Posts
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| Pentagonite |
#jewelleryfacts365 227/365 Gem fact
The most common imitation of turquoise encountered today is dyed howlite and magnesite, both white in their natural states, and the former also having natural (and convincing) black veining similar to that of turquoise. Dyed chalcedony, jasper, and marble is less common, and much less convincing.
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| Dragonfly necklace (copper, sterling silver, natural turquoise, blue topaz) |
#jewelleryfacts365 226/365 Gem fact
Tanzanite forms as a brownish crystal and is trichroic - which means it shows three colors - brown, blue and violet concurrently. Heating - either occurring underground naturally by metamorphic occurrences or above ground by man in a furnace removes the brown or burgundy color component to produce a stronger purplish-blue color and makes the stone "dichroic" which means it only reflects blue and violet. (source) Some stones found close to the surface in the early days of the discovery (in an area now called D block) were gem-quality blue without the need for heat treatment - probably the result of a wild fire in the area which heated the stones underground.
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| Tanzanite |
#jewelleryfacts365 225/365 Pearl fact
The Greeks explained the origins of pearls in their mythology. To them pearls were tears of joy that Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, shed when she was born from sea froth.
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| Aphrodite earrings |
#naturesgems
Sunday, September 11, 2016
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| Plumbogummite on a Pyromorphite stalactite - Yangshuo Mine, China |
#jewelleryfacts365 224/365 Copper fact
The first recorded medical use of copper is found in the Smith Papyrus, one of the oldest books known. The Papyrus is an Egyptian medical text, written between 2600 and 2200 B.C., which records the use of copper to sterilize chest wounds and to sterilize drinking water. (source)
#jewelleryfacts365 223/365
It is estimated that ivory consumption in Great Britain alone in 1831 amounted to the deaths of nearly 4,000 elephants.
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| Elephant tusks |
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