Diamond being a 10 and the hardest, but this does not make it indestructible.
ALL gemstones and diamonds can be damaged given enough force, some are just a little more resistant.
Some other favorite gems
6.5 – Tanzanite, Peridot
7 – Amethyst, Citrine, Agate
7.5 – Garnet, Amethyst, Morganite, Tourmaline, Rubellite
8 – Topaz, Aquamarine, Beryl, Spinel
9 – Sapphire, Moissanite, Ruby
10 – Diamond
Now lets talk about some of the softer gems.
Gemstones like Amber or Pearl have a MOHS rating of 2.5.
This makes them quite soft and prone to damage.
Pearls have their own issues, and to keep their wonderful lustre they should be wiped down after every wear to remove dirt and oils from the surfaces
Opals are ring about mid way on the scale at 5-6.5
Pendants, earrings and brooches with opals are normally just fine for daily wearing, but rings need a little more care.
At the end of all this the choice is totally yours, but we are always willing to talk through options or alternatives with you so you know which gem might be better suited to your personal needs.
You may have heard the terms "Doublet, Triplet and solid" used when talking about opals.
But what does this mean?
Solid opal - This is a specimen that is 100% opal, you can turn it at any angle and still see opal.
Only one "face" might be fully polished and this is the side designed to view.
Doublet opal - Opal doublets contain a thin sheet of precious opal, but this piece is cemented to ironstone or black potch backing.
Opal doublets provide the choice to buy a gorgeous opal gem at a lower price-point than solid opal.
Triplet opal - triplets contain opal that’s bonded to a backing. The key difference here is that the percentage of opal is very small. In fact, triplets contain only a thin piece of crystal opal.
Think of a triplet as a three-layer-sandwich. The bottom bun is ironstone or black potch, the top bun is made of plastic or quartz, and the middle is where the opal’s at!
One other version you may like to know about is "Boulder opal."
Boulder opals, as the name suggests, are mined from large ironstone boulders under the ground. Thin veins of colourful opal forms in cracks and fissures in these boulders. Because these veins of colour are so thin, opal cutters need to leave the ironstone on the back of the opal to form a full sized stone.
]]>They do this one of two ways. There’s the High-Pressure High-Heat (HPHT) method, which mimics the conditions that create diamonds deep beneath the earth’s surface, and there’s Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), which uses high heat to break carbon atoms free from their molecules, letting them settle like snow onto a flat surface until a diamond forms. A mined diamond (left) and a lab grown diamond (right) can appear identical to the naked eye. Can you tell the difference?
Lab grown diamonds have the same physical, chemical and optical properties as mined diamonds. In fact, even industry experts cant always tell the difference without special equipment that scans for crystal patterns and impurities. For example, if the diamond contains nitrogen, it likely came from the earth.
Pros and Cons of Lab Grown Diamonds
If lab grown diamonds are not simulants, that raises the question: Is there really a difference between buying a lab grown diamond and paying more for a natural one?
The answer is yes. Here are few benefits and drawbacks of lab grown diamonds, compared to their mined counterparts.
Pros
Cons:
At the end of the day its up to you to select which way you might wish to go, and we are more than happy to help.
While we do not stock Lab-grown diamonds in store we have no problem helping you with one for your next jewellery item if that is what you choose.
That mental picture of Swiss cheese is a close approximation of how porosity appears in cast jewellery. But the real problem with porosity is not its appearance, rather the damage it causes.
Porosity in cast jewellery weakens the basic structure of the piece, causing ring shanks to break, prongs to break off and galleries to crack.
It is found largely is mass produced styles rather than one off items, although it can occur during any casting process.
Results of Improperly Cast Jewellery
Ring Has Cracks
As a result of errors during the casting process, this ring has one crack in a prong (a critical point) and another very visible one on the shank. There is no remedy for this error; the ring must be redone.
Flat Pendant Has Depressions
Powder was used as a release agent for the injection wax in the rubber mold. In this case, too much powder was used, leaving visible depressions on the surface. Trying to eliminate the depressions during the finishing process could remove too much metal.
