I am going into my 5^th week of obeying “the stay at home” order.  I’m afraid I may forget how to drive!  The weather here in Hillsborough, NC has been gorgeous.  I may have to put the top down on my convertible and take a drive to make sure I haven’t forgotten how and to enjoy the beautiful weather.  One “good” thing of being holed up at home is I am able to focus more, when I’m not consumed with the news, on my jewelry.

I am reacquainting myself with my tools, relearning how to use them and practicing my jewelry making skills.  Boy do I need some practice!  I want to start making some gemstone pieces.  I have all these beautiful gemstones just calling my name, but I don’t want to “practice” with $40 (a piece) or for that matter even $10 gemstones!  So, I have been hunting through my stones looking for ones that are under $10 and preferably even less!

I have been wanting to create brooches, especially since I went to “Brooching the Subject” workshop way back in October.  I had this idea to make an abacus brooch.

I love things that move and I remember play with an abacus as a child making all sorts of designs with the little beads.  The least expensive beads I could find and that I had on hand were howlite.

Howlite gemstones are “real” but howlite is neither ancient nor precious! Howlite was named after Henry How, who discovered it in 1868 in Nova Scotia.  Howlite is a borate mineral and can be found in Canada and parts of the US.  Deposits of howlite have also been found in Turkey, Germany, Mexico and Russia.  Howlite has the appearance of marble or white porcelain. It is opaque white or grey color with veins of black or dark brown running through it.  Not very pretty in my opinion!

The appeal of howlite is that it is very porous and can absorb dye quite well.  As such it is best known for imitating other gemstones.  It is often sold to imitate red coral, turquoise and lapis lazuli.

Howlite is sometimes misleadingly sold as white turquoise.  A good sign that you may not be getting what you thought you were buying is price!  Coral, turquoise and lapis are all more expensive than howlite.

Howlite is a calming stone.  It is said to quite helpful if you are feeling stressed or anxious.  It may be the perfect stone for these “trying” times we are currently experiencing!  Howlite is believed to help teach patience, hmm I need to start wearing it, eliminate rage and pain.  It can also be used to facilitate awareness and encourage emotional expression.  Are you an insomniac or have trouble sleeping?  Try placing howlite under your pillow.

Despite its commonality, dyed howlite can be quite attractive and can make for some pretty and inexpensive jewelry!

Until next time, stay home, stay safe, stay well

ENJOY!!

cheryl

Is gold jewelry fashionable in 2020? Despite your opinions on gold, gold jewelry will never be out of style! It has made its lifetime mark in the industry. Gold is a timeless metal that will never lose its status in the world. It is more elegant and durable than silver metal. The general public as well as jewelry designers and jewelers still view gold as unique, classic and expensive! Gold is timeless, classy and can be passed down as heirlooms for generations. Other metals simply don’t have the qualities and quality that gold has!

In the early 2000’s gold had the stigma going around that people were wearing too much of it. It was associated with the mafia, loan sharks and what not! Remember how you may have been told beware of the guy wearing a gold pinkie ring. For this reason and for the simple fact that gold is expensive, is why (I believe) gold lost some of its popularity. It is once again gaining traction.

Granted gold can be confusing. How do you even know if it is gold, pure gold or simply a gold metal? And what the heck is 24kt gold, gold filled and gold plated? Gold is an elemental metal meaning it is made up of nothing but gold atoms. Other elemental metals include copper, aluminum, and iron. All of which are made of nothing but the said metal’s atoms. In its natural form, pure gold is a buttery orangish-yellow. It is very shiny and soft. It can be easily scratched and is quite malleable. In its pure form it is much too soft for jewelry, which is why it is often mixed with other metals to give it strength and durability.

Gold not only comes in yellow but white, rose and even green too!

The Karat System used in the US and the Numeric Marking System (sometimes called the European or Convention System) used outside the US is used to reveal the amount of pure gold found in an item.

24 karat (24K) gold is pure gold or 99.99%. It does have a small percentage of other metals such as zinc, copper, nickel, etc. 24K gold is considered pure gold in the jewelry industry and the purest gold you can buy. You may also see 24K gold marked as 999, especially outside the US. Due to its price and durability there is not a whole lot of jewelry made out of 24K gold. I even had a hard time finding jewelry images of 24K gold jewelry!

18 karat (18K) gold contains 18 parts gold and 6 parts of another metal or metals, making it 75% gold. Or marked as 750.

14 karat (14K) gold contains 14 parts gold and 10 parts of another metal or metals, making it 58.3% gold. It may also be marked as 585. In the us this is by far the most popular purity.

10 karat (10K) gold contains 10 parts gold and 14 parts of another metal or metals, making it 41.7% gold. 10K gold is the minimum karat designation that can still be called gold in the US. It could also be marked as 417.

