Gemstone Sets - some new designs !

As the summer moves along, one can sit and think about the various gemstones one has acquired in the past and what might be interesting to try and find for future designs. Here are a couple new designs that have been enhanced by suggestions from customers and created from existing necklaces or from some existing stock.

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Turquoise tear drops & rounds, Tiger Iron rondels & barrels with Crystal highlights

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Spiderweb Agate pendant, Black Agate and Carnelian rounds with Silver highlights

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Jewelry by CnC BLOG and Web-site Updates !

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Please bear with us for the next several months as we work through a medical problem. Depending on outcomes and progression following surgery, the Jewelry by CnC Web-site, this BLOG and our Twitter JewelrybyCnC location may be a bit hit and miss for a while.

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Please feel free to check with our daughter-in-law, Annette, on her Timeless Designs Studio Web-site, BLOG and Twitter location, for updates and from time for new jewelry and pendants that we may be able to do or in some cases some updates to our designs by Annette using and adding her wire-wrapping techniques.

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To our customers and friends, thanks for bearing with us during these times.

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GEMSTONES - Color Change !

Well an interesting surprise at the Gemstone Identification presentation at the Southwest Gem and Mineral Society meeting in San Antonio last night

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color-change Tourmaline !

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By no means is it as dramitic as the color change in Alexandrite when you go from daylight to artificial light with a 80% or better chnaging stone

but definitely better than what is seen in Garnet.

All of these color-change stones, and others can be located through various dealers on the internet, but probably not at your local jewelry store unless they specialize in colored gemstones, and then maybe not even these.

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GEMSTONES - Identification !

Learn what these pictures are about and the meaning of them at the

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Southwest Gem and Mineral Society Monthly Meeting

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Tuesday - May 11th

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General meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month with the exception of October (our annual picnic) and December ( our Christmas party). Doors open at 6:00 PM for refreshments and socializing. General meeting starts at 7:00 PM. Currently the group meets at the Celebration Bible Church at US-281 and Dondella Dr. Check the SWGMS web-site for announcements pertaining to a change in location over the next few months. The June 8th meeting will be at the Geology Department at UTSA.

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A change in plans has been made for the May 11th meeting. Thanks to a friend of Jewelry by CnC, a collection of faceted gemstones has been made available and will be shown at the Southwest Gem and Mineral Society meeting. In addition there will be a presentation on the Types of Gemstones, an overview on the Identification of Gemstones and the equipment used in the identification process.

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We hope all members of the SWGMS and prospective members as well as guests can attend and we will be looking forward to presenting the information and showing the borrowed collection of over 300 faceted gemstones.

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See you there !

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GREEN GEMSTONES -- Marketing !

Here we go again ! With the popularity of the color Green for Spring and into early Summer, there are several green gemstones available for the jewelry wearer. You can find green in faceted gemstones, cabochon cuts, pendants and tumbled stones as well as crystals. The names of most of the green gemstones are familiar to most people - Emerald, Chrome Diopside, Sapphire, Spinel, Tourmaline, Diamond, Amazonite, Moss Agate, Kambaba Jasper - to name a few of the more popular. And there are a few color change stones that also can appear in greens - i.e. Alexandrite. But of course a green Diamond, a good Columbian Emerald or an Alexandrite will cost one a pile of money.

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So what do the miners, vendors and dealers do, use "marketing" techniques that draw the most attention from the public. Certain gemstones over the years are well known to most people, and the associated name makes them very popular and people know what they are looking for when they hear the names. Amethyst and Morganite are two examples. Amethyst, a purple member of the Quartz family, has colors that run from a very light lilac to a strong deep purple. Morganite, a pink member of the Beryl family, can be pink and range to a peach color. So over the years, when a person hears the name Amethyst, they immediately think of the February birthstone and the color purple. Likewise with Morganite, it is not only people that change their name, but gemstones sometimes do also. And so it was that in 1911, on the suggestion of the New York gemologist G. F. Kunz, for whom the purple gemstone Kunzite was named, that the pink variety of Beryl was ennobled to the status of a gemstone in its own right in honor of the banker and mineral collector John Pierpont Morgan and was given the name under which it is known today: Morganite.

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Green Amethyst (Prassolite)

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So with this history and naming in mind, dull named light green Beryl and green Prassolite got a "marketing" boost. Prassolite was marketed by the Jewelry TV stations and many dealers and eBay sellers as "Green Amethyst" and the latest marketing run is the naming by the same groups of the light green Beryl, calling it "Green Morganite". By doing this not only do the two gemstones get more notority, but the price per caret also jumps dramatically. This falls in line with the old known stone called 'Turkish Diaspore' now going under the catchy name of 'Zultanite", and costing the buyer more per caret for the material.
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Green Morganite (green Beryl)

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As with many things, marketing is the answer to an item selling or not selling, so "what is in a name ?" Nothing wrong with naming an item whatever you want if it sells better under the 'marketing' name, but the seller should also be aware and remind the buying public what the official agreeded upon gemological name of the gemstone actually is.
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SABOS SPRING BEAD BAZAAR - this Weekend

Vendors are setting up and the Live Oak Civic Center has been transformed into a "Bead Wonderland" for this upcoming weekend. In addition to 'beads', there are Jewelry Sets, Jewelry making Tools, Books, and many interesting things to see. The doors open at 10AM on Sat and 11AM on Sun and the Bazaar runs until 5PM both days.

See this Turquoise, Coral and Sardonyx Set along with other new designs and an excellant selection of Gemstone Beads and unmounted Cabochons and Pendants at the Jewelry by CnC booth, just inside the main entrance. Look for our sign as you enter the door.

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SABOS SPRING BEAD BAZAAR - this Sat & Sun

Without additional fanfare, here are some of the cabachons that will be available this weekend. The difference between the cabachons shown and other pendants and gemstones available for placing in a mounting, wire-wrapping or stringing is that the cabachons blanks are NOT drilled where as the pendant blanks ARE drilled, either as a 'top hole', 'across the top', or 'across the center'.

Cabachon sample

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SABOS SPRING BEAD BAZAAR - May 1st & 2nd

The San Antonio Bead and Ornament Society, better known locally as SABOS is holding the Spring Bead Bazaar, this coming Sat and Sunday, May 1st and 2nd, at the Live Oak Civic Center off of Pat Booker Highway, near the intersection of I-35 and Loop 1604.

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See http://www.sabostx.com/ for additional information.

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Jewelry by CnC will be participating, so look us up and stop bye and say Hello. In addition to our unique hand-made and one-of-a-kind jewelry, we will also have a special selection of gemstone beads and pendants, for you to use in your own creations. Or if you prefer, purchase the pendant and beads, and Gayle will make up a special jewelry set for you.

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Check www.twitter.com/jewelrybycnc for any last minute announcements or updates.

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