Jewellery

[RedWine]

Jewellery (jewelry in American English) is any piece of fine material used to adorn the human body. The word jewellery is derived from the word jewel, which was anglicised from the Old French "jouel" in around the 13th century. Further tracing leads back to the Latin word "jocale", meaning plaything. Jewellery has probably been around since the dawn of man; indeed, recently found 100,000 year-old Nassarius shells that were made into beads are thought to be the oldest known jewellery.

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Although in earlier times jewellery was created for more practical uses, such as wealth storage and pinning clothes together, in recent times it has been used almost exclusively for decoration. The first pieces of jewellery were made from natural materials, such as bone, animal teeth, shell, wood, and carved stone. Jewellery was often made for people of high importance to show their status and, in many cases, they were buried with it.

Jewellery is made out of almost every material known and has been made to adorn nearly every body part, from hairpins to toe rings and many more types of jewellery. While high-quality and artistic pieces are made with gemstones and precious metals, less-costly costume jewellery is made from less-valuable materials and is mass-produced.

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Jewellery has been used for a number of reasons:

Currency, wealth display and storage,
Functional use (such as clasps, pins, and buckles)
Symbolism (to show membership or status)
Protection (in the form of amulets and magical wards), and

Artistic display

Most cultures have at some point had a practice of keeping large amounts of wealth stored in the form of jewellery. Numerous cultures move wedding dowries in the form of jewellery, or create jewellery as a means to store or display coins. Alternatively, jewellery has been used as a currency or trade good; a particularly poignant example being the use of slave beads.

Many items of jewellery, such as brooches and buckles originated as purely functional items, but evolved into decorative items as their functional requirement deminished.

Jewellery can also be symbolic of group membership, as in the case of the Christian crucifix or Jewish Star of David, or of status, as in the case of chains of office, or the Western practice of married people wearing a wedding ring.

Wearing of amulets and devotional medals to provide protection or ward off evil is nearly universal; these may take the form of symbols (such as the ankh), stones, plants, animals, body parts (such as the Khamsa), or glyphs (such as stylized versions of the Throne Verse in Islamic art).

Although artistic display has clearly been a function of jewellery from the very beginning, the other roles described above tended to take primacy. It was only in the late 19th century, with the work of such masters as Peter Carl Fabergé and René Lalique, that art began to take primacy over function and wealth. This trend has continued into modern times, expanded upon by artists such as Robert Lee Morris.


http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/5315/698pxancientgreekjewelrvg8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Parinaz_M]

dokhtara az man mishnavid hesabi tala bekharid, tala sarmaye bid.........

[RedWine]

MONICA GIBSON says she is not particularly political, but when she heard about conflict diamonds on an episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” last week featuring the cast and director of the new movie “Blood Diamond,” she looked down at her engagement ring and thought not of love but of wars and violence.

Her fiancé gave her the ring last summer, she said, and she may never find out where its 24 diamonds came from. But as the couple now shops for diamond wedding bands, Ms. Gibson said she won’t buy unless the jeweler can vouch not just for the stone’s cut, clarity and color, but also for its origin.

“So many times you feel helpless when it comes to these major issues,” said Ms. Gibson, 36, an administrator with a telephone carrier in Pittsburgh. “I will feel I had some small little piece in helping people somewhere.”

With interest in the origin of diamonds fueled by a new Hollywood movie that denounces the practices of the diamond industry, and an advertising counterattack by that industry, customers like Ms. Gibson are asking more questions about the iconic symbol of eternal love.

The terms “conflict diamonds” or “blood diamonds” refer to gems that have been used by rebel groups to pay for wars that have killed and displaced millions of people in Africa, the source of an estimated 65 percent of the world’s diamonds. The diamond industry maintains it has safeguards to guarantee most rough diamonds come from areas free of violent conflict through the Kimberley Process, a tracking system implemented in 2003.

But critics say there’s no independent oversight of the industry’s monitoring and that conflict diamonds still make their way to the marketplace. The issue is trickling down to stores and bridal Web sites as the news media, Hollywood stars and rap songs delve into the subject.

“It’s unconscionable for us for the sake of vanity to contribute to the destruction of a country,” said a bling-free Jennifer Connelly late last month at the New York premiere of “Blood Diamond,” which also stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou. “So I think trying to make more effective the system of warranties is a pretty clear choice.”

More people are tuning in, said Carley Roney, editor in chief of theknot.com, a wedding Web site. “There’s extensive discussion going on our message boards,” she said. “Many women are saying, ‘This is supposed to be a symbol of all things good and I don’t want to look down on my finger and think of women and children being killed.’ It undermines the entire meaning of that ring.”

