CARIBBEAN DELIGHTS SERIES - Colors of the Caribbean Islands and Sea !

As one visits the Caribbean, the vibrant colors that are seen in the Ocean, on the Islands and in the Sunsets inspired this jewelry collection called "Caribbean Delights". The first two cover the green of the islands and the blues of the water.

SOLD A peridot colored 2 inch Sonoran Glass Leaf acts as a focal point and is combined with Green and Tan Rhyolite rectangular beads, Coper accents, natural White Coral and Green Aventurine pebbles to take the wearer on a tour of the Islands of the Caribbean. This 18 inch necklace with a Copper Toggle Clasp is versitle and very light weight. Copper French Hook Earrings using Rhyolite, Coral and Aventurine complete the set.

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Rhyolite is a relatively common volcanic rock. It is the chemical equivalent of granite. Although the two rock types have the same chemistry, Rhyolite is extrusive and granite is intrusive. While granite has crystals that are generally easy to see, in rhyolite the crystals are often too small to see. This is due to the more rapid cooling of the rhyolite lava compared to granite's slower cooling magma. Rhyolitic lavas are often more explosive and slower moving than the less viscous basalt lavas such as those that erupt on the island of Hawaii. Rhyolite often is found with flow banding "frozen" into the rock. This lends to uses as decorative rocks and even ornamental stones for jewelry.

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Corals are marine organisms typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps. The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans, which secret calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton. Coral tissues become colorless as they reveal the white of their calcium carbonate skeletons, an event known as coral bleaching and most corals are found in the white form. Other colorations also exist depending on chemicals and algie in the water in which they grew. Corals are highly sensitive to environmental changes. Scientists have predicted that over 50% of the world's coral reefs may be destroyed by 2030; and as a result most nations protect them through environmental laws, especially the black corals. To overcome the shortages for jewelry and other ornamental uses, coral farms are now being developed and used for non-ocenaic purposes. Sponge Coral has been raised in these Coral Farms for decades.

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Aventurine is a form of quartz (chalcedony to be more specific), characterised by its translucency and the presence of platy mineral inclusions that give a shimmering or glistening effect termed aventurescence. The most common colour of Aventurine is green, but it may also be orange, brown, yellow, blue, or gray. Chrome-bearing fuchsitte is the classic inclusion, and gives a silvery green or blue sheen. Oranges and browns are attributed to hematite or goethite. The majority of green and blue-green Aventurine originates in India. Creamy white, gray and orange material is found in Chile, Spain and Russia.
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SOLD As blue a the waters of the Caribbean, a blue colored 2 inch Sonoran Glass Leaf is the focal point of this 20 inch necklace. Opalite and Lapis beads along with crystals have been charmed to highlight the leaf. Wavy Lapis beads and chips, bronze accents and a bronze Toggle clasp complete the necklace. Clusters of charmed beads and crystals hang from the Frech Hook earrings to complete the set.
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Lapis Lazuli is a rock, not a mineral: whereas a mineral has only one constituent, Lapis Lazuli is formed from more than one mineral. The main component of lapis lazuli is Lazurite, and a feldspathoid silicate mineral. Most Lapis Lazuli also contains Calcite (white), Sodalite (blue), and Pyrite (metallic yellow). There can also be other possible constituents and trace amounts of other minerals. Lapis lazuli usually occurs in crystalline marble as a result of contact metamorphism. The finest color is intense blue, lightly dusted with small flecks of golden Pyrite. Stones with no white Calcite veins and only small Pyrite inclusions are more prized. Patches of Pyrite are an important help in identifying the stone as genuine and do not detract from its value. Often, inferior Lapis is dyed to improve its color, producing a very dark blue color with a noticeable grey cast which may also appear as a milky shade. Lapis takes an excellent polish and can be made into jewelry, carvings, boxes, mosaics, ornaments, and vases.

