DeSantis Jewelry Artisans

Peridot is the term used to describe gem-quality olivine. Olivine is a somewhat abundant mineral but gem-quality peridot is rather rare. Peridot is one of the only gems that is found in only one color, usually an olive green. The color of peridot is determined by the iron content of the gem and the highest valued peridot usually is distinguished by a dark green color. Peridot is also one of the only gemstones found in meteorites. The United States is currently one of the biggest suppliers of peridot with much of its deposits found in Arizona. Peridot jewelry can be worn to symbolize the birth month of August. It is believed that this gemstone brings the wearer success, peace, and goodluck.

Handmade jewelry is any piece of jewelry which has been assembled and formed by hand rather than through the use of machines. According to the guidelines of the FTC (Federal Trade Commission), in order to be stamped or called “handmade” the work must be made solely by hand power or hand guidance. In essence, this means that jewelry may be made using drills, lathes, and other machinery, but it must be guided by human hand. This precludes the use of punch presses and CNC (computer numerical control) machinery, to name a few processes that would not qualify as “handmade”. Beyond that caveat it can be anything made out of anything that would be considered jewelry. The American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) Spectrum awards, the Gem Center Idar Oberstein, and the De Beers Awards include awards specifically for handmade jewelry.

Although there is much mass produced jewelry in the world, there are many people who prefer to have work that is hand-crafted by a real artisan, and the arena of hand made jewelry and other items will likely remain healthy because of that fact. Much jewelry that is marked or sold as “hand made” often is not truly so, though it may be essentially so.

Jewellery (Jewelry in American English) is literally any piece of fine material used to adorn one’s self. 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.

Do’s and Don’ts:

DON’T wear fine jewelry when doing housework or gardening.

DON’T heap your jewelry into one drawer. Remember a diamond ring can scratch that pearl necklace. Keep them separate and, ideally, wrapped in velvet, paper, silk or plastic zip-lock bag.

DO let your jeweler check for loose stones frequently.

DO get pearls restrung when the cord begins to fray.

DO clean fine jewelry often to maintain its sparkle and beauty.

DON’T use toothpaste as its abrasives can damage softer gems and metals. Most fine jewelry can be safely cleaned by soaking for 10 minutes in warm soapy water (using a mild detergent soap). Use a soft brush on harder gems to loosen any dirt around the prongs. To reduce greasy build-up on diamond jewelry, dip it in plain alcohol before soaking.

DO store fine jewelry carefully, observing the following guidelines:

DO Store jewelry in a dry place and avoid extremes of temperature and humidity.

DO Keep gemstone-studded jewelry, pearls, and gold and silver pieces separated from each other to prevent scratching. Store fine jewelry pieces in soft pouches, soft cloth wraps or plastic “zip-lock” bags to help protect them.

DON’T overcrowd your jewelry box. Crowding can result in misplaced or lost jewelry if a small piece falls unnoticed from the case. Occasionally, forcing too much jewelry into the box may even bend a fragile piece or chip a delicate stone.

By Jonas DeSantis March 19, 2009

As we(jewelers) all know, diamonds are the hardest mineral known to man and is then followed by softer stones such as corundum and further down the Mohs scale to opals and emeralds. However, if a diamond is exposed to enough pressure, it can and will chip or break.

I mainly want to talk about the more unforgiving stones such as opal. Most opals are mined in parts of the world where explosives like dynamite are used to break apart mass amount of earth in order to expose precious gemstones. The problem with this is, the explosives used send vibrations though the earth up to hundreds of miles away which can make opals unstable.

Back in our earlier years of dealing with opal, my father had made an outstanding pendant for my mother which was an anniversary gift. The opal was around 8Ct’s. and displayed a wide range of brilliant colors. Unfortunately, about 6-8 months after setting the opal, it developed a crack right down the middle of the stone. Knowing that the pendant was never dropped or mishandled, the only thing we concluded was that the opal was extremely unstable, most likely due to it being mined in an area where explosives were used.

The main thing I want to convey is know where your opal is coming from. Ask questions when purchasing opal jewelry. Knowing the origin of the stone and how long its been in the merchant’s possession is a must.

Australian opals are extremely valuable due to the nature of how they are mined. They DO NOT use any blasting in their opal mining. Chisels and small drills are the extent of the mining in Australia. This is the one of the reasons for Australian opals being high in price; however, it’s insurance that your stone won’t develop any cracks down the road.

Jonas DeSantis