Lucky you November, you can choose! Traditionally November’s birthstone has been imperial topaz. Imperial topaz is the most prized color of topaz. Best quality imperial topaz has a vibrant orange hue with pink undertones. Pure topaz is colorless and is often tinted to let it take on any color of the rainbow. The most precious of the colors of topaz range from the brownish orange to yellow. It was once thought that all yellow stones were topaz. Today yellow topazes are often mistaken for smoky quartz and citrine.
The name topaz is derived from Topazios the ancient Greek name for what is now known as St John’s island in the Red Sea. Although the yellowish gemstones that were mined there were probably not topaz the name stuck! Today the greatest producer of quality topaz is Brazil. Other sources include Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Russia, Australia, Nigeria, Germany, Mexico, and the U.S. — mainly California, Utah, and New Hampshire.
Imperial topaz is considered to be a stone of “good fortune.” It is said to bring prosperity and abundance to the wearer. It is supportive in visualization, manifestation, creativity and generosity. All of which can bring prosperity into one’s life! Imperial topaz can also to help one recharge both physically and mentally!
Citrine has often been mistaken with for topaz and vice versa! Which may be the reason why it is the other “official” birthstone for November. It is also the less expensive choice. Citrine is a variety of quartz that ranges in color from pale yellow to honey orange. Citrine derives its name from the citron fruit because of the lemon shades of color.
Like topaz, Brazil is the largest supplier of citrine. This may be another reason the two are often confused. Other suppliers of citrine include Spain, Bolivia, France, Russia, Madagascar and the U.S. (Colorado, North Carolina and California). Depending on the region it stems from will depend on the shade of color it has.
Again like topaz, citrine can help to assist in acquiring wealth. Not only can citrine help to acquire wealth but can help to keep it too! Citrine is linked with boosting joy and optimism, both of which can give one motivation to accomplish goals.
I had an amazing time at “Brooching The Subject” workshop in Gatlinburg at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.
I spent last week immersed in making brooches. I got in late last Sunday afternoon after driving 6 hours in heavy traffic on I-40. It should have been more like a 5 hour drive! None-the-less I made it. Sunday evening was spent with a short orientation. We then broke to our classrooms and got started!
Our first project was to make a fibula pin. We did so using 14 gauge brass wire. It was not an easy feat to shape and bend the wire. It looks as if I may have been channeling the state of Louisiana!
This pin is best worn with loose knit sweaters as it could have the potential to put holes in tighter knits. I have a couple holes in my black t-shirt as I was testing it out. The key is to get a nice filed tip with a rounded end. It sounds simple enough!
Each day of the week we learned how to make at least one type of pin mechanism. The first day, Monday, we learned how to make the perfect pin back from Marissa Saneholtz. https://marissasaneholtz.com/ I found this pin back to be one of the most difficult and least favorite to make. It can look nice if done correctly but it was not an easy task to bend the stainless steel wire to get it to fit in the tiny tubes!
The next couple of days we continued to work on more soldered pin backs using tubes. I really like the looks of the brass tube pin back.
I think this could also be done using copper tubes. As you can see from this I need to practice my sawing. Not sure that I will ever be able to saw a straight line even with lots of practice. Sawing is not my forte! I would much rather solder than saw.
The Stick pin back can be quite useful with various type pins. We were taught how to make the end cap. I like the idea of making my jewelry entirely by hand including all the findings. However, after spending an hour working on getting the end cap closed and not succeeding at doing so I may have to make an exception! Or maybe practice a whole bunch more. Watching Charles Lewton-Brain do it seems so simple! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvYM2WW4HWw
I think we got the most difficult brooch mechanisms out of the way first. We then moved on to making cold connected pin stems. These are great for materials that cannot be soldered or if you plain don’t like soldering! As you can see from my work I need lots of practice sawing! I have never been one for precision, after all being handmade is part of the beauty. I think, however that I could practice becoming a tad more precise!
We also made brooches using scatter pins, and tie tacs. These are great for heavier pins and also for pins that you want to wear a variety of ways.
The easiest and quickest pin back turned out be my favorite! I like how I was able to make the closing mechanism part of the design. I drill 2 hoes did some wire band and ta-da! DONE!!