Opalite is a stone mined in Utah that comes in varying shades of purple, lavender and creamy white with swirls of yellowish-brown and pink. Opalite is also referred to as Tiffany Stone. Opalite is also a trade name for synthetic opalized glass and various opal simulants. The name is also many times used to promote impure varieties of variously colored common opals.

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RUSH to PLUSH ! - Oregon Sunstone !

Rush to Plush for Oregon Sunstone UPDATE! This event is open to everyone...

We have received many inquiries about the ISG Rush to Plush 2011 and who can attend. We want to stress that the following people can attend:

Everyone!

If you hear about it, you can attend it. Some folks are thinking that you have to be an ISG Student or Graduate to be a member of the ISG Community. This is not true!!!

If you read this newsletter and love gemstones, you ARE a member of the ISG Community. You can formally join us by clicking on the link below. All are welcome to join the ISG Community Home.

Join the ISG Community Home

But if you love gemstones and enjoy reading this newsletter, you are a member of the ISG Community.

And again....Every Living Soul on Planet Earth is welcome to attend the ISG Rush to Plush 2011 Events. For more information please click on the link below.

ISG Rush to Plush 2011


Led by Robert James


Join the ISG Community. If you want to learn, share, and grow in the gemstone and jewelry industry we invite you to join us in the ISG Community. Just click on the link below to join the ISG Community Home.

Join the ISG Community Home

Jewelry Set - Summr Sparkle !

A Summer day can end with a beautiful red sunset and at the same time have the white of lights and stars combine in a burst of color.

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SOLD This necklace is constructed wth a white Agate center stone with red Carnelian discs and white carved Coral enhanced with silver melon accents ad crystals. This 18 inch necklace is finished with a silver Toggle clasp. Matching French Hook earrings complete the set.

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Carnelian (also spelled cornelian) is a brownish-red mineral which is commonly used as a semi-precious gemstone. Similar to Carnelian is Sard, which is generally harder and darker. The difference is not rigidly defined, and the two names are often used interchangeably. Both Crnelian and Sard are varieties of the silica mineral Chalcedony colored by impurities of iron oxide. The color can vary greatly, ranging from pale orange to an intense almost-black coloration. Extensive beds of Carnelian are found at Rajpipa in State of Gujarat in India and have been dug since at least about 1500 to provide raw material for the region's extensive lapidary industry.

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White Agate more commonly referred to as Greek agate is a name given to pale white to light tan colored agate found in Sicily dating back to 400 B.C. The Greeks used it for making jewelry and beads. Even though the stone had been around for centuries and was known to both the Sumerians and the Egyptians, both who used the gem for decoration and for playing important parts in their religious ceremonies, any agate of this white color from Sicily, once an ancient Greek colony, is called Greek Agate.

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Corals are marine organisms typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps. The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans, which secret calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton. Coral tissues become colorless as they reveal the white of their calcium carbonate skeletons, an event known as coral bleaching and most corals are found in the white form. Other colorations also exist depending on chemicals and algie in the water in which they grew. Corals are highly sensitive to environmental changes. Scientists have predicted that over 50% of the world's coral reefsmay be destroyed by 2030; and as a result most nations protect them through environmental laws, especially the black corals. To overcome the shortages for jewelry and other ornamental uses, coral farms are now being developed and used for non-ocenaic purposes.

Additional info ----- Currently many species of Corals, especially reef building varities, are being considered "endangered" and are under consideration for banning for use in jewelry and other decorative uses, following in the footsteps of Ivory. Sponge Coral, however, is not on the endangered species list, plus it is a sustainable product. Sponge Coral is a farmed product and thus is not removed from the Coral Reef and does not cause the environmental damage associated with traditional corals.

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Crystals were also used in this set.

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Hydrophane Opal - see if you have one in your collection !