There is no evidence yet of consumer flight from diamonds. Sales of diamond jewelry in the United States have been rising, by 7 percent last year to $33.7 billion. American purchasers account for half the world’s $60 billion in annual retail sales. A pop quiz among theknot.com users over the last week found a majority of respondents unaware of the term “conflict-free diamond.”

Shane Dunleavy, 23, was among the customers last week in the jewelry district in downtown Los Angeles, where engagement-ring holiday shopping was in full swing. Mr. Dunleavy, accompanied by his parents, was seeking a princess-cut diamond. He had not heard of the debate, but his father had. “It’s like oil,” Jim Dunleavy, 57, said with a shrug. “You’re still going to buy oil.”

But other consumers are doing research and reacting accordingly. Some jewelers said people have made it clear they want only conflict-free diamonds and have asked where the stones sold at retail were mined.

Abigail Levine, 27, a program director with nonprofit organizations in Columbus, Ohio, said that while shopping for a ring last September, she and her fiancé agreed they could do better with their money than to spend it on a diamond.

“We know diamond companies have marketed this concept of a diamond engagement ring,” Ms. Levine said . “We didn’t want to buy into that concept. It’s a huge manipulation, really.”

But in the end, even Ms. Levine could not resist, and two small diamonds flank her blue sapphire. “We’re not purists about it,” she said. “We just didn’t want to support the diamond industry in such a big way.”

[RedWine]

Bridal experts say the preference for diamonds will surely endure because of aesthetic and cultural factors. But at the same time, many brides have been emphasizing individuality by forgoing the traditional for the unique or cool, experts said, and some have ditched the diamond altogether for a colored gem like a pink or blue sapphire. Other customers shun diamonds from Africa in favor of diamonds from Canada, antique diamonds or synthetic stones.

Also, many of today’s couples are expressing social consciousness in the way they plan their weddings by, for example, asking for donations to a charity in lieu of presents. These same couples, the experts note, are likely to care about the provenance of their diamonds.

“In general, more people have a greater sense of the world around them and how their actions affect that world,” said Millie Martini Bratten, the editor in chief of Brides magazine. She said there’s an attitude “not to have a wedding that’s all about me.”

“Blood Diamond” depicts how diamond companies ignored atrocities committed in the 1990’s by rebels in Sierra Leone who sold rough diamonds to buy arms. The World Diamond Council, which represents producers and dealers, has responded with ads and a Web site, diamondfacts.org. The council stresses that more than 99 percent of diamonds now come from conflict-free sources, and that diamond revenue today is mostly used in African countries for health care, education and other benefits.

"You’re looking at a very, very small percentage of the world supply that can be considered to be from a conflict zone," said Carson Glover, a spokesman for the World Diamond Council. “Consumers can feel very confident in their diamond purchase.” But international human rights groups like Amnesty International and Global Witness, which first publicized the issue of conflict diamonds in 1998, say dirty diamonds still reach the market because of smuggling and weak controls by some producing countries, and that consumers have no surefire way of telling if a diamond is clean.

A spokeswoman for Global Witness noted diamonds are still coming from conflict areas like the Ivory Coast, and that a recent General Accounting Office report found fault with the way the United States was enforcing the tracking system. (The organization’s Web site is blooddiamondaction.org.)

Tom Zoellner, who researched the industry for his book “The Heartless Stone” (St. Martin’s Press, 2006), said the Kimberley Process doesn’t concern itself with objectionable practices like the use of child labor in India, where most diamonds are polished. But he said because many Africans depend on them for their livelihood, a boycott is not the answer. The best defense against dirty diamonds, he said, is to ask questions.

Rights groups suggest going to retailers who can show a guarantee that the diamonds are conflict free.

Most stores don’t have a policy, a survey by the human rights groups showed. Some jewelers don’t consider it their job to know the origin of their stones. “I’m not here to save the world,” said Raymond Moutran, a jeweler for 27 years in the Los Angeles jewelry district. “I’m here to make life beautiful.”

“One guy wanted to know if the diamond was from Africa and whether it was from an area where people are tortured,” Mr. Moutran said. “I said, ‘I don’t know.’ He didn’t buy. I don’t need to lie to make a living.”

Another longtime jeweler, Russ Varon, the chief financial officer of Morgan’s Jewelers in Torrance and Palos Verdes, Calif., said most of the stores’ diamonds come from African mines through cutters in Israel, and that about two years ago invoices from his suppliers started showing up with a statement saying they are conflict free.

But Mr. Varon acknowledged that this document is no guarantee. “I truly don’t know the story of what’s going on over there,” he said.

