In my jewelry design, I use semi-precious gemstones that are most beautiful and unusual to add mystery to my designs.

Anyone with enough money can make a fabulous design given a flawless diamond and 24 kt gold. I like to create pieces that a a bit more unusual. Here's a piece of Larimar I'm just beginning to work with. It's large -- more than an inch wide, with a distinctive pattern that  says "ocean" to me.
Now what can I do with it? A pendant or pin would be the obvious choices, certainly. I'll probably use Sterling Silver because it's so cool against that smooth blue.
I'll definitely want a setting you can see through, because this fabulous stone is translucent! 
I also might consider adding a contrasting stone: a faceted Amethyst perhaps. I have a beautiful faceted Oregon Sunstone, but it's the wrong shade of orange. Too bad, because it's just the right size. I like blue and yellow together, too. In this case, though, I think the Amethyst is the stone to choose. It keeps the colors in the same family. That or a small Boulder Opal with lots of fire. The problem with choosing a Boulder Opal is its price -- add too much to the materials on the front end, and the final sales price is too high for my market.
You see what I think about before I ever set foot in the studio. But, I have a pretty solid idea of where I'm going with this lovely stone.  I can't wait to get to work. Watch this space -- I'll show you what it turns out like.

Natural, Heated or Synthetic -- which Sapphire do you Choose?

I love the pure, rich, concentrated cornflower blue of Sapphires. And the deep, rich, pink or green or yellow of Fancy Sapphires. Of course, my favorite color of all is the red Sapphire, also know as the Ruby. From multi-faceted to domed cabochon to rough-cut beads, I love them all.

And I buy them only from my most reputable suppliers, because Sapphires frequently aren't what they seem. That expensive stone might not be natural, or it might be altered  -- it might not even be Sapphire.

These days, there are so many ways to turn a dull gray corundum pebble into a brilliant Cornflower Blue Sapphire gemstone, how are we to determine its value?

It's difficult. If value is  based on rarity, and a processor can shovel 10 pounds of corundum pebbles into a furnace, returning 2 days later to retrieve 10 pounds of Sapphires and Rubies, we cannot really label the heated, treated 10 pounds of gemstones "rare" and "valuable."

Furthermore, if only the experts can tell the difference between synthetic and natural Sapphires, why should you care what kind of Sapphire is generating that blue fire on your ring finger? If the rare, natural, untreated, unheated stone is less flashy, less colorful, less brilliant, is it more valuable than the scintillating stone in your ring?

Only if you think it is.

I believe that for most of us, buying gemstones should be like buying art -- get what you love and forget about its investment potential, its value and its cost.

So which Sapphire do you choose?
 
The one that makes you smile, of course.

Have a great day.

Veda

Love that Turquoise

I love Turquoise. It's a wonderful gem material that plays well with so many other colors. Red, White and Turquoise is one of my favorite summer color combinations, and Turquoise and Black together are so dramatic they can stop traffic -- or catch every eye.

Naturally, when you think of Turquoise, you think of Southwestern jewelry. Please think outside that taco. Envision yourself wearing earrings of plump Turquoise drops. Or a sleek necklace of slender Turquoise beads and gold accents.

For jewelry such as this, you'll want Turquoise from the United States. Arizona and Nevada Turquoise is the finest in the world. U.S. Turquoise colors range from blue to green. The veining or matrix in U.S. turquoise is so distinctive that U.S. dealers usually can tell you the area from which it was mined -- in the case of Sleeping Beauty Turquoise, they even can name the mine itself.


Like most other good things, genuine Turquoise is becoming rare, and quite expensive.

Therefore, imitations and fakes are flooding the market. Watch out for something called "African Turquoise," which actually is dyed jasper, or "Chinese Yellow Turquoise," which is serpentine. Really inexpensive "Turquoise" almost always is imitation, either Magnesite or Howlite that has been dyed, or glass or plastic. If you like it and you can accept that it's fake, try it.

