Ocos Geode - Another Interesting Agate !

An Ocos Agate Geode are geodes that have been cut open then polished on the edges. They have not been dyed, as collectors desire their natural color. They have very interesting natural designs on the edges and on some of the crystals inside. Ocos or Ochos are very small geodes that exhibit all the properties of larger agate geodes. The name Ocos comes from the region of Brazil along the Orinoco River where these small geodes are easily found. While not true Ocos Geodes, small 'Ochos' type geodes can also be found in many places, especially in the United States. Some people believe that Ocos came from the Portuguese word for "hollow", and thus any small geode carries the name Ocos or Ochos.

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Our daughter-in-law, who operates under the name 'Timeless Designs', recently acquired several of the unmounted Ocos Geods and made them into pendants by wire-wrapping the individual sliced Ocos Geode pieces..

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This is a sample of a Ocos Geode that she recently wrapped with silver wire. Small geodes that are crystal lined with miniature mineral formations of goethite, calcite, and occasionally amethyst, are the best looking in pendants. They usually range in size from ¾” to 3” in diameter. .
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Hematite and Hematine - easy to tell apart !

Hematite is a common ore mineral that has derived its name from Greek haimatitis. Hematine is a recent trade term for a synthetic replicate and is also known by some as magnetic hematite, pseudomorphous after magnetite.

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Hematite, also spelled hæmatite, is the mineral form of ironoxide (Fe2O3), one of several iron oxides. Hematite crystallizes in the rhombohedral system, and it has the same crystal structure as ilmetinite and corundum. Hematite is a mineral, colored black to steel or silver-gray, brown to reddish brown, or red. It is mined as the main ore of iron. Varieties include kidney ore, martite, magnetite, iron rose and specularite (specular hematite). While the forms of hematite vary, they all have a rust-red streak. Hematite is harder than pure iron, but much more brittle. Maghemite is a hematite-magnetite related oxide mineral.

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Huge deposits of hematite are found in banded iron formations. Grey hematite is typically found in places where there has been standing water or mineral hot springs, such as those in Yellowstone National Park in the United States. The mineral can precipitate out of water and collect in layers at the bottom of a lake, spring, or other standing water. Hematite can also occur without water, however, usually as the result of volcanic activity. Clay-sized hematite crystals can also occur as a secondary mineral formed by weathering processes in soil, and along with other iron oxides or oxyhydroxides such a goethite, is responsible for the red color of many tropical, ancient, or otherwise highly weathered soils. Good specimens of hematite come from England, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, Canada and the United States.
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Hematine, called magnetic hematite, hemalyke or hemalike is an artificial man made version of hematite. Hematine is widely used in jewelery, especially jewelry used to address the magnetic substances of healing. Although it is claimed by many that it is made from ground hematite or iron oxide mixed with a resin, analysis has proven it to be an entirely artificial compound composed of a barium-strontium-ferrite. Hematine is much easier to produce and can be made in a great variety of shapes, and is much more affordable. This very shiny, gray to dark gray, almost metal appearance, goes well with silver, and has held a popular appeal to many. Hematine is virtually identical to Hematite when looked at and only the magnetic properties of hematine can distinuish the two. Although hold a magnet up to hematite, and it will be drawn to it, but it is not magnetic in itself like hematine.

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Photos and some information provided by Stan Celestian and Glendale Community College.
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Stock Up On Jewelry and Gemstones !

If the fears of hiperinflation are realized, you'll look back with pride on your recent luxury jewelry purchases. All that money you've sunk into custom jewelry and top-of-the-line gemstones will make you look like an absolute genius to your friends. Agree or disagree, that's the position of South African billionaire Johann Rupert, and many will take the advice of a guy who can be described in that manner.

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According to Bloomberg News who has been advising investors, "If we enter a hyperinflation period, you're going to be so glad that you bought expensive stuff two months or six months ago." "If inflation picks up, you're going to see people running into stores, buying high cost jewelry." Will inflation cause a mob to form outside the Cartier store on Fifth Avenue? Well, probably not and you probably wouldn't have to worry too much about the pushing and shoving, but being ready to throw an elbow to protect your purchases probably isn't a bad idea.

