A Little About AMBER

Here’s a question for your next trivia pursuit game – what materials used in jewellery have are made by living creatures? Perhaps after a bit of thinking someone will probably answer “pearls”. Of course that answer is correct; but pearls are not alone. There are a number of different corals used in jewellery; the gorgeous black coral of the South Pacific, Red coral known since ancient times & the exquisite crystal coral of Australia.

For a really good answer, few will think of, say Amber. Amber is the resin or pine sap of ancient plants. It is used in carvings, particularly by the Chinese, & is set in silver or occasionally gold rings, earrings, pendants & bracelets. Only a small amount of amber is considered good to excellent quality. Amber of variable colour is considered by some to be the most valuable. Some amber contains preserved insects – which apart from their scientific uses – (this blog is about jewellery, so do a ‘google’ yourself!!) can make an interesting & certainly conversation promoting addition to an item of jewellery.
Like many other gems today, amber can be heat treated to improve its colour & experiments have been done adding a little dye to its surface. Being of organic origin it is very important to avoid harsh chemicals if you are wearing amber jewellery. Ultrasonic cleaning etc is also a no-no with amber. If amber is not a ‘gemstone’ you’re aquainted with, now is the time for you to get to know it better. Amber comes in several shades from red/brown through to yellow & green & more. One very recent discovery of amber has been made in Australia. Not only is this the first time amber has been found here, but it is red in colour. We awaiting more details with batted breath. Meanwhile, check out the details of the examples above at http://www.thegemlovers.com/Gemstone_Jewellery.php click on the tigerseye, amber link.

A Little about CHAMPAGNE Diamonds

What do wine & diamonds have in common? Apart from the fact that yours truly is a fan & a little of an expert of both; in a word "Champagne". The French have banned others from using this word to describe their wine - after all Champagne is a region in France; & yes I have visited France twice, & contrary to what you sometimes hear the French are absolutely delightful people - but 'champagne' has become linked with Australia. We are ofcourse talking about CHAMPAGNE DIAMONDS.
Champagne diamonds are coloured diamonds that are shadys (according to me) of brown. To be technical their colour is graded by C's. C1 being the lightest, C3-4 medium, C5-6 dark & C7 being fancy Cognac diamonds - one of my favourite colours of diamonds. To check the colour of a champagne diamond view the stone in bright sunlight. What gives them their colours? Here is what the experts tell us. You may know already that Diamonds are carbon (soot!!!!) that is compressed over time under the earth till it becomes a diamonds. It is believed that since the diamonds formed over 3,000,000,000 years ago the compression of the Diamond lattice structure by tremendous forces deep beneath the earth is said to have caused the original clear diamonds to become coloured. This same process also causes pink & red natural diamonds. (To my way of thinking it is more strange that something that starts out black should end up clear! That it should finished up some shade of brown should seem less strange & should take less time according to my idea of conventional thinking. Perhaps that is why I am not an offical expert!)
Champagne diamonds are usually linked with the Kimberley region of Western Australia & while in fact most champagne diamonds you are likely to see do come from there, champagne diamonds have been found in other parts of Australia including Tasmania. (I have a nice story to tell you later.) Champagne diamonds have become quite popular with the rich & famous as anyone who closely follows the Oscars & what the Stars wear can confirm. My favourite Cognac diamond is not owned by anyone famous; it is owned by myself. About .5 of a carat it is a dark rich brown with just a hint of green through it. It is an I1-2, hence did not cost me an arm & a leg. That is my tip for saving you money this month. As a deep coloured diamond tends to hid its flaws easier than a clear one, a deep coloured well-cut coloured diamond will look okay in an I2 or even an I3 so you can afford to buy a larger stone.
Champagne diamonds are fashionable; also very popular, not only with the public but with jewellers. Why do we say this? Because champagne diamonds are used to create 'colour enhanced' diamonds of all colours. More about that later.........Meantime check out these great Champagne/Cognac earrings at http://www.thegemlovers.com/index.php?pr=Diamond_Earrings Also enjoy some French Champagne, I can recommend Pol Gessner used for many years by Formula 1. I am not get paid or re-imbused in any way for this recommendation. However complementary bottles of champagne by any great manufacturer will be gladly accepted for future recommendations by yours truly.

Finding Out about Jewelry or Why Read this Blog

All about Gems & Jewelry is a big, big subject & it would be impossible to say state everything that could be said out precious metals, precious & semi-precious gemstone, jewellery items & their care here. However, one hint at a time, we will increase in knowledge together. I am a lover of jewellery rather than an expert. However, I will endeavour to be as factual as I can. Of course I will state what my personal feeling are – after all this is MY blog! Feel free to disagree if you have different tastes to me. (And let the world know you disagree if you wish.) If any fact I present is wrong, it will only be because the experts disagree. If you have read about me, you will have discovered that I am Australian; hence you will notice the spelling of jewelry & color if you are American. Without getting into a debate about spelling, Bill Gates has decided that if I use any non-English spelling on my machine, a little pink wiggle appears. I find this annoying, so use the spelling I was taught, though I’m finding it amusing that the same thing happens if I type the word ‘blog’. On this site I will cover the following subjects:- Information on Gemstones, Caring for Jewellery, Tips on Buying Jewellery for yourself & others, and anything else which takes my fancy. I hope you find the information enjoyable & helpful. I own the copyright of the above photo which was made for my web-site www. thegemlovers.com If you like it, you are welcome to copy it & use it for any non-commercial purpose. I will be making regular postings at this site. Please come again.