Once at a big gem show, I bought a magnificent 16" strand of graduated Turquoise beads, ranging in size from ping pong ball to raisin. Every bead was perfectly matched and each was as blue as a turquoise crayon. I bargained the dealer down to $30, as that was all I was willing to pay for Howlite. The necklace I made was stunning, and I wore it all summer. The next summer, I remade the necklace with silver, and sold it for $35 as "Imitation Turquoise, but Fun."

Turquoise is fun. It flatters almost every complexion and many clothing colors. Once you try Turquoise, you'll love it just as I do.

Art Does Not Lie

My daughter-in-law, Missy, just asked me to make two necklaces to match the Murano glass earrings she recently found in her Air Force Base Exchange in Germany. Missy has lived in Italy several times, so she recognized that the earrings probably weren't real authentic Murano glass, but she liked them enough to buy them anyway.

Since I won't knowingly deal in counterfeit, I went online to my Murano glass supplier to find some glass beads to match her earrings.

The difference in color and craftsmanship is amazing. Genuine Murano glass is slightly heavy, because in almost every style of glass, there's a base against which the other colored glass is laid, and then a clear glass overlay to protect the gold or silver leaf which has been applied.

Missy's earrings were so lightweight, they felt like plastic.

These genuine beads I found (right) were vivid, concentrated colors applied over Silver or 14KT Gold leaf. I'll wire them together and put them onto a front-opening chain so they'll be easy to get on and off and lightweight to wear.

If you don't care what you are buying, then perhaps counterfeit beads or stones really don't matter. The jewelry is pretty enough to wear, after all.

But to Jewelry Designers, counterfeit screams "wrong." It's a lie. Jewelry Design is Art, and Art does not lie.

Tears of the Moon

Let's talk pearls. Pearls are HOT now for everyone from fashionistas to conservative business women to people like me who simply cannot get enough of the magic that is a pearl.

It breaks my heart, though, to see so many people pay good money for bad pearls.

Al pearls are not equal; in fact, not all pearls are really pearls. Not only are there 13 types of genuine pearls, there are at least 4 kinds of faux and fake pearls (with more coming every day).

What most of us know as Pearl is the Genuine Cultured Pearl: Akoya, South Sea, Tahitian and Freshwater. The Japanese perfected the farmed oceanic Akoya Pearl, famous for its luster. Today, most Akoya pearls smaller than 7 or 8 mm come from China, though the Japanese import these cheaper Chinese Akoya Pearls and re-label them.

South Sea and Tahitian pearls originate in northern Australia and French Polynesia, and are most famous for their large size and stunning natural golden, cream, green and "black" color. These are fabuously expensive -- thousands of dollars for one nearly-perfect-pearl.

China holds the monopoly on Freshwater Pearls. If it's a modern Freshwater Pearl, it was farmed in China in or around Shanghai Province. China produces tons of Freshwater Pearls yearly, making Freshwater Pearls affordable for most of us.

When I look for pearls, I concentrate on the six factors that determine the pearls' value for the experts:

1. Most important is luster, which is the gleam or shine on the surface. A high-luster pearl seems to glow from inside and the surface is highly reflective. Low luster pearls have a dull sheen and low reflection.


2. Next is surface. Pearls are natural objects, so perfection is impossible. The more flawless the surface, therefore, the higher the quality and price. Avoid pearls with chips, cracks, holes and blotchy color. There are too many good pearls in the world for you to wear junk.


3. Then nacre. Nacre is the coating the oyster or mollusk lays down over the irritating nucleus of the pearl. A thin nacre coating will give you nice luster, but the thicker the better. Freshwater pearls are composted totally of nacre. So look for thick nacre.


4. Shape is next. Pearls are sold as round, semi-round and baroque. Semi-Round can be teardrops, barrels, elongated, flattened, etc. Baroque means the shape is abstract. Round is more valuable than semi-round and baroque. There are valuations with in the shapes. High luster trumps everything, remember. So choose your shape and get the highest luster and most blemish-free surface you can afford.


