If you have rings that can’t be removed and you have to use strong cleaning products, particularly those with an Ammonia base, you can protect it (as well as your skin) by wearing gloves made of rubber. Rings and bracelets are jewelry that are often worn, earrings and necklaces are also prone to damages from chemicals, especially whenever they are worn while putting make-up, spraying fragrances and spritzing hair products.

A jeweler can also restring your pearl necklaces every two years. This should be done if it is your favorite jewelry. You can also clean your jewelry yourself by using mild and warm water with a soapy solution. Use a soft brush in cleaning the edges. Dry them using a soft cloth.

Be mindful of the loose clasps and gems before you wear your jewelry. You wouldn’t want the stones dropping off. Neither would you want to lose the entire thing when you’re walking down the street.

Don’t pull the stones. Some women who wear jewelry pull on the stones whenever they are bored; just so their fingers have something to do. Well, this practice results to the gemstones being more prone to oil, dirt and sweat. You may even risk these because you loosen the setting on the metal.

It is also not advisable to store your jewelry in one big pile. This will cause the metal and the gems to scratch one another. Store your jewelry in separate sections. Wrap them in paper, silk or velvet. Put them in a jewelry box.

Here is a quick run-through on how to clean common gems:

1. Alexandrite

Clean using soapy water or commercially available products. The best is alcohol. You can also resort to mechanical cleaners.

2. Aquamarine

Steer clear of chemical cleaners and heat. These shouldn’t be cleaned frequently as well. Use a soapy solution.

3. Diamond

Chemical and mechanical cleaners are said to be safe, but they should be avoided when cleaning diamonds because the stone could be fractured. Rinse the diamond dry and well after using a soapy solution.

4. Emerald

Don’t use mechanical and chemical cleaners. It will only dissolve oils during the cleaning process. Emeralds must be cleaned using soapy water. Have a jeweler re-oil the gem once every year.

5. Garnet

Just use soapy water.

6. Jade

Soapy water is the best, safest and easiest solution. You can also resort to mechanical cleaners, just steer clear of the chemical ones.

7. Opal

Wipe the stone after every use with a slightly damp pr dry cloth. Do not wash or scrub hard.

8. Peridot

Don’t use chemical or mechanical cleaners. Just use soapy water.

9. Ruby

Use soapy water or the cleaning solvents that are commercially available. Mechanical cleaners are also safe but these should be avoided because it may affect the clarity of the ruby.

10. Sapphire

Use soapy water and cleaning solvents. Mechanical cleaners are also safe but when these are used, they may affect the sapphires clarity.

11. Spinel

Use soapy water and the commercial cleaning solvents. Mechanical cleaners are to be avoided because these affect the clarity of the spinel.

12. Tanzanite

Don’t use chemical or mechanical cleaners. Just use soapy water.

13. Topaz

Same with tanzanite, don’t use chemical or mechanical cleaners. Soapy water is fine.

Caring for Your Pearls

Pearls are quite durable. Proper care keeps them lustrous and even more beautiful. Here are some general tips in doing so.

1. Wipe the pearls using a damp warm cloth. This removes dirt and body oils which harm the original color of the pearl. Do this before you put them away.

2. Pearls must be stored away from other jewelry and objects. Keeping them close to such could scratch the surface. Wrap them in soft cloth or linen and put them in pouches. Don’t store your pearls in packages that are air tight because they might lose their moisture.

3. Wash them using mild soap and wipe them dry with soft cloth. You can use also use acetone polish remover.

]]> http://knowingjewelry.com/care-for-your-jewelry.html/feed 5 http://knowingjewelry.com/the-gem-stone-mining-and-making-process.html http://knowingjewelry.com/the-gem-stone-mining-and-making-process.html#comments Thu, 16 Oct 2008 05:36:07 +0000 MS Prasaja http://knowingjewelry.com/?p=43 So you’re wondering how exactly your jewelry came to be. Well, that’s a normal question any jewelry enthusiast would ask. You do question how these gems are placed into metal. You also question where exactly these gems came from.

There are gem stone mines everywhere around the world. The most popular are in Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Uruguay and Africa. There are also mines in Europe and the United States, depending on what kind of gem stone you are looking for.

Amethyst

Amethyst is the most valuable kind of quartz. It is found everywhere around the world. For this very reason, it is one of the most affordable. The quality of amethyst is quite unique, depending on where it was obtained. Amethyst that are found in the United States are larger compared to those found in Africa. However, the latter has higher saturation when it comes to their colors.