Last Sunday, Mary Alice Borello, 53, walked into the Morgan’s in Torrance looking for a 25th wedding anniversary present. She and her husband, David, left with a gold band with two carats’ worth of channel-set diamond baguettes. She didn’t ask questions about global conflicts.

“The question is, should we be concerned as consumers,” Mrs. Borello, a playground supervisor from Redondo Beach, Calif., said later. “You’d hope that people who are in the jewelry business would only purchase their diamonds in a legitimate way. That’s what I would expect from them.”

More education is needed all around, Ms. Roney of theknot.com said. Even among those who care about diamond origin, some assume, incorrectly, that any diamond from Africa is dirty.

Knowledge sometimes come in funny ways. Lorne Walker and Laurel Greenidge of Seattle, both 26, said they heard of conflict diamonds in 2004 from a comedy-club routine by Bill Maher. Ms. Greenidge, who works for a publishing company, researched the issue and was horrified by accounts of diamonds being used to pay for wars.

When Mr. Walker, a medical student, went ring shopping, he knew it would be “a conscience issue” for his fiancée, he said. He bought a Canadian diamond with a certificate.

The couple married in August. “I didn’t want to look down at my ring every day and wonder did it support the death of somebody faraway or was it mined by someone who’s underage and should be in school,” Ms. Greenidge said. “When I look at it, I think of our relationship and love and happiness and ever after.”

[RedWine]

اگر با سنگ شناسان درباره سنگ صحبت کنيد، حتما به شما خواهند گفت دنيای سنگ دنيای بزرگ، زيبا و شگفت آوری است.





سنگها انواع و اقسام مختلفی دارند که گرانبهاترين آنها از ديرباز زيور بدن انسان بوده است. از قديم سنگها به داشتن خواص ويژه ای مرسوم بوده اند و مردم آنها را در تماس با بدنشان قرار می دادند تا از اين طريق اثرات آنها را دريافت کنند. مثلا سنگ فيروزه برای چشم نظر و گشايش رزق و روزی و سنگهای حديد و عنبر که از صمغ درخت صنوبر تهيه می شود برای تسکين اعصاب، تنطيم ضربان قلب و فشار خون استفاده می شود. امروز نيز سنگ درمانی و کشف خواص طبی و علمی سنگها و صمغهايی که به شکل سنگ درمی آيند ميان انرژی درمانان، داروسازان و سنگ شناسان رايج شده است.

از نظر استانداردهای امروزی سنگها هرچه صيقلی تر، شفاف تر و خوش رنگ تر باشند و رگه و لکه در آنها ديده نشود، ارزشمند تر و مرغوب تر هستند. مرغوبيت سنگها نيز هر چه بالاتر باشد گرانبها تر خواهند بود. مثلا الماس که از گرانبها ترين سنگهاست، از شفاف ترين سنگها نيز هست.






سنگ ايران؛ فيروزه نيشابور

در ايران مرغوب ترين سنگ شناخته شده فيروزه است. از معدن فيروزه نيشابور که در ۴۰ کيلومتری مشهد و در دامنه های کوه بينالود قرار دارد و تا دو معدن ديگر در دامغان و سمنان ريشه دوانده، بهترين فيروزه جهان استخراج می شود. گفته می شود کوه معدن نيشابور رنگی مايل به آبی فيروزه ای دارد و تا کنون تنها اين کوه به اين رنگ در جهان شناخته شده است. همچنانکه نيشابور را نيز شهر فيروزه ای می نامند.

آقای تشکری، يکی از اعضای اتحاديه صنايع دستی فيروزه نيشابور درباره اين معدن می گويد: قدمت معدن فيروزه نيشابور به دو هزار سال می رسد اما نزديک به ۵۰۰ سال است که از آن فيروزه استخراج می شود و تا کنون مقام اول را در جهان داشته است.






او به فيروزه های آمريکايی، مصری و چينی نيز اشاره می کند و می گويد: فيروزه آمريکا که از ايالت آريزونا استخراج می شود، در جهان به لحاظ مرغوبيت مقام دوم را دارد. فيروزه چينی سنگ رنگ شده است و مشتريان قادر نيستند آن را از سنگ واقعی فيروزه تشخيص دهند اما با اين حال در صنايع دستی که مقادير زيادی فيروزه نياز دارد از فيروزه چينی استفاده می شود چرا که فيروزه نيشابوری بسيار گران تر از ساير فيروزه ها است.

