Hand Trades

16 gauge: .051 inches, 1.29 millimeters. Very heavy and thick wire. Use with heavy duty tools.
Project uses: Wire sculpture, bracelet bases, unsupported shapes, neckwires.

18 gauge: .040″ 1.02 millimeters. Medium thick wire. Use with regular jewelry tools.
Project uses: Wine charms, clasps, gift wrapping, decorations, wire wrapping beads with large holes, chainmaking.

20 gauge: .032″ .81 millimeters. Medium wire. Use with regular jewelry tools. Most base metal headpins and earwires are made from 20-gauge wire.
Project uses: A good general-purpose wire for making earwires, headpins, and small wire clasps. Good for wire wrapping most glass beads, colied beads, and eye pins.

22 gauge: .025″ .64 millimeters. Medium thin wire. Use with regular jewelry tools. This gauge is ideal to use when 20-gauge is just a bit too thick.
Project uses: Wire wrapping beads like Austrian Crystals or transparent semi-precious beads, scrapbooking and paper crafts.

24 gauge: .020″ .51 millimeters. Thin wire. Use with regular jewelry tools. The nylon wire straightening plier is recommended for use with this wire when it gets kinks, which it has a tendency to do.
Project uses: Wire wrapping smaller crystals, semi-precious beads, and freshwater pearls to chain, rubber stamping and delicate embelishments.

26 gauge: .016″ .41 millimeters. Very thin wire. In order for this wire to maintain a loop, loops must be wire wrapped closed. Tools with very fine tips should be used with this wire. Because this wire kinks, a nylon wire straightening plier is recommended.
Project uses: Wire wrapping beads to tiaras and in wire projects where 24-gauge wire
is just a bit too heavy for the beads. Wire stiching, embroidery, and seed bead projects.

28-34 gauge: .013-.006″ .32-.16 millimeters. Very, very fine wire. Tools with very fine tips should be used with this wire. This wire kinks quite a bit and a nylon wire-straightening plier is essential for use with this size wire.
Project uses: This wire is perfect for wire weaving, crocheting and free form wire wrapping using small beads.

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Have you ever wondered about the letters, numbers or pictures on the back of Mexican Sterling Silver Jewelry? These marks are referred to as hallmarks or trademarks. They can help you identify where the piece was made, the identity of the silversmith and the approximate age of the piece.

The hallmark identifies the quality or the purity of the silver- i.e. .925, .999, .980, sterling or sterling silver. The hallmark may also include the date and location of the assay, the maker’s mark and any import tax or duty. The maker’s mark is used to identify the silversmith – generally their name or initials.

In 1980 Mexico silversmiths initiated a letter and number system to register silversmiths. The first letter indicates the city and the second letter is the first letter of the silversmith’s last name. The most common cities are Taxco and Mexico City.

Examples:

TF-83 might be a piece made in Taxco by Fernandez who would be the 83rd smith to be registered as TF in Taxco.

MP-36 would indicate the piece was made in Mexico City by perhaps a smith named Perez who was the 36th smith registered as MP in Mexico City

From 1948-1980, Mexican silversmiths used an ‘eagle mark’ along with other markings, letters, names and logos. There are a variety of different styles of eagle marks- left facing, right facing, forward facing, some with a great deal of detail and others are simple line drawings. Each eagle has a number stamped on it which may indicate the location or the identity of the maker. We know that a #1 was for Mexico City and a #3 was for Taxco. There was great variation and exceptions to the eagle numbering system. Because there were so many exceptions, the eagle is not a reliable dating or identification system. We do know however that it was in use roughly from 1948-1980. Some sources beleive the eagle mark system was in place as early as 1946.

From 1900 to 1948 there were no eagle marks and the marks were more simple and generic- indicating the location and the silver purity- i.e. Taxco 980 to Sterling Mexico.

Some pieces may be marked “Alpaca” or “Alpaca Silver”. Alpaca is an alloy of copper, nickel, zinc and sometimes iron. It does not contain any real silver, however, it may be plated with sterling silver. Due to its nickel content, alpaca silver may cause contact dermatitis in sensitive people.