Amethysts with the highest saturation are those found in Australia. There are also amethyst found in Brazil are usually large and have hues and cuts.

Emerald

Emeralds are mostly found in Mexico. Two main sources are the mines in Guerrero and Vera Cruz. Emeralds found there have the tendency to have lighter shades and are clearer than those found in other countries. The stones have lighter hues and the crystals are phantomed with a transparent interior and a saturated exterior.

Emeralds that are found in Guerrero are saturated dark green. They have a visible termination of their interior color saturation and exterior transparency. The highly saturated emeralds are the most elegant.

Sapphire

The most notable source of Sapphires are those found in Brazil from Minas Gerais, Bahia, Maraba and Rio Grande do Sul. Among those containing the best sapphires are the large pockets that are formed by the volcanic material.

The sapphires that are produced here vary in their color saturation which ranging from pale up to medium blue. Those that are navy blue are the sapphires that have the highest saturation.

Diamond

Africa is known to be a producer of diamonds, thus the inspiration of the recently released blood diamond. There are diamond deposits in Zambia and Namibia. The diamonds found in Africa can be as large as an egg and are outstandingly clear.

Jade

The United States has various gems. In Maine, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Montana and Colorado, the most popular stone is the Jade. The color depends from the medium saturation. It may be smoky or translucent, depending on where it was obtained.

Jade from Maine and North Carolina are usually dark while those found in Montana or Colorado have a green tint.

Now, the next question, how are the jewelry made? Diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, amethysts, and jade are only a handful of precious gemstones out there. Some of them are very valuable because of their rare appearance.

How are these gemstones formed? Well, they are formed underneath the Earth. The process involves vary in each gem stone. The stones react with the minerals, specifically water. This is how they are dissolved. When the solution evaporates and cools down, these minerals are formed.

The water then mixes with the silica-rich rocks like sandstone. This produces the gemstones like amethyst, opals, agates, sapphires, jade and topaz to name a few. When the copper-rich rocks mix with the water, it bears the minerals like turquoise, malachite and azurite.

Emeralds and tourmalines are formed from rain water or the water that is from cooling bodies like magma that is mixed with the minerals and crystallized in cavities or open cracks. These spaces are filled with minerals which create the hydrothermal deposits needed in the formation of these gem stones.

There are also gemstones that are formed directly from the mantle. They consist up to 70% of Earths total mass. They are usually made up of magnesium, silicon, iron, oxygen, silicate and aluminum compounds. The upper layer of the Earths mantle has a volume of the olivine which is quite common in the whole procedure.

Whenever you hear the word metamorphic it means the change of form of these rocks. Metamorphic gems are garnet, emerald, ruby, aquamarine, sapphire, onyx and zircon. They are formed over a long period of time because they wait for the rocks to be altered with such pressure and intense heat in order to interact with the other solutions.

]]> http://knowingjewelry.com/the-gem-stone-mining-and-making-process.html/feed 0 http://knowingjewelry.com/categories-of-gemstones.html http://knowingjewelry.com/categories-of-gemstones.html#comments Thu, 02 Oct 2008 04:37:18 +0000 MS Prasaja http://knowingjewelry.com/?p=33 There are many different types of gemstones, and knowing the different categories can help a collector or enthusiast expand his repertoire greatly. Some precious gemstones are so unique in chemical composition and crystalline structure that they fall into their own categories, while others can be collectively lumped into one. Here are the major types of precious and semi precious gemstones:

Diamond – diamond is it’s own type of gemstone, and is well known for being the hardest naturally occurring substance known to man. Diamonds are primarily high-carbon crystals that were fused under extremes of pressure and heat.

Diamonds themselves aren’t especially rare, with thousands being mined throughout the world every year; however, large diamonds of high quality are extremely rare, and it is these which are well known for setting the standards of diamond gemstones as the world’s most precious stone.

Corundum – this is the second hardest type of gemstone, and is primarily defined as being composed of aluminum oxide and various trace minerals. The trace minerals create different types of corundum, and perhaps the two most well known examples of this type of stone are rubies and sapphires. Rough corundum isn’t used as a gemstone, but is used as an industrial strength abrasive element due to it’s tough nature.

