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Our Jewelry Materials
Gem Charts
Caution - Not all beads are colorfast - they may fade in direct sunlight and
should not be worn while bathing or swimming.
If we know that a stone has been treated, we'll tell
you. This is US Federal Law. Sometimes we don't know because we bought stones from a seller who
didn't have a clue. Then we give you our best guess.
Glass and
Ceramic beads - Glass beads are made all over the world, many by hand. This
often means there are irregularities that only add to the beauty of each
piece. Special favorites include:
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Swarovski® crystals - The most sparkle this side of a diamond
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Czech fire-polished crystals -
These gem-like wonders add sparkle and shine.
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Druks - Round beads from Germany and the Czech Republic.
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Furnace glass or cane beads
Handmade and expensive, these beads combine
color and clear sparkle for a contemporary look you'll love. See Lozen jewelry.
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Seed beads - Small to very small beads, mostly from Japan.
Bone beads - Bone is a traditional, natural material for
beads. It is hand carved so each bead is special. See Salamasina jewelry
Plastic
beads - We don't much like plastic beads,
and we don't use them
unless a supplier has mislabeled product we've received and we can't
tell the difference without a scientific analysis.
Semiprecious stones -
Nature's gifts to jewelry.
Agate - Rare Blue Lace Agate is the symbol for world
ecology. Agate is related to quartz. It is available in a
number of colors.
Betsy
Bonaparte
Trotula - (blue lace agate)
Amazonite - Amazonite is named for
Brazil's Amazon River. It's a type of feldspar and is often
treated to increase the intensity of its blue green color.
Queen Dido
 click on the photo of amazonite jewelry from the Queen Dido Collection to enlarge it
Mama Oello
Huaco
Empress Wu
Amber
- Amber is fossilized plant resin, the
golden stuff in which they found the dinosaur DNA in Jurassic Park. You will find opaque and transparent amber and lots of forgeries.
We trust our suppliers, but we can't guarantee what they tell us.
Copal, often called "Baltic
Amber," releases a resinous scent. It has been known to have been
opened and reglued after a fossilized bug has been inserted. Bugs,
it seems, make any form of amber more desirable.
Amethyst - We don't really believe amethyst will
prevent drunkenness, but we do know people love it. It comes
in many shades of purple
Epona
The Goodbye Lie Collection
Queen Guinevere
Queen Isolde
Czarina Marina
Empress
Wu
"If amethysts
could sing ... they would sound like Judy Collins." Richard
Farina
more quotations |
|
Aragonite - Aragonite is made of
carbonite and can be found in yellow, browns, whites and other
colors.
Livia Augusta
Queen Zenobia
Blue Topaz - Blue topaz is the affordable cousin of
aquamarine.
Queen Berengaria
Carnelian - A reddish cousin to chysoprase.
Livia Augusta
Mama Oello
Huaco
Chrysoprase - This leek green form of chalcedony is one
of our very favorites. We think you'll love it too. And it
also comes in a wonderful lemon beige with brown spots!
Epona (bright celery)
Empress Galla
Placidia (lemon beige)
Citrine - Citrine is a lemony
yellow semiprecious stone that can be either transparent or
translucent. Either way, it adds light to any piece of jewelry.
Citrine is a member of the
quartz family. JewleryMall.com says, "Most citrine
on the market is heat treated amethyst."
Queen Desiree
Empress Galla
Placidia
Queen
Margaret
Czarina Marina
Trotula
Flourite - Flourite comes in
several colors including a radiant golden yellow as well as purple
violet, clear, and green.
Lady
Murasaki
Garnet - Wine-colored garnets are rich and regal.
Empress
Galla
Placidia
Queen
Margaret
Goldstone - Goldstone is
available in a rich, cinnamony brown or a dark blue. Both have
gold flecks, and both are manmade - glass with copper crystals.
Queen Berengaria
Hematite - Hematite is a dark and shiny silver gray. It's very rich looking.
Li Qingzhao
Empress Pulcheria
Howlite - Howlite is white with gray veining.
It's often dyed, but looks great when left alone.
Li Qingzhao
Iolite - Iolite is sometime called "water sapphire." That's exactly
what it looks like - a lighter, watery blue. It also comes in
other colors.
Trotula
Jade - Jade is actually two different minerals,
jadeite and nephrite. Emerald green jadeite is also known as
"imperial jade." Jadeite comes in many colors, but nephrite is
generally only green and white.
Mountain jade is dyed
marble.
Olive jade is light olive
serpentine.
