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Men were the first to wear jewelry as a status symbol and as good luck amulets to aid them in battle.
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| Men's jewellery. Dogtag. |
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Tuesday, May 30, 2017
In the Middle Ages, opal was considered a stone that could provide great luck because it was believed to possess all the virtues of each gemstone whose color was represented in the color spectrum of the opal.
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| "Virgin Rainbow" World's most expensive opal Photo: Richard Lyons courtesy South Australian Museum |
Jewellery masterpieces
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| Imperial Cameo Gemma Claudia, 49 AD,onyx, in a gold band Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien |
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Monday, May 29, 2017
Jade is a sought after stone, especially by the Chinese byers. Since not only good and natural jade is offered for sale, but often fake or poor-quality products or stones which have been coloured or otherwise treated, it is advisable to buy good jade only from reputable dealers and jewellers, whether the purchase is being made for a collection or as an individual piece of jewellery.
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| How to Tell if Jade Is Fake |
#jewelleryfacts365 299/365 Diamond fact
Sunday, May 28, 2017
For every one colored diamond, there are 10,000 colorless ones that have been discovered.
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| Rough blue diamond |
#jewelleryfacts365 298/365 Diamond fact
Saturday, May 27, 2017
It is estimated that less than one percent of women will ever wear a diamond of one carat or more.
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Friday, May 26, 2017
The Victorians frequently used marcasites as substitutes for diamonds. Marcasite, also known as pyrite, was used for this purpose as early as the 1700s.
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| Large Marcasite and Amethyst Silver Runway Brooch |
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Thursday, May 25, 2017
Still, the curse of the Hope Diamond goes way back to Tavernier. It was long believed that after Tavernier plucked the gem from the Hindu statue, he was torn apart by wild dogs - a karma-inspired event for his sacrilegious theft. However, LiveScience noted that other stories indicate Tavernier died peacefully in Russia years after he sold the gem to King Louis XIV.
Yet there are many other tales of tragedy related to the Hope Diamond. [source]
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| The Hope Diamond |
#jewelleryfacts365 295/365 Diamond fact
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Until the 14th Century only Kings could wear diamonds, because they stood for strength, courage and invincibility.
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| 1.35ctw Diamond 14th Century Cross Enhancer |
Nature's gems
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| Clear quartz over a pyrite cube on the bottom encrusted with either amethyst or tiny purple fluorite octahedrons then sprinkled with pyrite. |
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Tuesday, May 23, 2017
In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, every ring set with a precious stone was not considered as much a piece of jewelry, but more as an amulet that bestowed magical powers upon its wearer.
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| Antique Italian Renaissance Sapphire, Pearl and Gold Necklace 19century
An 18kt gold with natural sapphires and natural pearls, centered with a gold cameo plaque on which the beautiful form of a woman is engraved. Her cape is flowing as she walks, as is her lengthly hair. She is courtly and aristocratic. On the reverse the words in Italian "today and always, oggi e sempre". Golden curved shells and flowers surround her boundaries as do sapphire gems and natural pearls. Garlands form double strands around the central medallion. Sapphires are linked in long suspension from these strands. To fasten this around the neck, a mesh neckband, flexible and light. This appears to be a unique jewel made for a person of high position. Was it given to a woman by her lover, as a wedding gift, a promise? It is exceptional. Condition is superlative. Lore: Sapphire, one of the most precious world gems, is considered the gem of gems. It was always connected to royalty. In medieval days, Sapphire was considered the height of hope and faith. Buddhists believe it brings devotion. Today is is the stone of royal wisdom.
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Jewellery masterpieces
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| Orchid ring set with sapphire, amethyst, green garnet and white diamond on 18K yellow gold by Andre Marcha |
#jewelleryfacts365 293/365 Diamond fact
Monday, May 22, 2017
The son of the Turkish Sultan Bajazet (1447-1513) was said to have murdered his father pouring a large quantity of powdered diamond in his father's food. In l532, Pope Clement VII’s doctors dosed him with fourteen spoonfuls of pulverized gems, including diamond, which resulted in death for the patient. In the same century, Catherine de Medici was famous for dealing out death by diamond powder, and Benvenuto Cellini, the famous Italian goldsmith, described an attempt on his life by an enemy who ordered diamond powder to be mixed in his salad.
