A Fake Diamond?

Cubic Zirconia gets a bad rap in our society. It's considered a "fake" stone, when in reality it's only "fake" when some unscrupulous seller tries to pass it off as a diamond.

Do those really look like diamonds? Or are they simply beautiful earrings that deserve appreciation on their own?

Fake is one of those slightly subjective terms..."she's so fake." But how can something be fake if it is just representing itself? Cubic Zirconia isn't "fake" anything...it's Cubic Zirconia. Yes, it is a simulated, man made, material ... but that does not classify it as fake in my book. To me, just because a 'stone' is grown in a lab does not automatically make it "fake" (my mom disagrees with me, but I take my view from my grandmother who was a wonderful rock hound).

I have some gorgeous CZs and think they make lovely earrings and pendants.

The great thing with CZ is that it costs a fraction of what natural gemstones would cost in the same shapes and sizes. Those Amethyst CZ briolettes above would cost me a fortune, but with CZ I'm able to create a gorgeous look at a much more reasonable price. Since my goal with these earrings is fun and flirty I don't need the natural stones. Sometimes I do want to go with the "real" (again, a subjective term to me) thing, but not always.

Now, trying to pass CZ off as a diamond is wrong and fraudulent. If you are unsure as to whether a stone is CZ or diamond (like in a ring or earrings or something) there are just a few ways you can tell without using a microscope or chemicals.

• CZ weighs a lot more than diamond. 1.7 times more according to Wikipedia.
• Also, if the 'stone' you're looking at is absolutely colorless but is selling for a low price, it's probably a CZ. Only the very best, and rarest, diamonds are truly colorless. Most have some sort of inclusions or color to them. A "cheap" colorless diamond doesn't exist.
• If the 'stone' is set into sterling silver or a less expensive plated metal it is highly unlikely to be a diamond...while I might combine sterling or fine silver with diamond, most people don't bother. Diamonds generally go with gold or platinum.
• And the cut of a stone might tell you whether it's diamond or CZ...although if you're anything like me you can't really tell the difference with the naked eye. CZs are often cut using different facets than are used with diamonds.

There really is nothing wrong with wearing CZs though. I think they're pretty and sparkly ... and if you have moral issues with diamonds they can give you the same look without the guilt. :)

Expanding My Comfort Zone

While I love to play with metal I've shied away from doing a lot of sawing and soldering. I don't have a great area in the house where it's easy to saw ... we set it up in the garage but it's cold out there! :)

But I got a bug in my booty last week with an idea for a ring using a gorgeous bright blue Topaz stone I bought a couple of weeks ago. This thing GLOWS.

I ordered a strip of sterling silver and dove in with my saw. I get sort of nervous when I do new things but I was determined to create this ring.

Using fine silver round wire, I soldered two circles together and hammered to get my size. 'Cause this ring is for me...did I mention that? *grin*

I created the bezel with fine silver bezel wire, a much harder task to do with a small stone than with a larger one. It kept moving around. Thankfully I managed to get a nice tight fit.

I wanted the light to be able to show through (from my finger? I know...illogical) so I also cut a hole in the piece of metal that form the bottom of the bezel. My fingers STILL hurt from the sawing and filing. I don't like filing.

But I'm thrilled with the results!!! I hope you like. This one is mine. =)


Maybe now I will keep working to saw metal. I do have a pendant with a gorgeous deep grey/purple Iolite tone that I'm working on next. It will be a pendant. =)

A Gorgeous Rare Stone - Rutilated Amethyst

Earlier in the summer I made my way to a gem show up in Seattle. I haven't gotten to go to Tucson in awhile (if you aren't aware - Tucson hosts the largest Gem and Mineral show in the United States every year) and while I don't ever really *need* anything I do like to see what's out there.

I *try* to stick to a budget when I attend these things ... and yet somehow manage to come home with all sorts of things not on my list.

One of those things this time was an absolutely amazing and stunning strand of gemstones - the vendor called them Rutilated Amethyst. I'd never heard of it, though apparently it has been around for awhile. It is a Quartz gemstone with shades of Amethyst and rutiles in red (I believe the rutiles are a mineral called lepidocrosite).

This species of stone can range from clear with sharp rutiles to mottled amethyst purple. The stones I purchased are sharp, clear, crisp, and huge. =)

Translation = Expensive

Even though it's been around for years no one bothered to cut and market it as a gemstone so there really isn't a lot of it to work with.

So I got suckered, I mean talked, into buying a strand for an arm and a leg but I tell you what... I got these home and they were even MORE beautiful. Using the whole strand in one necklace would make the necklace ridiculously expensive. I finally got around to cutting the strand apart this weekend and made a necklace and a pair of earrings.




Hope you like! =)

A Girl's Best Friend

Diamonds!

I have been itching to get some raw, unfaceted diamonds for ages now and this weekend I finally got some. Two strands - one black and one white. I have several ideas for designs and can't wait to play!!!

