Author: Jewel Envy

A new month, a new stone, and again we have a well known ‘variety’. Aquamarine is known to be the traditional birthstone for March and is light blue-green to cyan variety of the mineral beryl. Beryl got its name from the beryllium within its crystal composition and today is still a major source of beryllium metal. Now that doesn’t mean we are crushing up beautiful crystals of aquamarine for beryllium. In fact only a small percentage of gemstone minerals are gemstone grade, the majority looks like stones you find on the beach. Beryl is also a tough stone with a Mohs hardness of 7.5-8, making it harder than amethyst and garnet. 

To get a little nerdy and continue the theme of the other blog posts. Aquamarine is identified as:

1. Hexagon Crystal System, not to be confused with crystal habit. (Note, habit is how the mineral crystallizes)
2. Silicate Composition, 
   • Cyclosilicate Sub-class
3. Silicate Family
4. Mineral = Beryl – Be₃Al₂Si₆O₁₈
5. Variety = Aquamarine.   

Other varieties of beryl aside from aquamarine that you may know well are: emeralds (deep vivid green), morganite (light pink/peach), and heliodor (golden yellow). However, there are other kinds as well such as goshenite (colourless), red beryl (deep red/crimson), green beryl (light lime to mint green) and mixixe (deep blue colour but fades to brown in daylight due to UV). 

All of these varieties, aside from goshenite, get their colour from additive elements locked into the crystal lattice or structure during crystallization. Aquamarine, (aqua marina) latin for “sea water”, which is a fitting name if you ask me, gets it colour from small traces of iron in the crystal structure. For those that remember their chemistry class on valence electrons, in deeper detail the blue tones come from Fe2+ while the green tones come from trace amounts of Fe3+. Hold on, but iron also colours amethyst purple and garnets red? That’s true too, but it all comes down to chemistry and light, how the iron electrons interact with the other elements in the crystal. This won’t be the last of iron as we get into detail about the other birthstones. 

How can you tell if your aquamarine is an actual aquamarine? Well for starters the supply and demand of aquamarine doesn’t motivate the darker side of the trade unlike the regal rubys, sapphire, diamonds, and aquamarines sibling, emerald. However, there are those that will try to sell “aquamarine” coloured cubic zirconia and synthetic quartz. One quick method to tell these apart is to look for inclusions within the crystal. Cubic zirconia and synthetic quartz is virtually flawless and will look the same from all angels. Aquamarine is known for its flawless crystals but if you have a loupe (small 10x power microscopic lense used by many in the rock and gem trade) you can see smaller inclusions, such as, silk-like threads or small clear blebs or even other minerals within the aquamarine. As for the colour, beryl is anisotriopic, meaning light behaves differently depending on the direction it travels through the crystal. This appears weakly in aquamarine as it will look colourless to blue depending on how you look at it. A polarized lens can help you see this better. Meanwhile CZ looks the same from any angle. The best option is getting a certified gemmologist to look at the stone as they can give you a definite answer, they are professionals after all.  

Now for some interesting facts about aquamarine for you. One thing many people don’t know is the colour can be heat treated. In North American markets we tend to desire the bluer variety over the more seafoam green colour. Through heat treatment, the green is lost and the blue enhanced. This kind of treatment is almost undetectable even to gemmologists and thus we actually assume all blue aquamarines are heat treated (especially the really vivid ones) unless certified 100% not treated. Even then, buyers beware. Due to its sea-like colour, many ancients associated aquamarine with the sea and sailors of ancient Rome believed it helped protect them during voyages. The largest aquamarine ever extracted was uncovered in Marambaia, Minas Gerais, Brazil, in 1910 and weighed over 110 kg (243 lb), and its dimensions were 48.5 cm (19 in) long and 42 cm (16¹⁄₂ in) in diameter. That oughta bring a bunch of luck for the sailor who has that one on board. 

Stay tuned for next month as we discuss diamonds. 

Peter

International Women’s Day is annually held on March 8 to celebrate women’s achievements throughout history and across nations. It is also known as the United Nations (UN) Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace. 

International Women’s Day celebrates women’s  achievements worldwide. 1909 The first National Woman’s Day was observed in the United States on 28 February. The Socialist Party of America designated this day in honor of the 1908 garment workers’ strike in New York, where women protested against working conditions.

