Materials Used in My Jewelry
Materials Used in My Jewelry
Metals:
- Sterling silver: 926% pure silver
- Argentium silver: 93.5% pure silver
- Fine silver: 99.9% pure silver. The only silver which can be fused with glass
- Artistic Wire is copper wire coated with enamel
Semiprecious gemstones:
Chalcedony, a member of the quartz family, is found worldwide. Traditionally a pale blue color it is found in many different natural colors as well as being heat treated to achieve others. Chalcedony occurs in a wide range of varieties. Many semi-precious gemstones are in fact forms of chalcedony. The more notable varieties of chalcedony are as follows:
- Agate
- Onyx
- Carnelian
Labradorite is a member of the feldspar family and is found in Labrador and Norway. It is known for its “labradorescence”, a play of colors which shimmer in blues and greens. The stone itself is most often gray or gray-green.
Another feldspar is Moonstone which is milky white or peach and gray. It is opalescent and
reflects light in a distinctive shimmering phenomenon known as adularescence.
Other gemstones can be seen at http://www.foreverjewelers.com/help/glossary.htm.
I do not use coral because it is endangered. The most common gemstones in my jewelry are amethyst and garnet, as well as citrine, turquoise and tourmaline.
Freshwater Pearls:
Natural freshwater pearls occur in mussels and generally come from China. To cultivate a pearl, the farmer slits the the mussel and inserts a small piece of live tissue from another mussel which the mollusc coats with nacre. Being an organic gem, grooves, pits or dents are expected. Freshwater pearls are popular for their colors — white, silver white, cream white, pink, red, copper, brown, lavender, purple/lavender, green, blue and yellow. The most popular are the whites, pastel pinks, roses, lavender and purples. Color comes from the mussel species and water quality. Generally pearls assume the color of the shell in which they form, but permanent dyes are used today for some colors as well. Freshwater pearls come in many shapes but the rarest pearl shape is round as it is the most difficult to culture. Other shapes include droplet, button, oval, baroque and banded.
More information can be found at http://www.pearlparadise.com/information-freshwater.htm.