Sunday 31 October 2010

Chrysoprase

Chrysoprase is said to be a problem clarifier. It brings unconscious thoughts to the surface and allows insights into personal problems. It gives an acceptance of oneself and others and encourages forgiveness and compassion.
Chrysoprase is also believed to draw out inner talents and stimulate creativity while it's gentle vibrations are used to aid sleep and relaxation and to reduce nightmares. Chrysoprase is said to bring the energy of springtime and renewal and to help you let go of feelings of jealousy, resentment, selfishness, greed, hypochondria and scarcity. It is also thought to enhance fertility.
Chrysoprase is linked to the Heart Chakra, placing it on this area will expand and relax any feeling of tightness and anxiety trapped there.
To prevent it fading keep this beautiful, apple green crystal out of direct sunlight.
Chrysoprase is the birthstone for May.

Source: www.crystalwellbeing.co.uk

Thursday 28 October 2010

Citrine

Let's suppose that someone has bought a moped, yet his friends and acquaintances keep talking about his 'wonderful racing machine'. He surely feels confused, or feels that they are taking the mickey out of him. A moped was exactly what he wanted for short trips in good weather, but even the salesman said that he was now in possession of a 'real flyer'.

That's roughly how things go with the citrine, the stone for the month of November. Many people have come to know and love this stone under the name gold topaz, or Madeira or Spanish topaz, although in actual fact it has very little in common with the higher-quality gemstone topaz - except for a few nuances of colour. Thus the history of the citrine is closely interwoven with that of the topaz, and coincides with it completely when it comes to the interpretation of alleged miraculous powers. However, the citrine is a member of the large quartz family, a family which, with its multitude of colours and very various structures, offers gemstone lovers almost everything their hearts desire in terms of adornment and decoration, from absolutely clear rock crystal to black onyx. And it does so at prices which are by no means unaffordable.

The name is derived from the colour - the yellow of the lemon - , although the most sought-after stones have a clear, radiant yellowish to brownish red. Like all crystal quartzes, the citrine has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale and is thus, to a large extent, insensitive to scratches. It won't immediately take offence at being knocked about either, since its cleavage properties are non-existent. Even if their refractive index is relatively low, the yellow stones have just that mellow, warm tone that seems to have captured the last glow of autumn. Like golden Rhine wine or sparkling Madeira, heavy and sweet, citrine jewellery shimmers and brings a hint of sunshine to those dull November days.

There are not many yellow gemstones in the world of jewels. A diamond or a sapphire may be yellow - those will be expensive -, or sometimes a tourmaline or chrysoberyl, though these tend toward green somewhat, a golden beryl or eben a pure topaz, which we will mention again later on. However, the citrine fulfils everyone's colour wishes, from lemon yellow to reddish brown.

Rare though it is, yellow does in fact occur in quartz in Nature, if seldom, when there are traces of iron in the silicon dioxide. Historically, it has been found in Spain, on the Scottish island of Arran, in France, Hungary and in several mines overseas. Perhaps the citrine wouldn't have been talked about any more at all if, in the middle of the 18th century, it had not been for the discovery that amethysts and smoky quartzes can also be rendered yellow by so-called burning. This heat treatment at temperatures of between 470 and 560 degrees has to be carried out very carefully and requires a great deal of experience. However, in the course of 200 years, its application has become so much a matter of course that most of the stones available in the trade today are in fact burnt amethysts or smoky quartzes. Only a trained specialist can recognise the signs of heat treatment at all, burnt stones having subtle stripes whilst the yellow of natural ones is cloudy.

In Europe, the boom on these yellow to reddish crystal quartzes didn't begin until, in the 1930s, expatriate agate cutters from Idar-Oberstein sent large quantities of citrine back home, along with amethyst and agate, from Brazil and Uruguay. Thus the golden-yellow quartzes made a contribution to Idar-Oberstein's becoming - and remaining - one of the world's great gemstone centres. Just as they had been used to doing with agate and other kinds of quartz, the cutters faceted the citrine using large, rotating sandstones over decades. The raw stone was actually held in the cutter's hand during this process. If you give that a little thought, it will occur to you just how skilled the cutters from the Hunsrück really were.

The supply of Europe with sufficient raw material came just at the right moment for the nascent upheaval in social conditions. As the bourgeoisie grew in strength, the demand for jewellery across a broader spectrum of social strata also grew, and the citrine found a permanent niche for itself. Since until then it was really only the topaz which was known and used as a gold-coloured gemstone, the yellow and brown crystal quartzes quickly became very popular among the ladies, being known as gold topaz or smoky topaz, or by the double-barrelled names that proclaimed their origin. However, they were also found in step and table cuts as cuff-links and rings in the evening wardrobe of fine gentlemen. At the beginning, perhaps, the notion "it's all on the surface" may have played a part. But there was no other stone to which the wrong name clung as doggedly as the citrine. Even now, jewellery enthusiasts with no specialist knowledge may be astounded when you tell them that their 'gold topaz' is a citrine, in other words not a topaz at all, but quartz.