International Women’s Day means different things to different people, but the global focus on equality and celebration is clear. Throughout ancient and modern history, women have collaborated and lead purposeful action to redress inequality in the hope of a better future for their communities, children and themselves.

Commemoration of International Women’s Day today ranges from being a public holiday in some countries to being largely ignored elsewhere. In some places, it is a day of protest; in others, it is a day that celebrates womanhood.

Jewel Envy team congratulated all the grandmothers, mothers, daughter, nieces, sisters, aunts, cousin, an granddaughter for this important celebration. You are the light of this land and today we rejoice together, working hard to reach all our dreams.

Have a nice Sunday.

Helena

Pearls are natural and cultured.

Natural pearls are nearly 100% calcium carbonate and conchiolin.  Natural pearls form under a set of accidental conditions when a microscopic intruder or parasite enters a bivalve mollusk and settles inside the shell. The mollusk, irritated by the intruder, forms a pearl sac of external mantle tissue cells and secretes the calcium carbonate and conchiolin to cover the irritant. This secretion process is repeated many times, thus producing a pearl. Natural pearls come in many shapes, with perfectly round ones being comparatively rare. 

Cultured pearls are the response of the shell to a tissue implant. A tiny piece of mantle tissue (called a graft) from a donor shell is transplanted into a recipient shell, causing a pearl sac to form into which the tissue precipitates calcium carbonate. There are a number of methods for producing cultured pearls: using freshwater or seawater shells, transplanting the graft into the mantle or into the gonad, and adding a spherical bead as a nucleus. Most saltwater cultured pearls are grown with beads. Trade names of cultured pearls are Akoya (阿古屋), white or golden South sea, and black Tahitian. Most beadless cultured pearls are mantle-grown in freshwater shells in China, and are known as freshwater cultured pearls.

Fine quality natural pearls are very rare jewels. Their values are determined similarly to those of other precious gems, according to size, shape, color, quality of surface, orient and luster.

Single natural pearls are often sold as collectors’ items, or set as centerpieces in unique jewelry. Very few matched strands of natural pearls exist, and those that do often sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. (In 1917, jeweler Pierre Cartier purchased the Fifth Avenue mansion that is now the New York Cartier store in exchange for a matched double strand of natural pearls Cartier had been collecting for years; at the time, it was valued at US$1 million.)

You can bring to Jewel Envy your strand’s pearls for a new look or a repair, we can short your strands and make a gorgeous pair of earrings to go with your lovely necklace, we can make too a lovely clasp to give a brand new look to an old strand.

Have a nice Sunday

Helena

Corrina Goutos is one of my favourite international art jewellers. Her work makes use of everyday objects, broken or used up, and transforms them into beautiful objects and wearable pieces. Below are some of my favourites!

Hello Jewel Envy readers,

Did you know that today is National Love Your Pet Day? I know a lot of people aren’t fans of all the national whatever days, but who can hate a day dedicated to giving your pet a little extra love and attention? So, today I thought I would share a few ways you could have your furry (or feathery, or scaly or whatever else you’ve got) friend recreated in the form of jewellery.

Casting:

The very first casting project we had at OCAD was to model a dog in wax and then cast it in bronze. So naturally that process always comes to mind when I think about replicating an animal. Casting is a great method for portraying a specific pet because it allows for a high level of detail that can really capture an animal’s likeness as you can see in the two examples above. It’s important to consider what features you want to highlight and whether it’s better to show your pet in full like in this adorable Pomeranian Ring by Ham Ji Hee or opt for a portrait option to get those face details just right as seen in the custom Boston Terrier pendant by Kotoba Jewellery.

Hand Fabrication:

Hand fabrication is also a great option for portraying a pet and can range greatly in complexity. As you can see from Stick Man Creation’s Guinea Pig Pendant above a piece doesn’t need to be highly detailed to capture the likeness of a particular pet. Two flat pieces of metal do a wonderful job here of replicating this guinea pig’s expression. Hand fabrication can also go to the other end of the spectrum and become hyper realistic as you can see in Elizabeth Goluch’s Tarantula piece, Daisy, which is so detailed it even includes individual hairs on the spider’s legs and abdomen.