Ring Is Deformed
In the wax stage, this ring was removed from the rubber mold before it was completely cool. As a result, the finished ring is deformed.
Areas of Discoloration
Some bench jewellers try to fill porosity with solder, a practice that results in speckled discolored areas (as shown). There is no remedy for porosity; in most cases, the mounting should be remade.
It is so confusing when people say “gold jewellery”. It can be solid gold jewellery, hollow gold jewellery, gold filled or gold plated jewellery - and difference in value can be staggering.
The confusion arises because the word “gold” can be used to describe the colour of jewellery as well as the material of the piece. It should always be disclosed what are you buying! If you find it hard to find out whether you are paying for gold colour or gold material - it’s simply not fair - because there is big difference in cost.
There are 5 materials that are typically referred to as gold: Gold plating, Gold plating over sterling silver, gold filled, solid gold, hollow gold.
Typically yellow gold is plated on top of non-fine material such as brass or copper. Cheaper jewellery will have very thin plating which will wear off fast. Some better brands jewellery will have a stronger plating, and will serve you longer. But once plating wears off, you will start seeing metal of another colour underneath - that same brass or copper - which may also leave a colour on your skin, and even sometimes give a more severe reaction. Gold plating does contain a little gold in it, but very very little. One litre of plating solution - which is what is used to make plating - will contain approx. 1g of gold. Keep in mind that this amount can be used for plating thousands of pieces! This type of jewellery will not have a quality mark (which is not to be confused with stamp of the brand)
Sterling silver is a precious metal that can be plated.
But Gold plating will also wear off with time, but silver jewellery will still keep good value because it is a precious metal. Plus, for the most people silver will not cause a skin reaction. This type of jewellery will have silver stamp (925 or ‘sterling silver’)
That kind of jewellery is again brass or other non-precious metal plated with gold on top. The difference from gold plated jewellery is that in this case gold layer is pretty thick! Usually this type of jewellery will serve you a long time. It will have quality mark which will show how much real gold is in the piece. For example the most popular one is “1/20 14k”, which means that one twentieth of jewellery total weight is 14k gold. Gold filled jewellery is great if you want gold jewellery quality, but don’t want to pay as much as for solid gold jewellery. The reason why you may not want gold filled jewellery is because it’s not such a good investment. Gold is very expensive, and the more gold is used to plate the piece the more expensive jewellery piece will be. But you want to resale or scrap gold filled jewellery - the value that you are going to get back will be small - because even though it contains gold, that gold is difficult to separate from base metal. Essentially, it is as if you are selling just regular jewellery, not gold jewellery.
Repairs can also be more expensive or not possible as well.
As the name says, solid gold jewellery is made of just that solid gold. Without exaggeration, It is the best kind of jewellery.. Besides that you are not only treating yourself, but also treating the environment, Non-precious metal jewellery will not serve you as long, so you will have to buy it again and again. Production will harm the environment and when you finally throw it out, it will be just fill landfills and be a choking hazard for animals. If on the other hand you buy gold jewellery it will serve you very long time. We still have Cleopatra-era jewellery pieces getting dug out of the ground like nothing happened to them! And since it is fairly expensive you will not throw them away, you will re-sell or reuse the metal.. Scrapped jewellery will be re-cycled and new jewellery will be made out of this gold. This is already commonplace - therefore there’s not as much need to mine new gold and hurt the environment and even more. Most gold currently used is already re-cycled - re-melted to shape of gold bars, wires or sheets - and reused again. Solid gold jewellery will be stamped 375 for 9ct, 750 for 18ct
Hollow simply means there is an empty space inside. Jewellery of any material can be made hollow - for various reasons - but in most cases it is done to reduce amount of gold required. The less gold is used - the cheaper final price will be. Hollow gold jewellery is stamped in the same way as solid gold jewellery is (9ct, 18ct) because it is made of gold only. Usually bangles are hollow - it works great for the design because it is not so heavy for your hand to wear, and it saves a lot on cost. You can spot hollow gold jewellery by it’s weight. If it weighs less than it looks like - it’s probably hollow. Of course solid gold jewellery is always the best deal - it’s timeless and its valuable. But if you choosing between hollow gold jewellery or gold filled jewellery? While in the end of the day hollow jewellery will still have resale value and that resale value based on value of gold, it is very easily bent and broken, and especially if you wearing it every day wear.
