This Article Will Boost Your Knowledge About Fire Opals: Read Or Miss Out!

Fire Opal" is a term used for colorful, transparent to translucent opal with a background color of fire-like hue. Fire opals are unique in the lush world of the opals. They were already admired as symbol of love in ancient times, in India. Fire opals possess either flaming-orange or cherry-red body color that is uniform and solid as opposed to the iridescent streaks, patches or flecks of color.  That’s why the term “fire” is used.

The most significant fire opal deposits in the world lie in Mexico. Rock strata containing opals run through the Mexican highlands, with their many extinct volcanoes. With a few exceptions, the gemstone, which lies hidden in cavities and crevices, is extracted in open-cast mines.  Their warm, expressive orange comes in all varieties from yellow to light red, sometimes with a brownish undertone.

                     
Fire opals are either faceted - as far as their transparency allows - or cut as a cabochon, since this is the shape which best brings out the rich glow of this orange jewel. It is the oval which is regarded as the classical shape for valuable fire opals.
                                                 
Play of colour, body colour and transparency are the three criteria which determine the price of a fire opal. The more transparency and 'fire' it has, and the more intense the deep red of its body color, the more valuable it will be. Their warm, fiery color gives us vigor, fills us with the joys of life and opens our senses to the beauty of Nature.

To take a leap into the professional world of jewellery designing, enroll into Solitaire Diamond Institute's online jewellery designing courses Bangalore.

Article by
Keerthana Nayak K
Jewellery Instructor

Golden Pearl from the Golden-Lipped Oyster

A pearl is a living gem; it warms to the touch and enhances the natural tones of the skin. Its layers of nacre reflect the light and create a sense of luminous depth and radiance. Elegant white, exotic black or intense gold – its color is captivating. It is both luxurious and understated.                                                         

             

These opulent golden pearls are produced by the golden-lipped oyster. Harvested in sizes of 9mm and up, their warm, natural golden color is said to be rarer than gold itself. The color palette ranges from light champagne to a very rare, deep gold. This oyster species can also produce richly luminescent white pearls, but the deeper golden colors are the most coveted of all pearls.

To take a leap into the professional world of jewellery designing, enroll into Solitaire Diamond Institute's online jewellery designing courses Bangalore.

Article By:

KOMAL.D. CHHABRIA.

Jewellery Designing Instructor 

Solitaire Diamond Institute

HISTORY OF JEWELLERY

“Jewellery is a universal form of Adornment”. Jewellery made from shells, stone and bones survives from prehistoric times. It is likely that from an early date it was worn as a protection from the dangers of life or as a mark of “status or rank”. Later the enormous importance of religion in everyday life could be seen in jewellery. The designs reflect the new-found interest in the classical world, with mythological figures and scenes becoming popular. The ancient art of gem engraving was revived. The inclusion of portraits reflected another cultural trend.

The 19th century was a period of huge industrial and social change. In the first decade classical         styles were popular, evoking the glories of ancient Greece and Rome. Naturalistic jewellery, decorated with clearly recognizable flowers and fruit, was also popular for much of this period. These motifs became fashionable. At the same time, flowers were used to express love and friendship. The colours in nature were matched by colored gemstones. 

By the modern era, changes in fashion had introduced new styles in jewellery. Expanding global trade made gemstones ever more available. Advances in cutting techniques increased the sparkle of gemstones in light.

For exciting career in Jewellery Designing Industry, get enrolled into SDI's Certificate in Gold Appraisal.

Article By:

Keerthana Nayak.K

AMBER - Valued from Antiquity to the Present as a Gemstone

Amber is fossilized tree resin (not sap), which has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects. Amber is used as an ingredient in perfumes, as a healing agent in folk medicine, and as jewelry.

                                                         
There are five classes of amber, defined on the basis of their chemical constituents. Because it originates as a soft, sticky tree resin, amber sometimes contains animal and plant material as inclusions.

Amber is heterogeneous in composition, but consists of several resinous bodies more or less soluble in alcohol, ether and chloroform, associated with an insoluble bituminous substance.
                                   
The abnormal development of resin has been called succinosis. Impurities are quite often present, especially when the resin dropped onto the ground, so that the material may be useless except for varnish-making, whence the impure amber is called firniss.

Amber has been used since the stoneage from 13,000 years ago. Amber ornaments have been found in Mycenaean tombs and elsewhere across Europe. To this day it is used in the manufacture of smoking and glassblowing mouthpieces. Amber's place in culture and tradition lends it a tourism value; Palanga Amber Museum is dedicated to the fossilized resin.

To take a leap into the professional world of jewellery designing, enroll into Solitaire Diamond Institute's online jewellery designing courses Bangalore.

Article By:
Komal.D.Chhabria.
Jewellery Designing Instructor(SDI)              

Antique and Vinatge Jewellery - The Major Difference between the Two

Antique Jewellery is customarily defined as Jewellery crafted more than 100 years ago. For an item to be considered antique, it has to be atleast 100 years old. Many pieces from the 1920’s are now considered antique.

Vintage Jewellery is usually identified with a particular era and includes the historic Georgian and Victorian, Art Noveau and Edwardian design periods as well as the Art Deco, Retro, Mid-Century, Modern and Contemporary Periods.

