Monday, February 11, 2008

Check out my studio overstock store http://tenjewelbeads.etsy.com/

Labels: bead, destash, etsy, gemstone, overstock, supplies

posted @ 12:53 PM
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Thursday, January 24, 2008

Turquoise is one of the most popular stones, it has been for centuries and the reasons are obvious. So much has been written about turquoise and there’s a huge amount of information and disagreement on the subject. In recent times, the market has been flooded with a worrying amount of cheap imitations, and synthetics. Some of these imitations are difficult to detect and because it can be a confusing subject anyway, its very easy to end up paying out hard cash on something that isn’t exactly everything it appears to be.

Before you Buy
Here are a few things to consider before buying turquoise (or any gem):

>> Any time you pay a premium for gemstone jewelry you should be sure the seller is reputable and knowledgeable about all aspects of the item.

>> Is it marked or listed in any way as authentic, genuine, natural etc? You can ask the seller about this but you’ll only have their word for it. I would wonder why something genuine is not marked as such since that would be it’s main selling point?

>> Ask for information such as grade and origin. If the seller can‘t tell the difference between a AA and B- stone or doesn’t know whether their turquoise is from Arizona, China or Pluto, then I would wonder if they knew what they were doing.

>> Ask about any treatments that may have been made to the stone. Is it dyed, enhanced, wax-treated, stabilized, reconstituted etc. Do they do even know what these treatments are?

>> Is it $0.50? Generally, you get what you pay for.

>> If it’s called triple choc strawberry pie ancient pink turquoise, it might be a fake. Watch out for suspicious sounding, two parted fantasy type names.

Regarding the different treatments:
Enhanced Turquoise (Zachary treatment/process)
Turquoise that has been treated with chemicals, then heated but because the heating process destroys any traces of the chemicals, it‘s virtually impossible to tell the difference from natural turquoise. Only higher grade stones can be treated in this way.

Enhanced Turquoise (Foutz treatment/process)
This process involves taking medium grade turquoise and impregnating it with vaporized quartz to improve it’s strength. Like the Zachary treatment, this is very difficult to detect.

Natural Processed Turquoise
This is an excellent new treatment where the stone is treated with non-toxic chemicals before being soaked in water. The treatment is then impossible to detect and is the highest grade of treatment. It also has the benefit that the stone does not become more green over time, as untreated turquoise does.

Wax Treated (also called waxing or oiling)
The surface of the stone is applied with a paraffin wax or oil treatment. This is a very old, historic treatment given to turquoise in order to enhance the color and surface luster of the stone. A lot of turquoise from China was treated in this way but Chinese producers now prefer the stabilization method.

Stabilized Turquoise
This treatment consists of using an epoxy or acrylic (plastic) resin to bond lower grade turquoise material to strengthen it and make it acceptable for use in jewelry. Over time, exposure to pollution, detergents, lotions and oils may change its color.

Reconstituted Turquoise
This treatment is where tiny pieces or powdered down stone is taken with dye, fillers and plastics to form a larger solid “stone”. This is considered to be an imitation . Reconstituted turquoise cuts easier than stabilized material, but has a lower value.

Block Turquoise
This is an outright imitation and it contains no actual turquoise. Its creation involves taking stimulants of ceramic, plastic and other materials. Swirls of black dye are added to simulate the matrix.

Backed Turquoise
This treatment is used on stones like cabochons and cuts that will be set in jewelry pieces. It involves placing a layer of epoxy or acrylic bonding resin on the back on the stone, which is then concealed by the setting.

Dyed Turquoise
This could be anything really. It could be turquoise that has been dyed to enhance its overall color or veins. Or more likely, it could be a number of other stones that can be dyed to look like turquoise. Your “dyed turquoise” will often be revealed as “dyed howlite, magnesite or dolomite” posing turquoise. Even certain ceramics, plastics and glass can be dyed to look like turquoise.

Turquoise Grades & Common Descriptions
AA - gems-grade natural turquoise.
Origin: (probably one of the larger mines such as the Sleeping Beauty mine in Arizona)

-A & -B (c)- commercial quality, probably enhanced in some way or even stabilized.
Origin: Various (China, Mexico, USA)

African Turquoise - Actually a Misnomer
This is a type Jasper found in Africa that is sold as “African Turquoise” due to its similar matrix.

Apple Turquoise - Probably Stabilized or Reconstituted
Green-Green Color, with or (especially)without a matrix.

Australian Turquoise - Another Misnomer
Probably variscite

Chinese Turquoise - Be careful
Stabilized/Reconstituted
Possible dyed calcite or soapstone parading as turquoise.

Fox Turquoise - NOT to be mistaken for faux turquoise! High quality
Fox is one of Nevada’s most productive turquoise mines.

Mexican Turquoise - Stabilized
Color and matrix (or lack of it) emulates Sleeping Beauty turquoise

Viennese Turquoise - This is actually glass!

