Brooches have been used for ages, even way back to the Bronze Age. They were primarily ornamental pieces in Early Rome and Greece and were also used by European nomadic tribes. sand cast gold brooches In ancient times, it was typical to find brooches made of bronze, silver or gold decorated with various gemstones.

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Determine the Newest Trends in Fashion Today! Match Brooches and Shawls

Alexandrite – this is a beautiful gemstone named after a Russian czar. The gemstone is a basic crysoberyl type, and is best noted for it’s color changing properties depending on the shade of light it is exposed to. Alexandrite shifts between greenish to blue, to purple and even crimson hues

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Quick Guide to Popular and Precious Gemstones

Are you a fan of emeralds?  You’re in good company.  Cleopatra was an avid emerald collector, as were many Indian maharajas and maharanis.  The Aztec and the Inca managed to assemble collections of large size emeralds.    Humans have been mining this green variety of beryl for approximately 5000 years.  Today, most emeralds are found in Columbia, Brazil and Zambia.   Any May birthdays out there?  May babies (including myself) are fortunate to have this pretty green stone as our birthstone.  The green colour of this gemstone is caused by small amounts of chromium and vanadium.  The highest quality emeralds are a deep grass green colour with a bluish cast and can be more valuable than diamonds. Emerald in calcite and pyrite – photo by Rob Lavinsky 5 carat emerald – photo by Rob Lavinsky Emeralds often contain inclusions, fissures and flaws.  As a result, many emeralds are oiled, a treatment that reduces the visibility of inclusions and improves the clarity of the stone.  The emerald cut – a rectangular or square cut with bevelled corners – was developed to show this stone to best advantage.  Removing the corners helps protect this brittle stone from breakage.  diagram of emerald cut Special care must be taken with emeralds as they are frequently oiled.    only clean with a soft, dry cloth;  never use an ultrasonic cleaner on emeralds; always remove any emerald rings before putting hands in soapy water; emeralds which are oiled can dry out, so at times the stones will need to be re-oiled. 

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Emeralds for May

We’ve all heard it since we were little girls.  Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.  Diamonds are beautiful.  Diamonds are coveted.  With all that hype (and an effecient marketing campaign by Tiffany’s) diamonds are now the standard stone for engagement rings. Truth be told, they aren’t my best friend.  I’ve never really liked diamonds.  I know, to some, that is near-heresy, but it’s true.  I’ve never been all that intrigued by diamonds.  I find them cold and lifeless.  That may be because I haven’t spent a lot of time in the presence of really high quality diamonds so I haven’t been able to appreciate them at their best.  I’m willing to acknowledge that many are fascinated by diamonds.  But diamond is the birthstone for April, so even though it’s not on my list of favorites, it makes its way into this birthstone series. A 10 on Moh’s scale of hardness, diamond is the hardest stone.  They are suited to all types of jewelry, including items that are worn frequently.  Diamonds have great brilliance and fire.  The fire in a diamond is due to dispersion, which is the ability to take in white light and throw back flashes of colour.   Diamonds Diamonds have been used in jewelry for centuries.  Diamonds were first cut to improve their look in the 13 th century.  The brilliant cut was introduced in 1919.  This is a round shape with 58 facets and it makes the most of a diamond’s natural dispersion, leading to fire.  The brilliant cut has become the standard cut in the diamond trade.  Brillant cut diamond There are also many fancy cuts such as baguettes, pear shapes, heart shapes and marquises.  Fancy cuts often have more wastage than brilliant cuts, and so are often higher priced than brilliant cuts.  Diamonds are graded according to 4 qualities, which are often referred to as the 4 Cs.  These are colour, clarity, cut and carat.  These qualities ultimately determine the value of a diamond.

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Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend… Or Are They?

10k Choice of White or Yellow Gold, December Birthstone, Blue-Topaz and Diamond Ring Review I sent pictures of various rings to my beloved and she picked this one. She is delighted with the ring even though it was too big for her delicate fingers. She has it on her thumb until I can get it re sized

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10k Choice of White or Yellow Gold, December Birthstone, Blue-Topaz and Diamond Ring

There has been a subtle shift in birthstones and now when you search for information on birthstones you will most likely find the “traditional” and the “modern” birthstone.  Most often, the stones are not the same so which one to use or give as a gift?  I’d say it hardly matters since gemstones of all sorts, sizes and cuts are beautiful on their own. For those born in April, the traditional birthstone is the beloved diamond.  The modern stone is the opal (a traditional opal and not what is now known as a pink or blue opal, which are not opals at all).  Then, there’s another classification of birthstones that is becoming quite popular, the ayurevedic birthstone.  For those born in April, this stone is also a diamond. So what is a diamond?  In mineralogical terms a diamond is a chunk of carbon where the atoms are arranged in such a way as to form a crystal structure.  A diamond is remarkable in its optical characteristics.