Sterling silver is an alloy containing 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper. The copper makes the alloy harder and suitable for jewelry making. Sterling silver will retain its shape and resist wear and tear. On most sterling jewelry, the mark is usually ‘925′ or ’sterling’
Fine silver is 99.9% pure silver and usually too soft for pieces that will have a lot of wear. It will not hold its shape and show signs of wear quickly.

Silver tarnishes when exposed to air. When not in use, a plastic bag provides the best storage for your sterling silver jewelry. The best cleaning method is a simple rub with a silver polishing cloth- this will maintain an attractive patina on your valued pieces.

Locating Mexican sterling silver and dating it can be an exciting challenge. Often you will find amazing pieces for next to nothing. eBay is a wonderful source of Mexican Silver Jewelry. Those pieces with hallmarks are often listed as ’signed’ as the hallmarks are the silversmith’s signature on his or her artwork.

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1. Try to use American companies.

Most cases of fraud or counterfeit items being sold are filed against foreign companies. There is also a language barrier that can cause problems when trying to resolve any issues thay may arise.

2. Know what you are buying.

Try to do some research on the gemstone species you are buying.

– Find out the hardness and durability of what you are looking for.

– Make sure the item you are buying is not being sold under a deceitful trade name.

– Be sure to ask the seller questions, anybody selling loose gemstones should have them tested by a trained gemologist. This will also give you the oppertunity to see the sellers response time and knowledge of stones. Many people selling gemstones do not know enough about gemstones to even determine what species they are. Good questions to ask would be; How has this item been tested? Was this item purchased in this country? Was this gemstone removed from a piece of jewelry or has it ever been set before (stones are often damaged during the setting process).

– Do not have your purchases tested by jewelers. Jewelers are not gemologists. Gemstones should only be tested by trained gemologists. Ask to see their credintials. Experiance doesn’t mean anything if the person does not have a certification. I recently did an expirement with 6 local jewelry stores. I took GIA lab certified gemstones into the showroom. 5 of the jewelers simply looked at the stone as said it was fake. I then pulled out the lab certificate and they they all said the stone looked fake because it was too “nice”.” The first thing a real gemologist is tought is to never determine a stones authenticity without doing at least 3 tests to confirm it. If somebody claims they can tell if a stone is real or not by looking at it is simply ignorant. Tests such as specific gravity, refractive index, thermal conductivity, crystal structure analysis, and pleochroism should confirm a stones identity, not a guess.

– Reading a book or a couple paragraphs from a website does not make you a gemologist. I have had people in the past accuse me of fraud or ” ripping them off” because they thought they knew more about gemstones than my GIA certified Graduate Gemologist with 30 years of experiance. If you are not formaly trained have a second opinion done by a third party gemologist. Then bring that report to the seller if their is a problem.

– Do not buy from sellers that use diamond clarity grades for colored gemstones. This is a dead give away that the person or company selling the stones does not have the appropriate skills to grade gemstones. Gem labs will never grade colored stones using a diamond grading scale (example: vvs, si, i-1). Colored gemstones should be graded using decriptive terms (example: eye clean, minor inclusions barely visible to the naked eye, etc) GIA’s grading scale is barely ever used because it is very difficult for a regular person to understand. They use multiple classifications for certain species and letter or number coding.

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Most experienced gold and silver buyers know what the value of gold and silver is on a day-to-day basis. That’s how they make their money. I have seen hundreds of sales where sellers practically give away gold and silver because they simply don’t know what they have, or what it’s worth. I have also seen hundreds of sales where buyers pay way to much for “solid gold” items.

Let’s start with gold. The gold content of marked jewelry and gold items should be common knowledge for anyone who buys, or wants to buy gold and silver jewelry and other items. The gold marks such as 9k, 10k, 14k, 16k, 18k, 22k and 24k, all tell you what percentage of gold is contained in the piece. Solid Gold does not mean pure gold.