The higher the karat the brighter and more yellow its appearance, and also the more expensive. The lower the karat the more scratch resistant and durable. 14 karat seems to be somewhat of the “gold standard” in the US. All karat gold is still considered gold. The difference being the purity. In 1906 the US enacted the Gold and Silver Stamping Act which required that manufacturers put a quality stamp on karat gold. This is the best way to determine if something is gold or not. You may still find unstamped gold but proceed with caution! You know the old adage you get what you pay for. The best advice is to trust who you are buying from.

Karat gold filled jewelry is not actually filled and is not actually considered gold. Gold filled is made of base metal (usually brass or copper) covered by sheets of gold in a mechanical bonding process. By law gold filled jewelry has a 1/20th (by weight) layer of karat gold bonded over the base metal. Gold filled jewelry will usually bare a mark such as 14/20 or 14K G.F. meaning it is 14 karat gold filled. Likewise the 14 can be substituted with 18, 10 or whatever the gold purity may happen to be. Don’t discredit gold filled jewelry! It is still beautiful and can be a valued piece. In price it is very comparable to sterling silver. So wear it with joy!

Unlike gold filled jewelry gold plate jewelry only has a few microns (millionths of a part) of gold. The karat gold in gold filled jewelry has a hundred or more times gold. Under normal wear and reasonable care that you would give any precious metal jewelry, karat gold filled jewelry will not peel or flake and can be treasured as valuable pieces. Gold plate may eventually wear off based on how often it is worn, body chemistry and any other things it comes in contact with. Gold plate is more apt to tarnish as well!

I personally love gold! But, I do not have any karat gold jewelry in the CKS jewelry line. At this stage, karat gold is simply too expensive for me to use in my designs and offer my customers a reasonable price! I do use gold filled and brass. Brass can look like gold, but is a whole lot less expensive.

More on that in an upcoming blog!

Until next time,
ENJOY!!
cheryl

When you hear aluminum, what do you think of?  A Coke can perhaps? Or maybe automobile parts!  Certainly not jewelry!  I am using more aluminum, specifically anodized aluminum in my jewelry designs.  Here’s why.

CKS jewelry

What exactly is anodized aluminum?  Anodizing is an electrochemical process that converts a metal surface into a decorative, durable corrosion-resistant, anodic oxide finish.  Aluminum is just one metal that is ideally suited for anodizing.

The purpose of anodizing aluminum is to form a layer of aluminum oxide that will help protect the aluminum beneath it.  If you ever crushed aluminum cans you know aluminum is fairly “soft.”  Anodizing is a surface condition. It makes a metal surface harder but not stronger.  Anodizing increases wear resistance.  Anodized aluminum is scratch resistant but not scratch proof!  I discovered this first and when I was shaping my anodized aluminum Morse code bracelets.  Enough about what it is!  Let’s talk about why you may want it in your jewelry box!

Aluminum is feather light!

CKS fifi earrings

Have you ever put on some chunky chain jewelry and felt like you gained 10 pounds?  Not so with aluminum.  Aluminum has about 1/3 the weight of sterling silver.  So go ahead stack those aluminum bracelets on!

Many people have allergic reactions to various metals especially anything containing nickel which many metal alloys do contain.  Aluminum is hypoallergenic.  It has no nickel.  People can even be allergic to sterling silver.  This is most like due to the small percentage 7.5, of copper.  I know I am slightly allergic to copper.  If I wear a copper chain necklace too long I will start scratching!   Granted you can be allergic to most anything, but being allergic to aluminum is quite unusual!

Have you ever looked into your jewelry box, pulled out a pretty pair of sterling earrings only to find they have turned an ugly gray color and have tarnished?  Worse yet, what about that really cool vintage piece that has now rusted?  I admit I sometimes like to “preserve” that rusted look on chain.

But if that is not the look you are going for UGH!  Cheap, mass made jewelry is often made from cheap materials that contain iron, which causes rust.

Tarnish is a naturally occurring from metal coming into contact with moisture, sulfur and other pollutants.  In sterling it is typically due to the copper in it that is reacting.  Don’t get me wrong sterling jewelry is beautiful and tarnish can easily be polished away.  There are ways to protect your jewelry from tarnish too.  Sterling is my preferred metal for designing and making CKS jewelry, but if you don’t want to deal with tarnish or rust, anodized aluminum and aluminum jewelry is your answer!

Aluminum jewelry actually looks like sterling silver and is much less expensive! Aluminum is bright and shiny and it will fool people all the time.  Even though aluminum looks like silver it doesn’t carry the price tag that silver does.  To give you an idea how big of a difference a $4 piece of aluminum would cost approximately $65 in sterling!  With that extra $61 you could buy more aluminum jewelry!

