The Ruby has long been a hugely popular gemstone, and is instantly recognizable for its deep red color, with ‘Pigeon Blood Red’ being the most valuable hue. It is also one of the four precious stones and a gem of huge symbolic significance. The simple ruby ring is a truly classic piece. It is the deep red hue of the ruby that has long drawn the eye of women all over the world, pr...

The world-famous Swarovski company has been making high quality lead glass crystal for over 100 years. It all began back in 1895, when along with financial backers Franz Weis and Armand Kosmann, Daniel Swarovski founded the business. Mr. Swarovski had previously served a two-year apprenticeship working alongside his father as a glass and crystal cutter, and in 1892 had invented his own electric cu...

Gold is both desirable and expensive, and has long been a symbol of wealth and power. In this article we look at how it has remained such a coveted metal for many centuries. The mining and production of gold was halted for almost 1,000 years following the fall of the Roman Empire, but resumed when the Spanish discovered America in 1492. Since then a number of wars have been fought over it and fort...

The Seven Deadly Sins of Jewelry Buying by Mike Stevens. Here are the transcrips of an interview I recently had about major mistakes made by consumers.  I will also be doing Podcasts that will get into more detail about the 7 sins . Paying too much.  Not comparing apples to apples. Impulse Buying. Over Buying. Not asking enough questions. Not understanding the warranty. TV Buying. Vacation Pu...

Opal is the most colorful of all gems and possesses a fascinating structure. As this structure is not truly crystalline however, the gem is actually considered a mineraloid, and is made of hardened silica gel. The play of colors witnessed in Precious opals means it is said that in them you can see all of nature’s splendor, including flashes of fire and lightning, rainbows and seas. Opals can ra...

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...

  If you haven’t noticed recently we’ve seen an explosion in beads and the art of beading.  Since the dawn of humankind humans have found ways to wear beads in the form of shell bones, rocks, or anything that they could find and use to ornament their bodies.  They would use leather or vine to wear their piece around their neck or head, or perhaps on their wrist or around their ank...

Signs of increased buying pressure  Industries all over the world are looking for ways to increase their sales. The jewelry industry is no exception.  The tough economy has diminished retail sales all over the world. To try and combat this problem organizations like Jewelers of America, or JA, conduct workshops to try to choose and retain top talent. It is also safe to assume sales training will...

If you have shopped any jewelry store you have most likely asked the question,  ”What type of stone is that?”  The salesperson says “that’s a created ruby”.  Maybe you asked what that meant by created, or maybe you did not.  Either way you may not get the right answer.  A lot depends on the amount of training the saleperson has received on colored stones.  I hav...