The 3 Other Precious Gemstones In The Raw

Recently I wrote a blog about raw rubies before they are cut, polished and turned into jewelry. Today I’m posting images of the 3 other precious gemstones in the raw. When we visualize gemstones, mostly we see them as the sparklers they become after craftsmen and jewelers get their hands on them like the above Harry Winston diamond ring. Not how them start or grow in nature, but how they are finished, right? So let's look at a few images of gemstones as they are found in nature.

I. Diamonds are a single element. Formula: C. A diamond is an allotrope of the element carbon. Its structure is a rigid three-dimensional lattice where each carbon atom is bonded to four other carbon atoms in a tetrahedral arrangement. A diamond’s atoms are arranged in a crystal structure called a diamond cubic. The gemstone rates a 10 on Mohs Hardness Scale. BTW: Graphite, charcoal, and diamond are all allotropes of the element carbon.

⋆ ๋࣭ ⭑✧⋆ ๋࣭ ⭑✧⋆ ๋࣭ ⭑✧⋆ ๋࣭ ⭑✧⋆ ๋࣭ ⭑✧⋆ ๋࣭ ⭑✧⋆ ๋࣭ ⭑✧ ๋࣭ ⭑✧⋆ ๋࣭ ⭑✧

The Aga Khan Emerald brooch and the Chalk Emerald ring

II. Emeralds - are beryls, a mineral. Its formula, Be3Al2(SiO3)6, is colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium. On Mohs Hardness Scale emeralds rate an 8. They were formed under the most violent of geologic conditions, which is why less than 1% of the world’s emeralds are eye clean. Unlike diamonds, inclusions and surface breaking fissures called  jardins are common and accepted in emerads. 

⋆ ๋࣭ ⭑✧⋆ ๋࣭ ⭑✧⋆ ๋࣭ ⭑✧⋆ ๋࣭ ⭑✧⋆ ๋࣭ ⭑✧⋆ ๋࣭ ⭑✧⋆ ๋࣭ ⭑✧ ๋࣭ ⭑✧⋆ ๋࣭ ⭑✧

The Swedish royal family's Leuchtenberg Sapphire tiara and an unheated Kashmir 9.38 sapphire ring sold by Christie’s

III. Sapphires - are a variety of the mineral corundum. Its formula, α-Al2O3 consists of the elements aluminum oxide with trace amounts of iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. Sapphires register a 9 on Mohs Hardness scale. Blue is the most in demand color. When sapphires are yellow, orange, purple, pink, or green they are called fancy sapphires. When corundrms are red, they are rubies, not sapphires.

Gemstones take millions of years for the Earth to produce, or nowadays they can be grown in a lab, but it takes the artistry of human hands to turn these majestic crystals, beryls, and corundums into gorgeous pieces of jewelry. The next time you see a gemstone think of its journey and how many hands went into crafting it into a thing of beauty.

You may also enjoy:

Admiring Rubies In The Raw

About The Clarity Of Colored Gemstone

Which Diamond “C” Is The Most Important?

5 Of The Most Gorgeous Sapphires In The World

Don’t Throw Away Your Silica Gel Packets

You know those little silica gel packets that come with leather goods like shoes or handbags? Don’t throw them away. Reuse them!

I keep them with shoes that stay in plastic shoe boxes if I only wear the shoes occasionally. When I have extra silica gel packets from the shoe boxes I toss out, I repurpose them by placing the packets in the corners of my closets, kitchen cupboards, and inside drawers throughout my apartment including my nightstand and entertainment center.

Moisture if not controlled can destroy many types of dry goods. The silica gel packets absorb up to 40% of their weight in moisture, saving many types of dry goods from damage. They help maintain a dry environment, preventing mold and mildew from damaging leather goods and other articles that may surprise you!

Moreover, silica gel packets can also release moisture back into the air if the atmosphere gets too dry, helping to stabilize humidity to maintain product quality. 

