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GOLD, KING OF METALS
Since time immemorial, gold has always been one of man’s most valued possessions. Earliest metal
artifacts found in excavations were made of gold. Wars have been fought and lives lost for the quest
of gold. As its’ name connotes, the metal is golden yellow. It is heavy; a cubic foot weighs 1,200 lbs. It
is soft and malleable and does not corrode hence it is the best metal for jewelry and money. Since it is
scarce, all currencies in the world are measured against the gold standard. This is the reason why price
of this metal keeps on rising to a new high.
Pure gold is 24-carat gold. Because it is soft metal, other metal alloys, like silver and copper, are added
to harden it. For example, if a ring is 18k, that means it is 18 part gold and 6 part alloy; if you add 18 to
6, it equals 24. If the ring is 14k, it has 14 part gold and 10 part alloy, and 10k ring has 10 part gold and
14 part alloy. Gold is found as nuggets in streams and in rocks; it takes several tons of ore to yield an
ounce of gold.
LAPIS LAZULI
Lapis is composed of several minerals, among them, calcite and pyrite or fool’s gold. Its’ main ingredient
is lazurite. Lapis is usually spotted or striped. The color ranges from rich deep blue to azure, violet blue,
or green blue. It is usually found in limestone, near granite. Lapis mines are found in Afghanistan, Russia
and Chile.
JADE
Considered by Orientals as sacred stone, as it is supposed to ward off disease as well as the evil eye, jade
promotes long life and a peaceful end. There are two major classification of jade, Jadeite, ninety percent
of which is found in Burma , though some come from China, Japan and North America and Nephrite,
from the same places mentioned earlier and Siberia, Taiwan, New Zealand and Canada.
Jadeite is heavier, harder and shinier while Nephrite is a fibrous, 2waxy stone. It comes in many colors,
but the brilliant green in Burmese Jadeite is caused by chromium. Imperial Jade is the translucent rich
emerald green that the Chinese are after while the most valued nephrite is the mutton fat, colored
yellowish white.
Amethyst
The birthstone of February, Amethyst is a noble gem stone of everlasting mystery. It is the most highly valued stone in the quartz group. Its color can be violet or pale red violet. Its name originates from the anecdote of the God of wine, Bacchus and a beautiful lady, named Amethyst. Rich deposits are found in Brazil, Uruguay and Malagasy Republic, Zambia and Mexico but lately Korea is turning up purple violets Amethysts in their mine.
Aquamarine
Aquamarine, together with Emerald, belongs to the beryl group of gems. The name, which means sea water, aptly describes this gemstone color. The pigment is iron. It was a talisman for sailors and seafarers. It is brittle and sensitive to pressure, but has good resistance to wear. The most beautiful color is deep blue green, found in Brazil, while that of Madagascar is dark blue. Almost all aquamarines are heat treated to produce a more attractive blue color. Aquamarine is the birthstone for the March born.
October’s Opal
Opal is the birthstone of the October born. The special characteristic of this gem is its opalescence, a rainbow like iridescence which changes with the angle of Observation. More than 90 per cent of opal produce is found in Australia. There are four major opal fields; Quilpie in Queensland known for its boulder opal, Lightning Ridge in New South Wales for its famous black opals, the costly brilliant red on a black background, and Coober Pedy and Mintabie in South Australia for the milky white opals. Mexico prides itself with its orange fire opal.
Always make sure you purchase a solid opal as there are cheap doublets and triplets, consisting of other mineral stones pasted together with a thin veneer of opal to lure tourists .
The 4 Classic Stones
DIAMOND, RUBY, EMERALD, and BLUE SAPPHIRE are the 4 classic stones. They are considered the costliest gems; they are also known as the gems of nobility.
SPARKLING DIAMONDS
Millions of years ago, under enormous pressure and heat, like the boiling magma of a volcano, pure carbon was crystallized to form the diamond. Its matrix, or mother stone from where it attaches is called Kimberlite. This mineral stone was first found, 3,000 years ago, in Golconda area, India. Diamond is harder than steel, only a diamond can cut another diamond, for this durability, De Beers cartel, the biggest diamond mining firm in South Africa, if not the world, which control its price, says, “Diamonds are forever.”
