Prehnite The Gemstone With Inner Glow

Prehnite, is an amazing gemstone, at least to me. It exhibits, an inner glow, unique to this gemstone. Cabachon gemstones, are usually the softer green, variety, like seen in the photo. Faceted Prehnite, is a much more intense green color, with a glow of fiery yellows. I do not own any faceted Prehnite, but it is on my long list, of gemstones to own. The cabachon variety, of Prehnite, is a soft green color, and it is almost mesmerizing. It is like looking into a crystal ball. I get several compliments on this ring. There is also Golden Prehnite, which is a newer find of the gemstone, and is a very soft golden yellow color. I have only seen it in cabachon form, not faceted, and I believe I own at least one piece of that variety.

Prehnite, has a 6-6 1/2 hardness, according to the Mohs Hardness Scale. It was named after a Dutch colonel. It has a vitreous to mother of pearl luster. Deposits of Prehnite, can be found in Australia, China, Scotland, South Africa, and the USA.

How To Tell If Tanzanite Has Been Heated

According to my new book, Gemstone Identification Made Easy, there is a fairly simple way to tell if your Tanzanite is natural in color, or has been heat treated. Most Tanzanite comes out of the ground, brown or green color, and then is heat treated to get the various bluish purple colored gemstones. However some Tanzanite comes out of the ground those colors, naturally. Of course these gemstones would have a much greater value, than the heated variety. Plus you may be being charged too much for a stone being sold as natural, when in fact it has been heat treated. The use of a dichroscope, can help you in determining if your stone has been treated or not. Tanzanite is a trichoic gemstone, meaning it shows three different distinct colors. When looking through a dichroscope, you will see three distint different colors. Natural, unheated Tanzanite will show blue, purple, and green. Sometimes the purple color will be reddish, and sometimes yellow instead of green. However the important thing is that you will three distinctive different colors in unheated Tanzanite. The green, yellow coloring is very often not seen in heated Tanzanite. If you view through your dichroscope your Tanzanite, and you see blue, purple, and green chances are good that you have gotten an unheated, natural Tanzanite. Congrats to you, if you have such a rare, and fabulously valuable Tanzanite in your collection.

How To Set A Cinch Mount Easy Tutorial

This one is quick, and easy. Once you get the hang of it, and know how much to cinch, you will be all set to go.

Gemstone Mining in Africa at Aquamarine Mine

This is pretty neat. Watch how they mine for Aquamarine, at a mine in Zambia, Africa. Aquamarine is the beautiful blue gemstone, birthstone for the month of March. It is a member of the Beryl family.

Citrine The November Birthstone

Citrine the lovely golden yellow gemstone, is the birthstone for November. It comes in varying shades of yellow, with darker, golden hues being the more valued. While Citrine can be found in natural, untreated forms, it is extremely rare. Most modern day Citrine is obtained by heat treating light colored Amethyst, mostly from Brazil.
It has a 7, on the Moh's hardness scale, making it durable, but still needs care when wearing. I would not recommend wearing it for everyday wear, in a ring, or bracelet. Not only is it the birthstone for November, but it is also the 13th wedding anniversary stone. Citrine is believed to help the liver, heart, kidneys, muscles, and digestive tract. It also helps creativity, and personal clarity steering the wearer away from self destructive tendencies.

Aquamarine For Healing

It has long been believed that gemstones hold healing powers. Aquamarine, is the birthstone for March. Check out this short video, to learn about the healing properties of this lovely blue gemstone, belonging the to the Beryl family.

Contest Win A Gemstones Of The World Book

Would you like to win this very cool book. I just got my new tools, I ordered, and the book was included. I already have one, of this exact copy, so I am giving it away. Here are the rules:

You must have a USA address.
You have to blog about this contest, with a link back, on your blog.
Then you have to email me at darien04@gmail.com with your blog address, so I can check the post.
That is it, contest ends 3/31/09

Good luck, all entries will be put in a hat, and a winner drawn, on 4/1/09.

Lovely Green Jewelry for St Patrick's Day

All of these lovely pieces are available for purchase. You can buy them in my Etsy store, or you can purchase through this blog using Paypal. To order through my blog you must be a USA buyer, and pay with paypal, contact me at darien04@gmail.com with any questions, or post here on this blog. Happy St Patrick's Day, everyone.

Identify Up To 85% Of Gemstones

Ok the very first thing I learned from my new book, Gemstone Identification Made Easy, is that you can identify up to 85% of gemstones with these three tools: Dichroscope, 10X Loupe, and the Chelsea Filter. I have ordered these three tools, and they will be my Mothers Day gift this year. I also want a Refractometer, and Ultraviolet Light, but they will have to wait. I have a microscope, but it is not a jewelers microscope, which are more handy for identifying gemtsones. Anyway I want to talk about the 10X Loupe. Of course I am sure everyone who does jewelry, knows about this instrument. It is simply a magnifier with 10 times the power. They come in other powers, but this is the one most widely used. It lets you see into the gemstone, to see inclusions, cracks, scratches, cleavage etc. It does take some practice to get used to knowing what you are seeing, and a dark field 10X loupe is even better. One very important thing I learned, that I did not know before, is that you should never buy a 10X loupe in any other color than black. I am sure you have seen pretty gold, chrome, red, blue, and even green loupes. I was curious to know why, as the book did not detail, so I did a little research. I found out that they black casing loupe will prevent reflections. The other colored loupes can interfere with colors, and can lead to mistakes when identifying your stones. This is a necessary tool, for anyone who wishes to identify gemstones, and they are pretty affordable. Most you can get for less than 50 dollars.

