Last chance for 20-50% off all stock! Upcomming September Sapphire Sale 20% off finished jewelery and loose sapphires.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Lead Filled Rubies
Did everyone see this!?
Here we go again-more glass filled rubies purchased in Afghanistan. A US soldier paid $60 per carat for the emerald cut 2.9 carat stone and $50 per carat for the two pears that are 1.80 carat each. We get to tell him the bad news. A jeweler here can buy them for $2 per carat-which is still a bad ...investment given the way the material disintegrates with normal wear and cleaning.
-Posted by Julie Nash
We just had one of our stone dealers send us a lead filled ruby to use for educating people on them, he informed us that sadly they are flooding the market!See More
Take a moment to view some of our favorite treasuries:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4bd0fad7521d8eef84439f38/your-persian-eyes-sparkle
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c10251078348eef9cf4a242/silk-petals-falling
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c141e2e310f6d91e18e858c/pamplemousse
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c196b4d0cfd8eef2ed3ee8e/turquoise-butterfly
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c3518b733d58eef1f283a2b/going-to-the-chaple-and-im-gonna-get?index=0
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Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Masriera Trunk Show
Masriera, the prestigious 18kt gold and enamel jewelry line reminiscent of Lalique, is being presented by
Arareity a Jewelry and Art Glass gallery for an exclusive showing on Friday, August 20th 11:00 to 2:00.
Recently featured in a show titled “Artistic Luxury” at the Palace of the Legion of Honor; this past December in San Francisco, the show featured Louis Masriera jewelry which has been in production since 1839 and features Art Nouveau and Art Deco design. This artist's work has also been at the MOMA in New York and the Van Gogh Museum of Art for a show titled "Barcelona and Modernity".
www.masriera.es
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
A little on Diamonds
Lately, lots of people having been coming in with questions about diamonds, I guess it is the new ‘getting married’ season! So I wanted to ad a few informational points about diamonds for our curious customers:
Typical Clarity Characteristics
Diamond clarity characteristics are divided into two categories:
1. Blemishes- characteristics confined to the surface of the stone
2. Inclusions- characteristics penetrating into or contained within the stone
Typical blemishes include:
1. Natural- a portion of the original crystal “skin.” Naturals may be located anywhere on a stone, but are usually on or near the girdle. Does not affect clarity except in flawless grade, especially if on only the girdle. Look for trigons or striations.
2. Extra facets- any polishes surface in addition to the number of facets required for a particular cutting style and placed without regard for the stones symmetry. Extra facets are often found around the girdle. May remove stone from flawless grade if above girdle.
3. Pit- a very small opening on the surface of a facet. Happens during wear.
4. Cavity, nick or chip- terms used to describe an opening or hole on a polished surface. A cavity is a natural hole; the result of a knot coming out. Nicks are usually found along the girdle edge and are usually caused by wear. Chips go into the body of the stone, may be the result of a nick.
5. Abrasion- minute chipping of facet junctions which results from one diamonds rubbing against another from blows during normal wear. Will usually cause stones to look white along the edges.
6. Scratch or wheel mark- surface marks caused either by another diamond being drawn across the surface of the stone or irregularities in the polishing lap. Curved, usually wheel marks. May cause stone to be taken out of the flawless category.
7. External twinning line- visible surface indications of irregular crystal growth
Typical inclusions include:
1. Feather- a term used to describe any break in the diamond, either cleavage (a break with the grain), or a fracture (a break against) the grain. May be straight or shredded.
2. Included crystal- a crystal of diamond or other mineral which is contained with a diamond. Different orientation direction from the diamond.
3. Dark included crystal- an included crystal which is colored or appears black
4. Knot- an included crystal of diamond which breaks the surface. Often has drag lines behind it, which appear as white dotted lines.
5. Pinpoint- a very small included crystal which ordinarily appears as a tiny white dot under 10x. Pinpoints may occur singly or in groups.
6. Cloud- describes any hazy or “milky” area seen in a diamond.
7. Internal twinning line- visible internal indications of irregular growth. NOT white (looks like Scotch just poured into water).
8. Laser drill hole- a man-made hole in the stone resulting from laser drilling, usually tubular in appearance. Laser drilling is normally done to lighten dark inclusions. May either worsen or improve clarity grade depending on how it looks.
9. Bearded or feathered girdle- a girdle which exhibits hairline feathers extending into the stone. May look like white whiskers. Often in pairs opposite each other or on four sides. Will not affect clarity of med-low quality, will affect stones flawlessness.
