Black South Sea Pearl Ring

Alexandrite, is the alternate birthstone for June and while gorgeous, doesn’t have all the elegance and versatility of the pearl.

The pearl is enjoying a comeback thanks to being worn by a whole host of celebrities, such as Rihanna, Demi Moore, Katherine Heigl, and Kristen Bell to name a few. And it’s one of those trends that isn’t really a trend because everybody has pearls, whether they’re real or fake, an accent or the focus, single strand of matched pearls or funky multistrand of amazing colors.

Pearl and Diamond Earrings

A little bitty lesson on the difference between natural and cultured pearls:

A natural pearl actually begins as a foreign object, such as a piece of sand, caught inside an oyster’s inner body. The oyster goes into defensive action and secretes a substance called nacre around this foreign object (irritant) to protect itself. The oyster will continue to secrete nacre around the irritant, adding layer upon layer, to produce a pearl.

Multi-Color South Sea Pearl Dangle Bracelet

Natural pearls are extremely rare — in every 10,000 oysters, you might be lucky to find a single natural pearl. Just recently, a double-strand of 68 perfect natural pearls, known as the ”Baroda Pearls,” was auctioned at Christie’s Auction House for $7 million. Because of this scarcity, most pearls today are cultured pearls.

Diamond and Pearl Necklace

Kokichi Mikimoto patented the process of culturing pearls inside Akoya oysters in Japan in 1916. Once cultured pearls were developed and offered to the public in the 1920s, the “pearl craze” began — everyone wanted them, could afford them, and wore them. Because the culturing process occurs over several years, a perfect balance of conditions is required for the aquaculture, or growth in water, of pearls. It takes more than 800,000 oyster hours to grow cultured pearls considered of “high quality.” Japan dominated the industry until China became the leading producer of cultured pearls in the 1980s.

Black Pearl & Diamond Earrings

Cultured pearls are still actual pearls, sharing the same properties of natural pearls and growing organically inside of oysters in the same fashion as natural pearls. The only difference is a person carefully implants the irritant, a small piece of polished shell, in the oyster, rather than leaving it to chance. However, it’s still up to nature to create the miraculous beauty of a pearl.

Cultured and South Sea Pearl and Diamond Necklace

Cultured pearls can be from saltwater or freshwater mollusks. Freshwater pearls are formed in freshwater mussels that live in lakes, rivers, ponds and other bodies of fresh water. Most freshwater cultured pearls sold today come from China. By contrast, saltwater pearls grow in oysters that live in the ocean, usually in protected lagoons, such as the Akoya, South Sea and Tahitian pearls.

Cultured and South Sea Pearl and Diamond Necklace

First of all you have to choose the material, which will make it easier for you to choose the model. Only after you’ve decided what kind of material you want, start looking for some certain thing. Don’t forget to consider your style issues before purchasing a certain thing.

Source: www.mccoyjewelers.com

The most fashionable today is definitely silver jewelry. If you prefer gold jewelry, you should choose white gold. Silver is so popular because it goes perfectly with almost any other material. Moreover, it is less noticeable and helps to create bohemian style, which is very fashionable for this moment. If you want to be really trendy, choose bracelets and necklaces that are made of silver and gems. Such combination is on top.

It is very easy to match silver and gems with any style, for you may choose gems of various colors and types, so it would match the coloring of your wardrobe. You don’t have to purchase a whole complex of jewelry (usually consist of ring, earrings, necklace and bracelet), because such peaces goes together perfectly even if they are different.

Another popular type is surely diamond jewelry. It’s very elegant and creates an image of luxury, so you should prefer appropriate style if you want to wear accessory made of diamond. Diamond is used together with metal. Silver, platinum or white gold incrassated with diamond is the ultimate choice if you want to look really trendy.

You may purchase any size jewelry peace if it’s made of material that creates illusion of lightness. The illusion is usually achieved by using small peaces of material instead of big. For those who don’t like metal, jewelry fashion designers offer accessory made of such materials as stone, pearls, felted wool, wood or even bone. Just like with all materials you have to be very careful while choosing one of those. The benefit of such jewelry is that you’ll surely look very original and fashionable.

No matter what material or color you choose, the most important thing is that jewelry must serve as a fulfillment of your style. While choosing your accessory, the first thing you should consider is whether the jewelry will serve its function and match perfectly with your clothing and its coloring. However, don’t ever purchase the thing you don’t like.

Source: The Jewelry Fashion Trends for 2010

Today, silver metal is used in jewelry making, industry, chemistry, and the research on silver’s clinical potential is in full progress.