The scarcity of diamonds makes it so costly. In order to produce a one carat polished diamond of gem quality, approximately 250 tons of ore must be mined and process. Pricing of a diamond depends on the four characteristics that determine its quality and value, the basic criteria universally known as the 4CS, for Carat weight, cut, color and clarity. Carat -weight is the stone’s weight measured in carats. One carat is divided into 100 points, so that a diamond of 25 points or one fourth carat weighs .25 carats. The bigger the diamond, does not mean, the higher the price, but depending on the other 3 cs. A diamond’s cut determines the brilliance of a diamond; too deep or too shallow cutting disperses the light and won’t be reflected. Round single cut diamond has 18 facets while the double cut has 58 facets. The other 5 most popular shapes are heart, marquise, pear, emerald, and oval. Diamonds come in all colors. The best diamond color is no color; the least priced are the yellow and brown. The rare red, pink, blue, green, canary yellow and other colors are called “fancies”. To determine a stone’s clarity, it is viewed under 10-power magnification or loupe. Inclusions or flaws in the stone bring down the price of the diamond.
RUBY, Jewels of Kings
Ruby, the red variety of corundum, due to chrome in aluminum oxide, is the second hardest mineral. Mogok, Burma, is the source of the finest pigeon bold rubies Flawless rubies in excess of 3 carats, are very rare; its’ per carat value increases with size. Color distribution is often uneven, in stripes or spots. Mogok, Burma, is the source of the coveted purplish red, pigeon’s blood rubies; Thailand rubies in Chantaburi district are brownish red and are sometimes mistaken for garnets, while Ceylon rubies are light red, bordering on the pink. Ratnapuraof Sri Lanka, and Tanzania are other major sources of rubies. A considerable range of synthetic rubies is now made by the Verneuil laboratory process. Other mineral stones that simulate rubies are red spinel, pyrope garnet, and tourmaline.
SAPPHIRE
The name of the gemstone is derived from its’ blue gem quality of corundum, which in turn gets its’ coloring from titanium. Sapphire can be faceted cut or en cabochon if the stone is a star sapphire that produces a twelve or six ray star, like the star ruby. Kashmir, India, in the Himalayas produces the milky pale blue;Mogok, Burma, now, supplies the corn flower blue, The Star of India, 536 ct, star sapphire and the Midnight Star,116ct black star sapphire can be found in the New York’s American Museum of Natural History while the Star of Asia,330ct star sapphire ,is in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.
EMERALD
From the beryl group comes the emerald, its’ Greek word smaragdos, means green stone. Flaws in the emerald attest to nature’s imprints and evidence as to the genuineness of the stone as compared to the synthetic Chatham emerald. Emerald has poor resistance to wear. It is brittle and easily breaks. It is history’s most romantic gem, as betrothal ring. Cleopatra’s mine in Upper Egypt is known for emerald. Rome’s Nero used the first sunglasses, made of emerald to watch the arena fight. Deep green is the best color for emerald; Muzo, Colombia is the source of the best Colombian emerald.
The Engagement Ring
The Romeos of the
world prefer to give their Juliets a symbol of their undying love and what better representation of a betrothal is there than a ring with a solo diamond.
The ring’s circle connotes perfect unity, no beginning, never ending, and the sparkle of a diamond is the fire of love that a man feels for his beloved. Also a diamond is forever; the Greeks called it Adamas, which means steadfast. In other words, a diamond engagement ring speaks of a steadfast love, a love to last forever.
Romantics of old believe that a particular vein, called vena amoris, vein of love, which is found in the 3rd finger of the left hand runs directly to the heart. To this sweetheart’s ring finger should the ring be placed. The first reported engagement ring was in August 17, 1477 when Maximillian of Austria gave one to Mary of Burgundy.
Lately, men go out of their way by preparing a romantic setting wherein they can present the engagement ring, some even kneel on their right knee before the lady. Usually, it’s a Candle lit dinner, set for two, with wine and red roses, a violin and balladeer , all the works, and videotaped for the pre-nuptial presentation.
