Prima Gallery

Rhinestone jewelry is made by gluing the rock crystal to foil which in turn is placed in a setting. The metal part of rhinestone jewelry is non-precious, made from either gold or silver colored base metals.

Hallmarking Rhinestone Jewelry

Vintage rhinestone jewelry ranges from $50 to over $1,000 depending on its quality, age and whether it has a hallmark. Hallmarks are unique symbols placed on a bracelet/necklace clasp or tag or inside a ring identifying the jewelry maker, date the jewelry was made and other related information. Having a hallmark doesn’t guarantee the jewelry is authentic nor does not having a hallmark mean it’s a fake. Hallmarks can be copied. Additionally, the jewelry designer may have forgotten to affix a hallmark it or may have made pieces they didn’t see the need to mark.

Caring for Rhinestone Jewelry

Over the years, rhinestone jewelry made with clear rock crystal may start to yellow. This is caused by the deterioration of the glue holding the rhinestone to the foil. As the cause of the yellow cast is underneath the rhinestone, it is impossible to remove by surface cleaning the jewelry. The only alternative is to have a jeweler replace the rhinestone – a simple process.

Jewelry cleaning camps are divided on how to best clean rhinestone jewelry or any costume jewelry for that matter with foil backings. Some say it’s okay to use soap and water brushing off the surface dirt with a toothbrush and rinsing the jewelry under running water.

Others say getting the foil wet causes it to turn black, ruining the appearance of white and light colored rhinestones. An alternate method to the above is to dunk a toothbrush into soapy water, shake until the brush is barely wet and carefully clean the rhinestones, taking care to keep any moisture from getting into the setting.

Amber is fossilised pine resin (from the amber pine) which oozes out of the trunk and then sets. When it fossilised, it becomes amber. Often bits got trapped in the resin before it set, perhaps even insects (see right). The film “Jurassic Park” imagines that you could take a mosquito from a piece of amber, remove some dinosaur blood from the mosquito’s stomach, extract the DNA from the blood, and clone a dinosaur. This is impossible, but not completely impossible, and it makes a good story!

Amber beads were common throughout Bronze Age Europe.

The Greeks called amber “elektron” (which may come from a Phoenician word for the sun, meaning “golden”). They noticed its power to attract small bits of ash when rubbed with a cloth. This is static electricity, and the word “electricity” comes from “elektron” or amber. Pliny, the Roman author, knew that amber came from resin, by its smell and the way it burns, but didn’t realise that it was fossilised.

You can find amber on the beaches of East Anglia UK. The top piece in the photograph above was found at Great Yarmouth on the east coast of England. Ambergris (which gives its name to amber) is a strongly smelling substance found in the intestines of some whales, which is used to make perfume. It is nothing to do with amber! But since amber can be found on beaches, perhaps people thought that it can from the sea, and so must be ambergris.

Crystal is a cheaper low-grade gems, used to impersonate the only glass. Easily without damage identification method is as follows:

1 touch method:
Gems are crystals, heat quickly, the glass is amorphous crystallization, heat slowly. Therefore, touching the sample, crystalline  have a cool feeling; and there are warm feeling of glass.Of course, such recognition to the prior general practice, familiar with the differences between the two can only be determined after the test is not available before too long holding time, or place where a heat source for too long, so as not to affect the test results of the external environment. In addition, to test sensitivity, is usually sensitive parts such as tongue or fingers to determine the cool or warm.

2, magnifying observation:
Glass surface and often into the whirlpool of the thread within the pattern, its appearance much like the honey or glue them into the clear water after mixing, as mixing with uneven phenomenon. Glass-house often with varying amounts of air bubbles, the bubble has beads shaped, oval-shaped, elongated shape and flat, etc., these phenomena in other crystalline gems are rare within.Another glass of crisp brittle or cracked in the jewelry inlaid Office Department, under the glass would be caving due to fragmentation of small pieces and leave the dent smooth curved like shells. Natural stone for better toughness, fracture rare.

3, glass fake gemstone supplier because of lower prices, it is very rough milling quality, or even molten glass is poured into the mold in the casting. Facet of such products often not smooth, faceted edges do not cross between the straight. Generally the more precious stones, pondering the better the quality.

