Rose Quartz Jewelry

Rose Quartz is a beautiful member of the Quartz mineral family. It is often found in rock and mineral shops in its natural, crystal form, and has a long history of being made into a variety of jewelry items. It is often cut into animal and fish figurines, and one version with a "cat's eye" is very much prized in fine jewelry. The pink to rose color is said to be caused by traces of iron and manganese. The mineral is found mainly in Brazil, although minable quantities are also found in some parts of the United States.

The use of this mineral in jewelry goes back thousands of years, and beads and obelisks made from Rose Quartz have been found in Sumerian archeological excavations dating back 7,000 years.

Because of it's unique color, Rose Quartz is said to have therapeutic effect for healing emotional conditions, especially "affairs of the heart". This stone is known as the Love Stone, is believed to be the healer of the heart, encourages helpfulness, self-love, romance, ability to love and makes an excellent friendship or love gift.

It is also believed to be a fertility crystal. For this reason, Rose Quartz amulets designed to protect the wearer from emotional harm are very popular. Rose Quartz also has a Moh's hardness of 7, making it suitable for jewelry.

Used often as a birthstone for the month of January, Rose Quartz minerals are found in a number of locations, including India, Madagascar, Germany, and in the U.S.A. The best types of Rose Quartz, however, are found in Brazil.

Some types of Rose Quartz have needle-like spikes inside them, which are referred to as rutile needles. Due to the mineral's often "cloudy" appearance (due to the rutile needles) Rose Quartz is often made into beads, obelisks, and figurines. It is used in a wide range of handmade jewelry.

Natural crystals for Rose Quartz are often found in mineral shops, while Rose Quartz are found in jewelry stores, as well as in accessory fashion boutiques.

Opal Gems and Amulet Jewelry

The name Opal probably is derived from the Sanskrit name for precious stone; upala. The stone was originally mined from area now within the Czech Republic by the Romans.

Opals are lovely gemstones that have been treasured by people for thousands of years. Although it is often classified as a semiprecious stone, some fine qualities of Opals, known as precious Opals, can sell for as much as $1,000 per carat.

Opals are considered to possess healing powers and also considered by many as giving people who wear it additional sexual powers. It is also known as The Stone of Hope and as "the stone of the gods". Other qualities associated with the Opal include consciousness, intuition, balance, creativity and protection, for which reason many Hamsa charms for safe keeping are decorated with Opal stones.

Opals are usually opaque white in color and interspersed with sparkling colors which can include red, gold, purple and green. In stones known as fire Opals, these colors seem to literally "dance" and sparkle, adding a very beautiful and unique quality to these stones.

Although Opals are found in many countries, some of the most beautiful varieties come from Australia, where indigenous Aborigine tribes attribute mystical and religious qualities to them.

Opals are often worn as amulets, due to their attributed qualities, as well as set in rings and earrings. The stone is made of hydrous silica and are more fragile than other types of gem stone and scratches easily. In Moh's gemstone hardness scale, opals range between 5.5 and 6.5, less than quartz. Opals also may tend to "fade", meaning that the luster and colors may become dull over time, due to exposure to natural elements and other corrosive factors, including body sweat.

Although many varieties of Opal stones are mounted in rings, the stone is generally too soft to be faceted. Due to the several varieties of opals, ranging from simple opaque types to the fiery precious varieties, it is easy to find opals that fit any budget. MostOriginal.com offers some select Opal jewelry pieces including the Birkat Kohanim (Priestly Blessing) on Silver and Opal Pendant.

Silver in Gifts and Handmade Silver Jewelry

Sterling Silver is often used in our Handmade Silver Jewelry we have on MostOriginal.com. Silver is a chemical element - a soft white lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal, this metal is used in coins, jewelry, tableware, photography and in mirrors.

Silver is a very ductile and slightly harder than gold coinage metal with a brilliant white metallic luster that can take high degree of polish, It has the highest electrical conductivity of all metals, even higher than copper, but its greater cost prevented it from being used in place of copper for electrical purposes. Pure Silver also has the highest thermal conductivity, whitest color, the highest optical reflectivity, and the lowest contact resistance of any metal, Silver halides are remarkable for the effect of light upon them. This metal is stable in pure air and water, but does tarnish when it is exposed to ozone, hydrogen sulfide. The principal use of Silver is as "precious metal", its salts, especially Silver nitrate and Silver halides, are also widely used in photography, some other uses are; electric and electronic products which need Silver's superior conductivity, even when tarnished, for example: printed circuits are made using Silver paints, and computer keyboards use Silver electrical contacts, Silver is also used in high voltage contacts, being extremely safe. Finally, mirrors, which need superior reflectivity for visible light are made with Silver in a process called Silvering.

Silver has been coined to produce money since 700 BC by the Lydians, later, Silver was refined and coined in its pure form. The metal is chosen for its beauty in the manufacture of handmade jewelry and Silverware, which are traditionally made from the Silver alloy known as Sterling Silver, which is 92.5% Silver, it is also used in dental alloys for fittings and fillings.

Silver's catalytic properties make it ideal for use as a catalyst in oxidation reactions, such as the production of "Formaldehyde" from Methanol, like many other uses in chemical and metallic productions including, explosives, Potentiometer, Silver Iodide to seed clouds, bullets, Silver Oxide for "cathode", Silver Nitrate and Silver Sulfadiazine cream for treatment of severe burns, and more.

Silver has been known since ancient times, it is mentioned in the Book Of Genesis, Slag heaps found in Asia and on the islands of the Aegean Sea, indicate that Silver was being separated from lead as early as the 4th Millennium BC. Silver has been used for thousands of years for ornaments and utensils, and as the basis for monetary systems, its value as a precious metal was considered second only to gold. In ancient Egypt and medieval Europe it was often more valuable than gold.

Associated with the moon and with the sea and various lunar Goddesses, the metal was referred to by alchemists by the name Luna, and marked with the symbol of a crescent moon. Silver which was extremely valuable In China, became a global commodity, contributing to the rise of the Spanish empire, Silver mining was a driving force in the settlement of Western North America, the "Silver rush" in Colorado, Nevada, Cobalt, Ontario, California and British Colombia.

Our Sterling Silver handmade jewelry section has a wide range of items including:

Red String Kabbalah Sterling Silver bracelet

Sterling Silver Hamsa Necklace

Sterling Silver Mezuzah Necklace

Sterling Silver Star of David Necklace

Silver Hamsa Earrings Olive and Plum

Natural Agate Necklace on Silver Links Chain

Silver Hamsa Earrings

Silver Evil Eye CZ Bracelet

Sterling Silver Star of David Necklace