I think these diamonds are more fun than the standard sparkly rocks found in most wedding rings (including mine) though I do love my diamond. :) These have character and are so different.


Different was definitely my goal this trip - I found some incredibly gorgeous stones. Including one called Moss Amethyst.

I love all the rutillated 'stuff' - technically they are imperfections but such beautiful imperfections!


And of course I couldn't resist getting more Golden Rutillated Quartz - even though I have some and haven't even used it yet! I'm in love with this stone!!!

In LOVE I tell you!

Boy do I have work to do...All these designs flitting around in my head and I'm stuck here at work. Arg! Talk about a frustrated artist. =)

Bead Lover's Heaven

Want some nice beads at a crazy good price? WITH excellent customer service?

Go shop with the Jewelweaver.

Starting tonight at midnight (guessing that's West coast time since they are in California) they are having the biggest sale I've ever seen them have.

A huge clearance section 20-50% off their already great prices. PLUS their regular discounting system is given a boost...normally you don't get 5% off until you've hit $100 in your shopping cart. But with their sale, spend just $50 and get 5% off...spend $100 and get 10% off...and so on. That's ON TOP of the clearance prices.

SWEET!

Not that I need anymore beads. *grin*

New Year, New Designs

I don't often write about my own work but since I stayed up late last night posting new items I thought I'd share.

I finally got up my nerve to try to set my own stones and I think they turned out fairly well. The earrings above are fine silver with lab created blue sapphire cabochons. They are meant to be organic and "rough" looking. I love how they turned out. I also set a natural Ruby into one of my Cherry Tree necklaces...love it!

Another new technique for me is soldering - not only silver but I got up my courage to solder 14k gold filled wire! I was thrilled with the results, but because I use silver solder there's a bit of silver on the gold. So I paired them with silver in these earrings. :) And a gemstone - apatite is pictured. I plan to purchase some 14k gold solder but it's crazy expensive. Although I also want to try soldering 14k gold... *gulp* That will be a nerve wracking experiment.

I have tried to avoid doing one of a kind designs but at the last show I attended I found some stunningly beautiful faceted stones that I just had to have. They were not cheap and there were not multiples available. I found some stunning briolettes in Cognac Quartz and a set in Peridot. I also got some discs that are too beautiful but I haven't used them yet.

The photos of these make the right earring Peridot look crooked but it's not ... I am not the master photographer.

I just got some new gemstones in the mail and can't wait to play with them. And there are more on the way that will be made into stunningly beautiful rings. This year is starting off with a bang!

What's That In the Sky? It's MOONstone.

There have been several discussion on Etsy about identifying stones. One of those was how to tell Rainbow Moonstone from Opalite. I must admit...I thought it was pretty obvious. But then again I've know the difference for awhile. Though if someone is unaware of both I can see how they might not know better.

So...having said all that, let's look at both.

Opalite is sometimes called Opalized "Quartz", Sea Opal, and Opalized Glass. It is a manmade glass that is very pretty but often confused as a gemstone. Some vendors do it on purpose while others just aren't educated. I once had a visitor to my booth at a show looking at an Opalite necklace and commenting on how inexpensive it was. She said that she had bought one recently for several hundred dollars and she just loved her "opal" necklace. I was sorry to inform her that it was a manmade glass rather than a gemstone. She was very disappointed. There's nothing wrong with using Opalite in jewelry but designers need to be fully educated and honest with their customers.

I really enjoy the properties of Opalite - it picks up the colors, or changes color, based on the colors surrounding it. On a black background it will appear more blue, while on a white background it glows more orange/pink.


Rainbow Moonstone on the other hand can be supremely beautiful and expensive when found in high quality pieces. It can also be referred to as Ceylon Opal.

"High-quality rainbow moonstone is usually chatoyant and sometimes displays a strong cat's eye. The floating-light phenomenon and sheen of moonstone are called adularescence or schiller."

From the Rings & Things Gemstone Index

Using rainbow moonstone in my work is a challenge - mainly because it can be difficult to photograph the beautiful blue flashes present in high quality stones.

Rainbow moonstone goes with anything - any color and any season. It's a versatile stone that plays well with gold and silver. Pairing it with other stones is fairly easy because nearly everything matches. I am a great fan of this stone.

It also comes in peach and gray moonstone but I don't like those as much. It's funny that some vendors are calling it "silver" moonstone. I suppose that does sound a bit better than gray.

Resources:
Rings and Things
Me
Mindat

Rutilated Quartz

I love this gemstone. Rutilated quartz seems so mysterious to me...the golden inclusions (sometimes called "Venus hair") can arrange themselves in any number of ways to form beautiful patterns within the quartz stone.

It's apparently not nearly as mysterious as I imagine since quartz is the most common mineral on Earth, found in practically every environment and as a component of almost every rock type, making up 12% of the earth's crust. Most quartz is valued because it has no inclusions, but not rutilated...the more gorgeous lines and inclusions the better!