4, the glass is not a homogeneous body crystal crystal crystal belong to the non-homogeneous body, usually with a polarimeter can be detected.

5, hardness distinction: crystal hardness of 7, the glass usually around 5.5, less obvious parts with jewelry in the glass can be tested separately carved out.

There are types of precious stones with a few relatively good hardness and shine that occur in the color blue. Sapphire is the most famous, and may be found in the full range of blues, from pale blue to black and blue. Topaz Blue, produced by the radioactive colorless topaz is the most popular of all gemstones blue, it is available widely and at attractive prices and are not in tones of light and medium dark. Other options include blue and blue-violet tanzanite () and peridot (light blue). And can in some cases, spinel and tourmaline can be found in the blue, but only rarely.

The most brilliant blue gemstone is no doubt zircon, which has a higher index of refraction of sapphire tanzanite or even spinel. Zircon, but not well known by the public, who are prone to interference with cubic zirconia, a tonic artificial diamond. Natural mineral zircon, zirconium silicate, and is found in a range of colors, including white, blue, yellow, orange, brown, rose and green.

Zircon production is blue, and the most popular color, through the heat treatment of zircon brown. But not all turn blue zircon brown when exposed to heat, only some of the zircon and the structure of the right material to convert the blue when heated. This is why in most of the blue zircon comes from Cambodia or Burma.

Blue Zircon has some unique characteristics that make it very popular with amateur precious stones. Not only zircon and outstanding brilliance, but also has a very strong dispersion or fire, and the tendency to split white light into colors of the spectrum. Zircon is also very clear birefringence or double refraction, where the difference between the two indices of refraction is unusually high. This is clear in many cases can be seen with the naked eye when you look down across a table cut Zircon: I’ll note the face of weaknesses that make the edges of the viewpoint.

Although Blue Zircon is a gem of a reasonably difficult, on the Mohs hardness scale of about 7 to 7.5, is crisp and somewhat sensitive to that knocks and pressure. Zircon has a tendency to wear along the edges of the face. Therefore it should be used in workshops is limited to security settings or the wearing of jewelry in some cases.

Can be found on the blue zircon in a range of blue tones from very pale blue and means saturated. Due to pleochroism, can look a little greenish-blue zircon when an offer from one direction

Recent discussion in the news of the fake ruby valued at £11million pounds make me think of the genuinely most famous and valuable gem stones. I thought I would look to familiarize myself with the some of the most famous gems and take a look at why they have reached that status.

The Hope Diamond. The 45.52 carat steel blue Hope Diamond was found in India. It weighs approximately 12 carats. It first came to public attention when Jean Batiste Tavernier, a famous French traveler of the 17th century, was approached in India by a slave who had an intriguing steel blue stone which appeared to be a large sapphire Tavernier soon realized it was a diamond – the largest deep blue diamond in the world. Legend has it the diamond came from the eye of an idol in a temple on the colroon River in India. If that is the case, one can only imagine that the eye must have had a mate, but its fate never come to light. Tavernier purchased the stone and smuggled it to Paris, where he later sold it to King Louis XIV. It was cut there into a triangular-pear-shaped stone weighing 67.50 carats, and was then known as the French Blue

The Star of India. At 563.35 carats, the Star Of India is the largest and most famous star sapphire in the world. It was discovered more than 300 years ago, in Sri Lanka, where excellent sapphires are still to be found in deposits of sand and gravel left by ancient rivers. Industrialist and financier J. P. Morgan presented the sapphire to the New York Museum of Natural History in 1900 and even today this stone is one of the most famous objects in all of the Museum’s collections. In 1964 the Star of India (along with the Delong Star Ruby) was the object of an infamous burglary, both gems were recovered.

The Spirit of de Grisogono. At 312.24 carats is the world’s largest cut black diamond, and the world’s 5th largest diamond. The gem stone gets its name from Swiss jeweler de Grisogono, who was the was the first major jeweller to create collections of black diamond jewelry and watches. This diamond originally had a rough weight of 587 carats and was mined several decades ago in west Central Africa before being imported into Switzerland. It was then cut using the Mogul diamond cutting technique – this historic cutting method was developed centuries ago in India and can be seen in a number of historic diamonds.

