Jewelry

Originally tied to the signs of the zodiac, birth stones are gemstones associated with the month of an individual's birth. Some people believe birth stones, also called natal stones, are good luck...

Wedding rings can be a hassle to keep clean. You wear them every day and you do a lot with your hands throughout the day! But with a few easy steps you can have a ring that looks brand new.

Sapphire is a mineral of the corundum family. Corundum comes in every color of the rainbow. Red corundum is called ruby, all other colors are called sapphires. Sapphire is a durable gemstone...

Diamonds are the most expensive of all precious stones. For many newly engaged couples, spending a large amount of their hard-earned income on a piece of jewelry is simply not practical. With...

The engagement ring can be the best material gift a woman receives. The ring represents the promise of marriage and that elusive happily ever after. Jewelers and wedding magazines will suggest...

A diamond eternity ring is a powerful way for someone to reaffirm his or her love and eternal commitment to his or her special someone with a physical token of their relationship. For this...

Are you looking at eternity rings for your special someone? They are a popular means of expressing love and continued commitment later on in the relationship after a couple has been married for...

Rubies, like all of the more than 40 popular gemstones, are extremely durable crystalline forms of minerals made by nature. Desired for their beauty and valued for their rarity, these treasures...

Jewelry was an important part of ancient Egyptian life. Men as well as women wore jewelry, from the highest king to the poorest peasant. And not just for adornment or to signify social status....

Diamonds aren't just a pretty stone, they're a thriving, multi-billion dollar industry. However, since the 1950's, when a process for creating artificial diamonds was discovered, there has been an...

Pearls are something handed down from grandma to granddaughter. You may receive them as a gift. How do you know if they are real without paying for an expensive appraisal? Here are a few tips.

When buying or collecting Native American turquoise jewelry, several things come into play when attempting to assess the value of the piece. The quality of the silverwork, age, maker and degree of...

Diamonds are a girl's best friend, but crooked jewelers may not be looking out for your best interests. Use these steps and a jeweler's magnifying loupe to identify real stones from fakes--then...

According to diamond expert Sue Healy, "Something like 18 tons of rock need to be crushed before a single carat of diamond is found." An object this rare and difficult to find deserves to be...

A blood diamond is loosely defined as a diamond mined in a war-torn area whose proceeds fund local insurgencies. In order to be a genuine blood diamond, however, the rebellions they fund must be...

Cleaning jewelry that is valuable is a fairly easy task. Unfortunately sometimes it is not on my "to do" list. With my birthstone being opal and my children's being pearl, I used to be...

Stones can be categorized as either precious or semi-precious. Precious stones, like diamonds and rubies, are more rare and expensive than their semi-precious counterparts. Though semi-precious...

Some fashion jewelry, also known as costume jewelry, is of such high quality, it looks almost as good as the real thing. But because it's not the real thing, it probably contains faux gemstones,...

Designing a ruby ring is an incredible way to create a memorable piece of jewelry. Jewelry design does not need to be left to the experts. Designing a ruby ring takes a mixture of creativity and...

Unlike other valued stones, amber is formed not by rocks under enormous pressure deep within the earth, but from the sap of a pine tree that has turned into a fossil millions of years ago.

Have you gone jewelry shopping and found just the stone you wanted but it wasn’t in the right setting? Or just the opposite, the setting was right but the stone wasn’t quite the cut or quality or...

A semi-mount ring may be set with accent stones or detailed with engraving, but it is without a center stone. Semi means half, and mount is how the jeweler sets in the gems. Combine those and you...

Historically used by various cultures around the world, the value of semi-precious stones truly lies in the eye of the beholder. Although their monetary value does not equal that of the diamond,...

Fire Opals are sometimes called Mexican Fire Opals or simply Mexican Opals, because they are most frequently found embedded in volcanic rock formations near the Yucatan Peninsula in Southern...

One of the most sentimental gifts one can buy for their mother is a mothers ring. The fun part about it is that you can build your own mothers ring, making it even more special and a unique gift....

