Gemstone jewelry information and helpful advice about the accessory industry http://www.stonesandfindings.com Mon, 20 Aug 2007 12:02:16 -0500 Occurring naturally and available in countless varieties, gemstones have been used by humans for ornament since the dawn of civilization… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=1 2007-04-18 12:00:00-0500 Jewelry is made unique and eye-catching by the creative use of gems, stones, beads, and all manner of precious materials… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=12 2007-04-18 12:00:00-0500 Derived from the Greek word krystallos, which has been translated as 'clear ice,' crystal refers to some of the most impressive and bizarre mineral outgrowths found in nature… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=11 2007-04-18 12:00:00-0500 Well known for their unique shine and smooth texture, Pearls have been the world's favourite oceanic jewel since they were hunted by divers in the 19th century… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=10 2007-04-18 12:00:00-0500 Discovered in 1803 by English chemist William Hyde Wollaston, Rhodium was named by its finder after the Greek word rhodon, meaning 'rose'... http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=9 2007-04-18 12:00:00-0500 Chains can be used to dramatically suspend gems, stones, beads, and all manner of precious materials… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=8 2007-04-18 12:00:00-0500 The garnet family of gemstones has been used as an abrasive and for decoration since thousands of years before the Common Era… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=7 2007-04-18 12:00:00-0500 In Ovid's canonized tale of Perseus' quest to slay Medusa, the mythical Greek hero is not only credited with defeating the most heinous of Gorgons, but also with discovering coral… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=6 2007-04-18 12:00:00-0500 Chalcedony is an umbrella term that refers to all microcrystalline varieties of quartz… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=5 2007-04-18 12:00:00-0500 Aventurine is a form of quartz that is given visual distinction by its unique, shimmering surface… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=4 2007-04-18 12:00:00-0500 According to Brazilian lore, riverside-dwelling Amazonian tribes offered green stones as gifts to visitors… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=3 2007-04-18 12:00:00-0500 Despite its fairly common availability and affordable market value, agate holds a fascinating and remarkable place in human history… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=2 2007-04-18 12:00:00-0500 Jasper is one of the most varied and visually diverse gemstones available, and can be seen in virtually any combination of brick reds, honey yellows, avocado greens, gunmetal greys, and sky blues… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=15 2007-04-19 12:00:00-0500 Even today jade is frequently associated with the Chinese Dynasties, and still conveys its legacy as the official Imperial Jewel… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=14 2007-04-19 12:00:00-0500 In the modern world, glass has an interesting multiple personality… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=13 2007-04-19 12:00:00-0500 The word 'opal' comes from the Sanskrit upala, meaning 'precious' or 'valuable stone'... http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=16 2007-04-20 12:00:00-0500 Unless one considers water a mineral, it can be safely said that quartz is the world's number one most common mineral… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=18 2007-04-20 12:00:00-0500 In the Ancient Roman Empire, sardonyx was an especially treasured gemstone… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=19 2007-04-20 12:00:00-0500 One of the first gems ever mined, turquoise delighted traders on the Silk Road… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=21 2007-04-24 12:00:00-0500 …and what it all means for the accessory industry http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=20 2007-04-24 12:00:00-0500 …from mine find to accessory necessity http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=22 2007-04-25 12:00:00-0500 Possessing a wonderfully organic exoticism, shells used in jewelry connote tropical lands and vibrant underwater seascapes… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=23 2007-04-25 12:00:00-0500 Handy reference guides can be a jewellery designer's best friend… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=24 2007-04-27 12:00:00-0500 The accessory industry is an ever changing landscape of competition. See where you fit in, and how to compete with the rest… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=25 2007-05-02 12:00:00-0500 Helpful advice on designing, managing, and selling your jewellery. http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=26 2007-05-04 12:00:00-0500 Stones and Findings wants to hear from YOU! http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=27 2007-05-07 12:00:00-0500 Follow this easy 4-step guide to make a simple set of wire-wrapped gemstone earrings in no time! http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=28 2007-05-11 12:00:00-0500 Ask Professor Pearl: May 11th, 2007 http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=29 2007-05-11 12:00:00-0500 When you make the transition from selling homemade jewelry yourself to having it sold in stores, you need to consider what kind of contract you will arrange with them… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=30 2007-05-14 12:00:00-0500 Cubic zirconia is most commonly thought of as a diamond substitute, and rightfully so. What shouldn't be overlooked, however, is… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=48 2007-05-19 12:00:00-0500 Follow this 7-step guide to make your own matching earrings and necklace set! http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=31 2007-05-25 12:00:00-0500 The following guide to running an effective small or midsize jewellery company hopes to provide useful advice on improving productivity, sales, costs, and competition... http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=45 2007-06-01 12:00:00-0500 The Leather Wire Wrap End is the combination of leather working and wire wrap techniques, and is also among the more difficult ways to finish the end of an accessory. http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=44 2007-06-01 12:00:00-0500 Finishing a leather necklace or bracelet with a knotted end is quite simple, but it produces a rustic and natural aesthetic that can be just what your accessory calls