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Of course, Mr.Rupert has something to gain – his company, Richemont, is the world's second largest luxury goods maker behind Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton S.A. (usually called LVMH). In Mr.Rupert's talk with investors in the company controlled by his family, he forecasted "normal growth" with luxury sales showing signs of recovery this month and next. What Rupert is worried about is quantitative easing ("queasing," if you will), which involves various governments' pumping money into their saging economies to attain some kind of short-term stability. But, this could lead to a nasty hangover in the form of significant inflation rates in a few years. To beat these problems, he suggests sinking your cash into the playthings of the rich (though not cars, since they don't hold their value all that well). Gemstones, in particular, will be more than shiny in a few years, of course along with Gold.

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Partial reprint from The Luxist news release and Bloomberg News.
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Global Gold Frenzy !

In a small corner of Switzerland where Italian is spoken and roughly one-third of the world’s gold is refined into bars and ingots, business is booming. Every day, bangles, bracelets and necklaces arrive in plastic bags — from souks in the Middle East, from pawn shops in Asia and from corner jewelers in Europe and North America. “It could be your grandmother’s gold or the gift of an ex-boyfriend,” said Erhard Oberli, the chief executive of Argor-Heraeus, a major refiner that processes roughly 400 tons of gold a year. “Gold doesn’t disappear.” Amid a global frenzy fed by multibillion-dollar hedge funds, wealthy speculators and governments all rushing to stock up on the precious yellow metal, the price of gold has now surpassed $1,100 an ounce.

Long considered the ultimate refuge for nervous investors, gold has climbed as the dollar has steadily weakened, budget deficits have expanded in the United States and Europe, and central banks have continued to pump trillions of dollars into weak economies, creating fears of another asset bubble that will ultimately pop. It’s not that gold has changed, but gold buyers have changed. It’s a structural shift seen on the investing side, from Asian central banks right down to individual investors buying ingots and coins. Gold’s appeal has broadened. Indeed, last month, Harrods, the 160-year-old London department store, began selling coins as well as gold bullion ranging from tiny 1-gram ingots to the hefty, 12.5-kilogram, 400-Troy-ounce bricks that are so often featured in movies and stocked inside the vaults of Fort Knox. Harrods’s lower ground floor, where the gold is peddled, has been packed with interested shoppers. Bars are definitely more popular than coins. The 100-gram is the most popular.

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IN the United States, ads promising high prices for gold are regular fodder for late-night television spots, while buyers are setting up tables at shopping malls or hosting gold-buying gatherings at private homes. 10 times as many people are going into stores to sell gold compared to when the metal was selling for $300 an ounce at the beginning of the decade. Adjusting for inflation, gold would have to top $1,885 to set an all-time record.

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China has already doubled its gold reserves over the last six years underscored how even the most traditional investors are shifting a portion of their assets into bullion.

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Over all, in the second quarter of 2009, consumption of gold for jewelry plunged 20 percent, while investor demand for gold increased 51 percent, according to the World Gold Council. Demand for bars weighing 100 ounces or less for individual investors is up 80 percent. Inflows of old gold jewelry and individual investor sales are especially strong in the United States and Western Europe. In the past, hoarding gold as an investment was much more popular in the Middle East and Asia. Europe and the United States are the emerging markets. In addition to high anxiety about the future, recent political trends may also be playing a part in the global gold fever. With a crackdown on tax havens worldwide and Swiss bankers handing over the names of wealthy American clients to authorities, some experts say rich people now prefer an investment that can easily be hidden from the prying eyes of tax collectors. In Europe, people want physical gold to store themselves, with no documents.

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The region surrounding Mendrisio has dominated gold refining for decades, profiting from its close proximity to northern Italy — which has a long tradition of jewelry-making and cheap labor — as well as from Switzerland’s own reputation for financial stability and discretion. The Swiss government has also nurtured the business, guaranteeing gold assays for purity and carefully regulating the industry. One of the 100-gram bars that is produced just about fits in the palm of ones hand, with a satisfying metallic coldness that belies its $3,500 price tag. The standard 12.5-kilo, 400-ounce brick, on the other hand, is a monster, straining the wrist as well as the imagination: but just one of these thick bars commands a higher price than a studio apartment in Manhattan. India is now a far bigger consumer than Italy of gold for jewelry.

