Jade – The Ancient Gemstone

Jade is by far, one of the oldest and sought after gemstones on the planet. It is found on nearly every continent and has played an integral role in the shaping of ancient cultures. Today, it is as precious and valuable as it was one thousand years ago.

The gemstone is formed in subduction zones around the globe. Subduction happens when two tectonic plates smash together and overlap. The plate that is forced down takes its minerals into the depths of the Earth, where the temperature and the pressure are right for creating jade. The mineral is then mined. The dangerous task of excavating the gemstone takes place the world over, China, India, New Zealand, Canada, Siberia, North and Central America at one time or another had mines solely for jade.

There are two types of jade: nephrite, from the Greek word nephros, which means “kidney,” and jadeite, which is the green type of jade most people are familiar with. Nephrite jade, when pure, is white. Our English word for jade is derived from the Spanish, “piedra de ijada” or loin stone. This correlates to many ancient cultures belief that jade stones helped alleviate the ailments of the loins and kidneys. But it wasn’t simply used for crystal therapy. Jade was crafted for weapons, such as spears and axes, but more so as jewelry and ornamentation.

The stone is classified into several categories. Polar Jade is from the Polar mines in northern Canada, Chrome Jade is specked with brilliant traces of green, Chatoyat has a tiger eye like effect in it, Bortyoidal or Bubble Jade, is shaped like clumps of grapes, and Vulcan Jade is covered with a golden brown skin, found exclusively in California.

The art of jade polishing has been practiced for thousands of years. The mineral is harder than steel and cannot be sculpted; rather, it is ground and then polished to create the beautiful beads and designs we have come to appreciate.   The initial grounding of jade is done wet. The stone must be submerged when ground; it gives off a harmful dust that is comparable to asbestoses. A diamond or silicone carbide is used to do the grounding. When the grinding has reached the artists ideal “grit,” it is polished using techniques and compounds that are guarded closely by the artist. This technique has been passed down through the generations and has helped create some of the most appeasing designs known to human eyes.

It might not be plausible and affordable for you to own jade jewelry. But there are alternatives. Faux jade is an acceptable substitute to the outrageously priced gemstone. If purchased from a wholesaler, jade beads and pendants can be used to create precious jewelry such as necklaces and bracelets. Craftwork is a soothing process and is a hobby that can be readily displayed. With faux jade there’s no reason to hesitate on experimentation, creating whatever you can imagine.

Jade is still used today to create art that is ubiquitously loved and praised for its elegance and wonder. Most recently it was used to help design the 2008 Summer Olympic medals; the first non-metallic to ever be used.   Jade is one of the few gemstones to be held with the same loft that it was thousands of years ago. Its beauty is renowned and desired across the globe.

About Choosing Your Gemstone

Gemstone jewelry has always been a favorite accessory of women. Diamonds have always been women’s best friend, but gemstones are becoming popular because of their radiance, which radiates to the women wearing them. The appeal of gemstones is that they make the women wearing them feel as beautiful as they are.

Gemstone jewelry come in so many variety that sometimes the task of choosing the gemstone is more daunting than the actual task of buying the jewelry. Whether you would be buying gemstone jewelry for yourself or for somebody else, you have to take the time to have a basic knowledge of gemstones and be able to evaluate gems and metals to be able to make a wise purchase or wise investment. You also have to learn to recognize a real gemstone from a synthetic or an imitation. There are gemstones that are very rare, and these rare gemstones are more valuable and an asset than other stones. The appearance of a gemstone is its primary attribute, which determines the price it would sell in the market.

Kinds of Gemstones

There are many kinds of gemstones, the five most popular are the diamonds, pearls, emerald, ruby, and sapphire. Before going out and purchasing gemstone jewelry, you must be able to determine if one is fake or real. Know the difference between a glass or a diamond, and faux pearls from real ones. Know what color is a ruby, an emerald or a sapphire.

Diamonds are valued according to their color, clarity, cutting, and carat. If a diamond is more colorless, with lesser or no marks, is beautifully cut, and is larger in size, chances are, it is of best quality and probably would be very expensive.

Pearls, on the other hand, are so varied that seemingly no two are ever the same. Pearls could either be natural or cultured but always be alert that you do not purchase an imitation pearl.

You would always know an emerald from a ruby as an emerald has a green velvety glassy color and texture while a ruby has always been famous as the red gemstone. Emeralds are fragile as they can break easily and is in need of most care than other gemstones.

Sapphires vary in color to yellow, blue, green, orange, pink, and purple.

Choosing Your Gemstone

There are still a lot of other kinds of gemstones. Prices could range from very expensive ones to prices which you can generally afford without putting too much dent on your wallet or your credit card. Choose, therefore, according to the size of your wallet or your bank account. Whatever you intend to choose and purchase, the important thing to remember is that the gemstone must be lasting and enduring.

Caring for the Gemstone of Your Choice

If the gemstone needs special care, accordingly, the same care should be given. Exposure to chemicals or sunlight could harm these stones and reduce the value which you highly paid for. Gemstones would always make you feel as beautiful as they are, and that is what you would be paying for.

Tsavorite

Whilst many gem-lovers have indulged themselves in the joy of owning Diamonds, Ruby, Emerald and Sapphires, many have not yet discovered equally rare and fine gems such as Tsavorite. Still relatively unknown to the gem-buying public, stones like Tsavorite present a unique and exciting opportunity as due to the fact they are little known, their prices are still relatively low compared with the “big 4”. This will not always be the case as the charms of this beautiful gemstone is quickly becoming known to jewelers the world over who are marketing it to their clients creating a pull effect through the market which will eventually push up prices.