Repair costs are high also as the metal needs “bracing” at the break.
Our personal recommendation is always solid gold, it may cost more now but it will last longer and cost less in repairs and replacements
]]>Here we explain the difference between solid gold, gold plated or gold vermeil and gold filled jewellery.
Solid Gold jewellery (colloquially referred to as 'real gold') is the most valuable form of jewellery you can buy.
You'll often see solid gold jewellery denoted as a number followed by 'k' or 'ct'. E.g. 9k gold or 9ct gold. This refers to the 'purity' of gold, which is expressed as "carats" or "Karats"
The purest form of gold you can get is 24k gold which is 100% pure gold. 24k gold is very yellow in colour and soft in texture. As it's too soft to practically use in jewellery, pure gold is often mixed (aka ‘alloyed’) with other metals to make it more durable. These gold alloys are what we refer to as 'solid gold' in jewellery.
The higher the proportion of pure gold to other metals, the higher the number of karats the gold is. The most popular types of solid gold used for jewellery are 9k, 14k and 18k.
Gold is one of the most valuable resources in the world and will last a very long time as long as it is cared for properly. It will not wear away like gold filled or plated jewellery and can be easily melted down and re-used/recycled over and over again to create new pieces of jewellery.
To be very clear, Gold Filled is not the same as 'real gold' or Solid Gold. It is a fraction of the cost of Solid Gold and is made by bonding a layer of gold to a base metal to give it the appearance of gold.
The process involves a high amount of heat and pressure and the resultant gold filled piece is typically more durable than a gold plated piece, but does not last as long as Solid Gold. Gold filled jewellery is more suited to fast fashion jewellery that has a limited life span.
Over time, the gold layer of Gold Filled jewellery wears away, exposing the base metal underneath. Repairing and restoring the gold colour on gold filled jewellery is difficult and would often involve 'plating' rather than the original process of 'bonding'.
Gold Plated jewellery consists of a very thin layer of gold being electrically charged onto a base metal or sterling silver.
If gold is plated over sterling silver, this is also known as “Vermeil” (pronounced ver-may).
You'll often see Gold Plated jewellery expressed as a number of karats as well. E.g. '14k Gold Plated'. In this example, the number of karats (14k) refers to the very thin layer of gold that is plated over a base metal or sterling silver.
There are 2 very important things to note here:
1. Although it is a layer of real gold used in plating, it is only about 0.5 microns on average, or up to 5 microns for heavy gold plating that is used. To give some context, 1 micron = 1 millionth of a metre, and the average human hair is 70 microns thick! So it is only a microscopic level of gold which does not compare in volume to a Solid Gold piece of jewellery.
2. It is important not to confuse gold plated naming conventions with solid gold. In the above example, a 14k gold plated piece of jewellery should be clearly stated as '14k Gold Plated'. A solid 14k gold piece of jewellery would be stated as '14k Gold' or '14k Solid Gold' or 'Solid 14k Gold'.
When purchasing jewellery, it is important to be sure of whether you are purchasing solid gold or plated gold. There is a large discrepancy in value and there have been instances where some retailers may omit the word 'plated' when describing their jewellery which can be very misleading.
Gold Plated jewellery is the cheapest and lowest quality of the three metal types. They have an average lifespan of up to a year (with minimal exposure to moisture) and require regular re-plating in order to maintain their gold appearance.
There are pros and cons to all types of metals, but Solid Gold is generally the more superior metal because it’s the most durable, valuable and least irritating to those that have allergies to base metals. However, Solid Gold will be more expensive than plated or filled metals.
Gold Plated pieces are a more affordable alternative, however they only contain a tiny amount of gold and any friction will cause the plating to rub off quickly, leaving a dull piece of metal. Most base metals used in Gold Plated jewellery also tend to stain your skin green or cause allergic reactions. Gold Plated jewellery is only suitable for fashion jewellery, and requires more care and maintenance, as exposure to small amounts of moisture, sweat and lotions will degrade the piece rapidly. Regular re-plating is also required to restore pieces back to their original condition, resulting in added ongoing expenses.