Aquamarine The Birthstone For March

This lovely ring, made by me, is I believe the lovely Aquamarine, which is the birthstone for March. I can not verify it yet, as I do not have all my tools yet, but it has a lovely blue color, like Aquamarine. It could be Blue Topaz, though, or any other blue gemstone. I will be getting my tools for Mothers Day, to hopefully identify stones I am not certain of. Aquamarine is a member of the Beryl family, like Emeralds, Goshenite, and Morganite. It is a very durable gemstone with a hardness of 7 1/2-8 on the Mohs hardness scale. In its finest color it looks like you are looking at the ocean. It is very often heated, to enhance color, and remove green undertones. However, the natural color, with the green undertones is increasingly becoming popular. It can be very expensive, in finer, darker colors. The very light aquas, with very little color, are not considered quality stones, though there are those that prefer that color, and price point. If you are a March baby, you need to have this lovely stone, in your collection.

Gemstone Identification Made Easy

This was my anniversary gift. I have been wanting this book forever. It is the new 4th edition by, Antoinette Matlin, and AC Bonanno. I read it already, and I can not wait to share the information I have learned. There are things in here, that gemstone collectors, jewelry makers, and buyers need to know. I will sharing cool stuff from the book, along with my usual posts about tutorials, and pieces I have made. Stay tuned this should be fun.

Learn To Make Wire Wrap Rings

For the record let me just state, I have tried this twice, and I stink. It is not as easy as it looks. I will keep trying until I get it right. I am always amazed how hard wire wrapping really is, compared to what I already know how to do which is traditional settings. Check it out, it is free, and fun.

Need An Affordable Lead Testing Kit?

With the new lead limit laws, people are wondering what they will do. Yesterday, in the mail, I got my new Fire Mountain Gems catalog, and they have a lead tester kit available. It is 34.95 and you can test 16 different times. That sounds like a fair price, compared to the 400 dollars I had recently heard a lead test costs. If you sell products aimed at children under the age of 12, you should look into this product. I am assuming other companies will be coming up with similar type kits, to help offset the expense of lead testing.

Lovely Hand Towels Made By Mom

I am helping my mom to clean out her inventory. She used to sell on Ebay, and had a craft shop. Now that she is back to working full time, she does not have the time to sell her products. These are some lovely handt owels she made using her embroidery machine, and some of the designs she created herself. These would make great gifts, guest bathrooms, as well as kitchen decor. Each towel is 3.95, if you buy all 6 fro 19.99 If you are interested in these, please contact me at darien04@gmail.com for payment options, and further details. I will give free shipping to anyone who buys the whole lot. Any questions, please feel free to ask. Have a great Monday, everyone.

Pink Mother Of Pearl with Blue Freshwater Pearls, Green Pistachio Pearls

I am showing these again, for someone who is interested in them. The Green Pistachio pearl earrings, are dangle style, but they are very dainty, and lovely. I have a 6 1/4 inch wrist so you get the idea of what the Green Pistachio Pearl cuff bracelet looks like on a very dainty wrist. The earrings are 7.50, and the bracelet is 14.99. The Pink Mother of Pearl pendant, and earrings, have blue pearl accents. These were my very first wire wrapping experiences, and are wrapped in silvertone wire. These are lovely, semi bold pieces. They are not super bold, but they will be noticed. Please note freshwater pearls, are not perfect pearls. They are not completely round, and can contain blemishes. The pendant is 7.50, and the earrings are 7.50 I hope that helps. If you have any questions, or would like to purchase these or any other items, you can contact me at darien04@gmail.com

How To Set A Snaptite Ring Setting

Snaptite settings are the easiest to use. This short video will teach you how to set a gemstone in a snaptite ring setting.

Win 1000 Entrecard Credits

Attention all Entrecard droppers, go to Melissas Homeschool sign up to follow that blog, and you will be entered into the 1000 Entrecard credit give away. It is my one year anniversary on that blog, hence the contest. Simple, and easy, winner will be announced on the 14th. There is also a contest on that same blog for a set of 4th grade Sylvan workbooks, details are at the top of the blog for that contest. Do not miss out on both of these great contests.

Sold Yellow Tourmaline and Goshenite Rings

I have had two sales in the last week. Both were from Etsy. One was my large trillion Goshenite ring, and the very lovely Canary Yellow Tourmaline ring. Both beauties, and both great deals. Congrats to the new lucky owners of both of these pieces. I will now have to find more Yellow Tourmaline, as I love it.

How To Set A Gemstone In A Basket Setting Free Tutorial

Here is a short video tutorial showing you how to set a gemstone, in a basket setting. If you check my archives you will find other helpful tutorials.

Winner Of The Pearl Cross Pendant

I had two top droppers for the month of February. Watch me, and sudhersana were both tied. I placed both their names in a hat, and sudhersana was drawn as the winner. She has been contacted, and has three days to claim her prize, according to the rules. Be sure to congratulate her. I will have another contest in April, so be sure to watch for that. Thank you to everyone who visits my blog every day.