I did not spend the time nor did I have all my finishing tools to finish all the pins. Once I do, these brooches and more will be available in my Etsy shop www.MAEartisanjewelry.etsy.com and on my website www.CKSventures.com
I first fell in love with bubble bee jasper in June of 2012! I was a “newbie” to jewelry design and gemstones. I think it was perhaps my 2nd or 3rd time attending a major gem and jewelry show. I was at the JCK gem show in Las Vegas visiting my favorite gemstone people, Rare Earth Mining, when I came across this unique, yellow, orange, white and black gemstone, manganese sulfide, commonly known as bumble bee jasper.
I fell in love and bought 13 gemstones! To date I have only used one gemstone on this bracelet.
Being a “newbie” and having paid in the $50++ range for the gemstones I was too “scared” to use them! But now I am ready to design some cool jewelry pieces. With my upcoming class “Brooching The Subject” I am hoping to maybe design a pin or 2 brooches!
Bumble bee jasper is a combination of volcanic matter, anhydrite, hematite, sulfur, and arsenic. It has been a difficult mineral to obtain because the volcanic mine, located in Java, Indonesia, has activated from its previously dormant state.
Bumble bee jasper gets its’ nickname, well from you guessed it, the bumble bee! The markings in the stone closely replicate that of a bumble bee.
Bumble bee jasper hosts a wide range of positive energies that can be used to enhance your everyday life. Jasper enables you to accept change and find new opportunities. It is also known to help increases your self-esteem and make sound, emotionless decisions!
Bumble bee jasper is a stone of adventure! It is known to stimulate one’s mental acuity, so one is more able to notice golden opportunities. It can increase the level of neurons in the gut, making it possible to more readily be aware of one’s ‘gut feelings,’ or instincts.
Bumblebee jasper is said to help cleanse and clear the intestinal tract, liver and kidneys. In emotional self-healing, it is an antidote to fear, indecisiveness and hesitation. In spiritual evolution, it sets one upon the path of one’s highest destiny.
Bumble bee jasper with its’ golden yellow and orange colors is a perfect stone for autumn!
What’s the difference between a brooch and a pin? In the fashion world of today, not a whole lot! The terms are most often used interchangeable. In the estate and antique jewelry world they are more often called brooches. Admittedly, brooch is a little more traditional and perhaps even a bit old-fashioned!
Technically speaking, pins and brooches are both decorative pieces of jewelry that attach to clothing with a sharpened metal wire on the back. Pins are the general category for such pieces of jewelry, and brooches are a specific type of pin. So all brooches are pins, but all pins are not brooches! In general, a brooch is a larger pin made in particular to wear at the throat or around the neckline area. Brooches have more dimensions than pins, tend to have a “flatter” design and are often horizontal.
Last week I gave you a bit of history on brooches and pins. This week let’s have some fun with your pins. We are going to take that brooch off your lapel and find some other unexpected and quirky ways you might wear a pin! Don’t get me wrong, wearing your brooch on your shoulder is perfectly acceptable, but it’s nice to know how to change it up every once in a while!
Pins and brooches are always in fashion! They can bring elegance to an ensemble. They can start conversations. They can be exquisite works of art. They can be used to express a mood or an opinion. Former secretary of state, Madeleine Albright famously used pins and brooches to do just that! You can read more about that in her book “Read My Pins.”
Pins are the most versatile piece of jewelry there is! Unlike rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings which are for the most part meant to be worn on a particular body part, brooches and pins can be worn wherever your imagination might take you!
The first place we think of to wear a pin is on the lapel of a jacket or in the vicinity of your shoulder. Add some interest to this “traditional” way by wearing a cluster of related pins. Do keep in mind the rule of odd numbers. Stick with 3 or five. If wearing a pin for business on a jacket or blouse be sure to wear it on the left. That is where the eye will automatically focus when shaking someone’s hand.
The second most popular place is wearing it on a scarf. Wearing a pin on a scarf not only glams it up a bit but can help secure the scarf in place.
Liven up a plain dress or top with a pin worn at the neckline, at the waistline or even on the sleeve or cuff. If the garment is thin or delicate, put a piece of felt behind it and pin through both layers to give the pin stability. I would however be careful about pinning on delicate silk. A brooch worn at the throat of a button down shirt or blouse can spice up an otherwise blah look.
Pins look great worn on pockets, front and back! Speaking of back, consider wearing an “exit pin” on the back of your shoulder or the deep V of a dress. You will be sure to be remembered as you are making your exit!
Jazz up a boring handbag or evening bag with a brooch or few! Plain belts and shoes can also be jazzed up with a brooch. Hats are another modern way to wear a brooch.
