When they talk about silver, the first thing that comes to psyche is authentic silver trinkets. Yet, the story of silver & the uses for silver are amusing & mixed. According to The Silver Institute, According to The Silver Institute, during the height of production, the mines near Athens fashioned about five million troy ounces [...]
Filed under: Insights | 2 Comments »
From oversized bangles to huge hoop earrings to a mountain of gold chains, we’ve certainly seen it all when it comes to large over-the-top jewelry. Designers send costume-y pieces down the runway, but in reality, we see a lot of these trends carry over to the street scene. Celebrities such as Beyonce, Rhianna and Gwen [...]
Filed under: Insights | No Comments »
Green Amethyst has become a very popular gem since it was introduced a few years ago. It is a member of the quartz family of gemstones which also includes smoky quartz, rose quartz, citrine, lemon quartz and amethyst which is purple quartz.
It can be produced by heating quartz that contains certain iron compunds. [...]
Filed under: Insights | No Comments »
It’s time to start a new contest…
Here’s the deal. We are going to giveaway a $50 HandTrades.com Shopping Certificate on Tuesday, September 22nd. You can use this for anything at Hand Trades. We’re simply going to pick one person from our Twitter list.
Want to win? Here’s all you have to do.
1) Follow @handtrades [...]
Filed under: News | 2 Comments »
Moonstone is typically a potassium aluminium silicate, with the chemical formula KAlSi3O8.
The most common moonstone is of the mineral adularia. The plagioclase feldspar oligoclase also produces moonstone specimens. Its name is derived from a visual effect, or sheen, caused by light reflecting internally in the moonstone from layer inclusion of different feldspars.
Moonstone is composed of [...]
Filed under: Gemstones | No Comments »
Royal blue lapis lazuli characteristically has either whitish or yellowish matrix or feathering. When it is flecked with white, it is perfectly complemented by silver and turquoise for a southwestern look. If it has brassy specks, it is regal with gold. Lapis also has darker regions that can be accented when strung with black onyx [...]
Filed under: Gemstones, Insights | No Comments »
Mother of pearl, also called nacre, is an iridescent layer of material which forms the shell lining of many mollusks. Pearl oysters and abalone are both sources of mother of pearl, which is widely used as an inlay in jewelry, furniture, and musical instruments. Mother of pearl comes in several natural colors, and is often [...]
Filed under: Insights | No Comments »
One of the challenges I see as a jewelry consultant is many women just don’t know how to pick out items that fit their every day attire. It can be very simple if you understand one component of jewelry. The chain. That’s right; a necklace can be made to look very fancy or very casual [...]
Filed under: How To.... | No Comments »
After the partition of Poland, a retrogression took place in the economy and culture of Gdansk which, losing the rank of the main port of a large state, became a port of secondary importance of Prussia. Most of the amber workshops were liquidated, and the remaining ones changed into workshops for the mass production of [...]
Filed under: Insights | 1 Comment »
Primary and Secondary Varieties of Amber
Baltic amber comes in a wealth of varieties produced by the great differenced in the degree of its translucency and colour – from pale yellow through numerous shades of yellow to white, bluish, greenish, beige and brown. These are among the factors which make amber such a highly desirable and [...]
Filed under: Insights | No Comments »