The stone in the picture is called a Hydrophane Opal. It quite literally soaks up water like a sponge, and does some very unique things with the water. Just sitting around in the open air it is pretty, but when you start letting it do its thing .. soaking up water .. things really start to happen. This particular variety of Opal is from Ethiopia and is sometimes known as 'Welo Opal' and also by other names. This stone offers a beautiful play of color that is made more intense after it has been submerged in water. The water does dry out after a time and that allows the opal to revert to its original state, thus making this opal almost a chameleon for colors.

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Ethiopian Opal is quite unique and different from the more common Australian and Mexican opal. Not many people are familiar with or as are yet familiar with this variety of Opal. However the Ethiopian Opal is, in a sense, an old gemstone. In 1939, an anthropologist found evidence of the use of the Opal by early man in a cave in Kenya. So there must have been an Opal deposit somewhere on the Africa Continent. Finally in the mid 1990s, the Opal was re-discovered in Africa by a mineral engineer named Telahun Yohannes in the Yita Ridge, Shewa Province, Ethiopia. and he started mining it.

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One of the most interesting features of the hydrophane Opal is directly due to this ability to absorb liquids and dry out. The stones have been successfully dyed using this ability, but more important is what is believed to be natural oxides in the stone that are due to the absorption feature of the stone. Perhaps the most interesting part of these Opals is the huge variety of colors and intensities of colors based on the variable of lighting. Standing in one place they will look one way, turn around in the room and they change into something entirely different. Very strange and wonderful stones that are sure to become a major player in the Opal market.
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Be cautious of someone selling Ethiopian Opal jewelry and it is advertised as an antique or vintage piece. There is no such thing. As of 2011, this opal had been on the market for only about 15 years. In December 2008, another Opal deposit was found in Gondar, Welo Province, Ethiopia. As of October 2010, most Ethopian Opal roughs come from Welo. The mining in Shewa seems declining.

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Many thanks are due Robert James at the ISG and ISG member Alicia, for their information about this specific Opal.

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Jewelry Set - Summertime Green Colors !

A fresh cool look for Summer - Green !
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This color of Summer stands out with a Wire Wrapped Green Onyx pendant surrounded with a cluster of Aventurine and Rose Quartz beads with White Carved Coral beads. Crystals, Aventurine and Rose Quartz beads add style and complete this 18 inch long necklace with a Toggle Clasp. Two pair of French Hook Earrings give differfent looks, one of two sizes of a simple White Coral, with a second set of dangle style of White Coral and crystals.
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Green onyx (also called Onice Verde Onyx), is a type of quartz crystal with a very fine crystalline structure that is a translucent banded stone. It is a splended gemstones used to make jewelry. Green onyx has a color range from a very light lime-green color to a very light forest-green color. The green portion can be marbled with a dark red-orange coloration as onyx is found in a variety of different colors. Green onyx is a hard stone, due to his compact crystalline structure. On the hardness scale, onyx falls between 6.5 and 7; compared. Most of today's Green Onyx comes from Pakistan and Henan China, but at one time it was found in Indiana and Illinois.

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Aventurine is a form of quartz (chalcedony to be more specific), characterised by its translucency and the presence of platy mineral inclusions that give a shimmering or glistening effect termed aventurescence. The most common colour of Aventurine is green, but it may also be orange, brown, yellow, blue, or gray. Chrome-bearing fuchsitte is the classic inclusion, and gives a silvery green or blue sheen. Oranges and browns are attributed to hematite or goethite. The majority of green and blue-green Aventurine originates in India. Creamy white, gray and orange material is found in Chile, Spain and Russia.

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Corals are marine organisms typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps. The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans, which secret calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton. Coral tissues become colorless as they reveal the white of their calcium carbonate skeletons, an event known as coral bleaching and most corals are found in the white form. Other colorations also exist depending on chemicals and algie in the water in which they grew. Corals are highly sensitive to environmental changes. Scientists have predicted that over 50% of the world's coral reefsmay be destroyed by 2030; and as a result most nations protect them through environmental laws, especially the black corals. To overcome the shortages for jewelry and other ornamental uses, coral farms are now being developed and used for non-ocenaic purposes.
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Rose Quartz is a type of quartz which exhibits a pale pink to rose red hue. The color is usually considered as due to trace amounts of titanium, iron or manganese in the massive material found world wide. Some Rose Quartz contains microscopic rutile needles which produces an asterism in transmitted light. Recent X-ray diffraction studies suggest that the color is due to thin microscopic fibers of possibly dumrtierite within the quartz crystal.

