Palladium - Is This The Future For White Metal?

It's no surprise that palladium has been given a resurgence in popularity since its fall from grace after the end of the second world war. Due to the extraordinarily high prices of gold and platinum, jewellers are being forced to find alternatives at a price point that appeals to the consumer.

Palladium joins the ranks of Titanium and Zirconium to become the next designer metal due to its ease of workability, value for money, bright white colour and the craving of the public for something different.

With a density lower than platinum, palladium lends itself to designs where weight is an important factor, for example earrings and necklaces. Bolder designs become more affordable and comfortable to wear and the ease of stone setting benefits many pieces.

Casting palladium does not present much of a problem to casters familiar with working platinum. Although the melting temperature (1552°C) is nowhere near that of platinum, it still requires a highly controlled process in order to produce good consistent quality castings and it is advisable to treat it as you would platinum.

Palladium should not be marketed as a competitor to platinum. If it must have an equivalent then perhaps it should be compared to 14K white gold with the added advantage of a brighter white colour and the lack of need to rhodium plate, which, incidently, is the single biggest complaint from the public about white gold when ugly yellow patches start to appear where it was once bright white. Imagine your joy as a retailer not having to see the disappointed look on your customers face when they appear in your shop clutching an item of jewellery that needs replating.

It does truly seem that this time palladium could be here for some time yet.

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Fashion Trends For Women Autumn Winter 2007-8

This season neutral colours highlighted with bold colours is the biggest style trend. This creates a chic minimalist look but give you room to be feminine and playful and creative with your personality. This season will see new and interesting colour combinations, so be bold and have fun!

The most important thing in fashion is to take what is on the catwalks and adapt it to your own style, and to the occasion. An easy and cost effective way to do this is with jewellery. Here are some hints and tips to accenting your own style with this seasons trends.

For the smart/casual look, which gives you the most individual choice as to whether to wear a dress or trouser suit and offers you many colours and styles, go for autumn neutral colours, for example moss green, grey-blue, or this seasons biggest colour a gentle violet. For a more striking look go monochrome or layer different textures of black, or warm coffee browns offer a gentler alternative to black.

If you have seen a particular colour on the catwalk that you like but feel is too overpowering for you then take it and add it to your neutrals in the form of jewellery. Purple and turquoise are the two of the most widely seen colours this season so go for a turquoise broach instead of the full coloured dress or a set of matching earrings and necklace.

For a cocktail party, where the cocktail dress can be your opportunity to take advantage of the bold colours. Turquoise suits all skin tones, purple can be used in any shade this season so pick on to suit you. To stand out from the crowd chili red or a bold flower pattern dress.

When accessorizing go for a simple, elegant chocker and matching earrings. Or a broach and cocktail ring. The important thing here is to let the dress shine on its own, keep the jewellery understated.

The classic dress, retro forties/fifties glamour is for the black tie do. Either tone down a bright dress with clear crystal or add a splash of colour to a black or neutral dress. Go for the matching set of jewellery to create a complete film star look.

The white tie occasion is your chance to go for all out glitz and glamour. Again the complete jewellery set and vintage fashion works well. Hair should be pinned up and extra long earrings worn for elegance. A large ring and large pendant to add sparkle.
When wearing a V-neck mirror this with a V or Y shaped necklace, a chocker is also elegant or, if not wearing a necklace a broach at the base of the V will add colour or sparkle.

A strapless dress provides a blanc canvass for a large necklace which can be bold or glitzy or for long chandelier earrings. Pick up the detail with a crystal bracelet or broach.
A short chocker or very long necklace suits a square neckline and again long earrings. Thin straps can be matched with delicate jewellery.

A round neck suits a large broach or extra long necklace. Go for lady-like chic especially with a polo neck, a round pearl necklace will match the shape beautifully.
Lastly, for an asymmetric neckline don't wear a necklace at all, instead go for a bold pair of earrings or bracelet.

Sunshine Jewellery
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The Torc – a Symbolic Necklace from Ancient Times

A torc is a rigid necklace which was made from woven metallic rope. So the craftsmen would get strands of metal and twist them around each other like rope and that’s where the name comes from. The Latin word to twist gives us the word torc and torque as we know the word today.

Torcs are familiar to us as bronze age jewellery and reached from around 1000BC until about 300AD but were still worn before and after that in perhaps less serious ways. They are best known as Celtic jewellery but they were worn by other races such as the French German and Spanish.