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| Diamond powder |
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Sunday, May 21, 2017
Early Victorian jewelers fancied gems like topaz, amethyst, citrine and garnets. Diamonds were considered to be matronly while young women often preferred turquoise which was popular throughout the era.
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| Victorian 19th century turquoise and gold snake necklace. Fully articulated snake with hundreds of bezel set cabochon turquoise beads mounted in 18 karat gold. Finely detailed snake head completely encrusted with turquoise beads crowned with larger cabochon turquoise stone. Cabochon ruby eyes crown the head, which is accented with diamonds around the eyes and the mouth. From the original Fred Leighton |
#jewelleryfacts365 291/365 Diamond fact
Saturday, May 20, 2017
Under the normal pressures and temperatures we experience on the Earth’s surface, diamonds are actually thermodynamically unstable, slowly transforming into graphite. Yes, you read that correctly, diamonds are indeed turning into graphite, but thankfully for all those diamond owners out there it’s a process that is far too slow for humans to notice.
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| Diamond graphite phase diagram |
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Friday, May 19, 2017
Pyrite enjoyed brief popularity in the 16th and 17th centuries as a source of ignition in early firearms.
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| The 16th century marked the first time a plan such as Balthazar’s had become technologically feasible. Until then, the only firearms were matchlocks – heavy, unwieldy affairs which could neither be concealed from view nor fired without a smoldering fuse, a fuse which burned at the mercy of the elements and which gave off a tell-tale whiff of smoke to any nearby sentient target. [source] |
Jewellery masterpieces
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| Cf. Petit, Marc, Van Cleef & Arpels, Reflections of Eternity, Editions Cercle D'Art, 2006 Sold for US$ 161,000 |
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Thursday, May 18, 2017
Well-crafted obsidian blades, as with any glass knife, can have a cutting edge many times sharper than high-quality steel surgical scalpels, the cutting edge of the blade being only about 3 nanometers thick. Even the sharpest metal knife has a jagged, irregular blade when viewed under a strong enough microscope; when examined even under an electron microscope an obsidian blade is still smooth and even.
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| Left: Obsidian tip under and electron microscope. Right: Steel point under an electron microscope. |
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Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Each volcano and in some cases each volcanic eruption produces a distinguishable type of obsidian, making it possible for archaeologists to trace the origins of a particular artifact.
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| A zoomorphic vessel found at the Temple of the Feathered Serpent (Serpiente Emplumada) at the Teotihuacan complex in Mexico City |
Nature's gems
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| Acquamarina (varietà i Berillo) with muscovite Nagar, Hunza Valley, Gilgit District, Northern Pakistan. 320x180 mm |
Video DIY on how to wood burn. Guest post by VZBRELO
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
This is a guest post by two ladies who chose woodworking as their profession. You can find a list of all their "behind the scene" and DIY posts here. They have quite a few of them in my blog! Today we have a chance to "peek over their shoulder" and to see how they actually work. Isn't it exciting? I was jumping on my chair waiting for the video to start! All I want now is to try the wood burning myself. See if it can inspire you in the same way!
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Hello to all visitors of the blog! Today we are happy to share a detailed video DIY that shows how to wood burn an ornament on a wooden vase. BTW, it looks like this ornament is hard to make, but it is easier than you think. Watch for yourself!
Enjoy!
Here how the vase looks like when finished:
We hope this video DIY is going to be useful to some of you!
Come and visit us in our blogs:
Maria and Tatiana of VZBRELO
#jewelleryfacts365 287/365 Diamond facts
After polishing, the diamond is re-examined for possible flaws, either remaining or induced by the process. Those flaws are concealed through various diamond enhancement techniques, such as re-polishing, crack filling, or clever arrangement of the stone in the jewelry. Remaining non-diamond inclusions are removed through laser drilling and filling of the voids produced.