From all precious metals, silver is the most reflective and affordable. Jewelry designers use it a lot because this shining metal permits innovative designs and creative styles. When it comes to sell their silver art,  top designers and can range in price from hundreds to thousands of dollars for a silver jewelry piece.

As almost any other precious metal, the silver used in jewelry making is actually an silver alloy. Working with pure state silver would be difficult due to its soft nature. Sterling silver is the standard of quality for jewelry containing 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper.

Titanium is a great metal to use for jewelry because of its strength and greater scratch resistance compared to gold, silver and other metals. Pure titanium will not react to oils in the skin, sunlight and salt water. Not only this but titanium can be colored with a wide array of exotic colors where most other metals suitable for jewelry cannot.

Be aware that if you do have colored titanium jewelry like with any metal the colored titanium can be scratched off. The color is caused by oxidisation which only affects the surface of the metal not the entire depth. Oxygen tends to cause a structural change in the metals surface therefore creating an oxide. By using electricity for certain periods of time, the oxygen is forced onto the metals surface and causes it to change colors similar to putting oil on water.

If you purchase a colored titanium ring it is a good choice to get a ring with the satin finish because it will help keep the ring looking great for a longer period of time. Another option is to purchase a colored titanium ring with the color part in grooves for added protection.

One problem with titanium rings is because of their strength they cannot be resized. Sometimes titanium can be stretched up in size, but not down. Make sure when you purchase a titanium ring you give the correct finger sizes to the jeweler.

Another quality trait about titanium is its non-magnetic properties, which makes it ideal where electromagnetic interference is a problem. The most common type of jewelry made with titanium is rings, bracelets and pendants. Men tend to be more attracted to titanium jewelry then women because its durability and strength make it last longer.

Clean titanium jewelry simply by using a soft cloth and warm soapy water. Never use strong detergents or chemicals. Although titanium rings are scratch resistant like any metal they will scratch and show signs of wear. It is a great idea to get your titanium jewelry polished at least once a year to help keep its lustrous looking properties.

A gemstone carat is a type of measurement used to describe the mass or weight of a gem.

Initially only applied to diamonds, the term carat now applies to most precious and semi-precious stones.

There must not be any confusion concerning gold karats and gemstone carats. There are two distinct types of measurement. Gold Karat is referring to gold purity and does not apply to mass. To learn more about the types of gold please read our previous post on Gold’s Purity.

When the term carat refers to a gem’s mass, it does not refer to the quality of the gem. Evaluating cut, clarity, and color, as well as carat, is the best way to select a gem. Carat size or weight can be measured on the metric scale. One carat is the equivalent of 0.2 grams.

A good looking jewelry website makes it easy for men to learn about diamonds before buying because they may be slightly intimidated when they go into a jewelery store to buy their first diamond.

A important reason why men choose to buy diamonds online is that the World Wide Web has risen to be one of the most powerful tools of modern technology. And boys just love anything that has to do with technology. It has evolved as modern man’s treasure trove of valuable information and an indispensable hub for trade and commerce. As a matter of fact, almost all of our shopping nowadays can be taken care of by just pressing a few buttons on our computers!

Although the majority of visitors to the JR Jewelers site are women, the majority of purchasers are still men. JR Jewelers was one of several diamond or jewelery sites launched in 2001. The traditional approach is for a retailer to buy a diamond which then sits in its inventory awaiting a buyer, often for months or even years.

However, if you really think things over, you can see that buying diamonds online does have its advantages over buying from a traditional jewelry outlet. Consider these benefits:

• You can choose among a wider selection of quality diamond pieces. Feast your eyes on the almost endless selections available online. There simply are no limits!
• You get a better value for your money. Wondering why diamond pieces in online jewelry stores are priced much lower than those in traditional jewelry stores? Online operations require lower overhead and inventory costs. This is the main reason why online merchandisers can afford to give you a better value for your chosen piece.
• You can shop almost effortlessly! If you find your mall or department store shopping exhausting enough, you will definitely appreciate buying your precious diamond online. In shopping online, you do away with the traffic, the parking issues, the crowds and everything else that makes traditional shopping an almost unbearable task. Plus, you can make speedy transactions. Just type in a little information in the appropriate places, press a button and you’re done!

So, how do you buy diamonds safely online? Here are some helpful tips that can guide you in making your online diamond shopping an enjoyable and safe experience.

1. Learn as much as you can about diamonds. Be knowledgeable about the 4C’s (cut, color, clarity and carat weights) of a diamond. The more knowledgeable you are, the less your chances are of being conned by all those scams lurking in the internet!