Aluminum is simple to maintain and clean.  Simply use a bit of dish soap lather, rinse and dry!  Ta dah!  That’s it! No fuss or muss.  If you don’t get it completely dry no worries.  It won’t rust.  You most likely won’t even need to clean it that much, unless you decide to play in the mud wearing your jewelry!

Want to color your world, but don’t want to spend the money on pretty, colorful gemstones?  This is where that anodized aluminum comes in.  Through the anodization process you can dye aluminum every color under the rainbow and then some!

So go ahead stock up on some colorful, inexpensive aluminum and anodized aluminum jewelry.  There is no reason not to but lots of reasons to!

Until next time,

ENJOY!!

cheryl

Unfortunately I was not able to attend the Tucson Gem show.  I hate that I’ve had to miss it the past couple of years.  I love attending to see what is new, what is trending and of course to buy gemstones!  I am always on the lookout for unique gems.

2015 Tucson

2015 Tucson

With the internet and social media so prevalent I wouldn’t even have to leave home to buy gemstones even though there is nothing like being able to touch and see them in person.  Village Silversmiths is one of my favorite places to buy stones, not only in person but via Instagram.

The other day these, schalenblende, caught my eye.

Schalenblende is actually a mix of 4 minerals found together, sphalerite, wurtzite, pyrite and galena.

spalerite

wurtzite

I have not heard of sphalerite or wurtzite before now.  Nor had I ever heard of or seen schalendblende, which is why I had to have it!  The individual stones alone aren’t quite as interesting as the combination of them.  Schalenblende can be found worldwide, including Austria, Belgium, Germany and Poland.

Schalenblende is said to have many healing properties and uses. It can help the development of the brain. It supports the immune system and is said to enhance our sense of smell and taste.  It is also known to stimulate the retina.  It can help one to combat exhaustion and weakness.

Carrying or wearing schalenblende fosters concentration, abstract thinking, spontaneity and intuition.  With all these properties I cannot wait to see what creations I come up with in using it in my jewelry designs! It can also help communication in those who normally would not talk to each other.  Are you estranged from family?  You may want to start wearing schalenblende jewelry, or maybe not!

Schalenblende encourages higher ideas, protects against negativity and helps one remain grounded.

I need to get to work on some new schalenblende jewelry designs!

Until next time,

ENJOY!!

Cheryl

Did you think to wear Amethyst at your Super Bowl party to help ward off drunkenness?

Amethyst is derived from the Greek word” amethystos,” which means “not drunken.” During ancient times amethyst was thought to ward off drunkenness. Legend has it the wine god Bacchuus, angry over an insult and determined to avenge himself, decreed the first person he should meet be devoured by his tigers.  The unfortunate mortal happened to be a beautiful young woman named Amethyst.  As the tigers sprang upon her she sought protection by a goddess who saved her by turning her into a clear, white crystal.  Bacchus, regretting his cruelty, poured the juice of his grapes over the stone as an offering to be forgiven.  As story has it, this is what gives the gemstone its lovely color!

Amethyst is a mineral quartz. It is the rarest and most prized in the quartz family.  Brazil is one of the largest producers of amethyst.  Zambia is among where some of the most sought after amethyst is found, due to its dark color and clarity.  Amethyst can be found across the US in places such as Arizona, Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Maine and Colorado.  In North America, the largest amethyst mine is located in Thunder Bay, Canada.

Throughout history amethyst has been highly esteemed stone for both its beauty and legendary powers.  It was thought to stimulate, and soothe the mind and emotions.  Amethyst was reputed to control evil thoughts, increase intelligence and render shrewd business activities.  For travelers it was worn for protection against treachery and surprise attacks.

Amethyst has always been associated with February, the month the Romans dedicated to Neptune, the water god, so it is not surprise that it is February’s traditional birthstone!  In ancient times it was a “Gem of Fire,” a precious stone worth as much as a diamond.  It is the stone of St. Valentine and faithful love.  Amethyst carries the energy of fire and passion, and creativity and spirituality.  Yet it is also said to instill logic, temperance and sobriety.

Today, it is considered a semi-precious gemstone.  Amethyst is still associated with passion, spirituality and contentment.  It can help to expand the higher mind while increasing one’s creativity and imagination.  Need to focus?  Amethyst is a known talisman to help one concentrate and become successful.

Amethyst is thought to have many healing powers.  It is especially supportive to the emotional body, bringing those who are overworked, overstressed and overwhelmed back in balance.  It can help to relieve mental anxieties.  It is also said to help calm those who are easily angered or who are quick to become “hot-headed.”

Happy Birthday February! Your birthstone is not only pretty, but quite “powerful” too!

Until next time,

ENJOY!!

cheryl