10. Bruise or percussion mark- a crumbling or indentation in the surface often attend by root like feathers. Caused by one diamond hitting another. Bruises can make small cleavages in stones. Will not affect low-med quality, will affect stones flawlessness
Clarity Grading Procedures
Flawless: Free from all inclusions or blemishes, at 10x magnification (no longer used)
Internally Flawless: No inclusions visible at 10x, insignificant surface blemishes only
VVS1: Minute inclusions, extremely difficult to see at 10x
VVS2: Minute inclusions, very difficult to see at 10x
VS1: Minor inclusions, difficult to see face-up at 10x
VS2: Minor inclusions, somewhat easy to see face-up at 10x
SI1: Noticeable inclusions, easy to see face-up at 10x
SI2: Noticeable inclusions, very easy to see face-up at 10x, maybe be noticeable through the pavilion to unaided eye in .50 ct. and up
I1: Obvious inclusion at 10z, visible to unaided eye
I2: Obvious inclusion, easily visible to unaided eye
I3: Prominent inclusions, extremely easy to see with unaided eye, usually affects durability
This is a great basic outline on the color and clarity of diamonds but if you’re looking to buy online beware of synthetics…a bit about them…
For people who are looking for affordable alternatives to real diamonds or want a 100-percent guarantee that their diamond are conflict-free, synthetic diamonds often do the trick. For many years, the only synthetic option around was cubic zirconia, but now consumers can choose from Moissanite and man-made diamonds in addition.
Cubic Zirconia, also known as CZ, is a laboratory-made gem that has been on the market since 1976. It's a fairly hard gem (8.5 on the Mohs Scale), but it's not as hard as diamond. However, CZ is compositionally superior than diamond. CZ has greater brilliance and sparkle, is entirely colorless and doesn’t contain any inclusions. Despite it’s many advantages, most consumers agree that CZ is simply too perfect to be a proper substitute -- it looks artificial even to the naked eye. Because of this, some CZ manufacturers have started producing the gem with colored tints and inclusions so that it more closely resembles diamond.
Moissanite has become CZ's biggest competition when it comes to synthetics. Moissanite became available in 1998, and is more similar to diamond in composition and appearance. Moissanite is harder than CZ, but at 9.5 on the Mohs Scale, it is still softer than diamond. Moissanite's color is usually faintly yellow or green, with the tint becoming more apparent in larger stones. It also has small, stretch-mark-like inclusions that form as it grows. Similarly to CZ, Moissanite is more radiant than diamond, although this quality is considered a disadvantage rather than an advantage.
The closest synthetic replica of a diamond is a man-made diamond. Unlike CZ and Moissanite, man-made diamonds are pure carbon, and are recognized as real diamonds from a compositional perspective by The Gemological Institute of America (GIA). The man-made diamonds don't have the rich geological history that natural diamonds do. Laboratories simulate the heat and pressure from the Earth's mantle that create natural diamonds. If you want a uniquely colored, relatively inexpensive diamond (it will cost less than a natural colored diamond), you can find man-made ones in shades of orange, yellow, pink and blue. Finding a large diamond will prove to be a greater challenge -- most man-made diamonds weigh less than one carat. If you want the best synthetics have to offer, man-made diamonds are the way to go.
Typical Clarity Characteristics
Diamond clarity characteristics are divided into two categories:
1. Blemishes- characteristics confined to the surface of the stone
2. Inclusions- characteristics penetrating into or contained within the stone
Typical blemishes include:
1. Natural- a portion of the original crystal “skin.” Naturals may be located anywhere on a stone, but are usually on or near the girdle. Does not affect clarity except in flawless grade, especially if on only the girdle. Look for trigons or striations.
2. Extra facets- any polishes surface in addition to the number of facets required for a particular cutting style and placed without regard for the stones symmetry. Extra facets are often found around the girdle. May remove stone from flawless grade if above girdle.
3. Pit- a very small opening on the surface of a facet. Happens during wear.
4. Cavity, nick or chip- terms used to describe an opening or hole on a polished surface. A cavity is a natural hole; the result of a knot coming out. Nicks are usually found along the girdle edge and are usually caused by wear. Chips go into the body of the stone, may be the result of a nick.
5. Abrasion- minute chipping of facet junctions which results from one diamonds rubbing against another from blows during normal wear. Will usually cause stones to look white along the edges.
6. Scratch or wheel mark- surface marks caused either by another diamond being drawn across the surface of the stone or irregularities in the polishing lap. Curved, usually wheel marks. May cause stone to be taken out of the flawless category.
