Jewellery

[Rasputin]

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.

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.

[Parinaz_M]

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

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

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.”

[Rasputin]

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.

[Rasputin]

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.

[Rasputin]

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

[siamak]

[siamak]

How to Choose Jewelry

Choosing your jewelry is no different than choosing your wardrobe. Most important is to stick within your comfort zone and your personal fashion style. That said, it never hurts to step out of the box once in awhile.

What's most important is that your jewelry matches up with your outfit. Your jewelry is the finishing touch on your total look. Make your fashion statement count!

Determine what you want your jewelry to do. Do you want it front and center stage? Do you want it to compliment? Do you want it subtle?
Make certain your jewelry is appropriate for the occasion or event you'll be wearing it to. A sexy oversized choker might be perfect for a night on the town but may not be fitting for the boardroom.
Determine how long you want it to last and how often you plan to wear it.
Know how much money you want to spend.
If you can, try on the jewelry or hold it up next to you to determine whether it suits you.

Although you may have a favorite designer, there's really no need to stick with just one. In fact, there's no need for the pieces to actually be designer. There are plenty of wonderful pieces on the market that are unsigned but certainly make a fashion statement. Mix and match your jewelry to give it character and a little pizazz!
Costume Jewelry, both signed and unsigned, is an affordable way to complete your look. Costume Jewelry can be bought for a low price and has plenty of life. Heck, we see costume jewelry back to the 1920s still in excellent condition. What's great with costume jewelry is you can use it, get tired of it, put it away or give it away and have still gotten good value for your money.
Designer pieces tend to cost a little more, last a little longer, and they usually follow more traditional lines so you can wear them for more than one or two seasons.
Sterling Silver is affordable and very versatile. If you don't want to spend the money for sterling, then purchase some silver plate pieces. Silver is a must have for any wardrobe! You can go from dainty and delicate to large and noticeable. It can be dressed up or down and is acceptable for any event or occasion.
Have some gold plate or gold tone pieces in your wardrobe basics also. 10-14k gold may be a bit too pricey for many but gold plated jewelry is quite affordable and will give you good value for the cost. Gold, like silver, can be dressed up or dressed down and is perfect for a very classy look.
When purchasing rings, you can have great fun - again the choices are endless from large and overwhelming to dainty and feminine. The length and size of your fingers plays an important role in what will look good. For example, long skinny fingers don't look good with huge oversized rings, yet on a woman that has long thicker fingers they look exquisite. Long nails? Short nails? it all makes a difference. Play and see what you like, and what looks good. Also, determine where you will be wearing these rings. For example, if you're working around fine fabrics, you'll not want any rings that have sharp edges that could snag. Your rings are also part of your total statement.
When purchasing necklaces, be certain you know your neck size so that you get a good fit. This is very important when purchasing online as you don't get a chance to try it on. If your neck is average in size then a 16" necklace will look great, however if you have a somewhat larger than average neck then a 16" necklace could be too tight. Measure the length of some of your favourite necklaces you already own. This will give you a good indication of what length you prefer. Opera necklaces which are over 30" are terrific. They can be double wrapped, knotted, or whatever else your imagination comes up with. When choosing colored necklaces, make sure to pick a color that complements your skin tone. It may match your outfit fabulously but if it doesn't match or complement your skin tone your look could be lost.
When purchasing bracelets, you'll need to decide where you're going to wear them, and how noticeable you want them to be. The availability of size and shape is endless - you can go from large bangle bracelets to dainty gem bracelets. If it is a slip-on bracelet, be sure that it will fit over your hand. Make certain to measure your wrist as the fit of a bracelet is very important. Too large and it will look sloppy and may even slide off. Too small and it can constrict your wrist movement.
Your hands are your expressive area and many of us "talk with our hands." (they are also the smallest part of our body!) Try wearing three bracelets on one wrist - its a sign of power. They don't have to match either so step out and do something different. Don't forget to wear a dainty bracelet with your watch.
When purchasing earrings, realize that the shapes and styles are endless - from dangles to chandeliers to hoops to studs to buttons. There are materials from enamel to beads to gems to metal to wood. The size of the earrings is very important to the statement you're making. The larger the earring, the more noticeable and the more incorporated they become into your total look. Large earrings aren't for everyone - depending on your face size and shape they may actually detract rather than attract. Experiment and find what looks best on you.
Another thing to remember with purchasing your earrings is that tiny earrings make you look larger and larger earrings make you look smaller. Large earrings can give you the appearance of losing 10 pounds! (We all love that) Pick something that is in proportion to your size but most women can wear nickle to quarter size without any problem. Pick your earrings to the opposite shape of your face - they will be more complimentary. If you have a round face and wear round earrings your face will appear much rounder.
Your jewelry choices are endless - no matter what your tastes, your likes, your dislikes. You'll be able to complete your look just the way you want it with little effort. So be sure to make your fashion statement!
People sometimes like to make a statement and decide to wear jewelry with meaning behind it. It's a lovely way to show your history or beliefs. A good example of this is the symbol of an inverted hand, where the hand extended forward is a symbol of divine force. Another example, is Celtic jewelry where the Celtic knots can symbolise the eternity of life.

[SophiaMegan]

Very cute..
thanks for sharing

[caiden]

hai.....

Thanks......very useful information for jewelery buyers.

[kaye]

I love jewelry especially necklaces with some vintage pendants

[lyleneil]

Well, all the design are just amazing. Necklaces of traditional temple designs or the eminent kolhapuri sajh designs are sought after. Women in north prefer the carvings in their designs, the women of west opt for stones and mirrors styles. While those in the east prefer beads, women in the Southern parts of India like to wear elaborate temple jewellery elaborate.