Lightning Strikes Once!

Opal,  since early Roman times,  was regarded as one of the most treasured gems until the 19th century,  when Sir Walter Scott's novel "Ann of Geierstein" associated this fiery stone with an unfortunate heroine.  The story's heroine,  accused of being a demon,  died shortly after her opal lost all its color when sprinkled with holy water.  As the book became more popular,  superstition also increased and opal became associated with bad luck. But this was just superstition and not fact!  Queen Victoria helped dispel the curse on opal by giving opal jewelry to relatives as wedding gifts.  Also,  in 1877 a remarkable find of Black Opal in an area of New South Wales (Australia) called Lightning Ridge,  revived the opal market.  These Australian opal literally took the world by storm!  Even today,  there are no other sources producing opals as fine as those from Lightning Ridge. Since Black Opal is far rarer than White Opal,  it commands much higher prices.  These two varieties of opal (white and black) are found in different rock formations;  Black opal is typically found in nodules,  whereas White Opal is found in seams.  Two mines in Australia,  "Coober Pedy"  and  "Andamooka"  account for 75% of the world's supply of white opal. But what makes an opal black or white?  Black Opal is so called by virtue of its dark background color - black, gray, blue or green - with vivid flashes of pure spectral hues.  White Opal has a light background with flashes of colors that are more pastel. There are some basics to opal beauty.  First and foremost is the base color, also known as the  "potch".  The darker the potch,  the more intense the play of color,  a direct result of contrast between the color play and background.  A second factor to consider is Hue Mixture.  The purity,  distribution,  and number of different hues displayed in an opal greatly affect value.  Naturally,  the more varied and pure the colors,  the more lively the stone and hence the more valuable. Finally,  connoisseurs consider Color Pattern.  One of the most favored patterns,  called Harlequin or Mosaic,  features well-defined geometric patches of color in both symmetrical and asymmetrical designs.  Other distinguished patterns include Flash Opal which displays broad well-defined flashes of color that change as the stone moves,  much like the prisms seen in a turning Kaleidoscope.  If the colors in a Flash Opal are predominantly red,  orange and yellow,  then the stone is referred to as a Flame Opal. Pinfire Opal is a term used to describe stones with pointillistic dots of color.  As the dots get smaller and less vivid,  the value decreases.  Peacock Opal is a name reserved for opals displaying predominantly blue,  green and violet flashes of color.  What causes these magnificent patterns of color in opal?

Opal is composed primarily of silica and some water molecules.  The phenomenon Play-of-Color is the result of light diffraction on these silica and water spheres.  The size and number of these molecules as well as the ratio of silica to water determine the intensity,  number and distribution of colors portrayed.

Gold Jewelry as a Fashion Accessory

A real woman always wears some gold on her. Is it really a stupid fancy that men, and especially women, have on gold?

Gold and diamonds have always captured the fancy of man. Remember the Gold Rush? The metal has been known since ancient times and was the standard of money until recently. No jewelry is perhaps complete without some gold in it. Its yellow, mellow material is not actually that attention grabbing. Nor is it the most precious. Still, it is the king of metals.

Why is gold jewelry always so much in demand and always so alluring? The actual metal in its purity is never used as it is too soft and wears down easily. Some mixture of copper and other metals is used to blend with gold to be made into wearable items.

Heavy use of gold is common in some Asian countries where it is the staple of all jewelry. Gold plating of other metals is also a common practice, though the shine is lost quickly and needs to be recoated.

Diamonds, platinum, and other precious stones can be easily combined with gold to design exquisite jewelry items - rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, headgear, neck chains, accessories, studs, and other wearable items.

Every fashion conscious woman knows the importance of wearing the right jewelry to match the dress. It need not be fanciful, or exuberant. Just a thin necklace, a small ear stud, or a ring does the trick.

Designer jewelry customized to your occasion can bring you the added qualities of combining gold into your jewelry.

Gift Jewelry to Woo Her

Vibrant colors, elegant designs and meaningful symbols on jewelries can bring smile on the charming face of the person you care most. Whether it is a simple chain necklace or a diamond studded precious ring, you are bound to impress your counterpart with the selection of the jewelry. Italian jewelers, who are respected as the trendsetters in jewelry making business, can guide you well through the selection process. However, if you are well acquainted with her demands, then the task becomes easier and your shedding of sweats becomes fruitful. Women always share a unique bond with jewelry, irrespective of the monetary factor deeply associated with it. You can tighten up the bond by presenting them with the trendy set of jewelries, which they would love to get themselves adorned with. Finger rings can be the best gift that you can give to your loving one. You can exchange your feelings for each other by gifting heart shaped pendants or simply hearts of gold encircling the neckline. These romantic pieces can surely speak volumes about you and your love. There are various types of romantic jewelries with loads of meaning hidden in them. You can go in for any of them and make the best selection.

