Handmade Gemstone Jewelry - The Advantages of Going Online!

If you go online and look around on a handmade gemstone jewelry website, you are likely to come out with something that is completely unique and just what you wanted, for a lot less.

There are many products that cannot be bought online or can be bought with great risk. Thankfully, jewelry is not one of those. Many people enjoy to go into a shop to find jewelry, but it has become far more popular to go online and find something very cheap and usually far more unique!

Other things, like clothing or shoes after very hard to buy online, because you have no idea if they will fit you perfectly. For jewelry, all you need to known is what your ring size(they often have ring sizing charts that are downloadable) is and you are ready to go.

This can be a great advantage if you know what you are looking for and don't want to pay too much!

You can never go wrong if you go online looking for black onyx jewelry, as long as you have selected your preferred style of jewelry. If you are ever unsure about a piece of jewelry online, don't buy it!

There are far more opportunities for good handmade gemstone jewelry products and it isn't worth wasting your money on something that isn't very good.

Check out my article about going Online for Bargains at my main website which explains it in much more depth!

Elegant Rings Handmade with Gold

Yellow gold is a classic metal used in creating many handmade jewelry items. This gold is usually made in carat weights ranging from ten to twenty-four with fourteen ct gold being the most common weight to to make average priced fashion pieces. When looking for rings that are elegant and distinctive you will find a number of designs using a higher grade of gold. These 18ct gold rings are available in styles suitable for both a man or a woman to wear. There are many more designs available as ready made items for women then there are for men, although you can have custom created rings made with the higher eighteen carat weight.

In the category of women’s rings there are designs that use a simple gold band with a gemstone setting. The stone can be any number of decorative gems including a diamond. The bands set with gemstones can be formed into decorative shapes or designs on the surface area to enhance the overall look of the piece. The higher carat rings are usually created to be select jewelry items made with special gems or with engraved bands. They will cost more than the lower carat bands and are often found in pieces used for wedding ring sets.

In a wedding band set there will be the woman’s and man’s band with some sets having a matching engagement ring as well. The various men’s styles created with eighteen ct. yellow gold will be found in bands with diamonds set into them as well. Some more formal pieces will use black onyx as an inlay in the metal band and have a diamond set into the onyx. The gold bands used for a wedding will often be engraved with the date of the event on the inside surface of each ring. Most weights of both gold and silver items can be easily engraved because the metal is a softer type of metal than some other types of metal.

When browsing for an elegant ring style to use for engagement you will find the marquise diamond engagement ring. The marquise refers to the cut of the diamond placed into the setting. This particular cut has been around for many centuries and got its name because it was made for the mistress of a prominent Marquise at the time. The shape is somewhat oval in design with pointed ends rather than round ones. This effect helps create more brilliance for the various facets seen within the center of the gem so it shimmers with radiance every time it is moved.

via handmadejewelryshops.com

Handmade Gemstone Jewelry - Rare Gemstone!

It has been a while since I last posted, but here I am again!

Even though I enjoy writing about the more popular gemstones that are used in handmade gemstone jewelry, I also like to research other rare gemstones. It is my pleasure to write about rare beautiful gemstones that not many people know about!

The gemstone I would like to talk about today is called Indicolite. It is also sometimes known as Blue Tourmaline and is a rare variety of elbaite. (other varieties include verdellite(green) and rubellite(pink to red)- ) It is usually a much deeper blue than blue topaz. The word Indicolite comes form a Latin word meaning "indicum plant".

It is preferred by some people for its rich blue color. Indicolite can occur in in varieties that are transparent or opaque. Indocolite is usually found in Africa, North America, Brazil, Australia, and Siberia.

With a hardness of 7 on the Moh scale, this gemstone is perfect for faceting and jewelry.

For more at Handmade Gemstone Jewelry!

Photo:  All rights reserved by gemstoneJEFF

Handmade Gemstone Jewelry - Precious Gemstone Rings

 

Jewelry has attracted ladies all over the world for centuries. Even little girls, when they first see it, are bedazzled by it.

There is not only once reason why Marilyn Monroe said that "diamonds are a girl's best friend".

Everybody has a favorite piece of jewelry in their jewelry box. Rubies, Sapphires, Emeralds, and Diamonds have always been the most valuable and favorite gemstones. Ruby and Emerald have such a brilliance and sparkle of their own that they hardly need anything else to help set them off. If you want to give them a little more interest, it is popular to have them set with or encircled by diamonds.

It is important not to over-crowd a setting with too many colors. For something as expensive and precious as a ruby or sapphire, you don't want to draw the attention away from them by surrounding them with other colors.

This is not to say that a multi-gemstone ring is a bad idea. Some people like a large variety of colors.

Ruby is the birthstone for July and ranges from a pale pink to a bright red color. Emerald also ranges from a pale green to a dark green. The darker the gemstone is, the more valuable it is.

