Thursday, April 27, 2006
Type of Jewellry
Hair ornaments
* hairpins
Head ornaments
* crowns
o circlets
o coronets
o diadems
o tiaras
* earrings
o magnetic earrings
o clip-on earrings
o earcuffs
* nose-jewels
* body piercing jewellery
* non-piercing body jewellery
Neck
* necklaces
* chokers
Arms
* armlets (upper arm bracelets)
* bracelets
* cuff links
Hands
* rings
o promise rings
o engagement rings
o wedding rings
o class rings
o championship rings
Body
* belly chains
* brooches
* chatelaines
Legs and Feet
* thighbands
* anklets (ankle bracelets)
* toe rings
Genital jewellery
* Prince Albert piercings
* Prince's Wands
* anal jewellery
Special functions
* celibacy vow rings
* signet rings
* thumb rings
* puzzle rings
* medical alert jewellery
* mourning jewellery
* amulets
* prayer jewellery
o japa malas
o prayer beads
o prayer ropes
o rosary beads
* puzzle jewellery
Components
* cameos
* emblems
* lockets
* medallions
* pendants
* Findings
Sapphire
When color is not specified, sapphire refers to the blue variety. Pink, yellow, green, purple, white, and parti-colour (multi-coloured) sapphires are often valued less than the blue variety of the same quality and size. There is a pink-orange sapphire, called a padparadscha, which is highly prized. There are also color shift sapphires in which the color appears to change from blue in outdoor light to purple in indoor lighting. They are found in many countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Madagascar, the United States (specifically Montana), Kenya, Cambodia, Nigeria and Australia. Sapphires were once found in Kashmir area of northern India but the deposit was mined out in the 1930's. The sapphires found in Kashmir are considered some of the finest ever found as they exhibited a deep rich blue that looked velvet like in appearance.
Ruby
Rubies are mined in Africa, Asia, Australia, and Greenland. They are most often found in Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Madagascar and Thailand, though they have also been found in the U.S. states of Montana, North Carolina and South Carolina. The Mogok Valley in Myanmar has produced some of the finest rubies. However in recent years very few good rubies have been found there. In central Myanmar the area of Mong Hsu also produces rubies. In 2002 rubies were found in the Waseges River area of Kenya. Rubies are being mined at Audilamena in northeastern Madagascar. Sometimes spinels are found along with rubies in the same geological formations and are mistaken for the more valuable gem. However, fine red spinels may approach the average ruby in value.
Rubies have a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, and among the natural gems are only surpassed by diamonds in hardness.
Platinum
Gold
Gold is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Au (from the Latin aurum) and atomic number 79. A soft, shiny, yellow, dense, malleable, ductile (trivalent and univalent) transition metal, gold does not react with most chemicals but is attacked by chlorine, fluorine and aqua regia. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks and in alluvial deposits and is one of the coinage metals.
For millennia gold has been used as money, a store of value and in jewelry. Modern industrial uses include dentistry and electronics. Gold forms the basis for a monetary standard used by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Its ISO currency code is XAU.