Another feature of the torc is that it is open at one end. It is round and goes around the neck but it does not close like necklaces of today. The ends were often ornamented with tiny heads or sculptured shapes.

Torcs were not just for ornamentation but had a special role as war ornamentation and they were taken off the body of the vanquished by the victor, so if you lost your torc it usually meant that you also lost your life or certainly your freedom. The torc was often connected with your tribe or family and was inscribed with family history and symbols.

Sometimes torcs were worn on the arm or on the wrist but they were mainly worn around the neck. They were often hinged at the back of the neck and occasionally they were able to be closed but the traditional torc was worn around the neck, was of woven or twisted strands of bronze or gold, sometimes silver and was open with some kind of ornamentation on the ends such s the heads of birds or animals or mythical animals such as dragons.

Torcs were often heavy and looking at them I am astounded as to how these ancient craftsmen could make such things

The torc is another from of ancient and functional jewellery. It served a purpose as a symbol or statement of who you were, what you were worth, and where you came from.

Gary Hocking makes custom jewellery specializing in Australian opals. He has his own website http://www.jewelleryexpress.com.au Feel free to use this article as long as you keep the bio and the live link to his website.

Why Should We Avoid Conflict or Blood Diamonds?

Should we be concerned about buying conflict or blood diamonds? What are the moral and financial implications of buying blood diamonds?

Buying diamonds for most people comes at a time when they are buying an item of jewellery such as diamond earrings, an engagement ring etc. This not only involves a major financial investment but an emotional one as well. The jewellery is likely to be kept in the family for years to come and so being confident about what you are buying is paramount.

In a way you need to feel that you are not only buying your diamonds from a reputable source but also that your supplier, whether it be an online retailer or traditional high street shop, obtains it’s goods from sources that also meet certain social, political and environmental responsibilities.

Most people have heard the term Blood Diamond or Conflict diamond but do you know what they are? In essence there are diamonds that have been purchased from rebel movements, terrorists or thieves. In the majority of cases the money made from theses diamonds ends up funding terrorist movements and civil wars.

With this in mind it is important that you buy your diamonds from a retailer who is able to confirm that your jewellery has passed the “Kimberley Process”.

The Kimberley Process is an International Certification Scheme that regulates the trade of rough (unpolished) diamonds.
Given the current political climate and the events of the last few years the last thing that anyone wants is be to be inadvertently funding these shocking activities throughout the world. That is the reason why they are called “blood diamonds” as literally people (in some cases many people) have been murdered as a result of the theft of these diamonds from their original source.

The Blood Diamonds are normally smuggled out as rough diamonds which have yet to resemble anything that we see in a shop window! The main countries where these diamonds originate are the Central and West African countries such as Sierra Leone. You will usually find that wherever there is conflict and diamonds are easy to mine there are blood diamonds.

In reality there is little that can be done to stop the smuggling of these diamonds from their original sources. However we can do what we can to stop the trade of these diamonds and therefore making smuggling them pointless. To do this we need to make sure that we are purchasing our jewellery from legitimate sources and that they can prove the origin of the diamonds they are supplying.

Gary Ingram is a partner at the UK based, online jewllery website http://www.diamondearrings.co.uk A niche jewellery website that specializes in selling all kinds of Diamond Earrings.

Quartz is the Biggest Mineral Group on the Planet

There are two types or forms of quartz: crystalline which comes in a single crystal and chalcedony which is formed from millions of microcrystals.

Quartz may derive its name from the German word Quarz. It is extremely widespread across the earth and comes in just about every colour and form.

Of the crystalline form Amethyst and Citrine are the most popular and the most well known. Rose quartz and rock crystal are also well known and commonly used as gemstones in jewellery. Rock crystal is colorless and is the clear quartz that we often see carved and polished into gorgeous shapes such as skulls and crystal balls.

The microcrystal from provides us with the chalcedony group. Of these are the very common and well known agates such as jasper, chrysoprase, onyx, carnelian and sard. These are very beautiful stones and not expensive. They have been used over the centuries as minerals to make adornments and items of jewellery to be worn by kings and queens as well as the common people.

Quartz has a hardness of seven on the Mohs’ scale of hardness and that make it a good stone to make jewellery from.

I particularly like large pear shape pieces of lemon, smoky or brown quartz for making modern pendants. It is affordable enough to use large pieces and can be set in gold or silver and goes well with diamond accents.