Chrysoberyl – this is the third hardest gemstone, and while it uses aluminum oxide as a base element like corundums, it has high quantities of beryllium mixed in with it. Appearance wise, chrysoberyls often come in a green to yellow shade, though their appearance is best known for having the tendency to actually change color somewhat under different types of lighting. Cat’s eye and alexandrite are two common chrysoberyls used in jewelry.

Quartz – this is actually one of the most common types of mineral in the world and comes in a wide variety of colors. It’s main tendency is to form in hexagonal shapes and it makes an excellent prism if unflawed.

The main reason quartz can still be categorized as a valuable gemstone is that, while it IS easy to find quartz stones, finding a large, perfect, and unflawed quartz crystal of jewelry quality is extremely rare. Some examples of quartz gems commonly used in jewelry are onyx, amethysts, citrines, and carnelians.

Beryl – this is a stone well known for it’s beauty and has elements in common with both chrysoberyl and quartz. It’s basic chemical composition is similar to chrysoberyl, with beryllium and aluminum prevalent but mixed in with other trace elements. It’s basic crystalline structure, on the other hand, is closer to quartz, being hexagonal in nature.

At it’s simplest, beryl is actually transparent, while it’s other colored variants include emeralds and aquamarines. It can come in yellow and red shades as well, and these are referred to as “red” or “yellow” emeralds.

Jade – this is one type of gemstone originally lumped into the same category as beryl. The main reasons for this are because both can be mined in similar places and they possess similar textures, opacity, and appearance (just different colors).

Later on, chemical analysis showed that the elements which made up the different forms of precious jade, namely nephrite and jadeite, were different from beryl completely, thus earning jade it’s own category among gemstone collectors. Jade based stones are often composed of calcium and magnesium elements.

Feldspar – this is a unique type of gemstone whose base material is tectonic in nature. It is often found in areas of high geographic instability like earthquake faults and volcanic chains. Feldspar’s basic chemical composition is made up of very common elements found deep inside the earth’s crust.

What makes it valuable as a gemstone is the same factor that makes a diamond much more valuable than a lump of coal that would normally contain the same elements as diamond. That is, with sufficient heat and pressure applied, the tectonic elements fuse together to make a rare red gemstone known as feldspar.

Organic Gemstones – the most famous examples of this are pearls and amber. Basically, organic gemstones are ones which occur naturally in organic sources as opposed to mineral sources. Pearls are formed from oysters, while amber is a yellow stone formed from fossilized tree sap. While not gemstones per se, organic gemstones are still used heavily in jewelry so are included in this list.

Jade, a generic term for nephrite and jadeite gemstones is regarded as a fascinating gemstone for collectors and jewelry enthusiasts. Asian countries regard jade as a valuable antique. Jade is said to have symbolic beauty and energy since it balances creativity and mental agility in gemstone therapy. Many people want jade for various reasons because of its uniqueness as well as its impressive history where even the Aztecs and ancient Egyptians regard jade as a symbolic item. Here are some guidelines in spotting a good jade.

Select the people you buy jade from

Since jade is a really rare and wanted gemstone, many people have created ways of making fakes or imitation jades. Finding a good genuine jade might cost a lot and consume a lot of time. In buying jade gemstones, only trust reputable sellers or dealers and collectors. Never buy from shady stores in the area or resorting to online stores which can be doubted most of the time. Having a critical eye to look for a good jade gemstone will be a necessary weapon in hunting for these beauties.

Determining the value of the jade

Generally, a jade gemstones value depends on the intensity of the color, transparency, clarity, and its texture. Connoisseurs differentiate the shades of green in seven main qualities, from light shades of apple green to the darker shades of green.

Different countries regard a specific color more valuable among jade gemstones based from their culture. USA and Europe regard spinach green and apple green colors of jade the most valuable. Meanwhile, far eastern countries prefer jade in colors of sheer white or yellow with a trace of pink. Generally, the hint of lavender or fine violet in jade is the most popular color. However the rarest of jade gemstones in color are the imperial green which has extraordinary depth. This color of jade gemstone fetches the highest price.

It all depends on the collector or buyer

For those collectors who don’t just fancy buying jade gemstones, advice on what to buy will be futile. Everyone has their own tastes and preference on what color or shape to buy. However for those enthusiasts who enjoy the beauty of jade, they have a wide variety of designs to choose from, especially since modern chic designs have sprouted.

Nevertheless, anyone will enjoy a jade gemstone, no matter its color, shape, or texture, since it is a beauty no one can deny.