Enamel:

The earliest known enamel jewellery has been dated to around the 13^th century B.C. and has been used to represent everything from flowers to important historical and religious figures. If the French aristocracy could have themselves portrayed in enamel pieces, then why can’t your pet? Well it turns out they absolutely can. Above are two examples that use the enamel technique of cloisonné to portray animals. The first, a pendant by Julie Glassman featuring the portrait of a pet cat and the second a fancy guppy with a beautiful blue chalcedony tail made by Jill Tower.

Just for fun, here’s a couple of animal pieces we currently have on display at the store, maybe not the most common choices for pets but, cute nevertheless! I hope this has given you some inspiration, maybe like me you’re now debating which option would capture your pet best. Remember, our capable goldsmiths are always ready to whip up something custom if you’re looking for the perfect piece to celebrate your pet! Happy National Love your Pet Day everyone!

-Skye

Well, Valentine’s Day may be over, but I think it’s always the season of love! I thought today I’d talk a bit about different symbols of love. Symbols that have been realised in jewellery, include the Claddagh ring (traditional Irish ring for love, loyalty and friendship).

Roses are another popular symbol, and I love the way the different colours mean different things (you can read about some modern interpretations here, although there are lots of other places to find information about this!).

Of course, there’s always the ever popular heart shape (the ideograph and the anatomically correct)!

The infinity symbol is also quite popular!

Perhaps less well known are the shell and apple. Of course, there are lots of others, these are but a few examples.

I’m just going to finish off with one of my favourites: the Welsh love spoon. I saw these for the first time on a trip to Wales some number of years ago, and the images of them have stuck with me since. Romance and I have been on a bit of a break, but I’m feeling inspired, so there might be some new designs in my future based on these….

In any case, have a great Saturday! Until next time!

–Robin

Ever since diamonds were first discovered in South Africa, they have found their way into our culture as symbols of love, status and wealth.  After years of research, geologists and scientists have a better understanding of how diamonds form in nature. It is believed that the right conditions for diamonds to be created are at elevated temperatures of 900°C to 1300°C in combination with an extremely high pressure of 650,000 psi to 850,000 psi.

In nature, there are only certain places that provide conditions like these and that’s deep within the Earth

In fact, most diamonds form inside the Earth’s mantle under parts of the continental crust called cratons. These provide stable environments that allow diamond crystals to grow over millions of years.

And it’s no coincidence that cratons are found in continents like Africa and Australia which also happen to be the biggest producers of gem-quality diamonds in the world.

Diamonds can be created by asteroid impact too.

When an asteroid strikes the Earth’s surface, the epic collision creates a massive explosion of heat and pressure on the ground. Carbon based deposits in the impact crater can get turned into tiny diamonds in an instant.

The Popigai crater in Russiais a spot which was struck by a large asteroid millions of years ago. And the immense pressure and temperature generated by the impact turned the surrounding metamorphic rocks and graphite into diamonds.

There are diamonds from deposits of meteorites fall too, Besides creating a spectacular sight in the night sky, meteorites also deposit their contents onto the ground when they hit the Earth’s surface.

The first scientific breakthrough in man-made diamonds came in 1954 when General Electric developed a process  that successfully replicated the conditions for natural diamond formation.

This process is called High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) and involves the use of seed crystals which are grown in super-heated anvils.

Diamonds are incredible meaningful stones, the sizes, the colors, the shapes, the prices, even the qualities can be innumerable, but the only thing that made them incredible is the love that surround them. 

At jewel Envy we can created for you or for your love one an incredible piece of jewelry with diamonds that will keep its  meaningful   value for ever.
From design, to making, to selling, we do it all on site for your convenience.

Have a nice Sunday

Helena

Another month another stone. Amethyst is the “traditional” birthstone for February and is the well known purple variety of the mineral quartz. Quartz, also known as rock crystal, is quite an interesting mineral, as it comes in many varieties, shapes and crystal habits.

From a geological point of view, this makes sense as quartz is made of the two most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust, oxygen at 46.6% and silicon at 27.7%, with a chemical formula SiO2. Anyone else see the 2:1 ratio here? If you want to really get to the scientific classification of minerals, this is how you could list amethyst. 

Amethyst is identified as:

1. Trigonal Crystal System (which is lumped into the Hexagon System do to the 3-fold symmetry). The Crystal System should never be confused with crystal habit. Habit is how the system will crystallize depending on the environment.
2. Silicate Composition, 
   • Framework silicate Sub-class
3. Quartz/Silica Family
4. Mineral = Quartz – SiO2
5. Variety = Amethyst.

