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Fine Jewelry University Articles matching: “Loose stone”

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Fine Jewelry University (Show All FJU Articles)

  1. Tourmaline jewelry and loose gems

    Gem in the Spotlight: Tourmaline

    …Tourmaline becomes electrically charged when under mechanical stress (squeezed or impacted). This effect allowed the stone to be used in early sonar systems in the First World War as well as in extremely sensitive pressure gauges in …long trend of confusing tourmaline with other gems. Another notable example of this is the “Caesars Ruby,” the 255ct stone in the Russian crown jewels that has been traded between France, Russia, and Sweden for centuries. It was long been …

  2. Beautiful iolite jewelry and loose gemstones

    Gem in the Spotlight: Iolite

    Iolite is maybe not the first gemstone people think of for their blue-violet jewelry, but it should be near the top of the list. Iolite’s color range of … popular gems, iolite cannot be heat treated to enhance its color. The color you see is the natural color of the stone when it was first discovered. This adds value to many gem buyers who don’t want a treated gemstone. Color Me Impressed … is caused by differing absorption of light rays in doubly refractive crystals. Thus, no singly refractive gemstone can exhibit pleochroism. The process works because of the ability of a gem to absorb different wavelengths of transmitted …

  3. Group of loose emerald gemstones

    Gem in the Spotlight: Emerald

    Springtime exudes life, full of bright colors and renewed energy. Emerald, May’s gemstone, captures this enthusiasm for life in rich elegance. This precious gemstone has been revered for over 4,000 years … quartz varieties. The refractive index of emerald ranges from 1.57 to 1.58, making it a moderately refractive gemstone. Its specific gravity ranges from 2.65 to 2.75. One of the distinctive features of emeralds is that they often contain … are referred to as jardin (the French word for garden) because they look like moss or a garden inside of the stone. These inclusions are tiny fissures, bubbles, or crystals that are visible to the naked eye. These inclusions are not …

  4. Collection of many different styles of jewelry clasps laid out together

    Types of Jewelry Clasps

    … and bracelets. The hook-and-eye clasp was also used by the Greeks and Romans who often embellished them with gemstones and intricate designs. In the 19th century, the development of new metalworking techniques and machinery led to the …. This is one of the reasons why they are often used on bracelets. CONS Longevity – The tongue (insert) can become loose over time and will need to be adjusted. If the tongue is made out of silver this can happen quite quickly. …

  5. The 4 Cs of Diamonds

    Diamond Buying Guide: The 4 C’s

    …in comparison to each other. Cut The Cut of a diamond has two main components. First, cut refers to the shape of the stone. Round, marquise, pear, oval, square, princess all describe the shape of the diamond. Checkout the picture above to …diamond is cut to quality proportions (regardless of its shape) the maximum light is returned through the top of the stone giving a great light show. Cuts that are too shallow or too deep allow light to escape resulting in loss of …

  6. Group of loose spinel gemstones with finished jewelry

    Gem in the Spotlight: Spinel

    …For years spinel has been confused with other gems and even today is often used as a substitute for similar looking stones. In recent years, spinel has started to move out of the shadows and be appreciated in its own right, and we can see … more popular gems. For only the 3rd time in the last one hundred years, the industry is modifying the official birthstone list. Spinel will be joining peridot as the August birthstone! This change was officially made in 2016, but only in …

  7. The Birthstones

    January’s Birthstone: Garnet January babies born in the midst of cold, white (valley fog) and at times stark surroundings are rewarded … long-lasting love, and prevents hearing difficulties. Learn more about Garnet and Tasvorite Garnet February’s Birthstone: Amethyst Amethyst, transparent purple quartz, is the most important quartz variety used in jewelry. Purple has long … in the ornamentation of Catholic and other churches in the Middle Ages. It was, in particular, considered to be the stone of bishops and bishops still often wear amethyst rings. The Greek work “amethystos” basically can be translated as “…

  8. Collection of loose and mounted quartz gems of various types

    Gem in the Spotlight: Quartz

    … at the title and knew). Quartz is one of the most common minerals on earth. Many quartz varieties are cut into gemstones, but some varieties are very rare. Some are ordinary like rock quartz, others are exotic like Drusy Quartz. Some …, microcrystalline and cryptocrystalline. Within each of these broad categories, the different colors of the gemstone are given different names. Below is a quick list to help you get a better handle on the vast diversity of quartz. Before …

  9. Group of loose topaz gems and topaz jewelry

    Gem in the Spotlight: Topaz

    …, to violet, to green. These coatings can allow topaz to be any color of your preference. Topaz itself is a hard gemstone with a Mohs hardness of 8. Mohs hardness is a standardized metric of how difficult it is to scratch something. For …a single sharp blow, a trait it shares with diamond. Clean with mild dish soap; use a toothbrush to scrub behind the stone where dust can collect. Never use ultrasonic or steam cleaners on topaz. Sudden changes in temperature can fracture …