Turquoise jewelry Rich in Color, Rich in History by Melissa Peterman

Turquoise jewelry Rich in Color, Rich in History by Melissa Peterman
Turquoise jewelry Rich in Color, Rich in History
Recently, at a new age event about the meaning of certain crystals, minerals and stones I met a woman who believed in all the powers of naturally found gemstones. She was about 60 years-old, and she told me she studied gemology in Arizona and Switzerland for a total of 25 years. She wore a flowing purple and fuchsia dress and she wore a large light blue turquoise stone around her neck. I asked her what stone she wore and she was very happy to inform me about the significance of her turquoise jewelry. Her name was Lydia.
Lydia explained the name turquoise is said to come from the French word Turquie for Turkey, due to an early belief the stone originated from Turkey. The other idea is that "pierre turquin," in French means dark blue gemstone. The color of the turquoise stone is so unique; its name is used to describe any color that represents it. She also went into great detail about the history of the stone. How turquoise has been made into jewelry since 5500 B.C., with the earliest findings of turquoise as beads as well as a turquoise bracelet discovered in a tomb on the arm of an ancient Egyptian queen! Lydia explained that turquoise jewelry's long symbolic history is celebrated in many cultures, sometimes holding the same meanings even if discovered on different continents.
Often characterized with modern Native American jewelry and art, American Indians believed it provided strength and prosperity. Arrowheads were made of turquoise thought to improve aim accuracy. The natives also believed it held powers of the sea and sky and protected the hunters who wore it.
She told me many archeological findings suggest turquoise was commonly used in trade. The Aztecs, believed it to be more valuable than gold and they would carve holes in the enamel of their teeth and insert pieces of turquoise for decoration. The ancient Egyptians felt turquoise symbolized prosperity and they adorned their shields, harnesses and animals with turquoise which provided protection as well as embellishment.
As she was explaining all of these fascinating details, I kept looking at her necklace and wondering what story her necklace told? Where did her necklace come from? Lydia said that during the mid 1800s English travelers brought turquoise jewelry back from Asia and it became a part of the Victorian Nouveau art and popular in jewelry styles at the time. I came up with two different images in my head at that idea: a native woman sewing turquoise into her moccasins, and a Victorian woman walking a baby buggy with a turquoise gemstone on her neck. I told her I thought more about turquoise symbolic of native art and jewelry. Lydia explained that turquoise jewelry came in many styles and colors and it was not likely to be the same color or style of turquoise as one from the native southwest.
Lydia explained that turquoise comes in many different shades and colors depending on where the stone is mined from. Turquoise is most often found in arid desert areas, many times in correlation with copper mines. In America, it has been found in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado and California. American and Mexican turquoise is light blue to blue-green, Egyptian turquoise is more of a yellow-green, to greenish-blue and turquoise found in Iran is a robin's egg blue.
She went on to say there are natural designs in turquoise stones, one specific design is called spider's web because of the distinct veins of limonite lined throughout the piece. She held up her necklace. Yes, sure enough, the limonite in her necklace was like a dark brown branch spreading throughout the blue-green stone. The most valuable form of turquoise is "Persian turquoise", from Iran, (Persia) because the purity of the turquoise from there does not contain any limonite veins. Not surprisingly, she said, the national gemstone of Iran is turquoise.
Lydia said because she was born in December, she owned a lot of turquoise jewelry. As turquoise is the birthstone for December and she also said turquoise is also a special gift, given on the 11th year of one's marriage. Wow, I said, I had no idea about special gifts for each year you are married, let alone turquoise was number 11! I asked what she thought about modern fashion's use of turquoise.
Lydia thought that turquoise, together with silver is more of a modern combination commonly found as necklaces, bracelets and ankle bracelets , , rings, toe rings ,turquoise jewelry, , I knew that like Lydia, the piece of turquoise I would wear around my neck would be more symbolic then just another pretty stone.
About the Author
About the Author: Melissa Peterman is a web content specialist for Innuity. For more information about turquoise jewelry, toe rings , ankle bracelets