5. Color is the fifth and most subjective factor in pearl valuation. Americans prefer the white, cream and pinkish pearls. Europeans like the white; South Americans prefer the golden pearls. I prefer the dark rainbow pearls. Pearls dyed bright or unnatural colors are fads. Don't spend much on them, as they tend to fade, and this year's fashionable copper is next year's "been there, done that."


6. Size is the last factor and the most simple. Given equal luster, shape, surface and nacre, the larger the pear is the better and more expensive pearl.

When selecting pearls, I look for shape first, because my design determines the shape I need. Then I choose for luster, surface, nacre, color and size.

My advice to you is to know your pearl seller so you can trust what they tell you.

When is Silver not Silver? When it's Vermeil!

When you're buying jewelry, you're faced with several different standards of Silver. Knowing which is which will help you make educated buying decisions.

Silver Plate, which is a micro-coating of Silver over a base metal, is relatively inexpensive, but may turn your neck, ears or fingers black through a chemical reaction with your skin. It wears off easily, so is not long-lasting on a piece of jewelry.

Fine Silver is 99.9% pure silver, and tarnishes about eight times slower than Sterling Silver because it has no copper in it. Fine Silver, however, is very soft, and must be "work hardened" to be used in jewelry.

Sterling Silver is 92.5% pure silver hardened with a 7.5% of a base metal, most usually copper. Because of the copper, Sterling Silver tarnishes rapidly. Sterling Silver often is coated with an invisible protective layer to eliminate tarnish. This means you cannot polish it or dip it in silver cleaner, as this would remove the protective layer.

Argentium Silver is Fine Silver which has been alloyed with Germanium, which greatly decreases tarnishing. Argentium Silver jewelry rarely needs polishing.

But what Silver isn't Silver? Vermeil is Sterling Silver that is coated (plated) with at least 10K or more gold that is at least 2.5 microns thick (100/1,000,000 of an inch. Vermeil stays its beautiful gold color longer, but again because of the copper in the Sterling, eventually will tarnish. Vermeil gives you the appearance of gold, though at a much lower cost.

When you're selecting jewelry, be aware of the Silver differences, and choose carefully.

Rouge Cloth, Anyone?

Talking with a friend recently, I was amazed to learn she never polished her gold and silver jewelry! Never! "How do you clean it?" I asked.
"I don't."
She showed me a chest full of lovely gold and silver jewelry, some set with precious or semiprecious stones. Some of the silver was almost black with tarnish, and everything needed polished to remove surface dulling.
It's not hard to take care of your jewelry. Nor is it time consuming. You simply need to start out right.

1. Store silver away from the air, which is what turns it black, in a zipper-top plastic bag.
2. Use a Rouge Cloth, a soft flannel cloth impregnated with a micro-abrasive, to gently polish your Sterling and Gold, Gold Fill or Vermeil pieces. Don't polish silver or gold plated as it will wear this ultra-thin coating off quickly. Buy your Rouge Cloth from me or your favorite jewelry store.
3. Make you own jewelery cleaner with a teaspoon of sudsy ammonia, 4 tablespoons of liquid dish soap such as Dawn, and 2 cups of tepid water. Mix it up, and soak your jewelry in it for about 10 minutes. Using an old, soft toothbrush, gently brush to remove dirt. Rinse well, and dry with a very soft cotton cloth. Discard the cleaner because you'll make fresh the next time.
4. If it isn't already, compartmentalize your jewelry case with small boxes, padded with poly quilt batting, so each piece of jewelry has a bed of its own. Find the boxes at any organizer store -- or even Target -- and the batting at any fabric store.
5. Never soak anything strung on string, cord, leather or silk. Clean these pieces by hand, carefully.
6. Pearls and soft or brittle stones such as opals and emeralds require special care. Clean them with a damp soft cloth only. Alcohol will dissolve pearls. Water and temperature changes can shatter opals and emeralds.
7. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER use an over-the-counter ultrasonic cleaner unless the jeweler who sold you the jewelry specifically guaranteed ultrasonic cleaning was safe.

There you have it -- 7 easy ways to care for your jewelry.