Here is a chart that tells the actual percentage of gold for the various “k” marks:

9k or 9 karat gold contains 38% gold – 10k or 10 karat gold contains 42% gold
12k or 12 karat gold contains 50% gold – 14k or 14 karat gold contains 58% gold
16k or 16 karat gold contains 67% gold – 18k or 18 karat gold contains 75% gold
22k or 22 karat gold contains 92% – 24k or 24 karat gold is 100% pure gold.
The mark .999 or .999 fine also means pure gold (100%).

When a seller tells you the piece is “solid 14k gold” that does not mean it is pure gold. The 14k piece contains 58% gold and the rest of the metal in the piece is different metal like copper, nickel, etc. The other metal is mixed in with the gold to give the piece hardness so it lasts longer. Pure gold is very soft and will wear quickly and isn’t very strong, especially for jewelry pieces that are worn.

Silver is also marked. The most typical marks on silver items are Sterling, .925, 800 and 999 fine which is pure silver. Some older silver items may be marked “Coin Silver” which is the same thing as 800.

Here is a chart that tells the actual percentage of silver for the various silver marks:

Sterling is 92.5% silver – .925 is 92.5% silver (same as sterling)

800 or Coin Silver is 80% silver – .999 is pure silver (100%)

Gold and silver weight is measured in Troy Ounces, not the same as the ounces one would use to weigh a postage letter or content for baking a cake. A troy ounce contains 31.1 grams and there are only 12 troy ounces in a Troy Pound, not 16 ounces. This is important. A regular pound contains 16 ounces and a regular ounce contains 29 grams. Over the years, I have seen many people confused by this and taken advantage of.

Let’s assume you are wanting to bid on a 14k ring that weighs 7 grams. First of all you should know the ring contains only 58% gold, so it’s not pure gold. Okay now you need to know the spot price (market price) of gold at the time you bid on the ring. There are many good reliable websites where you can obtain the daily spot price of gold. One good one is kitco.com. Now the formula assuming the current spot price of pure gold is $1050.00 per troy ounce (31.1 grams).

Divide $1050 by 31.1 – This is $33.76 per gram for pure .999 gold.
Multiply $33.76 X 7 (the ring weight) and that equals $236.32 for pure .999 gold.
Now multiply $236.32 X .58% and that equals $137.06 which is the actual value of the gold contained in the 7 gram, 14k ring that you want to bid on.

Apply this formula for any marked jewelry or item and you will be able to deterimine the gold value of just about any piece of jewelry or gold and silver item. When a piece of jewely contains precious, semi-precious or non-precious stones, sometimes it’s difficult to get an accurate gold value so for the most part you need to use common sense and become a good estimator. Generally for a quick assesment of jewelry with common stones a 10% to 25% deduction is taken for stone weight before doing the precious metal calculation. Bear in mind, this is for common stones and not high quality diamonds, emeralds, rubies, etc. It’s just a guide for more common, not so expensive stones. Precious stones are another subject altogether.

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Natural pearls are more valuable than cultured pearls since they are rarer. There is a need for every woman to own a pearl ring once in her life time. Pink-hued white pearls are considered one of the most expensive. The simple feminine elegance of the pearl is basically a woman’s right to possess.

The asymmetrical shapes of Baroque pearls are less costly but exhibit a lustrous appeal. Natural and cultured pearls come from oysters. Natural pearls occur accidentally in oysters while cultured pearls are grown by man in oysters. When you rub the pearl against your tooth, it must have a rough feel and not a smooth feel indicating that it is imitation pearl. The nacre is the substance that the oyster or mollusk deposits on the irritant or foreign material that enters its shell. The color of pearls comes in varying colors. Seed pearls may be as small as one millimeter while a South Sea pearl could be as big as 20 millimeters. A consistent luster throughout the pearl indicates good quality. Beeswax is often used by jewelers to treat pearls but may affect the luster, so ask your jeweler about it.

Natural Pearls or South Sea Pearls – Natural and cultured pearls may be from freshwater or saltwater. Choosing the right kind of pearl for your ring may be a difficult task. Pearls are categorized into the following: Black Tahitian Pearls, Button Pearls, Coin Pearls, Cultured Pearls, Freshwater Pearls, and. In terms of its surface, it should be free of bumps, cracks and spots. The value increases as its surface is cleaner. However, the rounder the pearl are more valuable. Your Pearl Rings will also have to be set in gold, silver, white gold or platinum and in designs that you prefer. You can find white, gold, cream, blue, green, rose and black pearls. Avoid pearls with blemishes and cracks. If it’s too white or dull or chalky in appearance, it indicated low quality. The bigger the pearl, the more valuable it would be.