Gold Filled pieces are also a more affordable alternative to Solid Gold, however over time they will also degrade, lose their colour and are difficult to restore.
Let’s define a chain store vs an independent designer. A chain store can be found in almost ANY supermarket shopping centre and is the retail front of the jewellery industry. The chain retail store is the last link in the chain before the consumer, the first link being the sight holder, companies who buy rough diamonds from the mine. After the sight holder, then it’s the manufacturer, diamond dealers, diamond wholesalers, and then the retailer. Each link adds a profit margin, increasing the price of the final piece of jewellery.
Independent designers are sight holders and many times the manufacturer. These entities then sell directly to the consumer. When you work with an independent designer you can:
1 – Control the quality of your ring
When working with a low-end chain you will get a very attractive sticker price. Unfortunately, you may also get a very poor quality product. Upon further examination, you will find that the store’s “sexy” price is actually very high in relation to the quality of product, as they tend to use bottom-of-the-barrel materials while charging full price.
When you build your own ring, you can control and inspect each part. You can choose your centre stone (the most important and often priciest element), the type of metal you’d like to use, and the quality of stones that you want.
2 – Avoid paying unnecessary premiums
The only reason to pay a premium while buying a diamond is to move up in clarity or carat weight. When you buy from a high-end brand name chain, you’re not paying a premium for your product. You’re paying it for their brand name. You will often pay three to four times more than the actual market value of your product. You’re helping the chain rather than yourself.
3 – Stick to your budget
By choosing a jewellery designer, you’ll not only stay away from unnecessary premiums, you can keep your costs down. You (not the store) can set a budget that you’d like to work with, and go from there.
4 – Enjoy a wealth of choices
It’s not just the big chains that get their choice of gems. Designers have connections, too. For example, we source stones from all over the globe to try and get you exactly what you are after. We can supply our clients with any kind of diamond or gemstone they want, and at completive pricing.
5 – Design a ring as individual as your love
Perhaps the most import reason to choose a designer: There’s no need to compromise. You can create exactly what your beloved wants, with almost no limitations.
If you want to control the quality and budget of your ring and design a custom piece of jewellery, skip the chain stores. Choose a jewellery designer, and create a beautiful, personal statement of love.
]]>There are many different myths about the origins of garnet. One such myth suggests that the garnet originated with Persephone, the Greek goddess of sunshine. Persephone was captured by Hades, the god of the underworld. Before Hades released Persephone, he wanted to guarantee her return, so he gave her some pomegranate seeds. The word garnet comes from the Latin "granatus," which means seed. The next time you eat a pomegranate, you will notice the seeds' resemblance to garnet.
Garnet is actually a group of six different stones: grossular (red to orange colors), almandine (red), pyrope (red and pink), spessartite (green-brown), andradite (brown to black), and uvarovite (emerald green). Garnets can be found in metamorphic rocks and sometimes in granites and volcanic rocks.
These special minerals form deep underground, enduring extreme temperatures and pressures. For this reason, geologists may use garnets to study the temperature and pressure of the surrounding rock. Garnets belong to the isometric crystal class, which produces symmetrical, cube-based crystals
a stone that looks like a diamond that it has become the most popular alternative!
]]>a stone that looks like a diamond that it has become the most popular alternative! But before you label it as a fake diamond or a substitute, do know that it’s a whole other gemstone that has a pretty mysterious history.
I suggest you read on and discover how beautiful it can be in its own way. And if you’re still Team Diamond, at least you learned how to spot lookalikes!
We’re not taking the word “extraterrestrial” lightly.
Moissanite is literally from space
In 1893, Henri Moissan, a French chemist, discovered microscopic particles of a gem from a crater of a meteorite that fell to Canyon Diablo, Arizona. He thought that he had found diamonds, but the crystals were composed of silicon carbide. These rocks were so rare, the moissanites available today are only lab-created. It was eventually named after him.