Want your hair to sparkle and shine? Try wearing a rhinestone or gemstone vintage brooch in it. Simply attach to a plain ponytail holder. Or secure the brooch to a hair comb or large clip and put your hair up in a bun or French twist.
These are just a few ways to restyle your brooches. Don’t stop here, get creative and have some fun playing with your brooches!
I am getting excited to attend “Broaching The Subject” workshop in Gatlinburg towards the end of October where hopefully I will get a good start towards designing a line of brooches and pins!
The week has not started off good. Here it is already Thursday and I’m still trying to get my blog out!
On Monday we had to put our beloved Porche kitty to sleep. She had been suffering from thyroid issues for several months. On Sunday night we noticed her paw had been injured. The vet thought she was most likely bitten by a snake. Due to the severity of her injury, her other issues and her age, over 17 years! the vet said it would be a very painful, slow recovery if she recovered at all.
More than anything I did not want her to suffer or be in pain. Our fur babies become an integral part of our lives and it is so difficult to let them go. She really was the best, sweetest kitty ever! She will be missed, but never forgotten. Rest in peace sweet fur baby!
Mondays are normally no make-up office work days writing my blogs. Needless to say I’m a bit off kilter this week!
In a couple of weeks I will be attending a workshop at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, TN. “Broaching The Subject.” Since I first began designing jewelry I have always had an interest in designing brooches but have never taken the time to fully explore it or start to do so. I couldn’t be more excited to have this opportunity.
Brooches seem to come and go on the red carpet. Many times we think of brooches as a kitschy, whimsical ornamentation rather than a valued piece of jewelry. Granted there are many of those out there! Brooches have a long history. In the beginning they were purely functional vs ornamental. Brooches worn today are more for embellishment or worn as you would wear a piece of jewelry.
The first documented brooches were made of thorns and pieces of flint. They were used to primarily secure pieces of clothing especially undergarments. OUCH! Not sure thorns were a good choice! During the Bronze age 3000 BC – 1200 BC brooches and pins were beginning to be made of metal. By the byzantine period brooches started to become more attractive. They were still prominently used to hold clothing like a shawl or scarf in place.
Celtic and Viking brooches were first noted during the early medieval period. They appeared as a long pin connected to a ring. They were worn by both men and women and were designed with a distinct level of embellishment that reflected a person’s status.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, both mourning and aigrette brooches were popular. Mourning brooches were usually an endowment in a will. The brooches were emblazoned with the deceased’s name, birth and death dates and had a tiny compartment for a memento such as a lock of hair. Aigrette brooches decorated the hair and were often very meticulous appearing as small birds hovering around a cloud. They were encrusted with such gems as diamonds and rubies.
Tour brooches got their name from “Grand Tour” which was a typical European holiday for the upper class. As Europeans journeyed through Florence, Venice and Rome, they would pick up these little keepsake brooches depicting vignettes of animals, flowers and birds. Cameo brooches which had been around since ancient times were another favored brooch during holiday tour.
Love brooches were given to a sweetheart by departing soldiers during WW1. Dress clips were a form of a brooch that became popular during the 1920’s and 1930’s. Dress clips were worn on straps of gowns, dresses cuffs and collars. They were also designed to decorate shoes and handbags.
As brooches reached the 20th century they became trinkets that were worn for fun and fashion and were less subjected to any cultural or social status. You could find them in all sorts of materials, from metal to leather to fabric. They were often covered in colorful stones from rhinestones to diamonds. They were made in likeness of animals and flowers or nothing at all!
Today, brooches are an often overlooked piece of jewelry. With a little creativity and a bit of daringness they could become your new best accessory! Up next week in “Dare To Wear A Brooch,” we will take a peek at some unique and unlikely ways to wear brooches.
It’s fall ya’ll! Or at least according to the calendar it is. The thermometer is reading differently!
Now that it is “officially” fall it may be time to start taking a peek at your fall wardrobe and fill in some items that are missing or need to be replaced. One good way to update your wardrobe is by updating your accessories. I’m an accessory girl! Accessories can make or break the outfit. Plus changing up and updating your accessories does not need to cost a fortune. Or at least maybe not as much as buying a bunch of new clothes to update your wardrobe for fall. As Michael Kors says “I’ve always thought of accessories as the exclamation point of a woman’s outfit.” I couldn’t agree more!
So what is trending this fall in accessories? Depending on who or what you read, here are just a few I am personally going to embrace. And most of them are already in my closet!
