Labradorite

Aurora Borealis seen from the North Pole

Inuit legend tells us that long ago the Northern Lights were trapped inside the rocks off the coast of Labrador.  One day they were found by an Inuit warrior who used his spear to free them.  Sadly, not all the Northern Lights could be freed.  It is because some of them remained imprisoned in the rock that we have labradorite today.



Slab of labradorite - photo by Kluka

The rainbow coloured reflections seen in labradorite, known as labradorescence or schiller, do indeed resemble the beauty of the Northern Lights. It is therefore not surprising that shortly after its discovery in 1770 by Moravian missionaries on Paul Island in Labrador, Canada, labradorite became a popular stone for use in jewelry in France and England.


Labradorite cabochons


The stone remains popular today. Labradorite shows at its best when it is able to move to catch the light, which transforms the dark grey stone into a fiery, iridescent thing of beauty. For this reason, pieces that move, such as drop earrings and rings are often preferred to more static pieces, like necklaces or pins.

Labradorite has many internal layers and cracks, so care must be taken with the stone. It can break in two if it receives a blow or if too much pressure is applied to it. It can also easily chip or become scuffed, so it should be stored properly when not in use. Ultrasonic and steam cleaning are not recommended for this gemstone.

Here are some examples of labradorite used in jewelry, brought to you by members of the Starving Artists Team.

Oxidized Sterling Silver Labradorite Necklace by Shiny Adornments

Sterling Silver and Labradorite Necklace by LA Valley Girly

Argentium Silver Labradorite Earrings by popnicute

Labradorite and Fine Silver Wire Crochet Pendant by Cat's Wire



Labradorite Bracelet by Ava Designs



Featuring artisan handmade creations by the Starving Artists jewelry Team, the SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com and here on ArtFire.

Turquoise - December's Birthstone

The ancient Aztecs believed that turquoise was a holy stone and that mortals were not worthy of wearing it. As such, it was reserved for the worship of gods.


Double headed serpent originally from Aztec Mexico, now at the British Museum.  It is a mosaic of mostly turquoise over a carved wooden sculpture.


Turquoise is a very soft material that is blue to green to yellow green in colour. It has been mined since at least 6000 BC and used in jewelry for almost as long.


Medallion with Turquoise from Tibet, now found in the Musée Guimet in Paris


Turquoise has long been sought-after because of its beautiful blue colour. In the past, the finest material came from Persia (Iran) and was a sky blue colour. Persian turquoise is no longer mined, and today most turquoise come from the US and China.

Turquoise is the birthstone for those born in December.


Turquoise rough and turquoise cabochons



Much of the turquoise sold today is not natural turquoise. Simulated turquoise is not new. Ancient Egyptian artisans developed faience, a copper glazed ceramic imitation, when high quality deposits of turquoise were no longer available.

Although natural turquoise does exist, this high grade material comes with a high price tag. Because turquoise is such a soft stone (5 to 6 on Moh’s scale of hardness), it is usually treated for stability.

When purchasing turquoise, one should be aware of the different treatments and imitations that exist for this stone.

• Stabilized turquoise - Real turquoise that is treated with plastic resin or waxes to make it more stable and less crumbly.

• Reconstituted turquoise – Small chips and powder of real turquoise are bound with resin and dyes. This material is much less expensive than natural turquoise.

• Block turquoise – Mixture of resins and dyes and does not contain any actual stone. Does not have the same value as natural turquoise.

• Imitation and simulated turquoise – Materials that are dyed to look like turquoise. These include stones like howlite and magnesite as well as glass, plastic and ceramic. These materials do not have the same value as natural turquoise.

• African Turquoise – This stone is not turquoise. It is jasper and should have a lower price.


Nugget of howlite, dyed to imitate turquoise


Caring for Turquoise

Turquoise is a porous material and natural and stabilized turquoise can darken with wear as it tends to absorb body oils. It should be wiped with a damp cloth after wear for cleaning.

Protect your turquoise jewelry from heat, chemicals and shock. Ultrasonic or steam cleaning should not be used and one should avoid putting on lotions or perfumes when wearing turquoise jewelry.

Rings and bracelets made from turquoise should not be for everyday wear. Keep them for occasional wear to protect the stone from the abuse that bracelets and rings often take.

Store your turquoise jewelry in a cool, dark box in a layer of acid-free tissue paper.


Fortunately, the Aztec practice of reserving turquoise for the gods is no longer observed and we can all enjoy some beautiful turquoise jewelry. 