Quality and value in sapphires involves a mix of variants. There are natural sapphires and synthetic sapphires. These beautiful gems are mined from all over the world, and each geographical origin...

Clarity enhanced diamonds have recently begun making their way into the retail diamond market. These stones may be found in rings, bracelets, pendants and earrings. They are 100 percent natural...

Frederick Wells, superintendent of Premier Mine in the Transvaal (a South African province), found the Cullinan diamond in 1905. He had been inspecting the mine when he glimpsed what looked like a...

The history of black diamond jewelry is believed to go back to medieval times. Black diamonds are rare and difficult to cut, and have traditionally been used in men's rings. Several conflicting...

So you and your love are ready to tie the knot and you want to design that very special ring. To make you own diamond ring would require specialized metalsmithing and stone setting skills but...

Three-stone diamond and gemstone rings are among the most popular and colorful ways to express yourself through jewelry. Three-stone rings can be highly symbolic, with side stones indicating the...

So you have a stockpile of polished stones fresh from the rock tumbler or the crystal section of your favorite bead store, and you're wondering how to turn them into a piece of jewelry. Use...

If you are new to setting gemstones, then using easy-mount settings will help you to learn how to set stones. Easy-mounts have prongs that are simply pushed down on the gem, without having to be...

A journey pendant is a pendant that is made of three or more joined stones. The stones are graduated in size so that the top stone is the smallest and the bottom stone is the largest. Generally,...

Swarovski Crystals come in many different styles. Carved figurines, jewelry, loose stones, bags and accessories are all different aspects of the Swarovski crystal line. These items are fun and...

So you've been with that special someone for a while now, and you want to buy them a piece of jewelery. You've already given them the traditional pieces such as an engagement ring, a wedding ring,...

Polished stones are also known as tumbled stones and come in all shapes, sizes and types. These stones can be common or semi-precious stones. They can be purchased online or at a local rock shop....

Designing a wedding ring is one of the most romantic things a couple can do to remember this special occasion. The typical shape for a wedding band is pretty plain because most couples want the...

"Born from the stars--perfected on Earth" is how gem company Charles & Covard advertises its synthetic moissonite stones. These sparkling rocks are touted as superior to diamonds in their...

A mother's ring features a gemstone representing each of a mother's children. Creating a mother's ring for your mother is a personalized gift with inherent sentimental value. These gifts can be...

Costume jewelry rings are a great way to accessorize an outfit or add sparkle to an otherwise subdued and professional look. Because they are slightly more subtle than other types of costume...

Diamonds have come under fire in recent years for political reasons. Some refuse to buy or wear them. However, the desire for beautiful gemstones remains high. Moissanite is a diamond alternative...

Star sapphires are rare, unusual and elegant. They've been a favorite of royals and the wealthy for thousands of years. If you love star sapphires and would like a ring that features one, you will...

Gem stones are aesthetically appealing minerals that are often cut and polished, then used to make jewelry. Some rocks are considered gem stones, even though they are not minerals, because they...

Creating a piece of jewelry can be very rewarding. Not only does it give a satisfaction in being able to say it was handmade, it also is a piece that is unique and appreciated by others. Most...

Pink gemstones are few & far between even though pink is usually one of the hottest colors in fashion. Mother nature must not have got the memo. Here is how to find pink gemstones.

Gold jewelry has been loved and worn by people since ancient times and perhaps even beyond. Many Egyptian markings on the walls of the pyramids indicate that those who could afford it adorned...

-As you shop stores and read magazines there are so many engagement rings out there, one would wonder is there really a need to design your own ring. For many having that special design that has...

If a small diamond is purchased, it may be difficult to make it stand out from the band that surrounds it. This is usually true of a stone that is a quarter carat or less, as its size can be the...

CR emeralds are created in laboratories rather than mined from the earth. The "CR" stands for "created." While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it does significantly decrease the rarity of the...