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April Birthstone

Hi um I was wondering what the birthstone rings were called with the birthstone and then a star in the middle and then where do u get them at?Thanks I will give everyone a high five oh and 10pnts and I promise to choose a best answer oh and if u could give me a link I would be very grateful and my birthstone is September.once again thanks so much.I also live in wv if it helps and I know this wasnt a poll or survey but I havent gotten much help and everyone under here seems liek really smart so help please and thanks That’s called a Star Sapphire.

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hi birthstone ring help?

It was a beautiful day today in suburban Philadelphia! The sun was out, it was in the low 60s, what else could anyone ask for on a day in early March? Spent my day doing some volunteer work at the library and stopped at Barnes & Noble for a treat – new magazines! Picked up WWD Accessories  – I can’t wait to see what’s happening in the jewelry world for spring/summer. My little contribution to spring styles in jewelry will be my mini collection of aquamarine jewelry that I will post on etsy, once I finish photographing them

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oh happy day!

With the abounding options accessible to actualize custom affiance rings, it is accessible to actualize birthstone and pre-engagement affiance rings that are absolutely memorable. Selecting from birthstone, diamond, gemstone, blazon of ring, engraving, or apologue in the arena or arena ambience can aftermath a arena to affect alike the best acute aftertaste for jewelry.   Birthstone rings are accomplished choices for pre-engagement affiance rings but you don’t charge to baddest a arena with their birthstone only.

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Creative Birthstone and Pre-Engagement Promise Rings

For More Info or to Buy Now: http://www.hsn.com/redirect.aspx?id=il&url=http%3A//www.hsn.com/cnt/prod/default.aspx%3Fpfid%3D371700&afsrc=1&sourceid=youtube&cm_mmc=advsvc*youtube*na*371700 Reason enough to celebrate. Highlight your special day with this Technibond 6mm “Birthstone” Bead-Accent Ring. A bezel-set, round faceted gemstone (approx

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Technibond 6mm Birthstone Bead-Accent Ring

JANUARY 2010 CUSTOM BADGE RING JEWELRY #1428 TT 14k Just when I think our website looks totally awesome, and better than it’s ever looked before, my father, Gary, goes and makes it even better!  Dad has redesigned the Custom Badge Ring Jewelry page of our Houston Badge Co. website and it looks AWESOME! Check it out when you get a chance. Austin PD 887 TT 14k Any agency badge design can be made into a custom badge ring.

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THE SHIELD–News from Houston Badge Co.

Garnet is a beautiful stone with great brilliance.  It is a sturdy stone and very hard-wearing, which makes it ideal for use in all types of jewelry, including rings and bracelets, which often suffer more abuse than necklaces and earrings.      Humans discovered the beauty of garnets long ago.  Garnet beads have been found in prehistoric graves.  Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans used garnets in jewelry.  During medieval times, garnet became known as the warrior stone.  Soldiers carried it with them to ward off death and injury. Early Medieval Hilt Fitting, part of the Staffordshire Hoard – image by portableantiquities My favourite random fact about garnets is that garnets were apparently used as a weapon by being shot from guns.  Can you imagine using a gemstone in the place of bullets?      Today garnet is best known as the birthstone for January.  The image of a brilliant, deep red stone may come to mind when you think of garnet.  But red is not garnet’s only colour.  It can also be yellow, brown, orange or green.  In fact, garnets come in all colours except for blue.     The familiar deep red stones that many of us readily identify as garnets are pyrope garnets and almandite garnets.  But if you prefer earthy tones from light golden honey to cognac to deep maple, hessonite garnet may be the stone for you.  Spessartite can be found in beautiful shades of yellow, fiery orange, red and reddish browns.  If green is more to your liking, perhaps hydrogrossular garnet (which is sometimes called Transvaal jade), tsavorite garnet or demantoid garnet would suit.  Demantoid garnet, originally found only in Russia, was favoured by Carl Fabergé.  Although demantoid garnet is now also found in Namibia, it remains the rarest and most expensive of the garnets.  Have you discovered the beauty and versatility of garnets yet

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Garnets for January

I am looking into a ring or necklace with my daughter’s and my birthstone. When I was looking though it seems the birthstones have changed? I always thought it was: January: Garnet February: Amethyst March: Aquamarine April: Diamond May: Emerald June: Pearl July: Ruby August: Peridot September: Sapphire October: Opal November: Yellow Topaz December: Blue Topaz Does anyone know if this for sure is right…

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Birthstone/ Mother rings?