Seeing how I am a jewelry artist, and the fact jewelry is one of my favorite accessories along with shoes, I of course looked to what was trending with jewelry. While dainty, barely there necklaces and earrings have been staples for quite some time, and in my opinion will continue to be, sturdier, more industrial styles are becoming increasingly popular. As a jewelry designer this is great news! My designs are mostly “big,” with an avant-garde, architectural, industrial feel, and look.
Shoes are probably my favorite of favorites when it comes to accessories. I love heels! This fall hot pink is taking over as the must-own bold heel color. I won’t even have to look for a new pair. I already have 2 pair in my closet.
Even though I would buy these!
I’m finding since I have moved from Houston, TX to Hillsborough, NC I am definitely wearing a whole lot more sneakers. In large it is due to the fact that I no longer live in a concrete jungle with smooth pavement and not a whole lot walking! Over the past few seasons chunky sneakers have dominated.
But this fall sleeker styles and retro lines have made a comeback. Sneakers paired with rolled cuff jeans will always be a sporty, chic look. Sneakers are quite chic and fashionable worn with a skirt or dress too!
Do you have a favorite foot attire? I do! That would be boots. It don’t much matter the type, knee high, ankle, rain, hiking, booties, mid-calf, I love them all! At last count I own 40 + pair. Yes, I admit, I am a shoeaholic! I thought maybe I would invest in a pair of square toe boots that are the “it” style for fall, only to discover I already own a really cool pair.
If you are a big bag kind of gal, you are already on trend for fall. Large bags are in for fall in a huge way. Their size alone makes them a statement piece. Time to ditch your little bag and opt instead for a large statement piece bag.
These are just a few fall fashion trends. Just because these are considered what is “in” right now does not mean you have to go out and purchase every single item mentioned. Or for that matter you may not purchase any of them. Fashion is fickle! What is in yesterday is so old news today. What is important, is that you develop your sense of style, and then own it!
I love this quote by Jackie Kennedy. It is my sentiment exactly regarding pearls. Last week I discussed the history of pearls. This week, as promised, I am going to delve more into the types of pearls that are out there today. even as I delve a bit deeper into the different types of pearls I will still only be touching the surface on the many different types and aspects of pearls.
I am about to take an online course. Once I do I’m sure I will have even more to discuss!
When we think of pearls most of us think of the white, round, traditional pearls like our grandmother may have worn or like the strand that Jackie Kennedy was famous for wearing. Granted these are the oldest type of pearl and the most commonly purchased pearls today.
There are 3 basic types of pearls, natural, cultured and faux or simulants. As I mentioned in my post last week, natural pearls are extremely rare and costly! Historically they were found in the Persian Gulf. Unfortunately most have been harvested. You may still may be able to find natural pearls but most will be small and quite costly.
Faux, imitation or simulants aren’t really pearls at all! Fake pearls are made of materials such as glass, shell, and plastic. They can be made to “imitate” a pearl’s luster. But they do not have the same depth as that of a high quality cultured or natural pearl. While it is relatively easy to determine a glass pearl from a natural or cultured pearl, it isn’t quite as easy to determine a natural pearl from a cultured one.
Shell or imitation pearls
Pearls are formed when an irritant of some sort finds its way into the shell of a mollusc. In reaction, the mollusc begins to produce layers of nacre around the irritant. In natural pearls this process happens well, naturally! While in cultured pearls man helps the process by inserting an irritant into the shell. Cultured pearls are considered real pearls!
Most of today’s real pearls fall into the cultured category. Within the cultured category there freshwater and saltwater. Within each of these categories there is a vast array of types, sizes, shapes and colors!
The most common type of saltwater pearl is the Akoya pearl. This is what most people think of when they think of pearls. They are grown in Chinese and Japanese waters. Akoya pearls are generally round, white or cream colored and around 2mm in size. Even though they can be found as large as 10mm. Mikimoto pearls are the most wildly distributed brand. Mikimoto were once considered the highest quality pearls and their price reflected that. Today they still command a high price but sometimes the quality doesn’t necessarily match the high price.
Akya Pearls
Tahitian pearls are considered the most striking, sought-after pearls on the market. Tahitian pearls are saltwater pearl. Despite the name Tahitian pearls come from other places than Tahiti.
The colors of these Tahitian pearls are completely natural and guaranteed to be unprocessed. While they often described as black, their colors cover the complete spectrum from dark-black to silver-white, and almost every color in between, including the most accepted peacock and green. Round Tahitian pearls are quite rare. They do come in range of baroque, drops and ovals that are quite valuable as well.