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| Cracks and fractures in a diamond reduce its clarity, but can be treated by filling. Fracture filling utilises a glass-like material, which has similar optical properties to that of diamond. It will improve the diamond’s appearance by almost two clarity grades but is not a permanent treatment. Most obvious evidence of fracturefilled diamonds can be found in the bright flashes of changing colour that can be seen under proper lighting. Other evidence is the presence of bubbles in the fracture of the filler, or ‘crackled appearance’ of the filler. All these can be picked up by 10x magnification. [source]. |
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Monday, May 15, 2017
Most diamonds contain visible non-diamond inclusions and crystal flaws. The cutter has to decide which flaws are to be removed by the cutting and which could be kept.
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| This diamond has clearly visible inclusions; some of them are circled in red in the photo. |
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Sunday, May 14, 2017
The most time-consuming part of the cutting is the preliminary analysis of the rough stone. It needs to address a large number of issues, bears much responsibility, and therefore can last years in case of unique diamonds.
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| The Cullinan Diamond is the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found, weighing 3,106.75 carats (621.35 g), discovered at the Premier No. 2 mine in Cullinan, modern-day South Africa, on 26 January 1905. It was named after the chairman of the mine, Thomas Cullinan. |
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Saturday, May 13, 2017
Outside the earth, diamonds are also common. A recent discovery shows that some stars collapse on themselves, creating giant diamond crystals. In the constellation Centaurus, there lies a white dwarf, that has crystallized into a diamond 2,500 miles in diameter and weighing 10 billion, trillion, trillion carats.
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| An artist's impression of the white dwarf star orbiting with the pulsar PSR J2222-0137. Credit: B. Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF) |
#jewelleryfacts365 283/365 Diamond fact
It was only in the last century that diamonds became readily available. Prior to that, rubies and sapphires were the most popular gems, especially for engagement rings.
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| 15th Century [!?] engagement ring set with a natural diamond octahedron in a handmade carved gold and enamel setting. German. |
#jewelleryfacts365 282/365 Gold fact
Solid gold jewelry does tarnish. However, pure 24K gold is not susceptible to tarnishing. The other alloys like copper and silver used solid gold jewelry cause the tarnishing. The higher karat the gold is, the less noticeable the tarnish will appear over time. This explains why a lot of antique gold jewelry from the Victorian era has a dark rosey tone to it. The lower karat jewelry of this time period used a lot of copper which creates a beautiful patina that cannot be replicated. Cleaning of antique jewellery will reduce their value..
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Wednesday, May 10, 2017
The visors of astronauts' space helmets receive a coating of gold so thin (0.00005 millimeters, or 0.000002 inches) that it is partially transparent. The astronauts can see through it, but even this thin layer reduces glare and heat from sunlight.
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Tuesday, May 9, 2017
A posy (posie) is a short verse, often from a poem, inscribed on a ring. Posy rings were first commonly worn in the 15th century.
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| A posy ring |
Jewellery masterpieces
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| Belle Epoque diamond necklace. Cartier. Paris. Sold in Magnificent Jewelry sale Sotheby’s New York October 1990 |
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Monday, May 8, 2017
Benitoites of excellent gem quality and transparency rarely exceed two carats, and few that do have such good color saturation combined with the gemminess. Most stones tend to have one or the other. This is an impressive brilliant oval that is very bright and has good clarity as well. It is big and impressive. Rough-and-cut sets make fabulous displays and this would fit into such a set, or it is of a hardness that makes it also perfectly wearable for jewelry. A classic rarity that will be difficult to replace as the deposit is unique in the world, and is now more or less stripmined and depleted. From the collection of former mine owner Bill Forrest. There have been quotes on pieces of this quality and size at $10,000 per carat retail.
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| Benitoite |
#jewelleryfacts365 278/365 Silver fact
Sunday, May 7, 2017
The name Silver originates from the Old English Anglo-Saxon word 'seolfor' meaning silver. The Symbol Origin is from the Latin word 'argentum' meaning silver. Argentina was named for this precious metal.
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| History of silver production in Argentina since January 1, 1927 |
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