December Turquoise Guide! CARIBBEAN BLUE Felted Beaded Scarflette Full Handmade with Wide Satin Bow Tie and Peacock Feathers Corsage HUGE HOLIDAY SALE AZURE Art Felted Oversized Necklace HAPPY FEATHER OOAK Felted Scarf with Peacock Feather in Blue PRINCESS Fashionable OOAK Felted Scarf with Huge Flower Corsage Magical Crocheted Mehndi/Henna Mitt /MitTian/ in Turquoise Absolutely unique art for you hand ALCHEMY OF BAG with felted handles ETSIAN BAG CRUX Magical Cross Necklace in Turquoise – Couture Cross Collection EYE of Providence Necklace with eyes in Turquoise Couture Textile Jewelry collection Available at my Etsy shop: Magical Laboratory of Fashion © COPYRIGHT NOTE: All of my designs, photos and descriptions are protected by copyright. They may not be duplicated, copied, reproduced and/or republished without permission or notice. All rights are reserved

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December Turquoise Guide!

For my daughter’s birthday. We looked at Zales but they pretty much have only anniversary, engagement, wedding, journey pendant….romantic stuff.

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Where to find rings for 16 y/o for her bday? (like birthstone rings, pearl rings, and engraved silver rings

As I redesign the shop and re-think my general direction, a lot of items are disappearing from my inventory. Of course, they’re being replaced with new (and, I think, much better) pieces, but at the same time I want to be careful not to be drifting away from something that might be really missed. I hesitated over whether or not to post this question yet

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What would YOU like to see?

Ok,If you look at my last few questions you cna see that I have been trying to decide on what type of engagment ring I want to tell my boyfriend that I want.We are on a VERY tight budget.Im looking for somthing 100 dollars and lower.I finnaly came to an article about birthstone engagement rings,how they can be cheaper and have a more personal toutch.My stone is aquamarine and my boyfriends is diamonds.I think a ring with this mix will be perfect.I can’t seem to find a web site with these rings with in his budegt.Any web sites anyone know of that would offer these?Im looking for white gold and these stones.THANKS You may have to settle for imitation stones instead of real ones.

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Birthstone engagement rings,where to buy?

[Sapphires are a great alternative for consumers not wanting diamonds] Sapphire, the September birthstone, was once believed to protect against envy. (Rubies, which are essentially red sapphires, were believed to attract and maintain love.) Derived from the Greek word “sapphirus,” the word “sapphire” means blue, but the reality is that sapphires come in a whole spectrum of colors including yellow, pink, green and white. Next to diamonds, sapphires are the hardest gem stone making them ideal for engagement rings and every day wear

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Sapphires – a rainbow of (ethical) options

Sometimes, it can be harder than expected to find that perfect present for her – whether the ‘her’ in question is a close female relative, your wife or a girlfriend that you’ve been with for several years. Maybe you got her a necklace for her Valentine’s Day and a pair of earrings for the holidays – but don’t feel that you’ve exhausted the gift possibilities of jewellery. Birthstones, for instance, can make a fantastic – and unique – birthday present that will lend a wonderful personal touch to her birthday

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Birthstones Make an Ideal Birthday Gift for Her

Birthstone Gems Make an Awesome Gift Popular Birthstone Jewelry: 18k Yellow Gold Overlay Sterling Silver Garnet Bracelet Sterling Silver Mother’s Birthstone Charm Pendant 18k Yellow Gold Overlay Sterling Silver Peridot w/ Diamond Accent Butterfly Hoop Earrings There are different gemstones for every calendar month, which is why they serve as the perfect birthday present. Some believe that these gemstones bring you those who wear them good fortune, and are also believed to have special meanings that reflect a personality trait of the holders. Whether it is someone’s birthday, or just a token of love gemstones are the perfect gift

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The Most Treasured Gifts are Birthstone Gems