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Celebrating Life with Children in September
Celebrating Life with Children in September by Susie Cortright, http://www.momscape.com Here are ten simple pleasures you can enjoy with your children this month. 1. Ask your child to read a book to you. Younger children can look at the pictures...
Cutting Wedding Costs: A Bride's Guide to Sanity
With the costs of staging a wedding steadily rising, it only
makes sense to take control of your celebration. The most
valuable move a bride can make is to enlist creative and willing
friends and family to assist. Sharing the work can be...
How To Create A Stunning Updo
With prom season right around the corner, you are no doubt already thinking about how you want to wear your hair for the special night. While many of your friends may end up spending a fortune getting their hair done at a salon, you can...
Pretty And Frugal Gift Wrap Ideas
Sometimes gift wrapping can be so expensive -- once you’ve bought the paper, tissue and the card you’ve spent just as much as you did on the gift. Here are some pretty and frugal gift wrap ideas to help you save more so you can spend more on your...
The Perfect Princess Tea Party - 7 Simple Steps
Can you think of anything more feminine, more lovely, more
"girly" than a group of young girls... all dressed in their
princess finery sitting down to a decked out tea table with
royal dainties? Girls across the globe love dress up and...
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Precious Stones V.S. Semi-Precious Stones
Stones have been worn by both women and men since prehistoric times. Just as in the jewelry of modern times, beautiful stones, rare and colorful, are most often the dominant feature of a piece with a metallic setting for ornamentation.
The stones used in the crafting of fine jewelry are generally divided into two classes- precious stones and semi-precious stones.
These terms are used heavily in the commercial world of jewelry when considering variety and value. While artistic merits are only a matter of opinion, the value of a stone is what it will bring in the marketplace. It should also be mentioned that many people, collectors and general consumers alike, prefer the rare to the beautiful.
These stones are simply rocks (minerals) taken from the earth, and after they have been enhanced by the artisans cutting and polishing, the finest and rarest of them are what we call gems.
Precious Stones
The most precious stones are the diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires. The pearl is oftentimes classed with precious stones. Although strictly speaking while it is not a stone it holds an esteemed place in jewelry.
Semi-Precious Stones
A large number of stones used in jewelry are known
as semi-precious; the most important ones are as follow: amethyst, lapis-lazuli, turquoise, aquamarine, topaz, moonstone, peridot, opal, tourmaline, zircon, chrysoberyl, alexandrite. Others of less importance although much used are: chrysoprase, jade, garnet, agate, azurite, malachite, bloodstone, coral, carnelian and many others. These stones while comparatively common and inexpensive are indispensable to the worker in jewelry. The variety of colors to be had in these stones make it possible to produce unusual designs of artistic merit and to adapt them to the personality and costume of the wearer. For more detailed information regarding gem stones the reader is referred to “Gem Stones” by G.F. Herbert Smith, also “The Curious Lore of Precious Stones,” by George Frederick Kunz.
About the Author
The Authors of the above Article, Sam and Tami Serio have been passionately involved with Jewelry and Gemstones for over fifteen-years. You are cordially invited to visit http://www.morninglightjewelry.com for a wealth of information about the fascinating world of Jewelry and Gemstones. Together they also shelter 20 abandoned and abused dogs & cats. A portion of their profits goes to the care and feeding of the animals.
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