Most experts consider it to be anything that is atleast 20 years old. So anything from the 1980’s and earlier.

       

The major difference between Antique Jewellery and Vintage Jewellery is the age. Both use rare and beautiful objects and metals. Its certainly true that the age of an item is big factor in its worth. This is because the Goldsmithing techniques used in the past are often superior to the techniques used today.

ANTIQUE FINISH

           

Antique Finish Jewellery is very different from Antique Jewellery. Antique finish is nothing but the dull finish given to jewellery of the new styles. It is also known as Oxidation that is the polish or finish given to the jewelery.

For exciting career in Jewellery Designing Industry, get enrolled into SDI's Certificate in Gold Appraisal.

Article by;

Komal.D.Chhabria.

Jewellery Designing Instructor(SDI)

Hair Accessory Inspired by Skydiving

“Being made in the image of God, man was the crown of creation.” – Walter Lang

Birds inspired man to fly; the polymath genius and artist of Renaissance period, Leonardo –da-Vinci ,who created first blue print of parachute, has quoted “Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes  turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always  long  to return”.

The design and structure of my collection – OORDHVA – is inspired by SKYDIVING, the adventure sport which gives a feel and sense of bird’s flight. 

This exquisite ornament representing the basic details of sky diving is a Hair Accessory and a double duty piece converted to a Tiara in white metal with the enamel technique, rubies, sapphires and a star sapphire. 

Skydiving is a method of exiting from an aircraft and returning to Earth with the aid of gravity, then slowing down during the last part of descent by using a parachute.

The Hair Accessory also called as Rakodi in the shape of a curvy rhombus is inspired by the body suit or called the “Wing suit” that is used by the divers. The motif used in the upper border portion of the accessory is chosen from the positioning of the divers arm, as it is supposed to be held in a formation diving. The motif in the lower border portion of the jewelry is inspired by the existing style of an expert diver. The swirl below the central stone represents the wind as it is one of the main factors for the sport. The enameled portion represents the parachute and the metal strings of the same. The central stone is chosen to be a star sapphire. The color representation in this ornament is chosen from the US national flag as the first formation diving was experimented and successfully executed in United States in the year 1964. Also, in the same year a star sapphire called the “star of India” was stolen from the US museum. Hence the colors Red, White and Blue are used with stars.

Designer

As  the diver opens his parachute after reaching a certain altitude to reach ground safely, this Rakodi too opens to a Tiara if unhooked from behind, making it a double duty accessory.

To take a leap into the professional world of jewellery designing, enroll into Solitaire Diamond Institute's online jewellery designing courses Bangalore.

Design and Article

 -Muthamma

  

What No One Tells You about Reverse Setting of a Gemstone

Setting of gemstone is an art of secure placement or attachment of stone into jewelry.
Reverse setting is the non-traditional way of setting a gemstone, i.e the culet facing upward in jewelry, unlike the traditional way of a table facet facing up and the culet facing down.

                                                           

Reverse Setting in a Ring

                                                                   

The renowned designer Paolo Costagli is widely popular for setting the gemstones with the culet facing upwards. He has used this signature element in his jewelry collection Very PC and Ombre.

The “Very PC” Collection

                 
                                                                                 
In this setting first the light catches the stone from many different angles as there is much more surface area exposed resulting in more sparkle enhancing the overall appeal to the jewel.

The reverse setting differs (from left): loose Peridot stones with the culets facing up next to Peridot stones with the table facing up.

Also this unexpected depth creates an interesting jewelry, enhancing a special character and different personality to the jewelry.

Below is ear hanging of the Indian designer brand Arunashi - pave set rose-cut diamonds and reverse-set green demantoid garnets.

                                                             

Reverse Cutting - "Wallace cut"

"My mind is one with the work, and my physical self is removed from the gemstone," says Wallace Chan.

Wallace Chan is a Chinese artisan jeweler who developed this innovative technique of carving the gemstone in reverse, to give it a life.

                                                         

Look into the gemstone and there appears to be a human face, as the gemstone is turned, it fragments to be looking in all different directions at once.

                                                       
It all seems a mystery to me, how this human head having a life of its own is embedded into a gem.
With a keen interest on jewelry he started making wearable "jewelry sculptures". But his dream was to find an entirely new way of working on gemstones in reverse. He started working with cheap crystals, but the tools he used were not very co-operative. After 6 months of research he came up with a modified dentist drill, on using this tool to practice on gemstones he realized this would generate heat and damage the expensive gemstone. Later he learns the technique of working under cold water and this means the carving made is not seen under water. Chan states “It became repetitive process. I make one cut, take it out of the water to check it, dry the stone, check it again, and if it's fine I put it back in the water and make another cut." The artist took 13 years to develop this technique.

“Every stroke and cut has to consider movements of light as it took lot of practice to learn how to carve in reverse.”

                                                         
This work of his called the Now and Always, inspired from mythology depicting Horae the Greek goddess of seasons. No doubt this is his most work by far.

"There is a Buddhist saying that every person has many selves, and that inspired me spiritually as I created this work." Says Chan.

To take a leap into the professional world of jewellery designing, enroll into Solitaire Diamond Institute's online jewellery designing courses Bangalore.