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Gold has been around as an investment or placed in jewelry for over 6,000 years, there is just nothing else like it, with no real alternative.

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Partial reprint of a New York Times article.
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30th Annual Christmas Showcase - Freeman Coliseum !

This coming weekend is the "Biggest Little Christmas Show" in the area, the "30th Annual Freeman Coliseum Christmas Showcase." This will also be our last show for 2009, but comes just in time for those of you in the San Antonio area to join us for your Holiday shopping !! We are again combining with Timeless Designs Studio for "The Big One" November 21st-22nd -- Saturday: 9:00am-5:00pm -- Sunday: 10:00am-5:00pm.

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Our booth is on the floor of the main building, all the way through the show to the back, under the overhang, last booth on the right. We will have a wide selection of custom jewelry featuring some of the world’s most unique and unusual natural stones and cuts; and as always, each piece comes with it’s own tag describing what type of stones are used in each jewelry design.

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Hope to see our San Antonio area friends at the show and don't forget your card from previous shows for an additional discount !

Some Simple Jewelry Items !

Nothing Fancy, Large or Expensive. Just some simple items that work well for Holiday Gift Giving and Stocking Stuffers.
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We start out with a nice Red-Black-Silver Dichroic Glass pendant and earring set on a ribbon necklace.
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Here we have Blue Glass Leaf style pendant and matching earrings, again on a ribbon necklace.

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Now we have a Purple Dichroic pendant and earring set on a matching purple ribbon necklace.
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If one prefers ceramic, here is a nice Seafoam Ceramic pendant with necklace and matching earring set.

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Here is another Colored Glass pendant and earring set on a ribbon necklace.

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Staying with glass, here is a Black and Copper Glass heart pendant and matching earring set, again on a ribbon necklace.

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And to complete this grouping of simplier jewelry sets, we have a Blue-green Ceramic pendant on a crystal necklace with matching earrings.

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Gemstone Pendant - What Size and Style !

Selecting a gemstone pendant can be a very personal thing. Color, type of stone, cutting, style, size and method of hanging all come into play when you finally decide to buy a gemstone pendant. Of course one of the biggest decision is "how much to spend." The type of mounting, a simple bail or setting, the kind of metal used, gold, silver, vermile, silver plate, platinum, gold plate, sterling silver, all must be considered.

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The simplest and easiest is the small faceted stone in a silver or gold setting that can slide over a small chain.

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Or, still keeping it simple, mount a finished stone that has a hole drilled into it on a gold or silver bail to hang again from a chain. This same simple design works well with a small setting into which the stone is placed so that no drilling has to take place. This type of setting is common with cabachon cut stones.

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Or go a little fancer with an enlarged setting that may even have multiple stones of a different kind.

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And the same thing can be done with non-faceted stones with a bail that can be taken on and off various necklaces.

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Again a simple setting of multiple stones of the same kind can lend itself to interesting designs. Most faceted stones are set into setting with prongs to hold them into place rather than a bezel or crimp setting as used with cabachons.

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And many people prefer just a small gemstone cross hanging from a chain or necklace.

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Then we can get a bit fancer by making a setting that is part of the pendant, which can include one or multiple stones worked into the design.

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Again the same larger pendant setting with a smaller cut stone works well.
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Another design, utilizing wire-wrapping or wire-sculpturing is taking a faceted gemstone or a cut and polished gemstone and placing it into the setting using the wire to hold it into place.
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Because of the size of some gemstones, especially fossils where you want to keep the entire fossil intact, wire wrapping is the only way to go, as can be seen in this 3 inch long Orthoceras pendant.

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This discussion has purposely stayed away from and has not addressed the multitude of glass, dichroic glass, resin, lampwork, all metal, metal and glass, plastics and other kings of pendants that can be found in jewelry stores, department stores, at craft shows, and on the internet.

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Gemstone Shopping at Bagram AB, Afghanistan !