Getting the Wedding Rings
So, you are getting married and you need a pair of wedding rings. Do you know that it was Pope Innocent, III, in the 12th century, who ordained that a church wedding ceremony must include marriage rings in its rite? Usually, the ring is worn on the 3rd finger of the left hand. If the bride has an existing diamond ring, the wedding ring serves as its ring guard, if she wants to wear the two rings on the same finger; it’s important that the two rings match, or complete each other which means, that they are more or less of the same design. If they don’t match at all, transfer your engagement ring to your right hand.
It is best that your wedding rings are customized so you don’t have to go to any jeweler to have the sizes adjusted; that’s additional expense. There are many metals to choose from, silver, white gold, yellow gold or a combination of white gold and yellow gold as two tone rings, platinum, palladium or titanium. State also what type of finish you want the ring to have, plain or matte finish. Practical couples go for a pair of plain bands, either in white gold or yellow gold. Most doctors opt for additional chain necklace to go with their rings as pendants. Since gold price has skyrocketed lately, those with tight budgets go for a pair of ten carat plain white gold rings, which do not change color or fade, and thick enough to last a lifetime. Wedding rings don’t have to perfectly match. Most men prefer plain band, ladies want with diamonds.
Better yet, surf the net for your favored design; go to Philippine jewelry and ask for the price of the pair of rings and the designated karat. Price varies when the ring size is more than size 8, or when the size of the diamond is bigger than what is stipulated and the gold karat ordered is higher than the designated karat. Have your ring sizes taken. Wider rings require wide sizer. Write bride and groom’s names and complete wedding date, to avoid misspelled names to be engraved in the rings. Plain bands take a few days to make while those with stones can run for a week.
Visit www.golcondajewels.com or call +63 88 857-1181 to know more about our wedding rings for your special day.
Golconda Jewels Salutes Year 2011 with an Exquisite Collection of Hand Crafted Wedding Rings
December 29, 2010 – Golconda Jewels, Philippines – Salutes 2011 with its soft launching of a wide collection of beautiful custom made and hand crafted jewelry in the Philippines. Golconda Jewels the brand for Rosalindas Jewelry is home of the finest antique, pearl, precious stones and bridal jewelry. Rosalinda Jewelry artisans specialize in either simply gold, yellow gold or white gold or the combination of two tones with diamonds for Wedding rings. They also carry Philippine antique jewelry of pre-colonial designs. Their collection of jewelry is of striking design and exceptional quality.
Golconda Jewels has four collections of fine jewelry. These are the Philippine Antique Jewelry of pre-colonial designs passed on from the year 1800’s, Pearl Jewelry made from South sea Pearls, Akoya Pearls, Mabi Pearls and other freshwater pearls, Precious stones Jewelry made from the four classic stones of nobility- Diamonds, Rubies, Emerald and Blue Sapphires and Bridal Jewelry in simply gold or with diamonds for wedding rings which is engraved with the mate’s name to make the marital symbol more special, significant and romantic. They also accept engagement rings, bridal tiaras, arrhae and coin cord.
Golconda’s founder, Rosalinda Neri-Marfori P. Caragos, is the great-grand daughter of the very first jeweler of Cagayan de Oro, Ramon Neri in the late 1800s. From the clan’s jewellery heirloom, Ms. Caragos was able to copy her great-grandfather’s Spanish inspired colonial antique designs of tambourine, pinetas, tutubi necklaces, pipa, uod pendant and chandelier earring from earlier period. Her passion for fine jewelry together with Rosalindas Jewelry artisans imaginative designs, skilled eye for beautiful precious stones and uncompromising craftsmanship which is reflected in their exquisite collection of custom made jewelry have preserved their clan’s legacy.
Rosalinda Jewelry also accept all kinds of jewelry job orders for men, ladies and children and other services such as jewelry repair, resizing, cleaning and gold electroplating, restrand and stone attachment. They also buy gold dust and scrap gold.
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