Different minerals can create the lines (called inclusions) within quartz. My favorite is the rock crystal quartz with golden lines, but it can also occur as rutilated smokey quartz and rultilated milky quartz. And less commonly known is a variety known as "tourmalinated quartz" which has black or dark green tourmaline crystals instead of the golden inclusions. I'd love to see some of that in person!

Because there are two different types of minerals (with different degrees of hardness) it can be difficult to get a good and smooth cut. My grandfather apparently has the skill to create gorgeous cabachons. Below is a Rutilated Quartz Cabachon hand cut and polished by my grandfather and grandmother, photographed with some rutilated quartz rough uncut stone. Maybe someday I'll be good enough to try my hand at cutting it!

Sources
MineralMiners.com
Gemstone.org
Bernadine Fine Art Jewelry

Bangles!

I love bangles and I've been itching to make some to offer on my website. Well, this weekend I finally got up the nerve and the energy.

It took forever to fuse each large circle. I started with my largest torch (which is still a handheld one so it's not that big) and wound up using both of my handheld torches at once. One in each hand! Doing that made things go much quicker.

Picking the gemstones took almost as long! I couldn't decide which I wanted to us. Do I use all round or do I go with some abstract nuggets? For the time being I decided to go with round gemstones - Smooth Lapis, and then faceted Nephrite Jade, Amethyst, and Black Onyx. I may add a beautiful round faceted Rose Quartz and Rock Crystal if I can find some before Spring.

Sizing these is interesting...I have to cut the wire and fuse it so determining the length of wire needed for a specific size will be my next goal. For the time being I wanted a few put together for photographs.

I generally wear a size 7 1/2 bracelet and I am able to also fit a size 7 1/2 bangle over my hand, although it's a tight squeeze. A size 7 1/2 bangle is 2 1/2 inches in diameter and at the widest point my hand is 3 1/2 inches wide (before I squeeze it down to 2 1/2 inches). If you are unsure I suggest ordering 1/2 a size higher than your normal bracelet length.

I am a Bead Addict

I have issues. More so than some. I LOVE beads, gemstones, and findings. And they have taken over my living room. Some I don't use and won't use because they are no longer my style. Some I adore but probably won't ever use just because I have so many others that I love too.

So to share my lovelies with others I've started a new Etsy shop called Casto Gemstones. I just started adding items and will continue to add items as long as I have extra beads. Feel free to stop by - heart my shop - and enjoy! I want my extra beads to go to people who will enjoy and use them.

Charoite Delight

I love Charoite. What is Charoite you ask?

"It has the appearance of purple marble, but really defies description...it simply looks unnaturally beautiful."

Charoite is a gorgeous and rare stone, originating in Russia. Discovered by the west in the late 1970s, it was officially found in the late 1940s by a Soviet Geologist in the remote Chara Valley (Aldan, Russia). Due to the wild nature of Siberia it wasn't until the 1960s before more attention was given to the deposit and in the 70s the stone was finally mined and introduced to the market.

Because the only deposit ever found exists in such a remote location it is difficult to obtain Charoite. According to the Russian language Wikipedia (kindly translated for me by Zoya of My Lovely Beads), "the limit of charoite mining is set by 100,000 kilograms a year" and apparently is only supposed to be released in 'worked' form. In other words, no "raw" or rough Charoite is supposed to be released. "Supposed to be" is the key phrase there. Prohibitions like that rarely work. Even my grandfather has a few slabs of unworked Charoite. (He says it's very hard to work with and the one cab I saw in his collection was cracked.)

I have some amazing Charoite beads that I treasure. I've seen plenty of unattractive Charoite, but finding beads with swirls and brilliance is tough.


Another wonderful source says that one of the reasons for the scarcity is simply the lack of workable time in the year. The area is Siberia after all! There's only so many months when the weather will permit mining.

There are two different stories on how this stone was named. One, the most plausible to me, is that it is named after the Charo River where it was found. The other, more fanciful, story is that it is named after it's magical impression - "Chary" in Russian means charms or magic. It does look vaguely magical when it has great swirls.

And even though I don't believe in anything like magic, I love this quote: "It survived great trauma, rains, winds, heat and cold, only to become more beautiful over time."

Other Interesting Resources:

• The Mineral Charoite
• Gem Hut
• Mindat.org
• Webmineral
• English Language Wikipedia

My Grandpa's Legacy - Part II

My grandfather is so incredibly talented. I never realized exactly how talented until recently when I started to appreciate his previous work with gemstones. I took several dozen photos when I was last visiting and will share them in stages.

Part I can be viewed Here

Rhodochrosite
One of the most beautiful stones when found in good quality - and this is GOOD quality stone!

Rutilated Quartz
Cut cabachon amidst some uncut rough. I'd never even seen uncut rutilated quartz before.
Rhodonite
Another gorgeous pink stone that I love when it has black matrix because it adds a lot more interesting character. :)


Stay tuned for more lovelies made by my grandparents.