Category: General

Being a jewelry designer for me opened many ways of expressing myself in tangible objects; we are essentially metal artists, and as so, we convey messages with any decision we take when creating a jewelry piece.

My favorite piece, and one of the most unique I have made, was never meant to be wore, but was meant to be carried with me always, a silver sword I created during one of the hardest moments in my life, to remind myself that there is always a fight to be won, and victory against the odds in life is won with courage, will and most importantly, with self care.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post, and I’d like to hear all the stories behind your favorite pieces, online or better, visit us at the studio!

Mauricio F.

Hello Sunday Readers,

Remembrance Day (sometimes known informally as Poppy Day) is a
memorial day many states commemorate since the end of the First World War to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the
line of duty. 

This beautiful brooch in crystals and alloy from RHao.

Lovely examples like this gold brooch from Klaritta Jewellery from UK.

This poppy stud earrings in alloy from Canex50

Today I wanted to answer a frequently asked question about gemstones, how to select the perfect gemstone for you?; essential in the composition of many jewelry pieces, gemstones usually platy a major role on the aesthetic of a piece, its price, value and wear and it’s important to know all this facts in selecting the gemstone that will finish your jewelry piece.

this questions are just superficial, and many more can appear in the process of getting a custom style.

Three main questions for selecting a gemstone are:

1. How I want my gemstone to look like?

This one is essential to the goldsmith or jewelry designer to get to know exactly what you want. Do you want a green stone, maybe blue? Do I want it shiny or opaque?, color and aspect important to define the kind of gemstone you want, as most of them are different and defining exactly what you like on its visual aspect will determine the type, color and cut of your gemstone.

Questions you have to ask yourself on this are:

• What Color do I want it?
• Translucent or Opaque Stone?
• Which Shape should it have?
• Where is my stone going to be Placed?
• Do I want it partially covered or uncovered?

Here we leave a very helpful image that will help us select our ideal gemstone’s shape.
 
Image: https://www.rocksandco.com/gemstone-information/gemstone-cuts/ 

2. How much do I want to pay for it?


Everyone’s lest favorite topic when it comes to purchase, our budget determines the kind of stone we can get, the classification of the stone can affect it’s price, Precious gemstones being usually the most expensive; the purity (presence or absence of inclusions inside the stone) can also influence in it’s price. The color intensity of the stone, the cut, the rarity of the mineral and the mining region also influence in gemstone prices.

Questions you have to ask to define what the price are:

• How much is my budget?
• Do I want inclusions inside my gemstone?
• Do I want a natural gemstone or a laboratory one?
• What kind of stone is it (Precious, Semi-precious, Organic)?

3.  How long and where I’m going to wear it?

 Our final determinant we have to ask ourselves where the stone is going to be and for how long I’m going to wear it. Stones wore in wedding rings or everyday jewelry need to be hard and resistant, as they will be exposed to the risks of everyday activities like friction, hits, scrapes, chemical products and sweat; on the other side, stones dangling from earring will be mostly protected from the wear risks and can be as delicate as Emeralds.

Gemstones are classified in different hardness coefficients, and those help us determine if the stone is up to the task of our regular jewelry wear.

Questions that will help define the kind of stone for the task are:

• For what activity I’m going to wear my piece?
• How frequent I’m going to wear my piece?
• Is it in constant contact with other pieces/objects?
• Where is the stone located in the piece?
• Which part of my body I’m going to wear the piece?

All this questions will help you and your goldsmith to find the perfect gemstone for your jewelry piece, and determine factors and characteristics of that gemstone. The best way to answer this questions is to visit a jewelry studio and work along an experienced goldsmith to help you create the piece of your dreams!

I hope you had an entertaining read and that it motivated you to get that jewelry piece you always wanted!


Mauricio F.

Hi,

I am Jerell Reichert.  I started taking silver jewellery classes in Edmonton while in high school, when Sterling Silver was $80 ounce.

I loved the process of coming up with an idea and seeing it executed.  The truth is that there were

some very simple projects that were taught to learn the different techniques.  The first thing that I

remember were making a twisted pickle fork and a jade rings.

I am excited to be working at a studio that offers classes, as working at a craft has changed my life.

It is a place that I can expand my knowledge, meet new people, continue to grow and the ability to make my own holiday gifts myself.

Working with your hands and being really focused is as powerful as meditating.

Over the next few weeks Jewel Envy is offering 2 classes.

Saturday November 10th and Sunday November 11th, 2018- (2 Day Open Class- perfect for making gifts!)

This class is open to people previous jewellery making experience.  Student will bring in their own ideas and our instructor will work with you to help you execute your projects.

Our next 1 day classes will be starting on:

Sunday November 18th, 2018 – (Nameplate) 

This introduction class will teach the process of sawing, solder, piercing and polishing metal.  Students will make a pin with a custom findings or a .

Today I wanted to share some interesting gemstone facts that will (hopefully) be of interest to you and also solve some questions you were afraid to ask!.

Here we go:

1- Gemstones are categorized in 3: Precious Gemstones, like diamonds, rubies and sapphires come in this category; Semi-precious Gemstones, like garnet, alexandrite and peridot; and the last is Organic Gemstones, this special category is for non mineral gemstone materials like amber, pearls and ivory.

2- Precious and Semiprecious stones are defined by the scarcity and value of the mineral.

3- The color of mineral stones varies from stone to stone due to the uneven concentrations of the chemical components present inside the crystalline formation, this makes every single gemstone unique.

4- Some gemstones are exposed to different procedures to enhance their color, but some of this procedures lowers the value of the gemstones.

5- Cleopatra’s favorite gemstone was the Peridot, the queen favored green gemstones.

6- Garnets were given their name due to their similarity with the pomegranate’s red seeds.

7- Gemstone hardness is measured by a number on a system called Mohs Scale, diamonds are perfect 10, they are the hardest gemstone and only another diamond can scratch it; the softest being amber with a rating of 2, pretty easily scratched and it even floats in salt water!

8- Pearls are product of different layers of closed mollusk’s saliva on grains of sand and other external agents that make their way inside the clams mouth, they take a lot of time to form.

9- Star sapphires and rubies are rare occurrences, a 6 pointed star appears as a shine on the top of the stone due to the presence of rutiles inside.

10- Gemstones can be made in laboratories under controlled circumstances.

11- Contrary to popular believe, lab gemstones are not fake, they have the same components of the natural occurring ones, and are perfect alternatives for mined gemstones; if you find a gemstone too expensive, go for lab gems!

12- And talking about star sapphires, they can also be made in a laboratory.

13- Opals and Tourmaline are known as the most colorful gemstones, Opals hold an array of colors inside due to light refraction on their components, and Tourmaline can come in every color possible.

14- And going back to Opals, its very beneficial to wear them next to your skin, Opals have water inside and the moisture of your skin keeps them from drying and cracking.

15- Amethyst, the beautiful purple stone and one of my favorites, was once considered a precious gemstone, related to royalty, but then huge amounts were discovered in Brazil, lowering it’s price and rarity considerably.

I hope you had fun reading some gemstone facts, we will share more in the future!

Mauricio F.

 
 Introducing Jessica!

Jessica Nehme, one of our newer goldmiths, joined our team at Jewel Envy in 2017. She is over-the-moon excited as she is currently in process of preparing a line of pieces to display in our studio. Her designs are inspired by her passion in studying world religions, metaphysics, spirituality, sacred geometry and nature.

Stay tuned for the launch date of Jessica’s unique line!  

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