Queen Boudicca (turquoise & lighter green dyed mountain jade)
Inanna (turquoise & dark green dyed mountain jade)
Nefertiti (dark green dyed mountain jade)
Empress
Wu (olive jade)
Queen Zenobia (turquoise dyed mountain jade)
Queen
Christina (red)
Countess Judith (picture jasper - beige mottled with black)
Livia Augusta (yellow jasper)
Mama Oello
Huaco (yellow [actually orange])
Queen Zenobia (yellow jasper)
Lapis Lazuli - Lapis is a lovely, deep royal blue.
Malachite - Once you discover malachite, you'll
want to own some. We once saw a malachite table from
imperial Russia. Sigh.
Candace
Malachite also
comes in a dusty red.
Livia
Augusta
Moonstone - Remember reading Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone (Oxford World's Classics) in school?
Even in Victorian times, this milky stone inspired homage.
Onyx - Onyx comes in rich
olivey greens and blacks with reddish brown for accent.
Empress
Wu
Nzingha
Opal
- Up to 30 percent of an opal can be water!
Opals sparkle with multiple colors and are called the "queen of
gems." They were formed when the shells of tiny sea creatures
met ancient hot springs.
Pearls - Natural pearls begin as irritants
inside oysters. They come in many grades and colors so be very
careful when purchasing.
We use medium quality (usually
grade C, sometimes A-B) freshwater cultured pearls. These are dyed in many wonderful colors and
come in fun shapes.
Pearls should be cleaned with
a soft cloth - not harsh chemicals.
The Goodbye Lie Collection
Peridot - If you haven't already treated yourself
to a piece of peridot jewelry, don't hesitate. This apple green
sparkler is simply lovely.
The Goodbye Lie Collection
Queen Liliuokalani
Quartz - Rock Crystal - Clear or opaque, quartz has a wonderful shine. It adds life to
any piece of jewelry it graces.
Note: Cherry Quartz, Golden
Cherry Quartz (a mixture of cherry quartz and tiger eye)
and Pineapple Quartz are actually treated cut glass. Lots of
other colors are coming onto the market.
Czarina
Anna
Ivanova
Aphrodite
Betsy
Bonaparte
Queen Dido
The Goodbye Lie Collection
Queen Liliuokalani
Czarina Marina
Grand
Duchess Tatiana
Empress Wu
Quartz - Rose - Almost
everyone on the planet looks better in pink.
 click on the photo to enlarge it
Queen Boudicca
Queen Guinevere
Grand
Duchess Tatiana
Empress Pulcheria
Tanzanite - This is a gorgeous violet-blue gemstone.
The only commercial source is Arusha, Tanzania
Turquoise - Everyone loves this stone. It
comes in many shades of green, blue,
yellow, aqua
and blue green, and is mined all over the world.
Natural turquoise isn't
treated in any way and will darken over time. Stabilized turquoise has
been treated to seal the color. There are lots of
quality variations once you get below these two grades. More in in
the January 24, 2005 Beading Diary
entry.
Aphrodite
Inanna
La Malinche
Mama Oello
Huaco
Empress
Wu
Queen Zenobia
Unakite - Unakite blends green epidote and orangey-pink
feldspar.
It's looks like a soft day in an autumn forest.
Empress Lucilla
Wood beads - Carved or polished
wooden beads can be lovely.
Sterling is soft and
can be bent. Bend it gently back into place. And don't
squash it.
Stringing
materials
Tigertail will weaken if it is sharply bent so avoid doing this, and
you'll be wearing your wonderful jewelry for years to come.
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Plastic Stretchy
Cord - This material is good for simple bracelets. We triple knot each piece and add a daub of
jeweler's glue to secure the knot.
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Silk - Silk is the traditional stringing
material for fine jewelry.
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Other fibers - There are many other fibers used in jewelry making from nylon cord,
which is very strong, to leather. We'll always tell what we've
used to make your jewelry.
Care of Our Jewelry
We have made every
effort to provide a sturdy, long-lasting product out of quality
materials. If you take proper care of our jewelry, you'll be wearing it with
pride for many years to come.
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Do not wear our
jewelry while bathing or swimming.
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Do not leave our
jewelry in direct sunlight for long periods of time.
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Do not sharply
bend necklaces strung on tigertail (coated
wire).
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Do not cut the
stringing material.
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Sterling silver is
soft. Do not bend it. It can be polished with silver polish
if necessary to maintain the shine, but DO NOT use toothpaste for this
purpose.
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Do not store jewelry in a
hanging position.
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If the item has a
clasp, please use it to wear or remove your jewelry.
Pulling a necklace over your head or off of your arm will may
destroy the piece.
We cannot be
responsible for mistreatment of our jewelry. |