The Tiffany Yellow. Found in 1877 / 1878. It was cut under the supervision of the distinguished gemologist George F. Kunz in 1878, yielding a cushion-cut brilliant of 128.54 carats. The gem is high in fluorescence and retains this rich color in artificial light, but is even more beautiful by day. The Tiffany Yellow is a rare canary yellow. This diamond is on show in Tiffany’s in New York and I was very excited to see this on a trip to New York in 2000.

#1 2009's World-Beating Blue Diamond Ring

The top spot, perhaps unsurprisingly goes to a blue diamond. Master jewellers Chopard set the flawless oval gemstone into a ring consisting of a diamond band set in white gold. Blue diamonds rarely occur in nature, and are caused by traces of boron in diamond's lattice structure.

Diamonds lacking visible nitrogen impurities, which tend to discolour them with a dirty yellow tinge, are rarer still. This one is a vibrant icy blue.

The most famous blue diamond in the world, the Hope Diamond, named after one of its owners of that name, now resides in the Smithsonian museum. It was once set in a necklace by Louis XV, and was supposed to be cursed, with the many supposed victims of the curse including Marie Antoinette.

The curse was a complete fabrication, based on the false idea that it had been one of two eyes of a statue in a Hindu temple, but this was never the case. 

The Hope is actually greyer than the subject of this list which, whilst not showy, is impossible to ignore. It resembles an engagement ring which, whilst a fairly hefty investment, would be unlikely to be greeted with a 'no'. It is valued at £9.8m. #2 Heart of the Kingdom Ruby

British jewellers Garrard have set this patriotically named piece on a diamond necklace. The central jewel weighs a substantial 40.63 carats (eight and one eight grams) and derives from Burma. The clear, deep red gem has been cut with a small dint at the top to yield the shape referred to by the name.

Burma has been the source of other great rubies, notably the DeLong Star ruby which now resides in the American Museum of Natural History.

That ruby was once stolen, ransomed for $25,000 and dropped off in a phone booth. This one would likely fetch more, being valued at £8.48m.

#3 The Winston Earrings

The famous jeweller Harry Winston of California loans out close to $1bn worth of jewellery to stars for Oscar night. It should therefore be no surprise to see his name associated with a piece on this list.

The 2006 earrings, which are set in platinum, are accurately described as 'Diamond Drop', in reference to the sizeable droplets of white diamond hanging free from somewhat smaller diamonds above.

They weigh 60.1 carats between them and are valued at £5.25m. And no, you have to buy them as a pair.

#4 2007's Greatest Blue Diamond Ring

The then record breaking price of £4.84m was obtained for a flawless fancy vivid blue diamond set in a simple ring in Hong Kong. The squarish cut gem which weighs 6.04 carats has an unusual dark hue and is particularly sparkling.

#5 Beyoncé and Jay Z's wedding ring

Lorraine Schwartz provided an 18 carat emerald cut diamond-in-platinum ring to seal the knot between the stars.

#6 Paris' Diamond Engagement Ring

The ring which was intended to unite the two Paris heirs: Hilton and her then fiancé, shipping millionaire Paris Latsis is 24 carat emerald cut, and thought to be worth £2.85m.

#7 De Beers 'Marie Antoinette' Diamond necklace

De Beers think that the famous French queen would have loved its 181 carats necklace with a mix of cut white and fancy vivid coloured diamonds down the centre. The price tag is £2.24m.

#8 Fergie's wedding Necklace

The Black Eyed Peas singer topped off her wedding with a gold necklace heavily slung with diamonds, designed by H Stern - a small matter of £1.92m.

#9 The Chopard Haute Joaillerie Diamond and Emerald necklace

The alternating of clear white and deep green gems gives a beautiful, shimmering, watery effect. The 191 carats of Columbian emeralds dominate the rose cut diamonds, and the effect is impossible to ignore, even from the far side of a room.

Although not officially priced, they would be expected to sell for £1.85m #10 Tiffany's Majestic Diamond Pendant

With an attention-seizing main pear-shaped white diamond of 41.4 carats surrounded by smaller, clear circular and pear diamonds, Tiffany's proudest neckwear seems something of a bargain at £1.54m.

