10/02/2021
• Sir-Faraz Farooq Hashmi
Sir-Faraz ‘Farooq’ Hashmi explores how cultural and geographic differences shape the journey of colour gemstone rough from the distant corners of Earth to the jeweller’s bench.
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27/01/2021
• Kathryn Wyatt
Turquoise has been used as jewellery material for thousands of years and is one of the best-known ornamental gemstones. Finds in archaeological digs in Egypt date back 7,500 years and examples of carved turquoise can be found from 3,000 years ago in China, making it likely one of the first gemstones ever mined.
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02/12/2020
• Susan Hartwig
Lapis lazuli, often shortened to lapis, gained its name from Latin and Persian origins – lazhuward meaning ‘blue’ in Persian and lapis meaning ‘stone’ in Latin. The gem has been highly prized for thousands of years, being used in jewellery, carvings, seals and decorative items.
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05/11/2020
• Susan Hartwig
In part one of the jade series, we noted that the name ‘jade’ is a commercial term used for two minerals: jadeite and nephrite. Last month we focused on jadeite; this month, we focus on nephrite.
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13/10/2020
• Susan Hartwig
The lustrous texture and luminous colours of polished jade have been prized for thousands of years. Ancient cultures in North, Central and South America, New Zealand, Asia and Europe valued jade for its beauty, hardness and durability; properties that made it suitable for use in implements, jewellery, regalia and decorative items.
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09/04/2020
• Susan Hartwig
Synthetic moissanite is marketed by the jewellery industry as an affordable diamond alternative. Named after Nobel Prize winner and French chemist Henri Moissan, moissanite in its natural form is a rare mineral, silicon carbide.
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16/03/2020
• Susan Hartwig
Chrysoprase is the green variant, and most valuable form, of chalcedony. Its name comes to us from the Greek language, with chrysos being the word for gold and prasinon for green.
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06/02/2020
• Susan Hartwig
The beauty of gemstones resides in the optical properties associated with light, be it light reflected within the body of the gem or from the gem’s surface.
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04/11/2019
• Susan Hartwig
In part two of the Garnet: Gem of Many Colours series, key members of the garnet family will be discussed, together with garnet history – in the jewellery sense – and garnet lore.
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03/10/2019
• Arabella Roden • Editor
Coloured gemstones are firing up the jewellery industry. ARABELLA RODEN explores the rainbow of opportunities presented by this increasingly popular category.
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02/10/2019
• Susan Hartwig
Long an indicator of wealth and status, deep red garnet was coveted by monarchs and nobles across many ancient cultures. The Romans used carved garnets in seals to mark their official documents, the ancient Britons decorated their weapons with the gems, and Egyptian pharaohs were buried with strings of garnets.
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15/08/2019
• Susan Hartwig
Coral has a long history of use in jewellery. Many cultures across the world have valued coral for adornment, and also for its reputed mystical features. As well as being prized for jewellery, red coral was valued as a charm to ward off evil and to increase fertility. It was held to protect against snakebite and reduce fevers.
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13/08/2019
• Arabella Roden • Editor
The winners of the International Opal Jewellery Design Awards (IOJDA) have been announced following the prize-giving gala at the Lightning Ridge Opal Festival on 26 July.
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27/07/2019
• Kathryn Wyatt
Have you heard the term ‘jet black’? It refers to jet, an organic gem material that originates from fossilised trees.
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