White, silver and rose pearls look great on people with fair skin. Pearl is the birthstone of the month of June. A good pearl should have good luster, being bright and not dull. You may give additional accent to the ring by combining the setting with diamonds or semi-precious stones. Knowing all the qualities of a good quality pearl, you are now ready to find that perfect pearl that will complete your girl wish-list. Jewelers offer a variety of designs to choose from that brings out the uniqueness in you. Saltwater pearls are more costly, the most costly coming from Akoya, Japan and Tahiti. The average pearl ranges from 7-5 millimeters. Some pearl producers even offer rainbow, iridescent pearls which are so rare and valuable.

The perfect pearl should be carefully considered based on several characteristics. There is a vast range of pearls to choose from. Whether it is natural or cultured can be determined by a skilled jeweler or by using an X-ray machine. Rarely, these are used as Birthstone Engagement Ring. Natural pearls, however, are measured in carats. The craftsmanship will define the beauty of your ring, so take extra care in choosing the design. When buying a pearl ring, you should consider the following tips.

The size of cultured pearls is measured in millimeters by the diameter. Pearls rings are worn and given in different occasions. One might think that a pearl is less costly than a diamond, it is true. Ask for an x-ray result if you opt for a natural pearl to ensure that it is, in fact, natural and not cultured. Cultured pearls from oysters usually produce imperfectly round shapes. However, pearls are more difficult to set and usually come with diamonds and other gemstones, so they actually turn out to be more expensive. The thickness of the nacre will determine the value of the pearl. Also consider the thickness of the nacre, you could ask your jeweler about it.

This article intends to assist you in purchasing your dream pearl ring. Man-made imitation pearls are of no value. The pearl’s surface should show your reflection. The thicker the nacre, the more valuable it is. Dark skin is flattered, on the other hand, by cream and gold pearls. The origin of the pearl is also of great importance.

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Pearls are one of the most sought after gemstones by both men and women. Therefore, they need no introduction. Pearls are not only popularly used in wedding jewelries for brides, but are available in simple designs for every day use as well. Due to the growing popularity and demand for pearl jewelry, the size of pearl farming industry is also increasing worldwide. Pearls are usually cultivated in two forms, namely, nucleated cultivation and non-nucleated cultivation. They are popularly known as saltwater and freshwater pearls.

Most of the people might know that the pearls in the pearl set that they have just purchased have come from a Tahitian pearl farm. But very few of them have the proper understanding about how pearls are cultured in a pearl farm. Creating quality pearls is not an easy task and requires a lot of time.

A farmer involved in sustainable pearl farming wants to ensure that every pearl that is created in his farm is of the highest quality. But in order to produce pearl of the excellent quality every time, it requires a lot of hard work and the entire process is an exhausting one. Therefore it certainly requires a great deal of appreciation from the pearl lovers.

As most of us already know, pearls are obtained from oysters. A farmer involved with ecological pearl farming accommodate thousands of oysters capable of producing pearls in the suitable environment and take care of them for a period ranging from two to five years. They allow pearl formation to take place gradually and finally reach perfection.

For harvesting pearls that can earn profits for a farm, the farmer requires extraordinary skills, as well as, some good luck. The oysters have to be protected from different kinds of diseases and water pollution. Also, harsh water conditions can destroy the entire bed of oysters that are being cultured. Therefore, the oysters need a lot of care and protection.

In pearl farming when the oysters reach maturity, the farmers move them to a special area during their final stage of pearl processing. In this area there are rocks where the oysters can cling to and settle down. After this the oysters are ready to be harvested.

Perfect pearls are not found easily and take 5 years for complete formation. Pearls and definitely one of the greatest creations of nature and since they cannot be harvested easily, you need to take good care of your pearls.