Tsavorite is such exciting gem for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is a gemologically superior gemstone with very high brilliance, life, hardness, is extremely rare and most important, is very beautiful. In terms of its gemological properties: Its Refractive Index is very high at 1.74 (Ruby and Sapphire are 1.76) which means that it bends light to a high degree and as such, has excellent light return and hence brilliance. This is aided by its high Hardness on the Mohs scale (a rating of 7.5) which means it takes a good polish which leads to excellent luster. Its Dispersion Rating is double that of its green rival, Emerald, meaning that it is a much more firey gem. In terms of rarity, there is only 1 commercial source in the whole world – in East Africa.

When looking to buy a Tsavorite, it is important you consider the 4C’s just as if you were buying a Diamond. The first, and most important of these is Color. Obviously if the color is not fine, the stone will not be beautiful and it will lose its “raison d’etre”. So look for a deep color saturation with a pure green (minimal yellow modifier is important-yellow is the bane of Tsavorite). The saturation of the color must be vivid. When buying online, this can be a confusing prospect as there are so many sellers all proclaiming their stones to be the finest and all the colors seem different. I suggest you use the resources at the bottom of this article to get a better idea of how color grades are constituted.

Second is Clarity. Many online sellers try to ignore or downplay this factor. The truth is that the majority of Tsavorite contains quite heavy inclusions and the majority of online sellers are peddling this material. The prices for Tsavorite that is moderately included is very different from those that are very slightly included or clean so keep this in mind. Fine stones should be almost loupeclean or loupeclean.

Thirdly, consider the quality of the cut, including symmetry, faceting and proportions. Fine stones are well proportioned, have proper facet junctions and good symmetry. The cut is instrumental in creating brilliance and badly cut stones lack brilliance and hence beauty to don’t overlook this.

Carat Weight – this is the fourth “C” and is important with this gem type as Tsavorite does not come in large sizes generally speaking. The vast majority of Tsavorites are well below a carat and fine stones of 2 carats are considered very rare. This means that the per carat price increases quicker with Tsavorite than most stones as large Tsavorites as relatively so much rarer. A very fine 4 carat can retail as high as $8000 per carat.

In summary, Tsavorite is a very exciting, beautiful gemstone with a bright future. Those gem enthusiasts that invest in a fine large piece now will be well placed to see the value of their investment rise in the near future as demand for the stone increases as consumers become more knowledgeable.

Gemstone Home Decor

Gemstone is a name that can be applied to any of a number of semi precious natural stone materials. These materials form naturally, usually in caves, and are harvested by humans to be used in jewelry, home furnishings, and several architectural applications. A material is termed to be “gemstone” due to its attractiveness, and rarity, and so the stones which attain this label are generally valuable and beautiful.

Gemstone is used to manufacture a wide variety of decorative and functional products for the home. These are generally formal, high end products, which are intended to elevate the decorative style of a space. Common gemstone products include desk clocks, drink coasters, book ends, and paper weights. Gemstone candle holders are also very popular, due to the ability of the crystalline structure to refract the light from the candle into a million tiny translucent caverns.

Gemstone home décor products are most popular in new age and metaphysical spaces. Often practitioners of yoga, reiki, and gemstone therapies will decorate their offices with these products. Many people even believe gemstones to have a very particular effect on the energy in a space, and there are several fields of study that examine and claim to be able to use these effects to help people.

Another popular setting for gemstone decorative products is in a rustic, natural home. The erratic chaos of the crystalline materials will blend in well with the savage nature of such a space.

Other popular setting for gemstone home décor products include executive offices, romantic settings such as the bedroom, and anywhere where the light from the sun or a fixture can cast an interesting glow on the pieces.

Pearls-The June Gemstone

Pearls are the birthstone for June, and are also the gemstone for the astrological signs cancer and gemini. the pearl is considered the gemstone for modesty and purity.

This may be part of the reason that it is also the classic gemstone worn by many brides and also members of the wedding party.

Cultured Pearls

Most pearls that are sold today are cultured pearls. These are no less the genuine thing than those designated as natural pearls. Few natural pearls are in existence today and they are very costly. Most natural pearls find their way to special collectors and the ultra rich because of their cost.

A natural pearl is one created by nature and is a random act. When an irritant enters an oyster or mollusk it’s natural reaction is to cover it with nacre and that is how a natural pearl is formed, through a random act of nature.

Pearls formed by purely natural means are often odd shaped and not saleable for the purpose of creating jewelry, and then there is the problem of finding them.

In the nineteen hundreds a method was perfected for creating cultured pearls. Instead of waiting for nature to take it’s course, man devised a method for introducing an irritant into the oyster or mollusk so it would begin it’s job of creating a pearl.

From the introduction of the irritant, the oyster takes over and does what it has known to do for thousands of years. The process is no different. It is basically farming.

Those who farm cultured pearls provide the oyster or mollusk with the best environment which helps to produce more pearls and ones that have a better chance of being more uniform and acceptable to the marketplace for the making of jewelry.

This process has taken a natural gem which was once so costly that in ancient times the price of one fine pearl could finance a war, and brought it into a price range that makes it available to most anyone who is gainfully employed.

Pearls are a distinctive gem in that they are the only one that is created by a living organism and the only gem that needs no cutting. They are also distinctive for their luminescent quality.

Pearls are a wonderful choice for jewelry and can provide many occasions for wear and display. A pearl necklace or earrings are appropriate for both formal and casual occasions and will look just as appropriate when worn with a formal gown as they will when worn with a casual skirt and sweater.

They are a very good choice for wear with a wedding gown as they display their luminescent beauty without overplaying. Since a wedding gown will only be worn once, it should not be outdone by the accompanying accessories. Pearls are a very good choice.