When you are looking for a precious gemstone ring(precious nearly always means: Rubies, Sapphires, Emeralds, and Diamonds.), there is a large variety of different cuts and styles. The cuts and shapes of the gemstones range from oval, pear, round, or princess. When considering the band to have your gemstones set in, you may want to go for white gold, to give your gemstones a sharper look. The reason I am mentioning white gold, is because you won't really want to put a super expensive gemstone onto a cheap silver band. If, on the other hand, you are looking for something more traditional, it is best to try yellow or rose gold. Rose gold has and will always be might preferred gold in a ring. (it gives it a pinkish tinge)

Rose Gold Ring  All rights reserved by Sarah's Custom Jewellery Portfolio

The solitaire style of ring is very popular when looking for an engagement ring. Usually had has one upraised gemstone, usually a diamond. The solitaire ring ranges from a vintage to a modern style.

Yellow Gold Solitaire Ring  All rights reserved by ringshut2009

Handmade gemstone jewelry is not limited to rings, but there are also earrings, necklaces, brooches, pendants, and bracelets; and oodles of them as well!

 

Handmade Gemstone Jewelry - What are Gemstones?

Have you ever wondered what gemstones were besides being those shiny things ladies like to wear in jewellery? Well, I have tried to write a comprehensive description of them.

Gemstones are treasures from the earth's crust composed of minerals, rocks, and other organic materials. May gemstones are valued by laboratories like the AGL, which stands for Australian Gemology Laboratory. 

Once they are valued they are cut with a faceting machine into a certain shape. One of the most popular cuts today is the "dome cut". Opal, Variscite, turquoise, and black onyx are a few gemstones that are sometimes cut in this fashion. 

Many gemstones are cut in such a way to reflect back as much light as possible. This means that the gemstone is cut with many different surfaces, all of which catch light in a different way. 

There are many different colors and types of gemstones in the world. Some of which are lapis lazuli, prehnite, variscite, onyx, amethyst, quartz, malachite, etc.

The reason why there are so many different colors in gemstones is because when white light passes through an object and reflects the material's color back to our eyes.  White light is composed of every color in the rainbow. (ROYGYBIV) When the light goes through a gemstone, some of it is absorbed and the rest(whatever color is left) tells our eyes what color the object is. Some gemstones like quartz or topaz have a clear variety wich means that none of the light is absorbed and other varieties that show up to be purple or blue. This is because that gemstone contains a certain impurity, which sucks up a certain amount of light.

Many gemstones that are produced too pale are heated to make them look better and more attractive to the eye. These fixed versions are no where near as valuable as when a gemstone occurs by perfection!

A Black onyx Ring

Handmade Gemstone Jewelry Artist - Cocos Jewelry

Handmade Gemstone Jewelry - A few Helpful Tips

Since gemstone jewelry is valuable and not necessarily very cheap, it is important to look after it well. You may also find that it will last longer that fake jewelry. Most people think that if they buy cheap jewelry that it doesn't matter if it is ruined in a few months. If you stick to that sort of mind set, you might spend twice as much on different fake jewelry when you could have spent the same on a valuable piece of gemstone jewelry that would last forever. However, there's no saying that you can't look after your fake jewelry. ;)

Alexandrite Ring(see my Alexandrite Article)

When thinking about buying handmade gemstone jewelry, it best to first research as many gemstone as you can. If you are looking for a certain color, you can search by color. Once you have chosen your favorite gemstone, you should find out how it has to be cared for. This will save you a lot of trouble down the track. It is a good idea to think about when and where you will wear it, as this may have an impact on the style and price of jewelry. If you aren't planning to wear as often as a wedding ring(for example), you could probably get a more delicate gemstone.
Once you have done this homework, it is now time to look for your jewelry. You can look online or go into a store(see one of my posts about this: The Advantages of Going Online.). As I have said in my article many people like to pay a higher price and get something that they can feel first to make sure it is what they want. However, there are still advantages and disadvantages.  If you shop on a website with a good reputation(feedback page, a blog, a Facebook page, etc.), you are sure to come out with something that is valuable. Not many good companies would want to stake their reputation on a piece of jewelry with their name.   Some websites also have a return policy.
If you are shopping offline, you should check the color and appearance of your gemstone/s. Always take note of the amount of carats in your gemstone, because this greatly effects the price.
The history behind a gemstone also adds greatly to its price. You wouldn't want to buy a piece of jewelry with Queen Victoria's jewels in it.(that is never likely to happen to you, but I hope you get the picture!)  It was would be super expensive! (check out my latest article about Queen Victoria's life and jewels!)
Many gemstones have a different cleaning method. Ruby is ceaned by emmersing it in water and then wiping the dirt of, but Malachite is cleaned with a damp cloth. If you cleaned Malachite with water, its protective coating would come off!
Some of my favorite gemstones are as follows: Diamonds(of course), Malachite, Garnet, Amethyst, Lapis Lazuli, Sapphire,Alexandrite and more!
This is just my blog, to visit my website, click Handmade Gemstone Jewelry