Silver jewelry|handmade beaded jewelry|custom gemstone beaded jewelry|gem stone wire wrapped jewelry| Gift ideas| unique necklaces| silver bracelets| gold earrings

"14/20 goldfill", "gold overlay", or "rolled gold" is made by heat and pressure- Bonding several thick layers of gold to a silver (and sometimes brass or copper) core.

The 1/20 notation refers to the ratio of 14 Karat gold layer to the silver layer by weight, which is 5%. Karat gold covers the silver (or brass) surface, making it tarnish-resistant.
The value of the gold-filled is far greater than gold-plated, because gold-filled has an actual layer, not just a microscopic, mechanically applied film of karat gold, so it will not rub off.

Goldfilled materials are in common use by jewelry designers in the United States as a VALUABLE, AFFORDABLE option WITHOUT THE PRICE OF GOLD. This material is something we have used in our own jewelry for some time, with fantastic and very successful results!

All of our gold-filled jewelry is of the highest quality, it is economical, and it will last a life-time.

We are not saying taking care of your stones will prolong their lives (most will outlive people by far) but it certainly will make them look better.

Daily care
Do not wear your jewelry at night (in general) and put it in a box in such a way, that a piece of jewelry does not rub against another piece. Do not wear your jewelry during bathing, and only put them on as a "Final touch". Moisture can weaken jewelry that has been secured by glue. In general, try to be careful with jewelry: stones might get chipped or cracked (especially the not so hard ones). Exposure to chemicals (such as bleach, perfumes,hairsprays etc.) might damage them as well. Examine your pieces from time to time, to check whether stones are coming loose, or are getting loose in their settings.

Storage
Keep the harder stones separate from the softer ones, as a diamond (the hardest stone in the world with a hardness of 10) will probably scratch and damage a soft pearl or a stone with a Moh's-hardness of 5 or less, like apatite or kyanite. As a rule of thumb: keep your jewelry in a dry place.

Mystic topaz is also called "rainbow", "titanium","alaska", mystic fire" or "Caribbean" topaz. Those are all names for a titanium-treated natural topaz.

The mystic fire or azotic(Azotic being the name of the American company who invented the enhancing method) topaz is a natural white topaz gemstone, mined from the earth like any other topaz, which is color-enhanced by a very thin layer of titanium in a proces called "vacuum deposition".
The titanium creates a rainbow of colors across the surface of the topaz.

Only the best quality,natural, pure white topazes are used for this enhancement.

Mystic (azotic) quartz Mystic quartz is similar to mystic topaz. What's the difference? Basically both are white (colorless) stones to begin with, and then the Azotic treatment is applied to give it the mystic color. ...It's very nice if you like the mystic coating because quartz weighs less than topaz, so you can find a nice big stone for a lot less.

Most Jade on the market today is the so-called "nephrite"- jade. Nephrite - jade is a so-called "soft" jade, mineralogically a kind of amphibole, with a glassy (vitreous) or silky lustre. It is mainly found in: Sin Kiang (China), Russia, South Korea, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Taiwan.

The "jadeite" jade is rather rare: the emerald-green, translucent form is even called "imperial jade" or "gem" jade. (The color in "jadeite" is caused by a small amount of chromium). Depending on the color, jadeite jade is sometimes called "Apple Jade", "Yunan Jade", (very darkgreen) and "Moss-in-snow Jade" a white jade with vivid green spots and streaks.
Jadeite jade is a so-called "hard" jade, mineralogically a kind of pyroxene. with a glossy or pearly lustre. It is mainly found in: Burma, Russia, Guatemala, US (California), Japan.

With nephrite- and jadeite jade the quality is determined, (like with other stones) with the 4 C's:1) Cut: mostly cabochon or freeform. 2) Clarity: ranges from transparant to opaque. The best quality has a consistent clarity, like honey, free of impurities. 3) Color: the best colors are vivid and penetrating, pure and evenly distributed. 4)Carat: weight is important for every stone.

There are many similarities between turquoise and nephrite- jadeite jade in the field of treatment: the three kinds of treatment for jade are: 1)"untreated" or"virgin": for jade this is an intrernationally recognized standard treatment entailing washing with plum juice and polishing with beeswax, without any color-enhancing; only the "true color" of the jade is present.This treatment is not considered to be artificial for jade.
2) The second treatment is similar to the "stabilizing" treatment for turquoise: the jade is bleached with acids and then impregnated with polymers.
3) The third kind of treatment is: bleaching, impregnating, AND coloring/dyeing.

Nephrite and jadeite range in color from white to all kinds of shades of green, lavender, and from yellow to red, to black. The name "jade" has always been given to a lot of materials that look like the real thing: "Korean" jade is in fact mostly serpentine or bowenite,"Indian" jade is mostly aventurine, "Mexican" jade is mostly green-dyed calcite, "Transvaal" jade is mostly green garnet, "Amazon" jade or "Colorado" jade is mostly green amazonite, and "Oregon" jade or "Swiss" jade is mostly green chalcedony.

This is not always done with fraudulous intentions: The Chinese have, culturally, always called serpentine and Soapstone (talc) "jade" as well.

