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Fine Jewelry University Articles matching: “crown mark”
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Fine Jewelry University (Show All FJU Articles)
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Gem in the Spotlight: Tanzanite
… amount of blue in a tanzanite is caused by the quantity of vanadium present. Raw, unheated tanzanite is sometimes marketed as “mermaid tanzanite” because of the iridescent blue and green colors. You can usually tell if a tanzanite has …VP of Tiffany & Co. at the time, who named the stone tanzanite after the country of origin. Tiffany then started marketing the stone around 1968. The geological conditions required to form tanzanite are quite rare, leading some …
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Gem in the Spotlight: Amethyst
… found in multiple places around the world. Heavily increased supply dropped prices consistently over the last 200 years which is why, despite its beauty, amethyst is such an affordable stone today. About 50% of amethysts on the world market are now believed to be synthetic. This is a fairly recent discovery as many low cost, high quality, deeply colored amethysts are now appearing in inexpensive jewelry. Because the cost of testing is higher than the cost of even the …
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Gem in the Spotlight: Aquamarine
…’s main pigment comes from iron. The color spectrum of aquamarine varies from very pale blue to a deep blue, the finest specimens being the deepest in color. Most aquamarine stones have a subtle green component, and in some markets, a deep greenish blue is the most desirable. Brazil is the most prolific supplier of aquamarine where it is often found in shades of blue-green. Aquamarine has a refractive index of 1.577 to 1.583 and is doubly refractive. Aquamarine’s …
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Gold Purity and The Differences Between White and Yellow Gold
…with gold. A plated piece of jewelry has a thin layer of gold over a base or non gold metal. Some plated jewelry has markings that look like real solid gold. For example, a plated piece can be stamped: 14k HGE or 18k GE. HGE means …. You can learn more about gold plating on our FAQ page. Sometimes engagement rings are stamped 14KP. The 14KP is a marking for plum gold which is a true mix of 14 karat gold. Some governments allow 13.5k to be stamped 14k so the 14KP …
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Jewelry Repair FAQ
… that only a very thin layer of gold covers the surface. Gold plating produces a layer of gold around 0.5 microns thick. A micron is roughly equal to 4/100,000 or 0.00004 inches. Gold plated jewelry is often indicated with a “GP” marking stamped somewhere on the piece. Heavy Gold Electroplating is gold plating with a minimum thickness of 2.5 microns. Look for an “HGE” stamped on the jewelry to indicate that it is Heavy Gold Electroplated. On the other hand, gold …
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Alternative Metals for Men’s Jewelry
… silver-white in color, but it can be treated to different colors. Titanium is very light weight which is its hallmark feature and one of the reasons it is used so heavily in manufacturing. It resists scratching well, and it is both …, it is difficult and expensive to resize, repair, or engrave aircraft grade titanium rings, again because of the remarkable properties of the alloy. This may or may not be an issue for you depending on who you buy your titanium ring from…
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Frequently Asked Question about Jewelry
…is changing the very nature of diamonds. First, new synthetic (man made) diamonds of gem quality are coming into the market now. Next, companies can now change the color of diamonds. They are making the diamonds both more transparent (… diamond. Color is actually looking for the absence of color or transparency. Clarity is inclusions and natural birthmarks of a diamond and is useful as identifying characteristics. For more information see the Diamond Buying Guide . What…
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Fake Diamonds: The Great Diamond Attack
… to justify using them. The technology is becoming more cost effective, and some synthetic diamonds are entering the market place now. Since they are the same chemistry as natural diamond, there is no easy test to use to separate them … diamond suppliers have sophisticated equipment in place to help them catch these impostors before they reach the marketplace. If you’re interested you can learn more about how to tell if a diamond is lab grown . Synthetic gems are not …
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What Are Lab Grown Diamonds?
…it is a “synthetic diamond” because it does not have the same chemical structure as a diamond. A white sapphire, marketed and disclosed as a white sapphire, is a sapphire. But, if it is used in place of a diamond, then it is a diamond … coated Cubic Zirconia has an extremely thin diamond coating only. However, this does not stop some unscrupulously marketers from calling them synthetic diamonds. Now, you know better. Lab Grown Diamonds Compared with Natural Diamonds So…