Other known macro-crystalline varieties of quartz are; citrine, rose quartz, smoky quartz, rutilated quartz, milky quartz, prasiolite and ametrine. All of these varieties are classified are actually quartz but with different colour impurities.

Now, what do I mean by macrocrystalline? Well, quartz has the ability to create large, solid crystals and it can crystallize as tiny micro-crystals or spheres. These microcrystalline quartz varieties include agate, chalcedony, chrysoprase, carnelian, onyx, sardonyx, jasper, aventurine, bloodstone, tiger’s eye and moss agate. These varieties of quarts come in many colours, but that will be a blog for another month If you want to dig even deeper there are several sub-varieties of quartz characterized by temperature and pressure during crystallization. 

But what makes amethyst purple, well that is due to the presence of iron, and some other trace element impurities within the crystal lattice/structure. Add a touch of radiation and voila, purple! Then if you want, add some heat of about 300-400 celsius and you will lose the purple and make citrine. SCIENCE! Interesting note, most citrine you see is actually heat-treated amethyst.

In the past, up until the 18th century, amethyst was classified as a cardinal gemstone, valuable gemstones that included diamond, sapphire, ruby, and emerald. This was due to its deep, regal purple hues. However, due to the discovery of extensive deposits in locations such as Brazil, amethyst lost most of its value. A perfect example of supply and demand when there is WAY too much supply. Amethyst price is not primarily defined by carat weight due to quantity. Instead, the colour is the biggest factor in determining the value of amethyst. The highest grade amethyst, called “Deep Russian” or “Siberian” is exceptionally rare but the value is still determined by the demand and is still much less than diamonds and sapphires.

This gemstone will always be precious and regal to me even if others disagree. Stay tuned for March when we talk about aquamarine, a variety of the mineral beryl.

Peter

I don’t know about you, but lately I have been OBSESSED with Netflix binging all things ROYAL, and it has got me enamored with all the incredible tiaras, crowns and jewels. Researching the topic as a whole proved quite cumbersome, so I decided to focus on the Royals that are closest to home, more specifically, the British State and Queen Elizabeth II. I wanted to know more about the value of the “Crown Jewels” and on this snowy Sunday, I have decided to share what I discovered.

Queen Elizabeth II is the head of the British state and sovereign and the head of the monarch, or The Crown. The Crown owns a great deal of property, including The Crown Jewels, a collection of crowns, rings, scepters, vestments, and more, which often garner the most attention.

The crown itself is only one of many pieces making up what is referred to as “the Crown Jewels”. The Crown Jewels are the most resplendent and famous of the nation’s treasures.  Kept under the watchful eye of the Yeoman Warders at the Tower of London, they constitute the most complete collection of royal regalia in the world.  As a group, the Crown Jewels comprise a host of extraordinary items – from orbs, scepters and crowns, to gold and silver-gilt banqueting and altar plate.  All are intimately connected with the status and role of the monarch.  The oldest of these is the twelfth-century spoon used for the sovereign’s ritual anointing at the coronation.

One of the most well known pieces in the Crown Jewels is St. Edward’s Crown, which has 444 stones, both precious and semi-precious. Nearly five pounds of gold were used to construct the crown, which today would be worth more than $100,000; while the collection of stones in the precious metal likely place the value of this crown at approximately $39 million.

Her Majesty only wore the St. Edward’s Crown for a few moments as it is extremely heavy. Queen Elizabeth told Smithsonian Channel, “You can’t look down to read the speech, you have to take the speech up, because if you did, your neck would break and it would fall off.”

The jewels are said to be priceless. They are not insured either, which means they’ve likely never been appraised. However, estimates put the entire collection at $4 billion. Pretty incredible!

I guess it’s fortunate for me that I was born in January, because I LOVE garnets (or maybe I like them because they’re my birthstone? who knows). Most people know them as a deep red colour, or a reddish-brown like this bead necklace:

Did you realise, though, that they come in other colours, including orange and green?

Garnets are silicates, and as with many crystals, the colour variation comes from the other minerals that are incorporated, for example, red can result from Aluminium/iron, while if it’s manganese/aluminium, a more orangey colour is the result. Interested in knowing more? There is alot of information available about garnets, but you can look here, or here to find out more.

On this dreary day, I’m thinking about the warm orange variety of garnet:).

Happy Sunday!

-Robin