Coral: Underwater Treasures

Trying to find that unique piece of jewelry can sometimes be difficult. Oftentimes, women tend to choose pieces that are made using an expensive metal and add a number of rare gem stones to create their own personal style. For those of you, who are on the lookout for something different and unique, why not try purchasing your own personalized coral jewelry.

Most of you may think of coral as strange looking rock-like mutations on the ocean floor. But as of late, Italian designers have introduced a number of jewelry collections using coral. These collections include earrings, brooches, pendants, rings, cufflinks, tie bars, and belt buckles. The larger pieces of coral are used to make umbrella handles, necklaces, walking sticks, and jewelry boxes.

These designer coral jewelry collections come in a variety of vibrant colors, which include red, black, blue and gold. The most classic and expensive coral is red coral and is known for its beauty, hardness, and color.

Coral is formed from marine animal deposits of calcium carbonate. This creates polyps made of fibrous calcite crystals. These polyps grow out like branches and form a skeleton like form. The coral then grows and spreads along the sea floor and can require boats of 12 to 14 tons with a crew of 10 to 12 men to bring some of these coral to the surface. Once the coral has been cleaned, it takes many hours to create beautifully polished coral jewelry. This is one of the main reasons why such jewelry is so costly.

Body Jewelry

Body piercing has been part of many cultures for centuries. For example, nose piercing was first recorded in the Middle East about 4000 years ago, in which the Bible said that Abraham gifted one of his sons a “golden earring”. In modern times people use body piercing to express themselves, create a unique appearance, and to use their bodies as a canvas to enhance the body’s beauty. The most commonly pierced body areas include the ears, eyebrows, nose, mouth, nipple, and navel.

Nose and ear piercing come in the form of barbells and screw-type jewelry. Generally, this type of jewelry is further modified by using colored gem stones or artificial gems that dangle from the jewelry stem.

Those who are adventurous might try piercing their nipple, navel or eyebrows. This type of body piercing, which is more popular among western teenagers, uses the same form of jewelry as mentioned above. But since these body parts are more sensitive, make sure you test the metal and piercing clinic before going ahead with the procedure. Also, keep in mind that following the correct after-care instructions is a must until the area is fully healed.

Since body piercing has become popular, there are a large number of stores that create a wide variety of styles, colors, and textures to match almost any individual’s tastes and preferences. Body jewelry ranges from strong, bold pieces to the more classic simple styles. While some stores like Tiffany’s Co. can make you a more custom-made item, for others on a lower budget, there are a wide range of main stream jewelry stores that can offer very similar styles.

 

The Rise of Palladium in the Jewelry Business

When it comes to jewelry making, palladium is used as a precious metal. Its rise in popularity among jewelry makers is due to some of its traits that make it more desirable than other metals. In fact, it is one of the three most common metals used in making white gold alloys. Some white gold includes nickel which is known to cause allergies, so palladium is a great choice if the wearer is looking for something hypoallergenic. With palladium already having white qualities there is no need for it to be rhodium plated.

As popular as platinum is, palladium is pushing forward, surpassing it. Not only is it a little whiter than platinum and costs much less, it is also 12% harder than platinum and fairly lighter. Jewelers especially love the weight aspect of it. Most metals that jewelry is cast from are fairly heavy and can cause noticeable changes to the wearer. Earrings in particular that are fairly big have been known to stretch out the wearer’s earlobes. With palladium being a lighter metal, the earrings or other jewelry can be made with the same heavy jewels but will not weigh down the person wearing it. Rings also benefit from being made of it. Traditionally, they are made with softer metals which can be a problem; the prongs holding the stones in place may bend causing you to lose the stones and ruin your ring. Now, your whole ring can be made of palladium and the likelihood of you losing a stone is almost next to impossible!

Determining the Karat of an Alloy

Determining the karat of an alloy is a fairly simple process. The most common process used in jewelry stores is the touchstone process, which involves using different acids, a touchstone, and a testing star to establish the karat quality. The usual touchstone stars are 14, 18, and 22 karats, with each point of the testing star made from a different purity of the alloy. This process may seem like it requires expertise, but it can be done by those who do not know much about metals.

In order to determine the karat of an alloy, the metal is rubbed against the touchstone. Then, the touchstone is rubbed with a metal of known purity, such as 14, 18, or 22 karats. Acid is then poured onto the two rubbed marks and how the acids reacts is the purity of the unknown alloy. If the acid does not burn away the rubbed mark, then the unknown alloy has roughly the same, or greater, purity as the testing star.

An unknown alloy that is used against a 14 karat metal and has no reaction to the acid will have a value of 14 or greater. The same unknown metal is then used against an 18 karat metal, and if the same results are garnered, the metal is used against the 22 karat point of the testing star. No reaction means that the karat value of the unknown alloy is 22. This process will allow estimation of the number of karats in an alloy.

