Carat

Most people want the biggest bang for their buck, so carat weight seems to be the most important. A carat in the gem world is a magic number because it is a whole unit. Carat is derived from the carob seed. Before modern times, diamonds were measured for weight by comparing them to the carob seed which is very uniform in size and weight. So carob became carat to weigh gemstones. There are one hundred points to a carat. Think of it like pennies to a dollar. A gem that weighs 0.25 carat is 25/ 100ths of a carat or a quarter carat, a gem that weighs 0.50 carat is 50/ 100ths of a carat or a half carat, a gem that weighs 0.75 carat is 75/ 100ths of a carat or a three quarter carat, and so on and so forth. A larger diamond is always rarer and than a smaller diamond. The largest rough diamond ever discovered is the Cullinan Diamond. It was discovered in 1905 at the Premier Mine in South Africa. It was cut into nine large diamonds and about one hundred smaller diamonds. The largest of the nine diamonds is the First Star of Africa also known as the Cullinan I. It is a pear shape and weighs 530.2 carats. It is set in the Scepter in the British Crown Jewels. September 24, 2009, a 507 carat rough diamond was discovered at the Cullinan Mine in South Africa.

Two smaller diamonds don’t equal one larger diamond. If you have two 0.50 carat diamonds they will not equal the value of one 1.00 carat diamond if all the other characteristics of the diamonds are the same. For example, as of the publishing date of this article, a 0.50 carat, round brilliant cut diamond, G color and VS2 will cost approximately $3,200.00 (retail) and the same quality 1.00 carat, round brilliant cut diamond, will cost approximately $12,000.00 (retail).

First Star of Africa

Our Fall Jewelry Preview event was a great success! All who attended had a great time. One of the highlights was having Debbie Brooks, handbag designer, in the store to showcase and sign her work. In celebration of Albuquerque’s International Balloon Fiesta she created a collection of limited edition bags featuring the Sandia Mountains flanked by beautiful hot air balloons.

If you missed our fall preview, you will definitely want to stop by for our Anniversary Party on November 12th, 2009.

I just adore bracelets much as the ladies did in the 1800’s. It was not uncommon for a lady to wear multiple bracelets on each arm. The Victorian metal of choice was gold. Slide style bracelets were popular and often worn in pairs.

Victorian Slide Bracelet

Slide Bracelets were adjustable so as to accommodate most any size wrist. One would slip the section of chain over the wrist and adjust it by sliding the tasseled end away from the wrist.

Mid 19th century bracelets tend to have a bold look. The bold  look of the jewels  balanced the large voluminous skirts that were in  fashion. Although Victorian jewelery looks bold it is not heavy. It has a light weight feel .Gold was rare. Jewelers utilized a variety of methods to work the thin sheets of this precious metal so as the finished jewels would have an important look. Although gold was discovered in California in 1849  it was not untill1874 that it was discovered in the Black Hills  and than as late as 1898 in Alaska.  

Later Victorian bracelets begin to take on a lighter more delicate look. The metal is pierced and visually light. Styles change as does jewelery design to enhance the newest fashions.

Antique Pierced sapphire and Diamond Bangle

 An era was ending and a new one was beginning.

Turn of the century bracelet

Victorian Woven Mesh Bracelet Victorian bracelets from the 1800s are great fun to collect and wear. You do not often see exact copies of items unless they were originally made to be worn as pairs.

If you like to wear unique and usual jewelery, Victorian bracelets are for you!  Happy collecting  !

Arabic legend says opal fall from the heavens in flashes of lightening.  The Greeks believed opals gave their owners the gift of prophecy and guarded them from disease.  The Romans thought opal symbolized love and hope.  The Romans gave its name – opalus – that meant precious stone.  Europeans have long considered the gem a symbol of hope, purity, and truth.  Australian aborigines have a legend that the creator came down to Earth on a rainbow to bring the message of peace.  At the spot his foot touched the ground, the stones became alive and sparkling in all the colors of the rainbow.  The superstition that it is unlucky for anyone born in any month other than October to wear an opal came from  the novel “Anne of Geierstein” by Sir Walter Scott written in the 1800’s.  Opal has actually been considered to be the luckiest and most magical of all gems because it can show all colors.  It was even thought to have the power to preserve life and be color of blond hair.  For ages, people have believed in the healing power of opal and it is reported to cure depression and help its wearer find the true and real love.  They are believed to enhance the positive characteristic of people born under the zodiac sign of Cancer.  Black opal is recommended for those born under Scorpio and Boulder Opal is a lucky stone for Aries.  Opals became prevalent in jewelry during the Art Deco period.

