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 • Assistant 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 • Assistant 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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09/07/2019
• Stacey Lim
Hundreds of millions of years ago, the Earth was very different. Little did the creatures of our planet know, they would not only be a stepping-stone in the evolution of life, but also provide the humans of the future with fabulous jewellery gems in the form of ammolite.
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06/06/2019
• Stacey Lim
Ivory is a biological gem material used by humans for thousands of years, with early artefacts including carvings and jewellery dating back 32,000 years. However, due to ethical concerns, possession and import of modern elephant ivory harvested after 1975 is an offence in Australia.
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10/05/2019
• Stacey Lim
Known as ‘The Queen of Gems’, pearls are our gems of the sea. These lustrous creations have been loved and admired throughout different cultures across thousands of years. This organic gem is produced within the soft tissue of certain species of molluscs and is found in a variety of hues and forms.
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10/04/2019
• Stacey Lim
Organic gems are a group of relatively rare and decorative materials that have an animal or plant origin. Amber is fossilised tree resin prized for its rich golden hues. When plant or animal fragments are suspended within the material, they can offer a fascinating peek into our planet’s primordial past.
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09/03/2019
• Stacey Lim
From the grandeur of large geodes to the colourful and unusually patterned agate and jasper varieties, quartz is one of the most abundant, widely studied and adored mineral groups, popular amongst gem collectors and jewellers alike. STACEY LIM explores the continuing love and admiration for its coloured crystalline varieties.
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