از آقای تشکری که از سن کم در حرفه فيروزه تراشی نزد پدرش بوده، علت گرانبها بودن فيروزه نيشابور را پرسديم، گفت: رنگ آبی فيروزه نيشابور در جهان منحصر به فرد است. فيروزه ها رنگهای مختلفی دارند که از آبی فيروزه ای يا آبی آسمانی و شفاف شروع تا آبی کدر مايل به سبز و حتی سبز ادامه دارد. ميان فيروزه شناسان و فيروزه تراشان فيروزه نيشابور چون صاف تر، خوش رنگ تر و بدون لکه است، گرانبها تر است. در استاندار جهانی نيز از فيروزه ای که صاف تر و آبی تر باشد، در جواهرات سلطنتی استفاده می شود. مثلا فيروزه دامغان سبز مايل وحش آبی است يا فيروزه سمنان سبز روشن است که در مقايسه با فيروزه نيشابور مرغوبيت پايين تری دارد.






فيروزه نيشابور تا اين اندازه گرانبهاست که حتی فيروزه تراشان از خرده ها و دانه های ريز آن استفاده می کنند. به اين شيوه که خرده های سنگ فيروزه را با پلی استر پرس می کنند و آن را در قالبهای نقره شکل می دهند.

فيروزه در ميان ايرانيان سنگ چشم نظر شناخته شده و به همين دليل از اين سنگ هميشه استقبال می شده است. همچنين اين سنگ طرفداران بسياری ميان عربهای خليج فارس دارد. به گفته فروشندگان فيروزه در دبی زنان عرب به زيورآلات فيروزه و مردان عرب به تسبيح های فيروزه عجمی يا همان فيروزه ايران علاقه نشان می دهند. اين در حالی است که تسبيح فيروزه نيشابور بسيار گران قيمت است و تنها برای گفتن ذکر به کار نمی رود بلکه به همراه داشتن آن تشخص و برازندگی دارنده آن محسوب می شود.

در سالهای اخير علاقه عربها به فيروزه ايرانی سبب شده که از ترکيب نقره و فيروزه زيورآلات، ظروف و دکوری هايی مانند مجسمه های عقاب در ايران ساخته و به کشورهای عربی صادر شود.

[RedWine]

Silver is currently about 1/50th the price of gold by mass, and approximately 70 times more valuable than copper. Silver did once trade at 1/6th to 1/12th the price of gold, prior to the Age of Discovery and the discovery of great silver deposits in the Americas, most notably the vast Comstock Lode in Virginia City, Nevada, USA. This then resulted in the debate over cheap Free Silver to benefit the agricultural sector was among the most prolongued and difficult in that country's history and dominated public discourse during the latter decades of the nineteenth century.

Over the last 100 years the price of silver and the gold/silver price ratio has fluctuated greatly due to competing industrial and store of value demands. In 1980 the silver price rose to an all-time high of US$49.45 per troy ounce. By December 2001 the price had fallen to US$4.15 per ounce, and in May 2006 it had risen back as high as US$15.21 per ounce. As of 2006, current silver prices (and most other metal prices) have been rather volatile, for example quickly dropping from the May high of US$15.21 per ounce to a June low of US$9.60 per ounce before rising back above US$12 per ounce by August.

Because of the mysticism surrounding silver's lunar associations, as well as the aesthetic qualities of the white, reflective metal that cause it to be associated with purity, silver in European Folklore has long been traditionally believed to be an antidote to various maladies and fictional monsters. Notably, silver was believed to be a repellant against vampires (this primarily originates from its holy connotations; also, mirrors were originally polished silver, and as such, vampires allegedly cannot be seen in them because they are wicked) and it was believed that a werewolf, in his bestial form, could only be killed by a weapon or bullet made of silver, and was equally effective against vampires, as described in Eastern European folklore. This has given rise to the term "silver bullet," which is used to describe things that very effectively deal with one specific problem.

The Lone Ranger of radio serials, comic strips, and some TV programs leaves a silver bullet as a calling card.

[RedWine]

If you loved mandarin oranges as a kid (or heck, if you still do!), the bright-orange spessartine garnets aptly named mandarin garnets will surely appeal to your grown-up lust for juicy goodness. Although spessartine garnets, the parent classification to which mandarins belong, have been found in places as far-flung as Kenya, Brazil, and Australia, the Fanta-coloured mandarin variety is found only in Namibia. Mandarin garnets are continuing to gain popularity with jewelry consumers, whether paired with white or yellow metal, and are beloved of retail jewelers and indie designers alike. You may not be able to squeeze juice from a stone, but the brilliant colour of these striking jewels just might make you think you could! Check out some hivelicious examples of jewelry featuring this yummy gem in my SLIDESHOW.
http://www.stylehive.com/blog/jewelry-class-juicy-mandarin-jewels