It is thought that opal formed 15 to 30 million years ago with one exception in Australia where at Mintabie it is thought to have formed about 400 million years ago.  It is formed in desert areas that have strong seasonal rainfall and rocks rich in silica.  The water seeping through the rock carries silica that is evaporated out in pockets of rock.  However opal still contains a significant amount of water usually about 3 to 10% and can be as high as 20%.

In 1849 the first opal blocks were accidentally found on the Australian cattle station of Tarravilla.  Prospecting started in 1890 at White Cliff in Australia.  Other famous opal areas of Australia are Lighting Ridge, Andamooka and Coober Peddy (aborigine word for “white man in hole”).  The largest opal found is 6,843 kilogram known as the Andamooka Desert Flame. 

Alex Sepkus Opal Ring

Source

Australia produces black and white opal.  Brazil produces white opal.  Mexico produces Fire Opal.  Peru produces Peruvian opal.  Ethiopia and Malawi produces white opal.

Properties

• Hardness:  5.5 – 6.5
• Toughness – very poor to fair.
• Reaction to Heat – High heat or sudden temperature change can cause fracturing.
• Reaction to Light – Stable but heat from intense light can cause fracturing (known as crazing)
• Reaction to Chemicals – Attacked by hydrofluoric acid and caustic alkalis

Loss of moisture and crazing can result from storage in airtight containers such as safe deposit boxes

• Clarity – Fractures, pits, surface blemishes, matrix, crazing (a fine network of cracks that resembles spider’s web).
• Most popular cut is cabochon.  The Mexican opal is often faceted as well.
• Confused with Ammolite, mother-of-pearl, labradorite, moonstone.  Imitations include opal doublet or triplets and synthetic opal (Gilson) and simulated opal made of glass (Slocum) and a Japanese plastic opal.
• Treatments/Enhancements –
  • Impregnation with oil, wax, or plastic – improves play-of-color and prevents or disguises fracturing.  Black plastic creates appearance of black opal – stability is fair to poor for oil or wax and excellent for plastic.
  • Sugar treatment – soaking in dye, silver nitrate or sugar and acid – creates or improves play-of-color and simulates appearance of black opal. – stability is poor to good
  • Smoke impregnation – creates or improves play-of-color and simulates appearance of black opal – stability is fair to poor because treatment is shallow and abrades or chips away easily.

Fire Opal Earrings

Types of Opals

• White Opal – translucent to semi-translucent with play-of-color against a white or gray bodycolor.
• Black Opal – translucent to opaque with play-of-color against a black or other dark bodycolor
• Fire Opal – transparent to translucent with brown, yellow, orange or red bodycolor.  This material often doesn’t have play-of-color is also known as “Mexican opal”, “Gold opal”, or “Sun opal”.
• Boulder Opal – Opal with dark base surface with play-of-color and occurs as pebble rock where the opal fills hollows.
• Harlequin Opal – transparent to translucent opal with effective segment like color patterns.
• Jelly Opal (Water Opal) – bluish-gray opal with little play-of-color.
• Crystal Opal – a few red reflexes on colorless, vitreous surface.
• Girasol – almost colorless, transparent opal with bluish luster
• Peruvian Opal – a blue-green mostly opaque with very little play of color opal found in Peru.
• Assembled Opal – precious opal layers and other material cemented together to improve durability and appearance.

Custom Boulder Opal Pendant

Play-of-Color

Play-of-color is caused by sub-microscopic spheres stacked in a grid-like pattern (like layers of ping-pong balls).  This structure breaks up light into spectral colors.  The colors depend on the size of the spheres.   0.1 micron in diameter produces violet.  0.2 micron in size produces red.  In between sizes produce intermediate hues.

• Pinfire or pinpoint – small, close-set patches of color.
• Harlequin or mosaic – broad, angular, close-set patches of color.
• Flame – sweeping reddish  bands or streaks that shoot across the stone
• Peacock – mainly blue and green

Care

• Cleaning methods
• Ultrasonic – Never
• Steamer – Never
• Warm soapy water – safe

Birthstone for October

14^th wedding anniversary stone