Quartz is used extensively in industry and was used in radios and most of all it had its impact in the watch industry. Since the thirteen hundred watches made no significant changes in their development although they were constantly improved but in the 1970s along came the quartz crystal that changed the watch industry forever. It was the development of the watch which flashed the numbers of the time of day with LEDs.

Many cultures have recognized the healing quality of quartz crystals and you only have to go to a health exhibition or fair to find booths with mystical looking and colorfully dressed people selling an array of crystals. So crystals can be functional jewellery as well as adornment of the body.

Gary Hocking makes custom jewellery specializing in Australian opals. He has his own website http://www.jewelleryexpress.com.au Feel free to use this article as long as you keep the bio and the live link to his website.

5 Ways To Reuse Your Old Jewellery

We all have a box or drawer somewhere full of old jewellery that we never wear. It seems a shame to throw it away, but it might be too worn or broken to send to a charity shop. The best thing to do is to reuse it in a useful way; old jewellery is actually a ready-made craft supply for all of your projects. You probably couldn't find the beads and stones anywhere else, making them the perfect materials to use again to create something unique.

Make Some New Jewellery

The most obvious idea is to make your own jewellery. Using basic tools like pliers and scissors, you can cut up your old jewellery and reuse the beads and fastenings to make something new. You might have to buy some new threading material or memory wire, but apart from that it's easy to refresh your jewellery collection.

Add Interest To Your Clothing

If you're any good with a sewing machine you could add beads and sparkles to your clothing. Old Swarovski and diamante jewellery is perfect for this if you can get the crystals out. Just use some special fabric glue to attach the crystals to your clothing in your own design or pattern. This is especially striking on a black outfit if you're going for a night out. Try doing the same to an old black handbag to make a matching set.

Brooches Make Great Shoe Buckles

Brooches are out of fashion at the moment and they're often quite difficult to take apart, so the perfect way to reuse them is on your shoes. They can hide scuffs and marks and give you a vintage-look pair at no cost whatsoever! A large crystal brooch makes a statement and there's nothing better than a striking pair of shoes!

Make Personalised Cards

Homemade cards are better-quality than you find in shops and are cheaper to make too. All you need is some good quality card and whatever trimmings you like to create a design. Old glass and crystal stones can be added to paper flowers or butterflies to give some extra sparkle. Card-making is a popular hobby and you'll have a supply of handmade cards to give to friends and family for the year to come. It's also a great craft to do with the kids and they'll love to join in and help.

Make A Home Decoration

From glass vases to candle arrangements, your old jewellery can spice up all of your home ornaments. Often these are sold in shops to add some interest to your room, but they're always very neutral to go with a wide range of decor. Your old beads and stones are the perfect way to make them your own. Sprinkled round the base of your candles or used to fill up a glass vase, their colours and familiarity will make your room feel more like home. At xmas-time they're particularly useful for your tree and table decorations and again, this is another craft that the kids will love.

Sylvia Kittens lives in Harrogate, England

Opal and White Gold the Perfect Match

I am going to write a little bit of information on opal and white gold which are items of jewelery. If you are interested in buying any there is a link below that I use. Just click it and one of the ads if you are interested in browsing the site I use.

Opal

Opal is a mineraloid gel which is deposited at a low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock. It is most commonly found with limonite, sandstone and basalt. The water content of opal can be as high as 20% with a variety of colours from white to orange and to black. Reds against the black are the rarest and the most expensive because of growth size into the red and infrared wavelengths; these ones are precious opal. Opal is the national gemstone of Australia. Opal is used in a wide range of jewellery such as rings, earrings, pendants, cufflinks and bangles. The most common piece of jewellery to see opal and white gold together would be in a ring.

white gold

White gold is an alloy of gold and at least one white metal, usually nickel or palladium. Like yellow gold, the purity of white gold is given in carats. White gold's properties vary depending on the metals and proportions used. A nickel alloy is hard and strong and therefore good for rings. The highest quality white gold is usually at 18 karat and made up of gold and palladium. Sometimes other metals like copper, silver and platinum are added for weight and durability, although this often requires specialized goldsmiths.

opal and white gold are my favourite items of jewellery. Opal is Australia's National gem stone so most Australian jewellers are experts in opal. If you are interested in buying of the site I use click the link below and one of the ads to be directed to it.

http://opalandwhitegold.blogspot.com if you are interested in buying jewellery click one of the ads in the link to an Australian expert jeweller site I recommend.