Choosing a romantic jewelry for your girlfriend should be full of fun and excitement. Semi-precious and inexpensive fashion jewelries attract most of the women today. These jewelries are among the best gifts that you can ever present them with. If you have an eye for jewelries or a sense of uniqueness, then go for any of the fashion jewelries that are offered by many shops at bulks. Select the right one out and walk away with the best jewelry on offer. The heart shape in jewelries is classic and can be presented in numerous ways. The designers mould metals and other attractive materials in making some of the exquisite pieces of romantic jewelries. Diamond studded in heart shaped pendants or earrings are always preferred. Two golden hearts overlapping each other when encircles a sapphire or ruby, the combination looks stunning. When your girlfriend is feeling blue and you are hunting for something to cheer her, then ceramic necklaces with vibrant colors can create an unimaginable magic. If fact, if you are planning to propose the girl next door, then the purple ceramic earrings with the combination of wood can also make your proposal successful. You can also try out your luck with the amazing collections from Vivace.

When the Cupid arrow has already pierced her heart, then you have to think about the ravishing collection that can bring her closer to you this valentine. Even if it is your 25th marriage anniversary then these fashionable jewelries can bring back the spark, which you have left years behind. When love is in the air and your heart is beating faster for your sweetheart then make her realize the fact with the amazing collection of ceramic, wood and bamboo jewelries presented by Vivace. Cupid jewelries help in bringing back the passion and adding glory to your life. Love life doesn’t move smoothly always and you might get slowed down with the mundane life. The lost luster can be revived with brilliantly decorated and elegantly presented pearl sets or shell jewelries. Romantic jewelries that have the names of your fiancée engraved in them or few verses of love embossed can bring both of you closer to each other. Cupid shaped pendant with its arrow facing towards her heart can be romantic enough to make others believe how passionate you are about her.

The Italian designers have always been fascinated by the brilliant look of the Hawaiian flowers. Inspired by those flowers, the designers can also create awesome designs on silver or on gold. If you are hunting for inexpensive jewelries you can be sure that by making the cheaper materials as the base unparalleled designs can be created. Colors definitely have a deeper association with the love and passion. If you go in for gold and silver jewelries, then there is not much scope to select colors. But in case of the fashion jewelries that are made of inexpensive materials like earth, seashell, coral and ceramic, you can get a wide scope to select the color of love. Stones of various colors – both semi-precious and precious – can be used to carry the message of your love to your sweetheart. Crystals signify clear and romantic relationship. When woven with utter care crystals can create the magic, which is absent in any other forms of jewelries. A suitable collection of crystal bracelets and necklaces can be enough to woo your girl. The love messages that are written on the bracelets can signify many things but would obviously boil down to the one and only thing and that is the love that is nesting in your heart for her.

She can also be surprised with elegant multi-chain earrings with arrows or necklaces with two heart shaped pendants crossing each other. If you can recollect the day when you met her first, then you can also celebrate it with marvelously molded and contemporarily presented jewelries. Stones are of great use since the metaphysical properties of love are explained in a better way through it. So this time when you plan to give something exclusive to your loving one and there is no better idea coming into your mind, ensure moving straight the jewelers’ shop and pick one fashionable jewelry set for her. This would be the most suitable gift that you can give her and you will also feel that she is much closer to your heart. Even if your budget is low, the designs of these fashion jewelries are enough to make your honey the cynosure of any event she moves into.

Personalized Jewelry is a Perfect Mothers Day Gift

Many people spend a lot of time thinking and trying to figure out what to get their mothers for Mothers Day. Every year should be different, and many of them are tired from the usual jewelry, flowers, or Mothers Day Brunches. While those presents are nice, some take weeks to plan or buy.

For example, with jewelry, it takes a long time to decide on a jewelry piece for Mom. It has to be something nice that she is going to wear, and it has to be something that you haven’t bought for her in the last 30 or 40 years.

With flowers the problem is usually with same old, same old. How many years in a row have you bought Mom roses for Mothers Day? If you decide on the flowers, again, at least try to be different this year and get her carnations.

And what about Mothers Day Brunch? How old is this idea? And, if this is what you would like to do for Mothers Day, you need to decide to do this in February and get restaurant reservations immediately. Restaurants get filled up for Mothers Day Brunches months in advance, so if you decide to take Mom to brunch a week before Mothers Day, you are out of luck. You will not be able to get reservations.

A great Mothers Day gift idea, that is often overlooked, is personalized jewelry. Personalized jewelry can be very beautiful and very frugal at the same time. Even if you do not have that much money to spend on the Mothers Day gift, you can still afford a very beautiful personalized jewelry piece for your Mother. This is because personalized jewelry is made from different metals, and some of these metals cost much less then gold. And, since personalized jewelry has a lot of sentimental value, it is not as important that that it is not made of gold.

Personalized jewelry, as the name implies, is a very personalized gift. When Mom receives this gift, she will know that you put some thought into it – you did not just got to the store and buy the first thing that you saw there.

Personalized jewelry is very beautiful, especially if it is made with birthstones. There are two different types of personalized jewelry you can buy for your Mother for Mothers Day – with birthstones or with your Mother’s name on it.

We recommend the birthstone jewelry for Mothers Day gifts, and we recommend getting a piece of jewelry in which you can include her children’s birthstones. This will make the piece of jewelry that you give her a very memorable gift and an heirloom.

If you are looking for a perfect Mothers Day gift, don’t look further than personalized jewelry. It is an unusual Mothers Day gift, that your Mother will love!