Papers, photographs, jewelry, and electronics are several categories of items that can be preserved by tossing silica gel packets into the containers that store them. Razor blades will not rust or dull in a medicine cabinet, and car windshields will not fog up with silica packets placed on your dashboard. You can also toss silica gel packets into your gym bag, luggage, or clothes hamper to prevent mildew. A few packets stored in the corner of a food pantry keeps herbs, breadcrumbs and crackers fresh.

Silica gel packets are non-toxic unless cobalt is listed as an ingredient which is toxic. Most silica gel packets do not contain cobalt. If you place a few packets into a file cabinet or food pantry, you can always insert them into a paper envelope. The silica gel packets are fairly sturdy, so I don’t worry about them lying inside closets, pantries, or drawers.

Nevertheless, you should keep them away from children and pets since they aren’t editable.

Have you been throwing your silica gel packets away? Stop! They're very useful and you get them for free!

You may also enjoy:

Time To Tidy Up

Keeping Up With The Joneses In Denmark

Never Underestimate The Value Of A Sample

Is Your Prime Membership A Waste Of Money?

Jeweler Ann Angeletti Is 101 Years Old

All photos courtesy of WABC News unless noted otherwise

Ann Angeletti, age 101, still works 6 days a week. Mondays are spend in Manhattan’s diamond district bargaining with vendors to bring in new inventory. Five days a week she works alongside her daughter and granddaughter at Curiosity Jewelers, her family owned business which she opened in 1964, located at 24 Union Avenue, Cresskill, New Jersey.

Customers rave about the customer care and welcoming atmosphere inside the shop, calling Ann Angeletti fair in her pricing and the most knowledgeable jeweler in the Tri-State area. They also say there is a great selection of beautiful jewelry.

Photo: Curiosity Jewelers

There’s much to be admired about this 

 

centenarian. Starting and sustaining a successful independent jewelry store for 62 years with the aim of putting customers first, and loving what she does with no plans to retire.

Although Curiosity Jewelers is known for its fine jewelry, it also sells antique and costume jewelry. Usually it's wiser to save up for one good classic piece of fine jewelry than to buy lots of costume jewelry. A lovely gold ring, bracelet or necklace can be wore over the years and passed down to offspring.

Curiosity Jewelers seems to have found the winning formula as a trustworthiness business: Combine expert knowledge, honest prices and treat customers right after they walk in the door.

You may also enjoy:

Hooray For Mom And Pop Shops

10 Top Designers of High Jewelry

A Cheatsheet: How To Clean Fine Jewelry

Farewell Travers Fine Jewelers on Madison Avenue

Admiring Rubies In The Raw

Today I want to feature high quality rubies in their natural state. I’d be trilled to find such a precious red crystal before it was cut and turned into jewelry. I’m not sure I’d want to cut or polish it. Previously I’ve written about rubies detailing their properties and value, which I’ll link below.👇The main purpose of this blog is to fawn over uncut rubies!

In the jewelry world, rubies are one of the rarest and most coveted gemstones. The red corundum derives its color from traces of chromium. All other colors of gem-quality corundum are classified as sapphires, including pink corundum. Gemologists and jewelers expect a medium to medium-dark red color tone for a gemstone to be considered a genuine ruby. Corundums of lighter coloration are pink sapphires. A ruby's exclusive red color can reach high levels of saturation. Due to their rarity, premium quality rubies are among the world's most expensive gemstones, selling for over $1 million per carat.

Historically, Myanmar (formerly called Burma) was the most renowned source for high-saturation with fluorescence, or "pigeon's blood," rubies. But in 2009 major deposits of high quality rubies were discovered in Mozambique to rival Myanmar rubies. Vietnam and Madagascar also grow similar high quality rubies.

Since there are few gemstone quality high saturation rubies in nature, rubies undergo more treatments than nearly all other gemstones before being turned into jewelry, greatly affecting their market value. Most commercial rubies are at least heat-treated, an accepted practice as long as it’s disclosed and reflected in its retail price. Without treatment there would be few rubies to sell.

A lovely affordable raw ruby bracelet here from an unfamiliar retailer.

Aren’t these blocks of uncut vibrant red gemstones beautiful? Especially when knowing that not all natural ruby crystals are gemstone quality. If you want to know more about gemstone quality rubies, you can click the links below.