Other attributes: Matrix and Color
The matrix is the dark pattern or variegation appearing all over the stone. The perfect matrix is a matter of opinion and personal taste but be careful of stones that have no matrix at all because that MAY be an indication that they are treated (see above). Stones completely covered with these markings are less valuable. I prefer a nice bluey-green stone with a middling of darkest brown-black matrix. A web matrix is considered most valuable

Ultimately, you will be buying the stone because you enjoy its wonderful features, including its color. Turquoise is available in a huge range of colors from aqua blue to very, very green. You should choose the color that pleases you best.

In fact, the “perfect” turquoise stone is the one that speaks to you. Don’t buy an “investment” or “money worth” piece. Don’t buy a stone that by all accounts has the best attributes or is in fashion right now. It's all realative and you should choose the stone that has the most value for you.

Tests
There are a number of tests you can use to ascertain if your turquoise is natural or otherwise treated. You'll find them here: LINK: http://www.lapidaryjournal.com/feature/may03str.cfm

Labels: buying, common misnomers, descriptions, fakes, gemstone, grades, guide, guide to buying gemstones, guide to buying turquoise, howto, information, turquoise

posted @ 2:56 PM
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Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Every now and again I make a point of throwing my eye over the list of common gemstone misnomers. It’s important to have researched this area if you’re going to be buying and selling gems. You don’t want to sell somebody the wrong thing and you don’t want go get ripped off yourself by buying something that is not what it appears to be.

I’ve seen these misnomers crop up in the jewelry category on Etsy and other places. I really don’t think sellers are deliberately mis-naming stones but suppliers will sometimes mislabel supplies to help them sell. Some unscrupulous suppliers will mislabel gems to help them sell and to attract a higher sale price. To combat falling victim to this type of thing, Robert Shipley’s Dictionary of Gems and Gemology is an invaluable guide to have. If you don’t already have it, take a look at the link below, it actually takes a lot of it’s definitions from Shipley’s Dictionary.

http://www.gemscape.com/html/misnomer.htm

Labels: common misnomers, gemstone, gemstone names, label, misnomers, name

posted @ 6:40 AM
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Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Happy New Year!
Even I can’t believe I let so long go by without an update. I am suitably ashamed!

I’m not going to even try to make excuses for myself. I have been just too busy these last couple weeks. I’m thinking of shutting down my kituchi shop. The truth is that I just don’t have the time to promote it. I sell my work outside of etsy as well as working on my TenJewel Etsy store and working full time. With Etsy, you sorta get what you put into it and that’s all there is to it.

Anyways, I hope that everybody had a great holiday.
I’ve personally just gotten so fat, I really have. I'm on a cabbage soup diet now.

Here’s some of my latest pretties:

Labels: gemstone, jewelry, kituchi, new, silver, tenjewel

posted @ 6:46 AM
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Monday, July 23, 2007

Ok, I've been very busy creating new items for my shop and taking better photos too. I got some beautiful labradorite and moonstone that have gorgeous rainbow flashes and beautiful rose quartz that goes great with my pink tourmaline and pearls.
I consigned some of the items that were in my shop so I had to overwrite the listings :)

I've been really busy with commissions too! I get to design the jewelry for two Debutantes and I can't wait to see them in their dresses wearing my jewelry and hair accessories . Hopefully I will get some photo's of them looking fabulous too!!

Labels: commissions, debs, debutante, gemstone, Jewellery, jewelry, labradorite, moonstone, pearl, prehnite, quartz, rose, silver, sterling

posted @ 2:47 AM
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Friday, June 15, 2007

I've really been loving Andalusite lately. It really does seem to be an up-and-coming favourite among jewelry designers and it really is a fantastic gem. Faceted andalusite brios look great, they've got red, green, and yellow colours that resembles a muted form of iridescence.
Andalusite is a polymorph [kyanite and sillimanite], it's pleochroic so it shows different colours in different directions and it's really affordable too. How did I not discover this until now! I'm usually quite well up about these things.

Bestbeads had some for sale on Etsy, they're all sold out now but there's a good picture of it: - http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=5429373

Labels: Andalusite, etsy, gemstone, Trends

posted @ 3:26 AM
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Wednesday, April 4, 2007

I just bought a load of new supplies, gemstone & sterling silver. I got some wonderful Indian rubies from nutraj over on etsy. I got some lovely watermelon tourmaline too and gorgeous peridot rondells. I also bought beautiful chalcedony briolettes that I plan to make earrings with and chunky coral, angelite, turquoise and lemon jade beads for rings. I finally bought bulk giverny glass which I usually buy by the bead so I'll be able to reduce my price on those. I bought bulk gemstone rounds as well and I probably won't use all of them so I'll be selling some at my etsy shop under supplies. I got lots of freshwater pearls, some lovely peacock colour ones and pearl sticks. I can't wait to start creating with all these great new goodies.

I also want to spotlight MartinsvilleEmporium for their gorgeous handmade soaps and lip balms. I just received my order from them and I absolutely love them, seriously addictive!! You must check them out!!! Will blog again soon !

Labels: beads, etsy, gemstone, jewelry, new, soap, supplies

posted @ 4:20 AM
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