, Lapis lazuli is a gemstone that looks as though it could have been pulled straight out of ‘1001 Arabian Nights’. Here we offer a brief introduction to this interesting gem. Background Lapis lazuli has a long and colorful history, being one of the oldest gems to be worn as jewelry, and dates back over 6,0...

A family vacation in Thailand was the catalyst for a new jewelry business for Alicia Matinchek and her mother Amy. The mother and daughter combination embarked on their trip with no plans to get into the jewelry making world, but the inspiration of their temporary surroundings was enough to fire their imaginations and provide them with a new medium to express their ideas. Thailand was the preferre...

Iolite, also previously known as ‘water sapphire’, is the gemstone variety of the mineral cordierite. The name itself comes from the Greek word for violet, with the gemstone usually displaying a pale violet-blue color which often sees it used as a cheaper substitute for sapphire. Iolite is quite readily available, being mined predominantly in Brazil, India, Sri Lanka, Burma, Mozambique...

Amber has been used in jewelry and other decorative items for many years, with some examples of artefacts containing the gem having been found dating right back to the Stone Age. Amber held a position of value to many ancient civilizations, including the Egyptians, Etruscans and Greeks among others. Many of these civilizations held their own legends telling of the origins of the stone. Most of the...

One of the lesser known gemstones, Ametrine (also sometimes known as Trystine) combines the purple hues found in Amethyst with the bright gold colors of citrine, displaying both of them at the same time in a bi-color gem.   For those that like the sound of this, the bad news it that it does not come cheap! There is only one Ametrine mine in the entire world - the Anahi Mine in Bolivia - and as us...

Here we continue our look at alexandrite, a precious green gemstone. Geographical Origin of Alexandrite The potential to create alexandrite has been around on the earth for millions of years, but as it requires specific geological conditions to form it was not created and discovered until much more recently. The geological scenario required to form the gem has happened rarely in the history the pl...

One of the rarest of all gemstones, alexandrite is the color change variety of the mineral chrysoberyl. The stone has an intense green hue and can command extremely high prices, especially when it exhibits its famous color change. In this article we take a close look at a gem which, due to its rarity in jewelry, many people know little about. The Origin of the Name Alexandrite was named after the ...

Peridot is a vivid green gemstone, and is produced from gem-quality forsteritic olivine. Although the mineral olivine can be found in abundance, gem quality Peridot is much rarer and high quality specimens can command top prices. Also known as chrysolite, the stone has an oily look. Small stones (3 carats or less) are common inexpensive to buy, whilst large stones (above 10 carats) are rare and ex...

Tourmaline can be found in many different colors, and as a result is known as the ‘gemstone of the rainbow’. Here we provide a brief overview to this fascinating and unique stone, which is an alternative birthstone to opal for those born during the month of October. Colors of Tourmaline Pink/Red: Known as Rubellite. Dark, rich reds are some of the most valuable hues of tourmaline. Pin...