Natural Brass Turquoise and Smokey Quartz Bracelet by Beb Designs



Bronze Square Earrings with Turquoise by Dream Some

Green Turquoise and Ruby Necklace by Elegance and Sparkles

Turquoise Button Earring Drops by Pixie's Treasure Chest

Turquoise and Sterling Silver Flower Cocktail Ring by 2 Belles and a Bead

Featuring artisan handmade creations by the Etsy Starving Artists jewelry team. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current Etsy shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com.

Citrine

In ancient times, people carried citrine as protection against snake venom and to ward off evil thoughts.

It is only in the 19th century that citrine started to be used in jewelry. It has gained popularity in jewelry as it is one of the most affordable stones available in earth tones.

Citrine is a variety of quartz that ranges from yellow to red-orange to brown in colour.

Quartz is the second most abundant mineral on earth, but naturally occurring citrine is rather rare. Most citrine available on the market today is heat treated amethyst or smoky quartz. Some of the heat treated material can change colour over time if left out in bright sunlight therefore it is best to store this stone away from light when not being worn.

Citrine is sometimes misleadingly called topaz or quartz topaz. Topaz is a completely different mineral that has a higher value than citrine.

There is a lot of citrine available on the market, which makes it a rather inexpensive gemstone. It is also available in large sizes.

Citrine is the birthstone for those born in November.

Members of the Starving Artists team enjoy working with this pretty gemstone.

Citrine necklace with sterling silver beads and pendant by Riorita

Citrine Agate Druzy Gemstone Necklace by Jenni Leigh Creations

Cosmic Circle Necklace by Danagonia

Modern Golden Yellow Citrine Disc Ring by TJRJewellery


A strike of gold. Pendant by Colla

Have you heard about SATeam's Wrist Candy Holiday Giveaway? To find out all the details and the complete list of participating shops, have a look here. There is only one week left as the deadline for entry is November 28th, 2010.

Featuring artisan handmade creations by the Etsy Starving Artists jewelry team. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current Etsy shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com.

Tourmaline - Rainbow Gemstone

Tourmaline is the birthstone for October. I think those born in this month are perhaps the luckiest when it comes to their birthstone as it is available in such a wide range of colours. Someone born in October can pick almost any colour for his/her stone.

Tourmaline Cabochons

Ancient Egyptian lore says that as tourmaline travelled up from the middle of the earth toward the sun, it travelled along a rainbow and collected all the colours of the rainbow.

Rubellite Tourmaline Crystals

Tourmaline does come in a rainbow of colours – blue, green, yellow, pink, red, reddish purple, black, brown and clear. But what makes tourmaline so special is that different colours are often present in the same crystal. So tourmaline can be bi-coloured, tri-coloured, even multi-coloured. These incredible colour variations have made tourmaline an incredibly popular gemstone for jewelry makers and jewelry buyers.

Tri-coloured Tourmaline Crystals

The value of tourmaline varies greatly and depends on the quality of the colour of the stone. The most expensive tourmalines are the Paraiba tourmalines (bright neon blue), indicolite tourmaline (blue), verdelite tourmaline (green) and rubellite tourmaline (pink to red).

Faceted Indicolite Tourmaline Gemstone

Tourmaline also has an interesting physical characteristic. If heated, rubbed or pressurized, a tourmaline crystal will become electrically charged, causing it to attract small objects such as dust, hair, fluff and dirt. This results in the need to clean tourmaline more often that most gemstones.

Tourmaline is often heat treated to enhance the colour. Blue tourmaline crystals are treated to lighten the colour while low grade pink and red ones are treated to intensify their colour.

Members of the Starving Artists Team also like working with tourmaline.

Featuring artisan handmade creations by the Etsy Starving Artists jewelry team. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current Etsy shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com.

Gem of the Sky

The ancient Persians believed that the sky was a huge sapphire into which the Earth was embedded.

Sapphire Crystal - photo by Kluka

When thinking of sapphire, what likely comes to mind is an image of a deep blue gemstone. Although sapphires are often a beautiful blue colour, sapphires can also be yellow, green, white, colourless, pink, orange, brown or purple.

Pink Sapphire Crystal - photo by Rob Lavinsky of iRocks.com

Sapphire is never red as a red sapphire would in fact be a ruby. Sapphire and ruby are the same mineral, corundum. It is the presence of small amounts of other elements such as iron or chrome which gives sapphires (or rubies) their colour.

Sapphires that are not blue are described as “fancy sapphires”. The most coveted of the fancy sapphires are the padparadscha sapphires, which are found mostly in Sri Lanka. It is a stone with a pink-orange colour.