Crystals were also used in his set.
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Jewelry Set - Summertime Lavendar Colors !

In keeping with the delicate Summertime theme, lavendar is a perfect color.

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SOLD

This lavendar colored presentation created by Gayle is highlighted by a marquise shaped Sugalite pendant with Freshwater Pearl clusters on either side and complimented with additional Pearls, Amethyst, Lepodolite and Fluorite beads. The necklace is then completed using a Silver S-hook Clasp. Matching dangle French Hook Earrings containing the same gemstone beads completes the set.

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Sugalite (also spelled "sugilite") is a semi-precious stone that was discovered in 1944. It is named after Ken-ichi Sugi, a Japanese geologist who originally discovered the stone. Sugalite typically has a lavender or purple color--it can range from dark purple to pale lavender with hints of gray. Opacity varies significantly across sugilite grades. Matrixing and opaque blotches are common. Translucent specimens with little matrixing are far more valuable than opaque sugalite stones. Sugalite specimens are typically scored between 6 and 7.5 on the Mohs harness scale. The hardness of sugalite is comparable to that of quartz crystal, making it durable enough to use in gemstone jewelry such as pendants, bracelets and earrings. Occcurances of gem quality Sugalite can be found in Japan, Canada, South Africa, Italy, Australia and India.

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Lepodolite (also spelled Lepidolite) is an uncommon mica and has only in the past decade become available on the mineral market in large quantities in gemstone quality. Lepidolite is an ore of lithium and forms in granitic masses that contain a substantial amount of lithium. The lithium content in lepidolite does vary greatly however and low lithium lepidolite is nearly useless as an ore of lithium. The typical violet to pink color of lepidolite is characteristic and is the only field test available to identify lepidolite from other micas. Pink muscovite or very pale lepidolite may confuse an identification. Lepidolite, like other micas, has a layered structure of lithium aluminum silicate sheets weakly bonded together by layers of potassium ions. These potassium ion layers produce the perfect cleavage. lepidolite crystals accompany such other lithium bearing minerals such as tourmaline, amblygonite and spodumene and can add greatly to the value of these specimens. A rock made of granular pink lepidolite and red to pink tourmaline is used as an ornamental stone for carving and in jewelry such as pendants and earrings. Single large plates or "books" of lepidolite can have appealling violet color and make attractive specimens. Notable occurrences include Brazil, Russia, Calafornia, Canada and Madagascar.

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Fluorite (also called "fluorspar") is a halide mineral composed of calcium fluoride. It is an isometric mineral with a cubic habit, though octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon. Crystal twinning is common and adds complexity to the observed crystal habits thus making it great for jewelry. Fluorite comes in all colors of the rainbow, but purples and greens are most common. Fluorite is a widely occurring mineral which is found in large deposits in many areas. Notable deposits occur in China, Germany, Austria, England, Norway, Mexico, Canada, Kenya and many States in the United States. Fluorite has been the state mineral of Illinois since 1965. At that time, Illinois was the largest producer of fluorite in the United States, but the last fluorite mine in Illinois was closed in 1995.