Tahitian or black pearl bracelet
The Rolls Royce of the saltwater pearls are South Sea pearls. They are grown primarily in Australia, the Philippines and Indonesia. South Sea pearls range in color form white to gold. They are the largest pearls grown today ranging in size from 8mm to 18mm. They are certainly a statement pearl!
Freshwater pearls are the most affordable pearls sold today. These type of pearls are grown in rivers, ponds and lakes, predominately in China. Many freshwater pearls are white and resemble the Akoya pearl in both size and shape. However, freshwater pearls can be produced in a huge selection of varying shapes sizes and colors. Many are treated and dyed to enhance color and luster.
The terms baroque and keshi are a type of pear per se, but rather refer more to the shape and way a pearl is formed. The terms are commonly misused. the term baroque strictly refers to the shape of a pearl. All irregular shape pearls are collectively referred to as baroque pearls. Whereas Keshi pearls are baroque pearls due to their irregular shape, but Keshi is used in relation to the formation process. A Keshi pearl is a result of an abnormality during the cultivation process where the there was a rejection of the nucleus by the mollusk.
What are your favorite pearls?
Pearls are the “Queen of Gems.” They have been coveted since the beginning of time. Pearls are officially the world’s oldest gem. Unlike gemstones which are mined from the earth, a living organism produces a pearl. As a matter of fact it is a freak of nature! A pearl is formed when an irritant of some sort like a shell or parasite becomes lodged in an oyster’s soft inner body causing the oyster to secrete a crystalline substance building up around the irritant thus forming a pearl!
Modern Pearls
The pearl’s discovery cannot be attributed to one person since they have long appeared before written history. Pearls have been worn as a form of adornment for millennia. This is known thanks to a fragment of pearl jewelry found in the tomb of a Persian princess dating back to 420 BC and is now on display at the Louvre in Paris. Some Historians have pearls dating back to as far as 3500 BC.
Long before the discovery of oil, pearls were once found in great abundance in the Persian Gulf. The Persian Gulf was the center of the pearl trade and pearls carried great source of wealth and importance in Arab cultures.
During the 19th century, due to the escalating demand for pearls in Western Europe, where ladies of nobility wore elaborate pearl necklaces, bracelets and brooches, the pearl supply began to dwindle. Today natural pearls are among the rarest of gems. Their almost entirely depleted supply means they are found very infrequently in the seas off Bahrain and Australia. Not every oyster produces a pearl. It can take over a ton of oysters to find a few gems quality pearls. Natural pearls have become extremely rare and costly!
Pearls are steeped with legend, folklore and history. They were and still are today prized possessions of royalty, celebrities past and present, president’s wives and the likes of gals like us! Pearls were presented as gifts to Chinese royalty. In ancient Rome pearl jewelry was considered the ultimate status symbol. Julius Caesar passed a law limiting the wearing of pearls only to the ruling classes.
Legend has it that Cleopatra bet Marc Antony that she could serve the most expensive dinner in history. During the dinner she took off her two largest pearls in the world, and dropped them in a glass of wine. The pearls dissolved. She drank the mixture and won the bet!
Queen Elizabeth was a huge fan of peals. She wore them in her hair, on her clothes and in layers around her neck. It is rumored that in this portrait she is wearing Hanoverian pearls, which she bought cheaply off the struggling Mary Queen of Scots, just years before she had her executed!
The most famous pearl in history, the La Peregrina worn for generations of European royalty, was given to Liz Taylor as a gift in 1969 by Richard Burton. In 2011 it was sold by Sothebys for over 11 million!
Coco Chanel was rarely seen without ropes of pearls wrapped around her neck. She candidly admitted that many were fake. She intermingled the fake with real without anyone knowing the wiser. She was in fact one of the first women to popularize faux pearls and the birth of costume jewelry.
One of Hollywood’s most recognizable stills is Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” wearing elbow-length gloves, a classic black dress, tiara and famous pearls. Not only did Hepburn wear pearls in the film, but rarely was she seen off screen without pearls and classic dresses.
Former first ladies’ Michelle Obama, Barbara Bush and Jacqueline Kennedy almost always wore pearls.
We often think of pearls as being traditional, classic and jewelry that our grandmother wore. But some of today’s pearls are anything but! Pearls can be playful and fun! They can be worn with jeans and a tank. Get creative with your pearls girls!
Shop pearls at www.cksventures.com
Up next week, all the different kinds of pearls. There are sure to be some you fall in love with!