for. http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=43 2007-06-01 12:00:00-0500 The crimp is an important technique that comes in handy when making connections to finish the ends of necklaces, bracelets, and other accessories. http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=42 2007-06-01 12:00:00-0500 If you can perform the Crimp, you can fix a bead tip to a leather necklace, bracelet, or anklet. http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=41 2007-06-01 12:00:00-0500 Soft Flex is an excellent medium for making beaded jewellery, and also one of the easiest to work with. http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=40 2007-06-01 12:00:00-0500 Lobster claws, once attached, are among the easiest of clasps to use on a necklace, and they also cooperate very nicely with clam shells. http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=39 2007-06-01 12:00:00-0500 The clam shell is a great kind of clasp, and is easy to attach. http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=38 2007-06-01 12:00:00-0500 When a gemstone or bead has been drilled through the centre, and a one-sided connection with another bead, chain, or finding is desired, it's time to perform a Centre Drill Single End Wire Wrap! http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=32 2007-06-01 12:00:00-0500 When a gemstone or bead has been drilled through the centre, and a two-sided connection with other beads, chains, or findings is desired, it's time to perform a Centre Drill Double End Wire Wrap! http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=33 2007-06-01 12:00:00-0500 When a gemstone or bead has been drilled once through the side and a single-sided connection to another bead, chain, or finding is desired, it's time to perform a Side Drill Single End Wire Wrap! http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=34 2007-06-01 12:00:00-0500 When a gemstone or bead has been drilled twice, through both sides, and a connection on both sides to other beads, chains, or findings is desired, it's time to perform a Side Drill Double End Wire Wrap! http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=35 2007-06-01 12:00:00-0500 You'll find it surprisingly easy to form an earring hoop, the foundation for classic bangles and other earring styles. http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=36 2007-06-01 12:00:00-0500 You'll find it surprisingly easy to form a beading hoop, the foundation for a multitude of classic earring styles. http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=37 2007-06-01 12:00:00-0500 Gold-filled jewellery differs from gold vermeil in both the quantity of gold involved and the process which bonds it to the base metal… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=46 2007-06-13 12:00:00-0500 Gold vermeil (pronounced 'vermay') refers to metal that has been plated with a thin layer of gold… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=47 2007-06-13 12:00:00-0500 Ask Professor Pearl: July 5th, 2007 http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=49 2007-06-17 12:00:00-0500 Possessing the unearthly radiance of the moon, this stone is known worldwide as an absolute delight… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=54 2007-06-18 12:00:00-0500 Sunstone, known to the scientific community as aventurine feldspar, is famous for its spangled golden brilliance… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=53 2007-06-18 12:00:00-0500 Tourmaline is one of the most chemically complicated gemstones around, and it shows in the unmatched variety of available colour schemes… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=52 2007-06-18 12:00:00-0500 Beryl, the family of minerals to which both aquamarine and its upscale cousin emerald belong, is naturally colourless in its pure form… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=51 2007-06-18 12:00:00-0500 Legend has it that as Aphrodite, goddess of love, lay in majestic slumber on the bank of the Indus River, a playful Eros (Cupid) decided to give her an impromptu manicure with one of his trademark arrowheads… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=50 2007-06-18 12:00:00-0500 Gold is an incredibly soft and malleable metal, and therefore requires care and sensitivity in handling… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=55 2007-06-23 12:00:00-0500 Once upon a time the strikingly unique gemstone Tiger Eye (also known as Tiger's Eye) was worn by Roman soldiers… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=56 2007-07-06 12:00:00-0500 Prehnite takes its name from Colonol Hendrik Von Prehn, who discovered it in 1774… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=57 2007-07-06 12:00:00-0500 Cleaning gemstones is somewhat like cleaning gold vermeil… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=58 2007-07-20 12:00:00-0500 People are allergic to metals for 2 main reasons; nickel and, less often, from salts leaching out of copper… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=59 2007-09-04 12:00:00-0500 A sales agent, also known as sales representative (sales rep, for short), can be a powerful business building partner if there is a good fit between the agent and the need of the designer/manufacturer… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=60 2007-09-05 12:00:00-0500 In your jewellery making career at some point you will be tempted to go abroad on a jewellery component buying trip. How do you know it is time? http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=61 2007-11-08 12:00:00-0500 In deciding whether or not to make the move from jewellery designing as a hobby to a jewellery design business, there are a number of factors to consider and there are some steps to take to help ensure a successful transition. http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=66 2008-08-08 12:00:00-0500 A trunk show is a retail event at which the jewellery designer and or jewellery manufacturer brings in designs that are new or not otherwise available at the boutique. http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=62 2008-08-08 12:00:00-0500 There are many secrets to success to a jewellery trunk show. Although they do not guarantee success or failure, some of them are very important to keep in mind… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=63 2008-08-08 12:00:00-0500 I've just returned from the jewellery trunk trunk show hosted by a long time customer of mine… http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=64 2008-08-08 12:00:00-0500 A number of my friends in the industry have done jewellery trunk shows and practices vary. http://www.stonesandfindings.com/articles.php?articleID=65 2008-08-08 12:00:00-0500