Turquoise Jewelry

Turquoise is a beautiful semiprecious stone that has added grace and elegance to silver jewelry for ages. In its natural form turquoise, which was first found in Persia, has a bluish-greenish hue. Today America, Chile, Mexico and Australia are all leading producers of turquoise stones, which are used to make turquoise jewelry.

The semiprecious stone is formed when water percolates into aluminum along with copper. In fact the color of turquoise is largely attributed to the amount of copper present in it. The stone also has a lot of markings on it which are caused by the percolation of water. All stones display different designs and this is what makes turquoise so exquisite and beautiful.

Turquoise can be set in both gold and silver, and is commonly studded in bracelets, rings, chains and belts. However, when buying turquoise jewelry you must ensure that the stone is of a good grade with a specific gravity of more than 2.8.

Since the stones are extracted from very near the surface of the ground they are very soft and can be easily damaged. To harden them most jewelers inject epoxy resin into them. You can also be fooled into buying non-precious stones like chyrocolla that can be made to look like turquoise by artificial treatment. Hence, it is necessary to purchase the stone from a reputed store.

Since turquoise is comparatively softer than other semiprecious stones it is necessary that you take good care of it. The stone should not be allowed to be damaged by grease or chemicals. Soft soapy water should be used to wash it, and it should be dried using a soft cloth to prevent scratching.

Like any other precious stone turquoise is also believed to impart good luck and fortune to the wearer. It is said to relieve the person of mental strains and other illness, and produce a calming effect on the mind.

Silver Jewelry

Silver jewelry has its own charm.

Silver is perhaps the most common metal that is used for making jewelry. Its popularity lies in the fact that it can be easily molded to form exquisite designs. It is also more affordable and can be bought by almost all segments of people.

Like gold, pure silver is not used for making jewelry since it is very soft and can bend easily. Most jewelers mix copper with silver to make silver jewelry from an alloy named as Sterling Silver. According to jewelry standards laid down by Federal Trade Commission in the US, 92.5% silver should be present in the silver alloy that is used to make silver jewelry; the rest can be copper.

Tarnishing is a major drawback in silver jewelry. The tarnishing is caused due to the reaction between copper and the atmospheric gases. This leads to a loss of sheen and luster of the jewelry. You can prevent this by storing silver jewelry in tarnish resistant bags or pouches. These bags are available in most stores today.

You can also remove the tarnish by cleaning it gently with the 3M Tarni-Shield Silver Polish. It is a low abrasive cleaner that gently removes the accumulated salts and dirt from the silver and adds sheen to it. Toothpaste is a common home remedy that is used for cleaning silver articles and jewelry by most women world over. It is advisable to use it sparingly since most experts believe that brushing with toothpaste can leave mild undesirable scratches over the soft metal.

Today experiments are on to use platinum instead of copper to harden silver. The biggest advantage of using platinum is the fact that it is a stable metal and does not react with atmospheric gases. As a result tarnishing is not a problem any longer. However, platinum is more expensive, and can take silver jewelry out of the reach of common man.

Gold Jewelry

Nothing can be more bewitching than gold jewelry.

For many years gold has been used for designing jewelry. In its natural form it is a dull yellow-orange metal. But in the hands of expert jewelers it becomes exquisite gold jewelry. The pure form of gold is very soft and is easy to work with. It does not react with skin and can be easily drawn into thin wires or beaten into sheets which are then turned into beautiful jewelry.

However, the pure form of gold is rarely used to make jewelry. This is because gold is too soft, and can easily break or change shape under pressure. It is therefore mixed with other metals like nickel, copper or zinc to give it tensile strength, and then turned into jewelry.

It is for the jeweler to decide how much metal he wants to mix with gold. But he is required to indicate this to all customers. The metric that is used to indicate the purity of gold is called karats. Under this, 24 karat gold is pure gold. Eighteen karat gold means that the alloy has 75% gold, while in 14 karat gold, the gold percentage drops to 58.5. Similarly, 10 karat gold contains only 41.7% gold, the rest is another metal. The gold gets a brighter luster and sheen according to the metal that is added to pure gold. Sometimes a red or greenish tinge can also be given to gold jewelry.

Besides gold jewelry, gold plated and gold filled jewelry are also very popular. They are not pure gold articles and hence can be purchased at low costs. In the case of gold plated jewelry a thin layer of gold is added to a base metal by electroplating. If worn consistently the gold polish can wear off within six months. A thicker layer of gold is added in gold filled jewelry than in gold plated items. It is more expensive than gold plated jewelry and its shine lasts longer.

Jewelers have also used plated gold over sterling silver which acts as the base metal. This is called as vermeil and is more costly.

Jewelry Things

A very warm welcome to my blog focused entirely on jewelry and things. Here you will easily be able to find helpful information about jewelry.