Motor City Stones

A story recently surfaced of a company selling what turns out to be pieces of painted metal.  These pieces were derived from, of all places, from Ford, GM and or Chrysler car plants.  Pieces of scrap that were created in the car painting process in paint booths.  Some of these pieces of jewelry are scraps of bowlong balls.  Some are quite pretty and sure to turn a head or two.  But in the end, they are pretty costume jewelry and definitely one of a kind paint designs.  I prefer the real stuff, gemstones such as that found at http://www.stcanyon.com/.  Indulge and be pretty!

Turquoise is the New Color!

According to Pantone, The color for 2010 is tada - Turquoise.
Actually I was told it was going to be yellow. Bright yellow to reflect the new Democratic administration. A sort of coming out of the darkness of the past 8 wonderful and glorious years. Yellow will be the second color of choice with Turquoise on top. The Natives are getting restless. All of the Turquoise jewelry ready to fly off the store shelves. Sterling Canyon features a large selection of yellow-Citrine and Carnelion jewelry. Check it out.

Rubies from Walmart?

Alright, people.  How many times do I have to explain this to you regarding fake rubies. As reported on MSNBC.com today, Rubies from shady dealers are a no no.  It's soooo simple, my dog has already figured this one out.  Don't buy Rubies, Emeralds or Sapphires from the department store.  And this includes Macy's and Target.  Those two places are like evil step sisters.  These places sell fake or composite gemstones and will not last more than the glue that holds them together.  As shown in the above photos, soaking your purchases in a jewelers solution or wiping with alcohol to remove the oils transfered from your oily fingers will result in a stone like the one on the right.  Stones like these are created mainly in the far or near East like Thailand.  yes they do have Ruby particles in them but they are combined with glass or epoxy to produce what you see here.  Unless you take a jewelers loupe to Walmart and look like a complete dope, don't shop there for jewelry.  In one example cited in the MSNBC article, a woman purchased a ruby necklace and rings from a television jewelry show for $20,000.  Gee, which one could that be?  They turned out to be fake.  If you want pretty's, fine.  Don't pay a lot of money for them and be careful how you wash them.   Sterling Canyon does not deal in artificial stones and to be safe, will not sell Ruby, Sapphire or Emeralds.

DaVinci Does it Again!

Well, it appears that someone have invented a new type of stone.  Actually a new cut of stone.  You may ask well, how many ways can you skin a cat?  Apparently, one more way has been found and it provides quit a light show.  As reported by Barbara Moss, Editor at Colored-Stone.com, at the California Institute of Technology, a stone cut was developed that makes the gem change color by changing the angle of view.  Called the DavinChi cut, it refracts light the same way a compact disc does, providing a rainbow of colors in some instances.  Gemstones used include Amethyst, Blue and White Topaz, Citrine, and even diamonds.  All these are presented at stcanyon.com.  Small rubies or emeralds are then set beneath the culet to create an explosion of light.  Look for them soon at a jeweler and Sterling Canyon soon.

It's Rough Being a Diamond

Over the years there have been many diamond substitutes.  Zircon (Cubic Zirconium), Quartz and glass, even plastic.  But this one, discovered in the 1830's, sure looks pretty good.  It can fool the unaided and untrained eye pretty readily.  The stone is Danburite, discovered in Danbury, Connecticut but mined quite a bit in Mexico.  It's cheap because it comes in large chunks.  It comes in clear or clear yellow and even some pink.  It's only drawback is that it isn't as hard as diamond.  Diamond is the hardest substance on earth at a 10.  Danburite has a hardness of 7.  So go ahead and fool your wives.  Make a sport of it.  Give her a good sized rock of Danburite.  Tell her you've been saving your money for years to buy her this.  She'll love it, at least until she goes to the jewelry store to have it checked.  Good luck!

That Thar Some Nice Pearls

Alright. As I stated yesterday, hear are some points in deciding if your loved one gave you fake pearls. Warning! Do not run the tests in front of your loved one for fear of embarassing him/her. I today's technology strewn society, fake pearls are easy to find and somewhat easy to detect. If you don;t have an x-ray machine in your home, try these perfectly valid tests.

1. Bright sun - Take the strand out into the bright sun. If the tone or colors of the beads are uniform or even, if each bead is the exact same color as the next, it is probably fake. Real pearls are not perfect and will slightly differ in tone.

2. Tooth test - pretty common and pretty accurate. The nacre of the pearl is full of inclusions, bumps and ridges. Remember that a pearl is not perfect. Rub the strand of pearls across your teeth. Your dog's teeth will not work. They should feel rough. If they are smooth, probably not real.

3. Obviously fake pearls will have a ridge incircling each bead. Like two halves glued together. This is caused by the molding process.
4. Good strands will have knots tied inbetween each bead to safe guard against string failure.

Other tests not recommended because destruction of the beads will result. Hitting the beads with a hammer or cutting with a saw are not suitable tests.

Sterling Canyon is an excellent source of high quality pearls at affordable prices. Check them out and see for yourself. My wife did and she could not be more pleased.

Chinese Pearls

Chinese Oysters
Has anybody paid too much for Fresh or Saltwater Pearls lately? Very possibly you have. The Chinese Pearl market was devastated this fall by two tropical storms. For the freshwater Pearls, that means pesticide and herbacide run-off. For the saltwater variety, decreased salinity kills off the oyster crop. 100 million oysters were killed in those two instances. What does that mean to you? It means that the Pearl necklace hanging around your neck is in the short run worth more than you thought. There are several Pearl jewelers in the U.S. who deal mainly in Chinese Pearls. Usually they are easy to obtain and cheap because China provides the majority of the world's farmed Pearls. Now prices have risen and a terrific opportunity to traffic in man made/artificial Pearls has come upon us. Use your smarts folks and wait patiently for the real stuff to return - in a year and a half.