We want to say a Special Thanks to all our Military, Active Duty and Veterans alike, this Veterans Day 2009! On a special note, we also want to thank the International School of Gemology for providing assistance to and information and guidance for Military Personnel on this Veterans Day, be they stationed in Afghanistan, Iraq or elsewhere in the world.

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Over the past few years the ISG office has received many calls regarding gemstones purchased by military personnel from gem dealers in the markets around Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. The ISG has seen a few excellent purchases made there, but all too often they have found local gem dealers taking advantage of our young military forces. We have heard from many of our people who were made to believe that shopping in the local gem markets would not only provide excellent values….but also a consumer friendly shopping environment.
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This was, and has been proven, not to be the case.
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The ISG is proud to count within it's world wide community students and graduates stationed at Bagram AB and many other deployment locations worldwide. The ISG has assisted many others with information regarding gemstone purchases made or being considered from the local markets. As a result the ISG has compiled a list of problems that is felt need to be reviewed by all military personnel who may find themselves shopping in the gem markets around the Bagram AFB area, as well as Gem Markets elsewhere in the world. To further assist with the Gem Market problems, the ISG has produced a 10 minute informational video to provide video assistance to our military forces stationed especially those in the Afghanistan region. This free video concerning the purchasing of gemstones from markets is available at the following link --- http://www.SchoolofGemology.com/ISGGemShoppingBagram.html (NOTE: to return to this BLOG, close the new window that opened, to go to the ISG web-site, follow the buttons associated with the video).
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The ISG wishes to express its appreciation to all Coalition Forces fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq , and further express appreciation to all military forces, wherever they may be stationed. We can all hope and pray that the day will come when mothers do not have to send their sons off to war. But as long as there is tyranny from those wishing to force their ways and beliefs on others, we need to thank those fighting to stop those tyrants and for protecting freedom for us all.

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If any military personnel stationed anywhere in the world needs assistance with gemstone identification or shopping information, the ISG community stands ready to provide you with any assistance you may need at no cost. Please consider the ISG to be at your service, as you have done for us. Be sure to click on the video: Gem Shopping at Bagram AB, for good information.

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.Thanks to the ISG , Robert James and his student body, for their assistance, the basic article and the video link.
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18th Annual Alzafar Holiday Extravaganza !

Dichroic Glass Pendant Sets are always a hit during the Holidays, especially when in the color RED for the Season.

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At other times a simple Fused Glass Pendant Set will work as well.

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18th Annual Alzafar Holiday Extravaganza !

For those in the San Antonio area be sure to stop bye and see us at the Alzafar Shrine Temple on Loop-1604 between Stone Oak Parkway and Blanco Road this coming Saturday and Sunday between 10am and 5pm. The following are a few of the new designs that have been completed for the shows.

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Also we will have a large quantity of Unmounted Pendants and Cabachons for inclusion in necklace designs. We also have some Mounted Pendants and Faceted Gemstones to add to your existing necklace or chains.

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Timeless Designs Studio will also be showing her wire-sculpture items.

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18th Annual Alzafar Holiday Extravaganza

For those in the San Antonio, Texas area, come on by our next big show! We are again combining with Timeless Designs Studio this coming weekend for the 18th Annual Alzafar Holiday Extravaganza at the Alzafar Shrine (1604 between Stone Oak and Blanco), San Antonio , Texas -- Saturday & Sunday -- November 7th & 8th -- 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (both days) .

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Timeless Designs Studio will have….
-Glass Pendants & Earring Sets

-Stone, Ocos Agate, & Fossil Pendant Sets

-New designs with fossils, ocos agates and stone pendants

-Small stock of bagged loose beading stones

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Jewelry by CnC will have….

-New stock of over 100 unmounted pendants; wide selection of cuts to choose from

-New jewelry set designs to include some with wired or mounted pendants, some for men

-Select lapidary slabs and a small selection of faceted gemstones and cabachons, both mounted and unmounted

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Come early as we have knocked down prices for the coming Holidays! Wide selection of custom jewelry featuring some of the world’s most unique and unusual natural stones and cuts; and as always, each piece comes with it’s own tag describing what type of stones are used in each jewelry design.

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