There are a few other types of jade. The so-called "candy-jade", which is basically a white Chinese (mostly nephrite) jade that is colored in a complicated process, with the color permeating the stone from the outside in. A lot of "candy-jade" really has candy colors like pink or peach, hence the name.

Then there is the "Siberian jade", (mostly nephrite) with a beautiful lightgreen color and a lovely translucency. This jade is found in the Baikal-lake region in Russia.

Turquoise. Real turquoises appear in 3 different types: the "natural" or "virgin" turquoise is the most valuable, and is, after mining, only shaped in the desired form, and then polished.

The next type is the so-called "treated" turquoise. This turquoise has been altered, making this fragile stone much "harder", but also less valuable. Treatment may consist of waxing, dyeing, and impregnation with artificial resin or colloidal silica. The result of these treatments is called "stabilizing", and if performed correctly, the stones have become darker, the pores have been filled with one of the substances mentioned, and they have become much harder.

Obviously, from the "treated" turquoises, the one only having received a waxing and a polishing, is the most valuable.

Last, and unfortunately least too, there is the so-called "reconstructed" or "reconstituted" turquoise. Such a stone does consist of real turquoise, but it is "reconstructed" of turquoise-powder (ground turquoises which were too small for other purposes).
This powder, together with an artificial resin, is then heated and formed into a new stone. The result is a hard and naturally stable material. From these "stabilized" stones the ones which give off a strong smell of resin long after they have coolled down, are the least valuable.

Unfortunately, there are also quite a few imitations around, like dyed howlite, dyed calcite, dyed soap stone, and many other substances, like plastic .

Should you be fortunate enough to possess a real and wonderful turquoise, then treat it with care. (each of the above-mentioned "real" kinds). It is best to keep turquoises out of direct sunlight, heat, and away from cosmetics. Turquoises should be kept apart from other, "harder"stones, and they should not be rubbed. Remove skin oils and other natural substances with a soft and clean piece of cloth, and, if necessary, the stones can be carefully washed with luke-warm water and dried with a clean and soft piece of cloth.
A little care prevents the colours from fading, which, in turn, may also cause your luck to fade! Yes, the turquoise is one of the most important "good-luck"stones!

It has been told, that a turquoise has prevented major floods, and it certainly gives its owner a lot of power and strength!

Most Ammolite on the market today is only found in one area, namely the Bearpaw formation, that extends from Alberta to Saskatchewan in Canada, and south into Montana, in the USA. This entire area used to be a warm sea, that teamed with life. One of the creatures living in this sea, was an early mollusk. These marine animals had no vertebrae, but they were protected by a hard shell(usually coiled) made from calcium. After they died, their shells remained. After a very, very long time, some of these remains would become ammolites, as a result of encredible changes in the earth's crust. (For more, scientific, information, please Google "ammonite" or "ammolite")

It was not before 1981, that ammolite was recognized as a gem by the CIBJO, the "colored stones commission", and it belongs to three (only three!) stones that were recognized as gem stones over the last fifty years. It is also one of the few organic gemstones, like amber, pearl, jet and coral. Ammolite has been compared to opal, but opal, of course, is not organic.

Ammolite is basically a fossilized ammonite shell, and it is sometimes referred to as "grandmother of pearl".

Ammolite concists mainly of aragonite, which is also the main mineral of the pearl, and traces of other elements, like copper and iron. The amazing colors are produced by interference with the light, that rebounds from thin layers of stacked small "platelets" in the aragonite. The layers are only .5 to .8 mm thick, but this is still sufficient for manufacturing jewelry.

Other names for ammolite are: aapoak (Blackfoot for "small crawling stone".The Blackfoot indians being the first who found and named the stone), calcetine, korite, ammonite shell, or gem ammonite.... .

Many precious and semi-precious stones are found in the form of so-called "geode's", or "drusies" (druzies). A geode is a roundish, rough piece of stone, not much to look at. One of the most exciting moments for a "rock-hound" must be the moment a geode is opened, and the amazing sparkling and flashing crystals on the inside can be seen!

One of the most common "druzies" is the quartz "druzy". By vapourizing a thin layer of gold, platinum or titanium on the "druzy", beautiful flashing colors can be applied.

A natural "druzy" can be white (quartz), pink (cobalto-calcite), green (uvavorite or tsavorite garnet), turquoise-blue (chrysocolla), very rarely lavender or blue (chalcedony), or rust-colored (jasper). Another natural "druzy" is rainbow-pyrite - incredibly beautiful too!

The crystals flash and sparkle with ten thousand pinpoints of light when a "druzy" is moved. With some "druzies" the color is BENEATH the colorless crystals, with others the crystals THEMSELVES are colored.

With normal use a "druzy" is not brittle and it will not fall apart.
Nevertheless, it is better not to use a "druzy" in rings or bracelets, since banging it can damage it.
A layer of color is, after all, applied by vapourization, and is therefore very thin, and it CAN wear off.

Every "druzy" should be cleaned very carefully in soapy water, rinsed with demineralized water, and blown-dry with a hair-dryer, when the sparkle of the crystals has diminshed a little.

When a "druzy" is taken care of properly, it will remain beautiful at least as long as the piece it is set in!