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Here is a simple but very effective home remedy method for cleaning jewelry.

If cleaning gold and gemstones, first soak in a isopropyl alcohol for several hours.
Allow this process to remove grease from the jewelry.
Rinse thoroughly.
Use a jewelry style cleaning solution, consisting of a solution of ammonia (1/2 cup) and water (2 cups).
Use a soft bristled toothbrush to work the cleaning solution into the gems and cracks and crevasses of the gold or silver.
Make sure to turn around the piece in all directions to get into all grooves.
You can also use any other small sized, soft brush, such as a nail brush to do this.
Do not use anything that is abrasive as gold and silver can be scratched.
Rinse the jewelry thoroughly in warm to cool water.
Allow to air dry.
You can polish it with a clean terry cloth for a bit more shine.

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Valentine’s Day or Saint Valentine’s Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14 by many people throughout the world. In the English-speaking countries, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine’s cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery. The holiday is named after two among the numerous Early Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

Read more about Valentine’s Day at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day

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The blue in Turquoise is enhanced with copper is present. If the area where turquoise is formed contains more aluminum, the turquoise will shade to green. When zinc is present, the deposits are a yellow green color, that so far is very rare and have only been found in a few areas.

The Matrix in Turquoise is the dark markings, the rock the turquoise formed in. When stones are cut, some of the matrix remains bound to the turquoise. Matrix colors vary because turquoise can form in different rocks.

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Australia is one of the greatest contributors to the diamond industry. In fact, it produces the greatest number of rough diamonds of any country in the world. The year 1982 marks the start of Western Australia’s activity in the diamond industry. What makes Australia such an interesting addition to the diamond community is that it was the very first western, democratic nation to enter into diamond production. The government in Australia is not involved in the diamond mining process, nor does it own the diamond mines themselves. Hence, it does not stand to gain anything from supervising the marketing aspect either. For that reason, the diamond industry in Australia doesn’t leave many openings for dishonest practices or political involvement on behalf of the government.

Three of the most productive diamond mines in Australia are the Argyle Mine, the Ellendale mine, and the Merlin mine. In the year 2005, these mines generated nearly 33 M carats worth of diamonds.

The Argyle mine is currently Australia’s biggest diamond mine, producing the following:

Five percent – diamond gemstones Seventy percent – near-gemstones
Twenty five percent – industrial quality gemstones
Seventy two percent – brown diamonds
Twenty seven percent – colorless diamonds and different shades of yellow
Under one percent – different shades of pink to red diamonds

An open mining project in the Argyle mine that was originally to be finished by 2008 has been changed to an underground diamond mining project in an attempt to maximize the diamond mine’s lifespan by approximately 10 years. In about 8 years almost 20 M carats are expected to be generated by the Argyle diamond mine each year. In addition, another project known as Phase Two is also in the works for the purpose of extending the diamond mine’s productivity to the year 2024. The investment in these underground mines entails a substantial investment of 910 M USD. Nonetheless, if these projects had not been undertaken, the Argyle diamond mine would be expected to arrive at its final output in just 2 years. As for the Argyle mine’s marketing efforts, from 1982 – 1996 the diamond mine’s output was vended to the DTC. About 14 years ago, the mine began to market its diamonds independently.

The Ellendale mine is the second highest producing mine in Australia. From the diamond mine’s beginnings in the year 2002, a company known as Kimberley has generated and vended nearly 397,000 carats of diamonds worth about 70 M USD. If forecasts prove to be accurate, the Ellendale diamond mine will have generated approximately 122 M USD every year until it will be completely exhausted in the year 2014.

The 3rd most productive diamond mine in Australia, the Merlin mine, which opened towards the end of 1998, has not had much stable ownership, but now it’s held by North Australian Diamonds. It is difficult to assess the exact amount of diamonds to be generated from the Merlin diamond mine because it is quite unpredictable.

Though vast quantities of diamonds are mined and produced in Australia, the majority of them are exported. As for Australian rough diamonds, they are most often not up to international standards. This is the reason why Australia is still the highest producer of rough diamonds, it is not in the highest ranking as far as value in the diamond industry.

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