2. Do your research well. Now that you are more knowledgeable about diamonds, go around and look for diamonds that interest you. Do not just grab the first thing you see that piques your fancy! Instead, do some comparison-shopping and look for the best deals in town. There are a lot of credible online jewelry stores so take your time.

3. Understand the merchandiser’s store policies. So, you have found the diamond piece that you love. It is so perfect! You have looked around and found the best deal there is. All that is left for you to do is the actual purchase and you can have that valuable piece. But wait! Have you asked about the store’s policies yet? Here are some things you need to know before you make the final purchase:

• Ask for the merchandiser’s credentials: Do they belong to a professional jewelry association?
• What are their policies regarding return, refund and upgrades? Go for those with a 30-day return policy and be sure to read the fine prints to avoid any confusion.
• Do they have a Customer Service available? Have their phone numbers ready. You do not know when you will need them.
• How will the purchase be shipped? Are they willing to replace or refund any item that are lost or damaged in shipment?
• Do they have certifications, or diamond grading reports, for the individual diamond pieces? To be sure about your purchase, buy only from sites that provide diamond AGS or GIA certificates. These two independent laboratories are considered to be the world’s premier diamond grading laboratories.
• Have you checked their BBB Online rating? Are there any complaints filed against them?

4. As much as possible, use an escrow service. This is especially important in purchasing very expensive diamonds. Look for an escrow service that also has the capability to appraise the diamond. This way, you can be sure that your purchase is safe and sound.

The Purity

Platinum jewelry does not fade or tarnish and keeps its looks for a lifetime because it is generally 95% pure (18 karat gold is 75% pure). Platinum is pure, an expression of integrity, a reflection of inner truth. Platinum’s purity is the warranty for the brilliant white luster and helps to reflect the true radiance of diamonds like no other diamond. Platinum’s purity makes it hypoallergenic and ideal for those with sensitive skin.

The Rarity

This exquisite metal is almost 30 times rarer than gold and it is found in very few places around the world. The value, the beauty and the rarity of platinum transforms a jewelry crafted rom this material in a small treasure. Platinum’s rarity makes it exclusive and distinctive – a celebration of your individuality.

An ever-lasting precious metal
Platinum’s density and weight make it more durable than other jewelry metals. The incredible white luster of platinum does not tarnish and the jewelry made from this material is the perfect choice for a lifetime of everyday wear. Platinum remains a symbol for all eternal things.

Color: Refers to the degree to which a diamond is colorless.

Diamonds are graded on a color scale which ranges from D (colorless) to Z. For settings in yellow gold warm colored diamonds (K-Z) are desirable and for settings in platinum, palladium or white gold icy winter whites (D-J) look their best. It is difficult to see the difference between two close shades of white. Therefore, colors are graded under controlled lighting conditions and are compared to a master set for accuracy. Truly colorless stones, graded D, are treasured for their rarity. Color, however, ultimately comes down to personal taste.

Carat: Refers to the standard measurement of a diamond weight.

It is important you do not confuse a gemstone’s carat with gold karats. Although the pronunciation of the two words is the same, the meaning and the writing is different. While “carat” is used when referring to a gems weight, karats are pointing to the gold purity in gold alloys. Also people often confuse carats with size even though it is actually a measure of weight.

• 1 carat = 200 milligrams
• a 0.75 carat diamond is the same as a 75-points or 3/4 carat diamond
• a 1.00 carat diamond does not cost exactly twice the price of a half-carat diamond because larger diamonds are found less frequently in nature which makes them rare.

Clarity: Refers to the clarity of a diamond.

Inclusions are natural identifying characteristics such as minerals or fractures, appearing while diamonds are formed in the earth. They may look like tiny crystals, clouds or feathers. A magnifying loupe allows jewelers to see a diamond at 10x its actual size so that inclusions are easier to see. The position of inclusions can affect the value of a diamond and the very few flawless diamonds found in nature are very valuable. Inclusions are ranked on a scale of perfection, known as clarity. The clarity scale, ranging from FL (Flawless) to Included (I), is based on the visibility of inclusions at a magnification of 10x.

Cut: Refers to the angles and proportions of a diamond.

Cut is very important in the evaluation of a diamond because only well-cut stones will produce the perfect luster and beauty. Physics help the experimented cutters to get the best from a rough diamond, to add light to it and to avoid the dull appearance. Based on scientific formulas, a well-cut diamond will internally reflect light from one mirror-like facet to another and disperse and reflect it through the top of the stone. This results in a display of brilliance and fire, thereby being more sought after than deep or shallow-cut diamonds.

