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Fine Jewelry University Articles matching: “tourmaline ring”
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Gem in the Spotlight: Tourmaline
Tourmaline is one of the most beautiful gems that you’ve probably never heard of. Less popular than the likes of ruby or … of gem collectors and connoisseurs who appreciate its unique properties and stunning array of colors. In fact, tourmaline is found in almost any color you can imagine, and people have most likely used and appreciated it for hundreds of years. …, before the advent of modern gemology, most tourmaline was believed to be ruby, sapphire, or emerald. Gemology of Tourmaline Gemologically speaking, tourmaline is its own mineral and not a species or member of a different family (unlike …
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The Birthstones
… sunset. Sapphire symbolized truth, sincerity and tradition. Learn more about Sapphire October’s Birthstone: Opal (Tourmaline) The opal has been described as containing the wonders of the sky’s sparkling rainbows, fireworks, lightning, and the …, and extreme temperature changes. To maintain the brilliance of opal, it should be wiped clean with a soft cloth. Tourmaline is also used as a birthstone for October. Learn more about Opal and Tourmaline November’s Birthstones: Topaz and …
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Gem in the Spotlight: Ruby
… of Sanskrit. Rubies get their name from the Latin word “ruber,” which means red. This is also where rubellite tourmaline (the red variety of tourmaline) gets its name. Pliny the Elder mentioned rubies in his work Natural History, including … believed to protect the wearer from injury and to keep them safe and healthy. Many cultures believed that wearing rubies in battle made warriors invincible and protected them from harm. Innumerable powers have been associated with the …
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Gem in the Spotlight: Spinel
… shadows and be appreciated in its own right, and we can see why. Its colors rival even the best rubies, sapphires, tourmalines, and other more popular gems. For only the 3rd time in the last one hundred years, the industry is modifying the … easily it can be created in a lab, synthetic spinel has been used to imitate many other gemstones (ruby, sapphire, tourmaline, zircon, etc.). In fact, the ubiquity of synthetic spinel may be part of the reason why most people have been slow to…
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Anatomy of a Ring
Knowing the different parts of a ring can help you make a better decision when choosing a new ring and it can help you know when your ring may need … ring has a shank. This is the technical term for the band of metal that encircles the finger. There would be no ring without the shank. If the ring has a distinct design feature on the top part, the ring shank is generally said to start … point that the design stops. A jeweler will usually add or remove metal from the bottom of the shank when sizing a ring. This can sometimes be done so well that you would never know it was sized looking at the shank with your naked eye. …
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Gem in the Spotlight: Amethyst
…Amethyst is known for its durability with a Mohs hardness rating of 7. For reference, amethyst is roughly as hard as tourmaline, softer than sapphire and topaz, and harder than opal and tanzanite. This makes it a durable gemstone that is … with the clergy and was often used in the design of religious objects. It was also believed to have the power to bring about sobriety and was given to people who were struggling with addiction. Wine glasses were even carved out of …
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The Magic of Polarized Light
… they will split incoming light in multiple directions. Some common examples of doubly refractive gems are sapphire, tourmaline, and moissanite. These are contrasted with singly refractive (SR) gems like diamond that only bend light in one …When looking through a microscope two images of the facet junction appear. This is because the stone has a high birefringence (i.e. a high amount of double refraction). When you hold a polarizing filter over the stone one of the images …
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Gem in the Spotlight: Alexandrite
… the only stone to display color-change phenomena. There are color-change varieties of many gems including sapphire, tourmaline, spinel, garnet, etc. Alexandrite is, however, the most famous for it. It is so famous, in fact, that color-change … component, the stone will appear redder. Alexandrite has a refractive index of 1.746-1.755 with an average birefringence of .010. It has a specific gravity of 3.73 and a Mohs hardness of 8.5. Because of its high hardness, alexandrite is …
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What to Do When Your Ring Irritates Your Skin
Nothing is more frustrating than being unable to wear your engagement ring or other jewelry because it irritates your skin. Don’t worry. There are many options you have when faced with this …but their root causes and solutions are very different. Physical Irritation This can be caused by the design of the ring, a rough area that is the result of normal wear and tear, or a ring that is not sized correctly. If the ring is too … irritation and the solution may simply be to size the ring up slightly. Likewise, if there is a rough spot on the ring, that can normally be smoothed out by a jeweler. Changes in diet can dramatically affect our finger sizes. So, if the …