For the past century, Moissanite has been engineered through and through to become a gemstone with one of the best scintillations. Even though it’s fair to confuse the moissanite with a diamond at first glance, they still differ in quite a few factors. Let’s talk about that!
Moissanites offer a different kind of sparkle. Since they are cut differently, they don’t exhibit the same white light diamonds can display.
A moissanite is known to give off a vibrant color sparkle. Although this is attractive to some, it can be too much for others that its brilliance is sometimes referred to as a “disco ball.”
Now, diamonds are best known for their sparkle. They actually reflect light in three different ways: The white light that’s reflected back is known as brilliance, while the sparkle we see is the diamond light return called scintillation. Lastly, the rainbow colors bent through the diamond is known as fire.
On the Mohs scale of hardness diamonds recieve a 10, they can withstand surface scratching making then great for everyday wear and engagement rings.
Moissanite scores a 9.25. It’s still a phenomenal score, almost right up the alley of diamonds. This makes them one of the most durable stones, also ideal for everyday wear and center stones for engagement rings.
Diamond colour is graded from D to Z in the GIA scale. Diamonds from D to J will not possess visible hints of yellow, browns, or gray.
This makes them appear icy-white!
While, moissanites aren’t rated by their color. And even if one is called “colorless,” it would still exhibit a yellowish or grayish hue under certain lights especially for large moissanites.
If you see an icy-white one, then it has been enhanced to mimic a diamond. Then again, if you’re into warmer tints, you’ll love moissanites.
I’ve laid out all the basics for these two remarkable gems. It’s your turn to decide which one suits your wants or needs! Whether you’re looking into moissanites to save money or to watch out for fakes, remember that it has its own character and sparkle. A diamond is a diamond, but a moissanite is also something else!
]]>A selection of different grit emery sticks, used to give an even surface before polishing.
Embossed, filigree, hollow and engraved jewellery often can’t be either emeried or filed. These types of jewellery require special care and are often given an initial polish using brass brushes.
If the piece of jewellery has been previously Rhodium plated, all the old Rhodium plating must also be removed.Once the surface has been returned to an even finish, the actual polishing process can begin. This is normally achieved with a polishing machine, using bristle brushes, cotton mops and felt mandrels. The machine spins the brushes and mops at speed and the jewellery is pushed against the spinning mop.
Not all jewellery is refinished to a polish. Professional jewellers can also reinstate other types of surface finishes. These include; hammer finish, brushed finish, sandblasted finish, Florentine finish and textured finishes.
A professional polishing machine with mops and different polishing compounds.
The brushes, mops and mandrels are charged with different polishing compounds.
The initial polishing is often done using Tripoli. Tripoli is an aggressive polishing compound composed of abrasive and a binder.
After being polished with Tripoli, a finer grit compound is used, such as White Dialux. The same process as the Tripoli is repeated with the finer polish.
Finally a very fine grit polishing compound is used, such as Rouge. The traditional red polishing compound gives the metal a deep shine. All the small scratches should have now been removed and the piece of jewellery is now ready to be cleaned.
In a modern jewellery workshop the cleaning process is normally carried out with an ultrasonic cleaner. Using ultrasonic sound waves, heat and a cleaning solution, all of the built up dirt, grime and polishing compounds are removed.
Other cleaning processes entail the use of steam, wash-out brushes and if the item is to be plated, electrolytic salts which remove even the smallest traces of organic matter. Different workshops use different combinations of these techniques. This is largely a result of acquired traditions.
The piece of jewellery is then thoroughly dried. First with compressed air. Hollow pieces may be left in an absorbent material such as saw dust or absorbent tissue to suck out the remaining moisture.
Rhodium, Gold & Silver Plating
If the piece of jewellery requires plating this is done after the final clean. In fact another round of cleaning is undertaken to remove the last remnants of organic matter before the plating can commence. This involves electro-cleaning, acid baths and rinsing in neutralized water.
Final inspection
Finally the jewellery is inspected. Gem stones are examined to ensure they are secure after the cleaning process. The plating is checked and missed scratches are looked for.
The jewellery is then bagged in zip-lock bags and is ready for collection by the customer.