If you found a raw ruby would you treasure it or have it cut and polished into a piece of jewelry? 

You may also enjoy:

Ruby The Scarlet Stone

Million Dollar Rubies Sold

About The Clarity Of Colored Gemstones

What Gives Fancy Diamonds & Sapphires Their Colors?

What Is A Shacket?

Photo: ShortStoryBox

It’s a new word I recently heard uttered by Willie Geist, the NBC News anchor, and it’s trending. The word is shacket for shirt-jacket.

A shacket combines the lightweight, relaxed style of a button-up shirt with the heavier fabric and functionality of a jacket. Often featuring larger pockets and made from sturdy materials like wool, denim, or cotton twill, shackets work as a versatile, casual-smart layering piece that can be worn in 3 ways (1) solo or (2) as an outer layer or (3) under a heavier coat, ideal for transitional weather.

Here is a peek into my closet. 

As it turns out I have 8 shackets in my closet: 4 are wool, 2 are denim, 1 is cotton and 1 is cotton/modal, all bought years ago (Shhh!, I’m not telling how many:) before the word came into existence. Without knowing, I was trending before the trend! I wear mine in the fall or spring when you need warmth but a coat is too warm. Because I wear leggings in the fall, winter and spring, I like the longer length of a shacket to balance the skinny fit of leggings (or skinny jeans). 

A shacket can also bump up a comfortable relaxed look to casual-smart by pulling together all the pieces of an outfit and covering up your butt. A longer length complements long legs also.

Although a shacket can be worn alone, I always wear a color coordinated t-shirt under mine. That way all I need to wash frequently is the t-shirt, and if I get too hot, I can remove the shacket and not have to leave it on for decency. Outside of the home with leggings though, I tend to leave my shacket on so I don’t look like a turtle that popped out of its shell! :)

So a shacket is a smart layering piece, and proof that everything old is renamed and new again!

You may also enjoy:

Autumn Musings

A Blazer Paired With Jeans

Your Fall Wardrobe: Shop For Value

Fall Fashion Trends: Hats And Sunglasses

Put The Laundry Book On Your Shelf

Do you know using too much laundry detergent gets your clothes less clean? Too much laundry detergent will also wear out your washing machine faster. So how much laundry detergent should you use to clean a normally soiled, medium load of laundry? According to 3rd and 4th generation, father and son laundry experts, Jerry and Zach Pozniak, the amount to add is only 2 tablespoons. It’s much less than most people use or what manufactures suggest. Moreover, if your clothes are not heavily soiled washing them in warm over hot water, not only gets them cleaner, but preserves the colors in your clothing.

Jerry and Zach Pozniak are the owners of a luxury dry cleaner located at 1318 Madison Avenue at 94th Street (the Carnegie Hill neighborhood) in New York City called Jeevers New York. It’s a small family run business which caters to celebrities and fashion types. 

Zach Pozniak has a YouTube channel where he doesn’t hold back on giving viewers free cleaning advise and reviewing best to worst laundry detergents and cleaning solvents. Kirkland and Purex liquid detergents top Zak’s list -- go to his channel for the complete details. Like a scientist he explains what ingredients make a detergent or solution most effective for different types of stains. Detergents containing OxiClean are recommended.

In addition to the above tips, I leaned to apply hydrogen peroxide to remove stains from a shirt after I wash but omit drying it. Let the hydrogen peroxide dry on the fabric. IMHO, The Laundry Book would make a great addition to a home. BTW: Know that my blogs are not sponsored. I give my honest opinions. The Laundry Book is a valuable reference book to help us keep our clothes in tip-top shape by squeaky cleaning them without damage. Jerry Pozniak recommends not buying clothes you can only spot clean since you can’t really clean them.

Father and son are committed to passing their 4 generations of cleaning hacks onto the public, and they run a prestige small family business customers can feel good about supporting.

You may also enjoy:

Let’s Have A Pillow Talk

Homemade OxiClean is Cheap

12 Stain Removers For Clothing

Waste Not Want Not ... When Less Is Enough