Faceted Padparadscha Sapphire - photo by Alextryan

The value of a sapphire depends on its size, colour and transparency. The best sapphires have a rich, translucent colour. The most valuable colour is a cornflower blue. Sapphire is commonly heat treated to improve the stone’s colour. Heat treated stones do not have as much value as a natural stone of comparable colour.

Sapphire is the second hardest mineral, after diamond. It is a 9 on Moh’s scale of hardness. The hardness of the stone makes it easy to look after and makes sapphire an ideal choice for all types of jewelry, including items that typically take more abuse, such as rings and bracelets.

Faceted Sapphire from Montana - photo by Astynax

In ancient times, a gift of sapphire was considered to be a pledge of trust, honesty, purity and loyalty. This tradition is in part the reason that sapphire remains a popular choice for engagement rings.

Sapphire is the birthstone for the month of September.

Featuring artisan handmade creations by the Etsy Starving Artists jewelry team. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current Etsy shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com.

Lapis Lazuli

Written by The FamiLee Jewels

Lapis lazuli is a semiprecious gemstone prized since antiquity for its intense blue color. It gets that brilliant blue color from the sulfur content in the stone.

Lapis is a rock, not a mineral, mined in northern Afghanistan where deposits have been worked for more than 6000 years. These mines were the source of lapis for the Egyptians and Mesopotamians and later for the Greek and Roman civilizations.

Lapis was among the first gemstones to be worn as jewelry. In ancient Egypt lapis lazuli was a favorite stone for amulets, scarabs and other ornaments. Lapis jewelry has been found in Egyptian excavations and historical legend says that powdered lapis was used as eye shadow by Cleopatra.

Lapis with an opaque deep blue color is highly prized-even more so when it has inclusions of golden pyrite that shimmer like tiny stars. Lapis with a higher quantity of calcite has a lighter blue color and is marketed as denim lapis.

Lapis is said to harmonize your heart and mind as it forges stronger bonds between them. It is regarded by many people around the world as the stone of friendship and truth. The blue stone encourages harmony in relationships and helps its wearer to be authentic and to give his or her opinion openly.

Lapis takes an excellent polish and can be made into jewelry, carvings, boxes, mosaics, ornaments and vases. It was once ground and processed to make the pigment ultramarine for tempera paint.

Treat your lapis stones with care and their beauty will never fade. Lapis, having only the hardness of 5 to 5.5 should be protected from rubbing and scratching against harder stones and surfaces, such as other jewelry within a jewelry box. It is a medium hard stone and it is slightly porous. Avoid exposing it to chemicals and solvents. The best way to clean the stone is with mild, warm, soapy water. Apply perfumes and hairsprays before putting on your lapis jewelry.

Featuring artisan handmade creations by the Etsy Starving Artists jewelry team. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current Etsy shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com.

Rediscovered!

Hawaiian legend says that this gemstone is the goddess Pele’s tears. In Roman times, it was known as “evening emerald” as it appears green, even in low light. What stone is this that so captured the imagination of people? It is peridot, the birthstone for the month of August.

Peridot with milky inclusions - photo by Michelle Jo

Peridot was used in jewelry thousands of years ago in Egypt and in Ancient Greece, but the gemstone was introduced to Europe only during the Middle Ages when it was brought back by Crusaders. The stone remained popular until about the 1700s, but then its popularity waned.

In the mid 1990s, peridot became popular again after a rich deposit of high quality stones was found in Pakistan. The high quality gemstones are known as “Kashmir peridots”.

Peridot crystal from Pakistan - photo by Rob Lavinsky of irocks.com

Peridot can be a yellow green, an olive green, an intense apple green or a brownish green, but it is always green. It is one of few gemstones that comes in only one colour. The intensity of the colour is dependant on the amount of ferrous iron present.

Emerald cut peridot - photo by Michelle Jo

Peridot is sometimes treated with colourless oil, wax and/or resins to improve its appearance. It is safe to assume that inexpensive peridot has been treated in some way.

Store your peridot jewelry with care as the stone picks up scratches easily and can be difficult to polish. This gemstone is sensitive to quick temperature changes, so avoid steam cleaners and ultrasonic cleaners. Instead, clean peridot using mild dish soap. Peridot is also sensitive to acids, which will quickly remove the polish on the stones, so avoid using household cleaners when wearing peridot jewelry.

Featuring artisan handmade creations by the Etsy Starving Artists jewelry team. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current Etsy shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com.