Note: Cost and Certification are two additional but lesser known C’s that can greatly impact your search for the right diamond.

For more Jewelry Education visit our JRJewelers.com

There are some things you should consider when you want to purchase a ring. Choosing the right engagement ring is strictly a matter of personal style.

The most simple engagement ring available on the jewelry market is called a solitaire and is a setting with a single stone. There are also multi-setting stone rings, side stone rings or baguettes. It is true that the price of such a jewel is a bit higher but it the ring is more individualized.

I will explain the two main parts of a typical engagement ring:

• The band (surrounds the finger)
• The setting (which holds the diamond)

The band must be firstly have the right size. If you are not shopping for yourself and want it to be a surprise, make sure you have the right ring size. The jeweler will help you buy the best fit if you have some clues about the size (secretly “borrow” a ring from your partner and take it to the jewelers to measure it or simply draw on a piece of paper the interior of a regularly worn ring).

The second thing you have to consider when choosing the band of the engagement ring is the material. The most common choices for engagement rings are white gold, yellow gold and platinum. Not only these materials look gorgeous when crafted into jewelry but they are also quite suitable for intensive wear (strength and durability). Remember also that platinum is hypoallergenic and will not irritate the skin.

Settings are usually made out of platinum (even on a gold ring) because of platinum’s characteristics.  It is a “hard” material and is the common choice in 4 or 6 prongs rings.  When it comes to choosing the number of prongs that sustain the stone on your ring you must know that 4 prongs rings will show off more of the diamond, and 6 prongs rings will hold the diamond much more securely.

There are also types of settings that do not use prongs.  Some settings use pressure to keep the diamond in place, and others form a “channel” where the diamond is inserted.  Again, your personal sense of style should guide you in selecting the setting.

When worn daily, gold, palladium and platinum will tend to look dull. Simply soak the ring in warm water and detergent-free soap, and scrubb it gently with a soft-bristled brush.

Note: The purity of platinum is measured by a 3-digit number.   If your band is marked “950 platinum”, the band is 95% platinum alloyed with 5% palladium or iridium. Read more also about the purity of gold.

In America and Europe gold jewelry is made from gold alloy and the purity of this alloy is stated in Karats. By definition, the karat system is used to reveal the amount of pure gold found in an item.

• 24 karat (24K) gold is pure gold.
• 18 karat (18K) gold contains 18 parts gold and 6 parts another metal or metals, making it 75% gold.
• 14 karat (14K) gold contains 14 parts gold and 10 parts another metal or metals, making it 58.3% gold.
• 10 karat (10K) gold contains 10 parts gold and 14 parts another metal or metals, making it 41.7% gold. 10k gold is the minimum karat designation that can still be called gold in the US.

Karat Value Definitions:

• Karat System: A system of measurement based on 24 karats being “fine” or “pure” gold. 1 karat equals 1/24th fine gold by weight. This is the system used in the United States.
• Plumb Gold: Karat weights are usually determined with a small, fractional variance allowed. Karat gold which has no variance and is exactly the precise fractional karat weight is called “plumb” gold.
• European System: A system of measurement based on a fraction of 1,000; or the number of grams of gold in 1 kilogram of alloy.

Gold in its pure state:

• Has a melting point of 1945 degrees Fahrenheit (1063 degrees Celsius). When alloyed (chemically combined) with other base metals the melting temperature of the resulting alloy is changed. 18K yellow gold has a melting point of 1675 degrees Fahrenheit and 14K yellow gold has a melting point of about 1550 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Has a specific gravity of 19.33. It is relatively heavy compared to most metals, such as silver (SG 10.7) or iron (SG 7.8). A notable exception is platinum (SG 21.4).
• Is more malleable than any other metal and can be hammered into foil so thin that it is almost transparent.
• Has a unique ductility property allowing it to be drawn into wire so fine it can barely be seen.
• Is deep yellow in color. Its great reflectivity properties help keep its brightness and color from fading with time.
• Will not rust, tarnish or corrode. Gold jewelry recovered from ancient Egyptian tombs is in the same state as when placed there over 4000 years ago.
• Is softer than most other metals. On the Mohs scale of hardness (which is a measure of a gemstone or mineral’s resistance to scratching), gold has a hardness value of 2 to 2.5. Diamond has a value of 10. Pure gold may easily be scratched. Fortunately, gold becomes harder when alloyed with other base metals.
• Is relatively scarce and therefore expensive. It is estimated that only 125,000 tons of gold have been mined the world over since the beginning of time.
• Is able to bond with other base metals. This property gives rise to the many different colors available in modern gold alloys.