Jet of the Day - Rough Magic Holidays

Two of my many favorite things about being a member of the JETs is, watching this fabulous team grow, and exploring our newest members' Etsy shops. The items featured in this treasury were created by our 16 newest members. Let's give them, and all our Jetlings the warmest of welcomes!

'Jetlings Come Lately ...' by RoughMagicHolidays To welcome the 16 newest Jetlings to the Jewelry on Etsy Team!

Pink Opal Necklace : Na... NaturalGorgeou... $49.00	Shades of Turquoise Ear... jewelrybycarma... $18.00	Purple long necklace wi... sianykitty $17.50
Mystic Green Topaz AAA ... BelladonnasJoy $35.00	Beaded wrap bracelet fo... mvtreasures $35.00	Colorful Orange Crystal... TeeLynnDesigns $28.00
Jerusalem Suk earrings ... ifatcreations $40.00	Spiral Begonia bracelet... LauraMacJewelr... $25.00	HOLIDAY SALE 15% DISCOU... PoppyLayne $58.65
Cat Lover Ring - Smooth... Ricksonjewelle... $134.00	Serpentine Bracelet oc... TheLittleHappy... $29.50	Sterling Silver, perido... DiademJewels $32.00
Pink Gemstone Wire Scu... bytheseagemdes... $85.00	Pale Peridot Pendant PersonalDesign... $40.00	Owl necklace, white bir... ACupOfSparkle $34.00
Angels Touch Necklace (... christinamdesi... $164.00

Thanks for  reading,

Mollie

Rough Magic Creations

Rough Magic Holidays

Jet of the Day - TraceDesigns

Time to Spread Some Holiday Cheer!

'Tis the season to shop, to give, to stress, to overindulge, to celebrate, to spend with those you love... There are so many ways that folks spend their holidays and of course a jewel for every occasion can be found!

Many love to spread the Christmas cheer in the traditional manner, with Christmas trees, candy canes and the proliferation of red and green.

Red and White Candy Cane Swirl Earrings

For some, the chill of winter, the solstice, the beauty of frost and snow is enough to have them dancing (or cuddling) in front of the fireplace.

Crystal Clear Modern Frost Bracelet

Some folks love to take the holidays to celebrate with friends, family, and indulge in good cheer at parties and soirees. My new holiday line of festive handmade jewelry incorporates a modern twist that will be a hit at any holiday gathering.

Red, Black, and Gold Holiday Necklace

Garnet Red and Sterling Silver Abstract Christmas Ball Earrings

Some celebrate Hanukkah with gorgeous blues and silvery whites.

Geometric, Modern, Mediterranean - Aqua Blue Earrings with Sterling Silver

Yet others, would rather skip right to the end and celebrate a whole new year with glam, glitz, and gold jewelry.  You can be the bombshell at the celebration with these bold looks:

Ultra Long Glam Gold Earrings with Mirror Ball Beads

These are just a few selections from my holiday line of handmade jewelry on Etsy.com.

You can check out the full line of handmade necklaces, earrings and bracelets, here  and be sure to know that I'm adding new pretties all the time! However you spend your holiday season there is bound to be a perfect accessory for the occasion!

Need a few gift ideas? Check out this amazing gift guide filled with stunning handmade jewelry from highly talented jewelers from the Jet Team!

Tracy McMahon

Trace Jewelry designs

http://tracedesigns.etsy.com

Now booking holiday shows!

Jet of the Day 11/28/11 - The Silver Bear

  
What is a Gemologist?

Gemology is the scientific study of gemstones, so a gemologist is someone who has undertaken several year’s study & passed the requisite examinations of an organization such as the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) or one of its overseas equivalents e.g. the Gemmological Association of Great Britain, or Australia.




 A gemologist is the person who has the sad task of informing you that the beautiful “Ruby” in grandma’s ring that you have just inherited is, in fact, a Garnet or, worse still, glass.

A gemologist undertakes a minimum of two years intensive training into the scientific identification of precious, semi-precious and ornamental gem materials. This encompasses geology and mineralogy, in order to understand the occurrence and structure of the various stones. It covers physical and optical properties, and all the various enhancements, simulants and synthetics.