I am a bit partial to sapphires as sapphire is the birthstone for September which is my birth month! Happy Birthday to me. I will be celebrating all month long!
Historically sapphire is considered the gem of gems. Its heavenly blue hue signified hope and faith. It was steeped in the history of many religions being forever associated with sacred things. It is a stone of wisdom and royalty, of prophecy and divine favor. It was believed to bring protection, good fortune and spiritual insight. It was a symbol of power and strength, kindness and wise judgment.
Today sapphire is still consider a stone of wisdom and a stone of learning. It is thought to bring on psychic activation and considered to help seek spiritual truth. Blue sapphire is regarded as a stone of mental focus, order and inner vision. Sapphire is said to help to receive wisdom and insight, as well as communicate that vision to others.
Wearing a blue sapphire is thought to help to protect one against danger, travel problems, terror, thieves, accidents and problems from storms, fire or natural disasters. I will have to remember this when I travel to Dubai in November of 2020. Maybe too, I will wear a sapphire to help ward off any threat that hurricane Dorian might bring on!
Sapphires are said to cause financial fortunes to change for the better, help a person’s career and make the wearer rich. Well, you have to have some money to begin with to afford sapphires!
Kashmir is where the most sought after sapphires come from, followed by Burma and Sri Lanka. Kashmir has long been mined out and sapphires from Kashmir can now mostly be found on the secondary market. Sapphires can also be located in Madagascar, the USA and Australia.
Sapphires come in every color of the rainbow except for red. These are actually rubies! They exist in blue, pink, green, yellow, orange, purple, black and colorless. Of the blue sapphires the most valuable is medium to dark toned royal blue also known as cornflower blue. Padparadschas are a beautiful mix of pink and orange. They are very rare and highly sought after. The least valuable and popular of the sapphires are green. Not sure if that is because of the color or the value. Sort of like which came first, the chicken or the egg!
Star sapphires are due to an optical phenomenon call asterism. Asterism is caused by small inclusions of the mineral rutile which when cut will give the appearance of a star. In the star sapphire that I have You can sort of see the star. It was quite difficult of get a good photo of it!
Today many sapphires are lab grown. They are often difficult to identify except for the most highly skilled professional gemologists. Can you guess which of these two rings has the synthetic sapphire? It you guessed the one of my middle finger you guessed correctly!
Kyanite, lapis and tanzanite are often mistaken for sapphires. To learn more about kyanite, read last week’s blog, “Speak the Truth With Kyanite,” dated 8-26-19.
I currently do not have any handcrafted CKS sapphire jewelry in my inventory. The rings you see here are from my “personal collection” and are available to purchase. Please contact me to inquire about the details.
As I’m working on organizing all my gemstones. I came across kyanite. I currently do not have a lot of cabochons but I have a couple that are quite interesting. The more I work on getting all my gemstones organized the more I’m itching to create again!
There is something a bit mystical about kyanite. I like the soft blue with lines of white found in the rough cabochons that I have. I also like the soft luster of polished kyanite. The polished kyanite is distinctive in that some of the stones appear very opaque with an intense blue color while others seem to be almost transparent, almost as if they are a different gemstone entirely.
Kyanite has been used to imitate fine blue sapphire. The name kyanite is derived from the Greek work kyanos, meaning deep blue. Gem quality kyanite can be in an array of colors from pale blue to a deep blue, the most common, to black, green, orange, yellow, pink and white. Currently, Nepal is one of the finest sources of gem quality kyanite. Kenya has been producing a teal color and Brazil has good quality rough.
Kyanite is an excellent stone to use in meditation and for metaphysical purposes. It is a crystal of connection with the ability to open the mind, enhancing telepathic and psychic abilities. Kyanite is said to bridge all gaps in communication, while providing a link for transmitting or receiving healing energy.
In the workplace blue kyanite can be effective in promoting good communication. It can aid in speaking your highest truth, while cutting through fears, illusions and blockages allowing for an increased capacity in logical thought. It helps to encourage self-expression while bridging the gap between different belief and ideas.
Psychologically, kyanite produces positive energy. It is said to sharpen one’s concentration and encourage calmness. It is believed to help one relax while driving away sadness.
As of now I only have one kyanite piece of jewelry, the Selma ring. A lustrous, polished blue kyanite is set horizontally in .925 silver. It is available at www.cksventures.com Use code kyanite to receive 20% off the ring.
ENJOY!!
cheryl
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