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Amethyst is the purple variety of quartz and is a popular gemstone. If it were not for its widespread availability, amethyst would be very expensive. The name "amethyst" comes from the Greek and means "not drunken." This was maybe due to a belief that amethyst would ward off the effects of alcohol, but most likely the Greeks were referring to the almost wine-like color of some stones that they may have encountered. Its color is unparalleled, and even other, more expensive purple gemstones are often compared to its color and beauty. Although it must always be purple to be amethyst, it can and does have a wide range of purple shades. Amethyst can occur as long prismatic crystals that have a six sided pyramid at either end or can form as druzes that are crystalline crusts that only show the pointed terminations. As a mineral specimen, amethyst is popular for its color and nice crystal shapes that produce a handsome, purple, sparkling cluster. However, amethyst is not the same everywhere. Different localities can produce a unique amethyst to that particular region or even to that particular mine. Experts can often identify the source mine that a particular amethyst came from. The key to this is the specimen's color, shape of crystal, inclusions, associations and character of formation.

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Freshwater Pearls and Crystals are the other items in this jewelry piece.
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Jewelry Set - for Summer !

The Big, the Bold, the Heavy jewelry that has been so popular these past few seasons needs to now be overcome by sparkle and light weight jewelry pieces for the hot Summer season.

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In keeping with the colorful and light weight theme, Gayle has come up with a selection that joins together clusters of varying colors of Freshwater Pearls that are accented by sparkling crystal beads in a set that mates the necklace, earrings and bracelet into a colorful and lightweight Summer selection.

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Pearls - Looking at the inside !

The first thing to point out is that there are several types of oysters and mollusks that are used to produce pearls, both salt-water and freshwater. I am not going to go into the different kinds of pearls in this discussion, just what the inside of all of them basically look like. Borrowing some photographs from the International School of Gemology (ISG) where gemology is taught based on actual specimens of gemstones: natural, synthetic and organic, rather than from pictures in books, we will take a look at the inside of a pearl For this discussion, the internal differences between a salt water Akoya cultured pearls and a Chinese freshwater cultured pearl will be looked at. At the end, a new surprising find will really make one wonder.

Above is seen a 5mm pearl purchased as an Akoya cultured pearl. Notice that it is uniformly round from the seed all the way out to the outer nacre layer, which is the thin line you see at the very edge of the pearl. What was quite remarkable about this pearl is that the center of the pearl is a hollow plastic looking bead, not the Mississippi mussel shell bead that was expected. You can see the circular structure of the Akoya cultured pearl with the bead and resulting layers being rather uniform from center to outer nacre layer.

Now above you see a freshwater cultured pearl from China . These are called non-nucleated pearls since they are started with a ball of tissue rather than a pre-formed bead. The picture is quite graphic to show that the center of this pearl is a somewhat organic looking mass of old tissue rather than a well formed starter bead as seen in the Akoya pearl. These pearls have been back lit to allow one to see the difference in formations, which is rather pronounced and graphically demonstrates the basic difference between the salt water Akoya and the freshwater pearl.

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A question was asked that perhaps since the freshwater pearl was started by what is basically a ball of tissue, that should there not be some kind of hollow place in the center of a freshwater pearl as the tissue degenerates during the growth process? And sure enough, when the viewing angle is changed on the freshwater pearls, one can see hollow places in the pearl as seen in the pictures below of a half drilled 5mm freshwater pearl.

Thus these pictures show what would be seen if you dissect one of those expensive little jewels you have on that string of pearls you got as a gift.

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Now for the surprise. How about opening up one of those very expensive Tahitian South Sea Pearls which are known for their excellent quality and thick nacre layer. But what’s really inside one of those Tahitian pearls? Well, one was cut open and to the surprise of everyone, what was found is almost beyond comprehension !

The center is a plastic bead. Apparently someone has found out how to use plastic instead of natural material to get the Pearl to form.

And taking it one step further, perhaps a reused piece of plastic for the starter bead. Why the multiple holes in the starter bead? Was the pearl farmer recycling plastic? Why place a used, multi-drilled plastic starter bead inside an oyster to make what could turn out to be a very expensive South Sea Tahitian Pearl in the first place?

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But then again, it is this type of perplexing problems that is what makes gemology so much fun and of interesting experiences. A lifetime of learning and sharing the wonders of the earth.

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Again thanks to the ISG for the use of pictures and information.

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