If one takes a piece of jewellery containing a gemstone in for an insurance valuation, the valuer or appraiser cannot assign a value to the item unless a gemologist has first identified the stone. As a gemology lecturer many years ago, I used to take to the first class of each year a suite of twelve 4mm round brilliant (diamond) cut colourless gemstones. To all intents & purposes twelve identical stones, but some appearing to have a bit more “sparkle” than others. These 12 stones were –
Quartz
Topaz
Strass
Danburite
Synthetic Spinel
Synthetic Corundum
YAG (Yttrium Aluminium Garnet)
Zircon
GGG (Gadolinium Gallium Garnet)
Cubic Zirconia
Strontium Titanate
Diamond
and of course now we have the latest diamond simulant – Moissanite.
The object of the exercise being to demonstrate to a class of new students what they were setting out to achieve – the ability to correctly identify each of the twelve stones.

It’s quite frightening to think that there are very few gemstones these days which cannot be produced in a laboratory. Even common and relatively inexpensive stones such as Amethyst (purple Quartz) are being synthesized.

The synthesizing and treatment of gemstones has been around for a very long time. Synthetic Ruby was being commercially produced by the Verneuil process in 1902. It is estimated that over 95% of the natural (earth mined) Sapphires on the market today have been heat treated to enhance their colour, and probably 70% of all Sapphires on the market have been produced synthetically. (A synthetic gemstone is one which is identical in all respects to its natural counterpart, but has been man made. A trained gemologist is able to tell the difference. A jeweller (if not a gemologist) isn’t.)

Apart from the various process for creating synthetic gems – hydrothermal, flux, fusion, Czochralski and skull melt, there are innumerable treatments, some of which are bleaching, coating, dyeing, filling, flux healing, heating, impregnation (stabilizing), irradiation, lasering, lattice diffusion, oiling and waxing.

Simulants are rife - a very high percentage of “turquoise” being sold on the internet is, in fact, dyed Howlite or Magnesite. A good 90% of the Malachite being sold on sites like eBay has been man made (& is usually not identified as such!) The list goes on and on.

A gemologist can do more than merely identify a stone. He (or she) can tell you if that red stone is a Ruby, or not. If it is, he can tell you whether it’s natural or synthetic. If synthetic, he can identify which of the several processes was used to manufacture it. If natural, he can usually identify the origin of the stone by its colour and/or inclusions. If treated, he can identify the treatment.

A gemological qualification is a virtual “must have” for anyone in the industry these days. This is your BASIC qualification. There are a number of post graduate courses available, such as the DDT (Diploma of Diamond Technology), Appraisals, Pearl Grading, Opal Grading and others.

If any JET team members ever have any questions of a gemological nature, I’m only a convo away. Anytime.

Thanks for reading.

Bearsie

Jet of the Day - the Brass Hussy

Today. our Jet of the day is Debbie of The Brass Hussy. When I asked her what she wanted to promote today, selflessly, she said she wants to promote the whole team and the JET's Black Friday, Cyber Monday sales. So, here goes...
Thanks Deb!
On behalf of the JETs... xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxxox

'Who loves a Black Friday Sale?' by TheBrassHussy

Poparazzi Earrings - Ba... BeadzNBling $18.00	HOLIDAY SALE 15% DISCOU... PoppyLayne $135.15	Delux Cat Lover - Tabby... Ricksonjewelle... $134.00
ON SALE Black and Red D... FuchsiaBloomSt... $15.30	Chan luu inspired doubl... mvtreasures $25.00	Black Friday, Victorian... DonnasArtisanD... $25.30
Silver Stacking Hammere... SilverSmack $15.00	Thanksgiving Sale Ortho... $105.60	Black Friday/Cyber Mond... christinamdesi... $48.00
On Sale PMC Fine Silver... HGWjewelrydesi... $49.50	Sale 20% OFF Black Frid... TheLittleHappy... $22.50	Real Butterfly Wing Bra... DebrasDivineDe... $89.00
Pale Pink Earrings with... TraceDesigns $35.00	Marble Metal Delight Be... SatinDollCo $12.00	Lampwork Glass Bead Moo... stoutdg2 $45.00
SALE Dragonscale Diamon... ShazzabethCrea... $320.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.