Kazuri jewellery is hand made in Kenya by local women. The fair trade Jewellery made by Kazuri is bright and vibrant, Kazuri is a Swahili word meaning 'small and beautiful'. The jewellery definitely lives up to its name, every piece is made from many individual beads that are all 'small and beautiful'. Each bead is carefully hand-crafted by one of 400 women who create the jewellery in a small village outside Nairobi. The jewellery is made from ceramic, the process involves forming clay into beads, firing them and then hand glazing them with a vibrant range of different coloured paints, firing them again before stringing.

The Kazuri enterprise was started in 1975 by Lady Susan Wood. Lady Wood was born in a mud hut in the Belgian Congo to missionary parents. From a young age she was accustomed to living under difficult circumstances, a year after her birth her parents decided to return to England. To make this journey they had to travel on foot across central Africa, to board a steamer to Alexandria and then another boat to England. She and her siblings remained in England at boarding school whilst her parents returned to the Congo. During the second world war she trained at Oxford as a nurse, this is where she met Michael Wood who she would later marry.

How did you used to make products before Ponoko?

The process for constructing the finished jewelry it much the same – my two hands + materials. I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today if I hadn’t dabbled with all sorts of jewelry making processes – from bead weaving, glass fusing, lampworking, Precious Metal Clay (PMC) to metal-smithing. I’ve tried it all.

As my style evolved, I increasingly became frustrated with pre-made components. Everyone had the same box of crayons, it seemed, and I wanted to do something to express my own style and set myself apart from the pack.

How would you describe your design process?

I have little scraps of paper floating around with ideas I thought were just fantastic. Some of them are…and some of them are indecipherable now! I consider myself quite fortunate that I have inspiration around me daily – between my job as curator in a history museum and my typography obsessed graphic designer husband I swear it’s coming out my ears.

Stage two is doodling. Or half doodling. One reason you never see my doodles is that I am incapable of drawing things symmetrically. So I work in halves, quarters, thirds – whatever my design needs – then I take it to the computer to mirror it to see the complete design, trace it, and see what I think. If it’s good, I will spend hours, if not days, obsessing over every single anchor and bezier curve until the design is to my satisfaction. “Nudge” is my friend.

What are your material preferences?

I mainly use acrylic, black, for my jewelry. I really like the simplicity of it, the shininess of it, and the consistent quality and strength. I also am in love with bamboo. I love that it is a renewable resource, and how amazingly lightweight it is. Some of my products, like the Mustache Love Pin look smashing in the wood grain.

Have you been surprised by anything in the Ponoko process?

I’m continually surprised by how much I love being a Prime customer! I order maybe once a month, and it’s absolutely worth it to me. Also, I was surprised that there is steady traffic (and buyers!) to the Ponoko showroom. A pair of my earrings made into Lucky magazine thanks to it. I need to get better about utilizing it more!

Exports of gems and jewelry from India, the world’s largest supplier, advanced 55 percent in February to $2.3 billion, an industry group said.

Shipments rose from $1.5 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to preliminary data published by the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council on its Web site.

Exports in the April-February period climbed to $25 billion, 10 percent more than the previous period.

Art fans have just a few weeks left to see a celebrated sculpture before it leaves Northumberland next month.

Stella McCartney's stunning three metre high leaping horse Lucky Spot is to be removed from display at Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens on April 18.

The sculpture made from more than 8000 Swarovski crystals was created by the internationally renowned fashion designer specifically for the Grade I historic site in 2004 as part of Fashion at Belsay.

One of the venue's most popular attractions was returned by popular demand last Easter and attracted thousands of additional visitors .

Rob Flower, head of visitor operations for English Heritage in the North East, said: "We were fortunate enough to be able to bring Lucky Spot back to Belsay last spring."

Lucky Spot's current home will be closed for two weeks for the installation of its replacement. Contemporary arts exhibition, Extraordinary Measures, will open on May 1.

Running until the end of September, the exhibition will take visitors of all ages into a world of dark enchantment.

Highlights among the specially commissioned installations - most of which are being seen for the first time in the UK - will include the premiere of new hyper-realistic sculptures by Ron Mueck in the 19th Century rooms and photographs of tiny day-trippers facing everyday dramas within the gardens of Belsay, as documented by urban artist Slinkachu.

To mark Lucky Spot's departure, English Heritage is giving visitors over the Easter holidays the chance to win a selection of prizes, if they are able to find the hidden 'Lucky Spots' dotted around the castle, hall and gardens.