Ancient Chinese First to Use Diamonds

Researchers of Harvard University Asia claim that the first uses of diamonds dates as far back as 4000 BCE to 3800 BCE. According to Peter J Lu a graduate at the university, his studies confirm that the ancient Chinese used diamond to polish ceremonial axes.

The two axes found which were 13 to 33 cm in length were used as tomb stones for wealthy Chinese individuals. The tomb stones studied were found in the Najing Museum and a cultural site in Zhejiang province. Both these artefacts were part of the Liangzhu culture of China.

The tomb stones were made out of a mineral called Corundum, a form of aluminium oxide with a percentage of iron, titanium and chromium. Due to the hardness of the mineral, researchers believe that diamonds were used to polish the tomb stones. They came to this conclusion by examining the stone under an atomic force microscope that showed the polish surface resembled that of modern diamond polishing.

Lu said he was amazed such methods existed years ago and that these are the same techniques used today. Lu believes that the ancients used fatty animal hide that helped identify diamonds from other minerals. Critics believe that Lu’s research is credible mainly due to the fact that the tomb stones were found in an area which was only 150 miles away from a number of diamond deposits.

What is All the Fuss About Diamonds?

For centuries, people considered diamonds as one of the most beautiful and valuable gems on earth. But most of them fail to understand the reasons behind why diamonds are so rare and special.

- The name “diamond” comes from the word “adamas” which in Greek means “Unbreakable”

- Diamonds like all substances are made out carbon. Although other substances like graphite are soft, diamonds are one of the hardest substances known on earth.

- Although the most popular diamonds are colorless, due to impurities some diamonds are formed in a number of shades, such as purple, yellow, red, pink, orange, and brown.

- Diamonds are formed in an area within the earth called mantle, which is 140 to 190 km within the earth. According to scientists, it takes over four billion years for diamonds to form, which is approximately 25% to 75% of the age of the earth. The earth’s mantle provided a diamond with high levels of pressure and temperatures that help create diamonds.

- Diamonds are brought to the earth’s surface by volcanic eruptions that push the diamonds towards the earth’s surface.

- Diamonds are scratch-proof and can only be scratched by rubbing one diamond against another.

- The surface of a diamond is waterproof but it adheres to wax and grease. This makes it easier for diamonds to be separated when being mined.

- Diamonds have a high reflective index, which means that they have the ability to reflect light and create rainbow like spectrums of color.

Rings

Rings have become a significant item of jewelry due to the emphasis placed on the connection it holds between a man and a woman. In history, rings were worn for many different purposes: to show authority, heal the sick, unite people, seal packs, prevent evil eye and bring good luck. Here is a quick glimpse of some rings that were popular in the past.

• Signet ring – People used this ring as a form of seal or signature. Kings passed it down from one to another.

• The religious ring – People used religious rings to identify their faith. It also showed a priest’s rank. Christians decorated their rings with signs and symbols from the bible.

• The Nuptial ring- These are the most popular rings today, which symbolize the commitment and faithfulness between a man and a woman. In history, nuptial rings were not always made out of diamonds. Instead, Roman women used to wear rings made with emeralds, while the men preferred rubies.

• The Talismatic ring- People thought that these rings held magic powers, which were transferred from the maker or the wearer of the ring. People wore magic rings to scare away ghosts, heal the sick, and tell the future.

• The Healing ring- People made these rings using special metals believed to hold healing properties. Some wore these rings in the belief that the wearer was given a special power to diagnose illnesses.

The Mens Guide to Buying Diamond Jewelry for Your Loved One

Men often feel that the media and sometimes their loved one pressure them to purchase the perfect diamond ring. With the wide variety of diamond jewelers and designs in the market today, the whole process may feel quite daunting. Here are a few easy tips that might make that decision a whole lot easier.

• What does she like? – Pay close attention to the type of jewelry she wears, you would have a better idea if she likes designs that are classical, bold or simple. You should also look at the color of jewelry she prefers. For example, does she like gold, silver, or white gold?

• Know her ring size – Check her ring size. You can be sure that she can wear the ring straight away and prevent costly resizing. You could take one of her rings to the jeweler or just ask her to go with you.

• Know your diamonds – If you know what to look for when choosing a diamond, you would be able to get the best product for the best possible price. Make sure you consider the four C’s: Cut, Clarity, Color and Carat.

• Start shopping – Make sure you have sufficient time to look around; this way you avoid rushing to buy a ring that you do not really like. You could start with browsing online jewelry website and looking through jewelry catalogues.

• Ask her friends or relatives – If you are still unsure and need more assistance, contact her best friend, sister or mom. They often have a good idea what she might like. Good luck!