February is Amethyst Month

 


Born in February?  So was Elizabeth Taylor and Jennifer Aniston. So what?   Well, the birthstone for February is amethyst, that beautiful blue gemstone that matches so many celebrity's eyes.  The stone has a good hardness and can withstand much punishment from its wearer. You can even clean it with warm soap and water.  Not many gemstones can handle soap and water. Sterling Canyon has a great selection of Amethyst jewelry.  Perhaps a blue that will perfectly match your eyes.  Good luck.

Chinese Jewelry Cartoon

What a terrific editorial cartoon and quite simply the truth.  How many of you lovers are going to go to Walmart or Target, Macy's or Penney's or perhaps a "reputable" jeweler to buy that special necklace or pair of earrings for your lovely wife and save a couple of bucks?  I bet quite a large number are taking that route.  And how many people have not heard the news regarding the jewelry and toys imported from China and coated with toxic lead or cadmium?  How many people still live in caves?  Quite a few I imagine.  There's really nothing society can do to get people to move out of caves.  Perhaps except through eminent domain laws.  There are good jewelers out there that sell high quality jewelry NOT made in China.  www.stcanyon.com carries quality jewelry made in the U.S.A. as well as in Italy.  Quite affordable too.  Check the labels before you buy jewelry.  If the retailer can't prove the origin of the product, don't buy it.  Simply said, simply done.

MSNBC Reports Cadmium in Adult Jewelry

 

New report just out at MSNBC states that Cadmium, the heavy toxic metal found on childrens jewelry is now found on adult jewelry ie: necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.  Keep in mind that this jewelry is costume jewelry, cheap stuff that is sold at Catherines, Saks, Aeropostal.  Many of the pieces are made in China.  Some are made in India.  Some are not marked at all.  Cadmium is toxic in children and in adults.  It knows no age limit.  Play it safe and buy jewelry from a reputable retailer.  www.Stcanyon.com represents jewelry either made in Italy, or in the United States.  Don't trust the store name.  Trust what's on the jewelry label to be sure.

Colored Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend

 

                                                Photo courtesy of Linney’s, Perth, Australia

Who would think that a brown crystal could be fashionable?  Brown accessories go hand in hand with many colors of a wardrobe.  But what if that brown crystal were a diamond.  Yes, folks.  What you are looking at here is a brown diamond.  The Argyle diamond mine in western Australia is pulling up millions of carats in colored diamonds.  Besides brown, there are pink, red and purple diamonds.  Before 1985 when Argyle began to mine colored diamonds, if a diamond was not clear, it would be considered junk.  Indeed, Argyle is spending a lot of marketing money to change that perception. The marketing is working and the colored diamonds are attracting big money.  It's not unusual to find a one or two carat pink diamond for the same price as a nice 1/4 carat clear.  The most highly prized of the colored diamonds is the red variety.  Whatever your prize, the colored diamonds are selling like hotcakes in Antarctica. And for Argyle, there's plenty more where they came from.

Stars Jewelry Shines Bright

Ginnifer Goodwin shown here at the last Emmys certainly knows taste in design and color. Here she is wearing a rock crystal necklace designed by Ivanka Trump. Probably not highly expensive yet fills the void above her dress well without being too clunky. Indeed, large pieces of jewelry are the "In" thing now, tastefully done mind you.

Again, a beautiful ornament around the neck. (Not Michael J. Fox's tie). Blue-Lapis and green chrysoprase necklace adorns Tracy Pollan. Lapis-Lazuli should be a rich blue as shown here. These types of necklaces can be had at Sterling Canyon (stcanyon.com) at very affordable prices. Check it out now.

Zales Heading Down the Tubes

According to MSNBC today, several companies are going down the tubes this year.  Blockbuster video, Borders books, and Zales jewelers.  Zales has been around since 1924.  They have failed to change with the times and are being out-flashed by online competitors such as BlueNile.com and StCanyon.com.  For a large company, even their website looks stodgy. Zales had a good run but they are ending up in the heap along with Circuit City.

Children's Jewelry

Walmart does it again.  Today it was reported that Cadmium, a heavy metal that is a human carcinogin, was found coated on children's jewelry.  "It was a complete surprise to us" a Walmart spokesman was quoted as saying.  "The health and safety of our customers is primo uno"  uh huh.  Give me a break.  I think the bottom line is primo uno for Walmart.  First of all, why would anybody buy jewelry from Walmart?  Why would anyone who hasn't been living in a cave for the past five years not know about the risk one takes when buying jewelry from Walmart of all places?  First it was Lead.  Exposure to Lead can lead to mental development problems in children.  Now that U.S. regulators are on the watchout for Lead contaminated consumer goods from China, what do the Chinese do?  They switch to Cadmium.  The U.S. government is slow to catch up to this ol switcheroo.  So is Walmart.  I would expect the folks at Walmart to be a little more up to date on things than the people in government intelligence - the original oxymoron.   The lesson here folks is that I'm not going to explain to you the ins and outs of common sense.  Shop somewhere else for jewelry.  Sterling Canyon represents the finest Sterling Silver jewelry from Italy.  Anything less would be an - oxymoron.