So what is it that constitutes the difference between the real topaz and the citrine? A fluorine aluminium silicate in chemical terms, the topaz is considerably harder and heavier than quartz, and it has a higher refractive index, which endows it with more fire when the colour is good. It does have one weakness: its good cleavage qualities, which must be taken into account when it is being worked on. It can be found in all the colours of the rainbow and has been known to Man for at least 2000 years. It has not been proved beyond doubt whether the name comes from Sanskrit or Greek, though the Greek name 'topazos' means 'green gemstone'. The Romans dedicated the topaz to Jupiter.

The colour in which the topaz is most commonly found is yellow, and that is the colour in which it occurs in one of the major German gemstone rocks, the Schneckenstein (a topaz-bearing rock said to resemble a snail) in Saxony. In the 18th century, it was mined there during a period of over 60 years. However, most of the crystals were hardly a centimetre in diameter. You had to go to Siberia or Brazil to find crystals as large as your fist. Having said that, anyone who is interested can convince himself of the beauty of cut specimens in the topaz set in Dresden's Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault). The enormous and magnificent topaz from the Portuguese crown, the Braganza, was for a long time thought to be a diamond.

In mysticism, the topaz is attributed with a cooling, styptic and appetising effect. It is said to dispel sadness, anger and nocturnal fears, to warn its wearer of poisons and protect him or her from sudden death. It is reputed to make men handsome and intelligent and sterile women fertile and happy. However, it is probably better not to rely too much on its magical powers, since it was also claimed that you could immerse your hand in boiling water after a topaz had been thrown into it and retract it again unharmed!

In the Empire style, the topaz was still widespread, but then the more reasonably priced citrine took over from it and even usurped its name. Since then, the topaz has been a rather exotic figure in the jewellery trade, and has been given the additional predicate 'pure' to make it clear that the topaz, not the quartz topaz, is meant. And it is still waiting for its comeback to this day.

Source: www.gemstone.org

Sunday 24 October 2010

Making Bracelets with Embroidery Floss

Once you start making your very own friendship bracelets and you cannot stop!! You just need lots of various colours of embroidery thread and some patience!

All you need for Making Bracelets with Embroidery Floss:
• Good quality embroidery floss in a variety of colours
• Safety pins or clear tape to help hold the strands in place.

Method for Making Bracelets with Embroidery Floss

It will be easier to learn using only 4 different colours strands. Use approx 36” of each thread for your bracelet. This can be adjusted once you are comfortable with making bracelets with embroidery floss. Arrange the strings in the order you want the colours to alternate in your bracelet.
Step 1. Using an overhand know tie the strings together in the order you want to weave them. Leave a 2" tail at the top and tape it to a work surface or table.

Step 2. Pick up strand 1 and wrap it over and under strand 2 to make a knot
Step 3. Tighten the knot by holding strand 2 and pulling strand 1 up.
Step 4. Make a second knot with strand 1 over strand 2; pull strand 1 tight.
Step 5. Drop strand 2; pick up strand 3. Make 2 knots with strand 1 over strand 3. Repeat on strand 4. Strand 1 should now be on the right.
Step 6. One row has been completed. Continue next row by making 2 knots with strand 2 over strand 3, 4, and 1. With each row, the strand on the left is always "worked over" to the right.
Step 7. Four rows are completed. Continue until bracelet is desired length.
The last step to making bracelets with embroidery floss:

When your bracelet is at the desired length tie the end of all 4 strings together with an overhand knot. Tie it on your wrist with a square knot (right over left and left over right). Cut the excess strings, ensuring you leave about ½’’ fringe
There you have it, your first attempt at making bracelets with embroidery floss. Remember if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. It gets easier with practice!!

Wednesday 20 October 2010

Dress up the Dress

I was looking to jazz up an old grey maxi dress, now they are back in fashion! went to Avon and bought this great bracelet that matched my dress

Thursday 14 October 2010

Turquoise Gemstones

The turquoise is ancient, yet again and again it finds itself back in fashion. Its shining sky blue is one of the most popular trend colours in the world of jewellery and fashion.

In many cultures of the Old and New Worlds, this gemstone has been esteemed for thousands of years as a holy stone, a bringer of good fortune or a talisman. It really does have the right to be called a 'gemstone of the peoples'. The oldest evidence for this claim was found in Egypt, where grave furnishings with turquoise inlay were discovered, dating from approximately 3000 B.C.. In the ancient Persian kingdom, the sky-blue gemstones were earlier worn round the neck or wrist as protection against unnatural death. If they changed colour, the wearer was thought to have reason to fear the approach of doom. Meanwhile, it has been discovered that the turquoise certainly can change colour, but that this is not necessarily a sign of impending danger. The change can be caused by the light, or by a chemical reaction brought about by cosmetics, dust or the acidity of the skin.

