Avril Lavigne on August 6th, 2010

Fluorite beads, also called fluorspar are multi coloured and usually available in the shades of green, white, purple and lavender. Other than in the jewellery industry, Fluorite is also employed in the making of steel and other metals that need impurities to be removed from them. In the age-old days, people of Egypt used this gemstone in statues, and in carving scarabs. Also, in ancient China, fluorite was employed in the carvings for more than 300 years.

Fluorite is used an alternative to glass in the making of high performance telescopes and camera lenses. The reason is its property of low dispersion that makes light diffraction less than that of the ordinary glass. It also enables sharp imaging of astronomical objects even at very high power.

The name “Fluorite” is derived from the Latin word “fleure,” meaning “to flow.” This type of gemstone beads are said to be the most colourful mineral in the world. Also, the word “fluorescent” got the name from Fluorite, as it usually fluoresces blue and sometimes it glows yellow, green, red, white or purple colours. Fluorites are largely available in Brazil, Canada, China, Norway, Mexico, Italy, Germany, Russia, U.S.A., England and Switzerland.

As the stone is connected to the Third Eye or Brown Chakra, it is believed that wearing fluorite improves ones concentration power and guides him in making winning decisions. So, it is often used as a mediation stone. The gemstone also reveals the truth behind illusion. It can help you greatly in your spiritual growth, as it brings harmony, peace and divine feelings into ones life. Another interesting property of this mineral is that it makes you highly receptive to the positive vibrations of other gemstones.

Fluorite’s healing properties include treatment of bones, teeth and cell structure. If you wear an ornament made of fluorite, you hardly get any infections or illnesses. Other adorable properties of Fluorite include stress reduction, improving self confidence, stabilizing energy and boosting up the spirits, improve clarity of thoughts and helps in leading a harmonious life. These colourful gemstones are also known to prevent as well as repair RNA and DNA damage.

Fluorite is a balancing and healing stone. It has exceptionally wonderful properties that help you for a better living and allow you to have a positive influence on your loved ones’ life also.

Fluorite can be used for necklace and earrings. Due to fragility avoid using this gemstone in bracelet and anklets. May be the reason fluorite was never been used extensively in jewelry. Even with this negativity fluorite became popular with some jewelers due to its vibrant colors and beautiful looks.

You can try out its miraculous power by getting a beautiful ornamental piece made out of Fluorite beads to your near and dear by combining with harder material such as silver and other metals. Fluorite also can be perfect for pendants. Even with all the negative factors this gemstone continue to amaze with beauty and healing power for centuries.

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Kathy Austin on May 14th, 2010

When your parents went to look for gold or silver rings, they either knew what they were looking for, or got advice from their parents as to what they ought to be looking for. The quality standards for those precious metals have been around for a long time. But what do you look for in the best titanium rings?

Unlike diamonds, color is not an indicator of titanium’s value. In its natural form, titanium is an off-white or bright gray color, but rings are available in many different colors, including blue, black and gold. These different shades do not indicate a higher or lower quality of metal, however. They are simply cosmetic differences in the appearance of the ring.

Unlike silver, the percentage of purity is not a consideration in your titanium jewellery. Most titanium rings will be 99% pure titanium or higher, so anything advertised as lower than that should be viewed as suspect, as it may not be true titanium. Titanium does not require any sort of coating or protective plating, so any retailer that offers these options may be worried about their inferior product showing signs of wear or tarnish – things that never happen to true titanium jewellery.

Another way to detect fake titanium jewellery is by the settings and sizing offered by the jeweller. Titanium is a very hard metal, meaning that certain styles of settings cannot be created. Also, this hardness means that a ring cannot be sized up or down.

Weight is another good way to judge whether your titanium ring is truly made of its advertised metal. A titanium ring should be lighter than a similarly-sized counterpart made of white gold or stainless steel.

As for cost, the raw materials that go into a titanium ring are comparable to a lower karat of gold, but due to the extra costs incurred in the creation of the best titanium rings, the final price will be comparable to a high quality gold ring. The difference, rather than financial, will be in durability, weight and originality – the last one, impossible to put a price tag on, but incredibly valuable.

Titanium Rings from the Titanium Ring Shop. They are the worldwide leader in the design of unique titanium rings for men and women. Each of their handcrafted rings are made-to-order. They use only the finest grades of titanium and inlay materials, which include gold, silver, exotic hardwoods, minerals and gemstones. With over 250 rings that are unique to their artisans, they offer the world’s best selection of titanium ring jewelry for engagements, weddings and keepsakes.

Titanium Ring Shop places the utmost emphasis on customer support. When you purchase one of their titanium rings or bracelets, you also have a lifetime partnership with them to insure your investment continues to offer comfort and beauty over its lifetime. They take great pride in the quality of their titanium products and are confident in insuring their customers complete satisfaction. For further information please visit TitaniumringShop.com right now.

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Lida Greens on April 6th, 2010

The number markings on precious gold jewelry are a bit of confusion to lots of people. We are generally used to seeing a karat or silver mark like this: 10K, 14K, 18K, Sterling, etc. The numbers mean the same thing.

For 14k the number is technically 583 but most manufacturers adopted the European way and make 14k gold a tiny bit over 14k, so the mark is 585 in most 14k jewelry. 18K is marked 750. If the mark is valid and there is a makers mark also in the jewelry, the number means these items are 18k gold.

Here is where the numbers come from. Pure gold is called 24 karat. For 18k gold, there are 18 parts of pure gold mixed with other metals to
make the metal suitable for use in jewelry. 24k is too soft alone to stand up or to hold stones well. 18 parts pure gold divided by 24, or 18/24 equals 750. That is where the number comes from. The jewelry is 75% pure gold, 750 parts gold with 250 parts other metals out of “1000″ parts. It is easier to think of it as a percent which is pure gold in the recipe.

Sterling silver is marked 925. Sterling is 92.5% pure silver and the rest is other metal, generally copper.What does it mean if the ring marked 14K PR? The 14K simply means it is 14K (Karat) gold and because of the K means it would have been made in either South East Asia or The United States. The PR marks are just the Maker or Store ID or even a design mark, and have no relevence to the Value.

The basic decimal formula to work out the quality of gold content is quite simple, as they are all measured in ‘Parts per Thousand.’ This means that 9ct gold is calculated like this: 9 (for 9ct) is divided by pure gold (24) and then multiplied by 1000 (for pure gold as a decimal). ie: 9/24*1000=375 That 375 is the decimal quality for 9ct gold and is sometimes shown with a decimal point in front – .375

The old Victorian standard of 15ct gold is calculated the same way – 15/24*1000 = 625 (Not quite the numbers you have on your jewelry. Dental gold is 16ct or 666 recurring. But you can also reverse this formula by starting with the decimal and working back. ie:375/1000*24 = 9

In your case we can use 698/1000*24 = almost 17ct I have a platinum engagement ring and found a wedding ring that I really like but the band is made of palladium. Is it safe to wear these two metals together without one damaging the other?

It will wear the softer metal OVER TIME but that could take many years. My Grandmothers wedding ring eventually wore away the band of her engagement ring but it took over 20 years to do.

Platinum and Palladium and quite good together but I would take the advice of your local friendly jeweler and have them check both rings.
Sometimes the Platinum may be a lower grade in order to make it harder – so have that checked.

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