7. External twinning line- visible surface indications of irregular crystal growth
Typical inclusions include:
1. Feather- a term used to describe any break in the diamond, either cleavage (a break with the grain), or a fracture (a break against) the grain. May be straight or shredded.
2. Included crystal- a crystal of diamond or other mineral which is contained with a diamond. Different orientation direction from the diamond.
3. Dark included crystal- an included crystal which is colored or appears black
4. Knot- an included crystal of diamond which breaks the surface. Often has drag lines behind it, which appear as white dotted lines.
5. Pinpoint- a very small included crystal which ordinarily appears as a tiny white dot under 10x. Pinpoints may occur singly or in groups.
6. Cloud- describes any hazy or “milky” area seen in a diamond.
7. Internal twinning line- visible internal indications of irregular growth. NOT white (looks like Scotch just poured into water).
8. Laser drill hole- a man-made hole in the stone resulting from laser drilling, usually tubular in appearance. Laser drilling is normally done to lighten dark inclusions. May either worsen or improve clarity grade depending on how it looks.
9. Bearded or feathered girdle- a girdle which exhibits hairline feathers extending into the stone. May look like white whiskers. Often in pairs opposite each other or on four sides. Will not affect clarity of med-low quality, will affect stones flawlessness.
10. Bruise or percussion mark- a crumbling or indentation in the surface often attend by root like feathers. Caused by one diamond hitting another. Bruises can make small cleavages in stones. Will not affect low-med quality, will affect stones flawlessness
Clarity Grading Procedures
Flawless: Free from all inclusions or blemishes, at 10x magnification (no longer used)
Internally Flawless: No inclusions visible at 10x, insignificant surface blemishes only
VVS1: Minute inclusions, extremely difficult to see at 10x
VVS2: Minute inclusions, very difficult to see at 10x
VS1: Minor inclusions, difficult to see face-up at 10x
VS2: Minor inclusions, somewhat easy to see face-up at 10x
SI1: Noticeable inclusions, easy to see face-up at 10x
SI2: Noticeable inclusions, very easy to see face-up at 10x, maybe be noticeable through the pavilion to unaided eye in .50 ct. and up
I1: Obvious inclusion at 10z, visible to unaided eye
I2: Obvious inclusion, easily visible to unaided eye
I3: Prominent inclusions, extremely easy to see with unaided eye, usually affects durability
This is a great basic outline on the color and clarity of diamonds but if you’re looking to buy online beware of synthetics…a bit about them…
For people who are looking for affordable alternatives to real diamonds or want a 100-percent guarantee that their diamond are conflict-free, synthetic diamonds often do the trick. For many years, the only synthetic option around was cubic zirconia, but now consumers can choose from Moissanite and man-made diamonds in addition.
Cubic Zirconia, also known as CZ, is a laboratory-made gem that has been on the market since 1976. It's a fairly hard gem (8.5 on the Mohs Scale), but it's not as hard as diamond. However, CZ is compositionally superior than diamond. CZ has greater brilliance and sparkle, is entirely colorless and doesn’t contain any inclusions. Despite it’s many advantages, most consumers agree that CZ is simply too perfect to be a proper substitute -- it looks artificial even to the naked eye. Because of this, some CZ manufacturers have started producing the gem with colored tints and inclusions so that it more closely resembles diamond.
Moissanite has become CZ's biggest competition when it comes to synthetics. Moissanite became available in 1998, and is more similar to diamond in composition and appearance. Moissanite is harder than CZ, but at 9.5 on the Mohs Scale, it is still softer than diamond. Moissanite's color is usually faintly yellow or green, with the tint becoming more apparent in larger stones. It also has small, stretch-mark-like inclusions that form as it grows. Similarly to CZ, Moissanite is more radiant than diamond, although this quality is considered a disadvantage rather than an advantage.
The closest synthetic replica of a diamond is a man-made diamond. Unlike CZ and Moissanite, man-made diamonds are pure carbon, and are recognized as real diamonds from a compositional perspective by The Gemological Institute of America (GIA). The man-made diamonds don't have the rich geological history that natural diamonds do. Laboratories simulate the heat and pressure from the Earth's mantle that create natural diamonds. If you want a uniquely colored, relatively inexpensive diamond (it will cost less than a natural colored diamond), you can find man-made ones in shades of orange, yellow, pink and blue. Finding a large diamond will prove to be a greater challenge -- most man-made diamonds weigh less than one carat. If you want the best synthetics have to offer, man-made diamonds are the way to go.
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