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While my son was jumping on the trampoline in our backyard, I noticed a raccoon on our neighbour's shed roof. Then it came to our backyard, climed up the pool using its filter system and drank the rain water collected on the pool cover. It happened fast, but I managed to film it for a few seconds.
#jewelleryfacts365 141/365 Gem fact
Since amethyst, by definition, is the violet to purple shade of quartz, there is really no such thing as green amethyst. The term "green amethyst" makes as much sense as "red emerald" or "yellow ruby". Green quartz is sometimes incorrectly called green amethyst, which is an actual misnomer and not an acceptable name for the material, the proper terminology being Prasiolite. It is a rare stone in nature; artificially produced Prasiolite is heat treated amethyst. It is actually against Federal Trade Commission Guidelines to call prasiolite "green amethyst." Other names for green quartz are vermarine, greened amethyst, or lime citrine. (source)
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| Ocean life pendant with amethyst |
#jewelleryfacts365 140/365 Gold fact
Known for its beautiful color, not everyone knows that white gold doesn't exist in nature. It is an alloy of yellow gold and a mixture of nickel, palladium, rhodium, and other metals, which turns the bright yellow gold to very pale yellow shade that we call "white" gold. Most white gold pieces of jewellery are white because they are rhodium plated.
#jewelleryfacts365 139/365 Roman jewellery fact
Some of the sons of wealthy Romans also wore small gold rings carved with a phallus for good luck.
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| Finger ring with a phallus in relief. Roman |
#jewelleryfacts365 138/365 Gem fact
Peridot is the only gemstone found in meteorites.
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Pallasite Meteorite Slice: This is a photo of a thin slice cut from the Esquel pallasite meteorite that fell near Chubut, Argentina. This meteorite was found by a farmer working his field, and when unearthed, it weighed about 1500 pounds. It consists of yellowish green olivine crystals, some of which are gem-quality peridot, in a matrix of meteoritic iron. This composition suggests that it was once part of a planet or other large body of our solar system that had a metallic core and a rocky mantle. The pallasite material comes from a portion of that body near the core-mantle boundary.
The stresses placed on a meteorite during its formation, its travel through space, entry into Earth's atmosphere, and impact with Earth's surface all have a chance of fracturing the olivine crystals. Because of these fractures, it can be difficult to find pieces of extraterrestrial olivine that are large enough to facet - but many faceted stones have been produced! Photograph by Doug Bowman
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#jewelleryfacts365 137/365
Beadwork in Europe has a history dating back to a time when shells and animal bones were used as beads in necklaces.
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| Upper Paleolithic Circa 30,000 B.C necklace composed of carved shells and animal bones. |
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