In earlier times, turquoises were even responsible for the material wellbeing of the wearer. The Persian scholar Al-Qazwini, for example, wrote: 'The hand that wears a turquoise and seals with it will never see poverty.' Turquoises were often worn on the turban, and often surrounded with pearls, in order to protect their wearer against the 'evil eye'. As talismans, they adorned daggers, sabres and the bridles of horses. It was not until the time of the crusades that they came to Europe. Indeed it is from that period that the name 'turquoise' originates, meaning 'Turkish'.

In South, Central and North America too, the turquoise has always occupied a very special position among gemstones. The Aztecs in Mexico, for example, used to decorate their ceremonial masks with this stone which was holy according to their beliefs. The Indians of North America, who still produce a good deal of traditional silver jewellery with turquoises today, believe that the sky-blue gemstone opens up a direct connection between the sky and the sea.

At all times and over the world, turquoises have been worn as natural protection against the powers of darkness. If in earlier times they preserved horse and rider from unexpected falls, they are regarded today as the protective stone of pilots, air crews and other occupational groups who are exposed to an especially high degree of risk.

In modern gemstone therapy, those suffering from depression are recommended to wear a turquoise or a chain with turquoise beads. The turquoise' cheerful colour is said to endow reticent personalities with more confidence. It is also often given as a gift, a stone of friendship, for the turquoise is said to be responsible for faithfulness and constancy in relationships.

The colour of the turquoise makes us feel happy and cheerful, for in it the light blue of the sky and the stimulating green of the sea are combined. Indeed it is such an inimitable colour that we have coined a term specifically for it in our languages: turquoise. Anyone choosing a turquoise is sure to enjoy a piece of Heaven ... on Earth.

Source: www.gemstone.org

Sunday 10 October 2010

The Crown Jewels Tower of London

It was only the other day when I began to wander; what exactly are the Crown Jewels? Who do they fully belong to? What do they actually look like and how many of them are there? So many questions and yet not a single answer. It was time for some research.

Firstly, let’s get a few misunderstandings out of the way; they are not all just 'jewels' in the literal sense but instead a collection of many objects worn by the sovereign of the UK during the coronation ceremony. Secondly (and this was something I had no idea about even though it makes sense and seems so obvious), we're not the only country with Crown Jewels. In fact hundreds of countries have the same thing including Madagascar, Tanzania, Serbia, Russia, Greece, Hungary, Scotland, New Zealand and literally many, many more.

Our selection of Crown Jewels have consisted of a variety of different vestments and regalia, ranging from crowns to swords, spurs to sceptres and orbs to robes. The majority all possess some form of religious connotation as many originally descend directly from the pre-Reformation period, but (and here's the funny thing) the majority of our genuine Crown Jewels were said to have been lost during the Anglo-Saxon reign of John Of England in 1216. Replacements were of course sent for but in 1303, they were stolen from their original home of Westminster Abbey by a London jeweller. After catching the criminal (who was most likely executed for treason or possibly something even worse!) the jewels were sent to be stored in the Tower of London and have never left since.

This isn't to say that they haven't been replaced or tampered with since then. In fact, the history of the crown jewels gets even more confusing the more you look at their history. After 1303, they were entirely melted down (save for a sword and three spoons) by Oliver Cromwell in 1649, rebuilt by Charles II with a host of crowns, gold and fancy jewels (which were then valued at around £2000) and then were continuously added to by ever English leader since then. They were eventually left to stand as royal historical artefacts in their Tower of London resting place.

As of today, the collection consists mostly of what has already been stated above; crowns, swords, robes, rings, shields, jewels, gems, coins and sceptres. Their current value has never been known and for this reason, none of the Crown Jewels are insured (imagine who would pay out for those?!).

So there we have it; the Crown Jewels aren't just jewels and crowns, they've been lost, stolen, melted, swapped and eventually stored over the last 700 years and are worth more than anyone dares to say. You've got to love England!

Tuesday 5 October 2010

Rock Crystal

All clear colourless quartz come under the title of rock crystal, and is widely used as a popular gemstone. It is one of the least expensive gemstones yet holds a beauty all of it own.

Rock crystal lacks the array of colour found in other gemstones and is not as rare as a fine precious gemstone. However, due to its beauty, availability, and affordability rock crystal is in wide use as a gemstone. Rock crystal can have the colourless clarity of pure water, and has been known to be used as imitation diamonds.
Rock crystal is also popular as an ornamental stone. The most common use for rock crystal is in ornamental carvings and possibly the most common & well know to most people is the crystal ball used by fortune tellers, although finding rock crystal large enough with the clarity required for the crystal balls is not easy.
Many people prefer natural uncut clusters of rock crystal. These natural treasures look like crystal cities of fantasy stories. The long slender clear prisms of quartz projecting upward from a common base are true mineralogical wonders that can be admired by all. They cost of good clusters of rock crystal is quite affordable and comes from sources around the world.
Large individual crystals, some weighing over 44 tons, have been found in Brazil. Other countries that have been known for their natural rock crystal mines include the famous Hot Springs area of Arkansas, USA; Cumberland, England; St. Gotthard, Switzerland; Brazil and Madagascar.