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Jewelry - Sites to See, Part 1
www.lapidaryjournal.com - Lapidary Journal was the first gem and jewelry-making magazine in the world, dedicated to gems, jewelry arts, beads, minerals and more. This is an indispensable site for jewelry, gem, bead, and fossil devotees. www.gemstone.org - The International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA) has produced an excellent, informative site, compiling articles from various sources, advice on [...]

Cultured and Natural Pearls
Can experts easily tell the difference between a cultured pearl and a natural pearl? Without X-rays, it is nearly impossible to distinguish between cultured and naturally occurring pearls. When cultured pearls were first introduced to the marketplace in the early 1900s, dealers tried to discredit the gems as simulations. Kokichi Mikimoto, the first commercial producer of [...]

8 Factors to Consider when Choosing Metals to Use in Jewelry Making: Workability
While silver, gold, and platinum have some similarity in working characteristics, there are also distinct differences that should be considered when designing a piece of jewelry. All the metals are similar when sawing, filing, bending, or polishing, although silver does give less resistance to saw blade, file, or pliers — even well-annealed 18-karat yellow gold [...]

Most Popular Search Phrases: Diamond Jewelry
Diamond - A clear transparent precious gemstone composed of pure crystallized carbon which has been highly compressed over millions of years. Diamonds are the hardest substance known to mankind. They are valued because it is difficult to produce a faceted diamond and when properly cut they have high refractivity and brilliance. diamond jewelry diamond jewelry stores diamond jewelry [...]

Jewelry Making: Cost of Material
For most of us, cost can be a deciding factor when choosing which metal to use. Silver is far less expensive to work with than either gold or platinum, and for those who like to experiment with techniques, silver is the obvious choice. There is something intimidating about trying out a new technique on several [...]