Rough Diamonds by Uladzislau Suski

Rough Diamonds by Uladzislau Suski
For lovers of jewelry there is nothing more delightful than to see various pieces of jewelry glistening with different colored gemstones studded in. These gemstones that you will find are the final product of a long process that starts with mining the stones from the earth. While it is somewhat easier to find other gemstones as compared to diamonds, the process of finding the rough diamonds and gemstones is about the same.
When a company selects an area for mining diamond the area is checked out. This safety check of the area for mining has to be seen to as there is a possibility of the mine shaft collapsing while the mining is going on. There are other times when the deposit seems to have dried up. To avoid these occurrences a probe of the area will need to be done. This probe should include information as to where the best possible sites for mining rough diamond can be found.
By checking out this information prior to mining, the diamond company will be able to save themselves lots of future troubles. Once the area has been deemed satisfactory for rough diamond mining the company will prepare the area up for diamond mining. The place where the diamonds will be mined is kept free of unwanted buildings and equipment.
Once the rough diamonds have been harvested from the earth they are taken to the processing site of a diamond company. At this place the rough diamonds are carefully looked at by trained gemologists. These individuals will inspect the diamonds before they are cut and polished into a shape that is recognizable.
The rough diamonds are checked for any imperfections which might break, distort or warp the diamond when it is being cut. The diamonds which are free from these imperfections are placed to a side so that they can be taken for cutting and readied for the jewelry making process.
This initial inspection of the rough diamonds will help the jewelers decide which diamonds are suitable for intricate jewelry work. The lesser stones will then be used for jewelry designs where the imperfections of the stones will not devalue the jewelry. As the rough diamonds are graded they are placed into piles.
This process allows the gem stone workers the ability of finding the right piece of rough diamonds which may be suitable for their design. Now before the diamond is placed in a jewelry design it is cut to the shape that is required. The next step is polishing the diamond to bring out the inner fire. Once these steps are completed the gem worker will take a final look at the diamond.
At this point the cut, the clarity, the color and the carat weight of the previously rough diamonds are carefully looked to see if they are ready for working into gemstone jewelry designs.
About the Author
Learn all about Diamonds at this Great Diamond Site!

Hello From Sicily - A Driving Tour Through Lipari And A Magical Evening In Vulcano by Susanne Pacher

Hello From Sicily - A Driving Tour Through Lipari And A Magical Evening In Vulcano by Susanne Pacher
Our beautiful dinner in the old town of Lipari last night was another opportunity to get to know Sicilian cuisine. A light-hearted evening was followed by a night of deep sleep and by 8 am this morning I stuck my head out of the boat: another gorgeous day! Everyone was still sleeping and I had about an hour and half to walk into town and catch another glimpse of picturesque Lipari. I mailed my postcards and picked up some fresh locally grown oranges for the gang on the boat.
Once back at the boat, my co-travellers Herbert, Claudia and I were ready for another excursion: a driving tour of Lipari. Herbert is a German TV travel journalist and is planning to bring a television crew to Sicily next year to film the Italian language learning experience aboard a sailboat provided by Laboratorio Linguistico. Naturally he has to scout out the various locations to check into sights of interest, lighting, and facilities - all the factors that will have a bearing on the shoot.
He had asked our captain Francesco to arrange for a local guide who would drive him around the island and generously invited Claudia and me to come along. Our driver Pasquale Liberatore (what a great name), a Lipari resident, arrived punctually at 9:30 am to pick us up at the Lipari pleasure craft harbour to take us on a tour through this beautiful island.
Pasquale packed us into his vehicle and off we went. His personal story, incidentally, is also quite interesting: Pasquale was born and grew up in Lipari and then in the lat 1950s his family emigrated to Melbourne, Australia, where there is a large community of southern Italian émigrés. Southern Italy went through real economic hardship after World War II, and many hundreds of thousands of people emigrated from the mainland and the islands. Pasquale spent a few decades in Australia but as the only person from his immediate family, he returned to Lipari to live here. He has now been back for about 15 years and loves living here although he occasionally misses his brothers and sisters and their families who are still living in Australia. Of course he speaks excellent English, and that is how he markets himself - Pasquale, the English-speaking cab driver and tour guide.
The first place he took us to was a village north of Lipari called Canneto which has a beautiful waterfront location, draped around a horseshoe-shaped bay. We decided to catch a little late breakfast first, and I really enjoyed my refreshing lemon granita, a typical Sicilian specialty - crushed ice that comes in a variety of flavours, a great idea for starting off the day. Herbert enjoyed a fresh croissant and an espresso.
On our way out of the bar, parked by the lungomare, the waterfront promenade, a local fisherman was selling fresh fish he caught this morning out of a little three-wheeled cargo vehicle. He shouted out the names of the fish with a peculiar cadence that was sure to attract the attention of passers-by. This is one thing I noticed about Sicily: street selling, particularly of fish, produce and other edible products, is still a popular way of marketing one's merchandise.
We continued our drive towards the white pumice quarries that Lipari is famous for. This volcanic stone is used for the production of cement, as an abrasive and a cosmetic exfoliant. Pumice is a highly porous, extremely light-weight, usually white stone that is formed during volcanic eruptions. Just a few dozen meters away from the pumice quarries we stopped to see another type of volcanic stone: obsidian, or volcanic glass, which is a dark-brown, dense, virtually opaque and heavy substance.
Pasquale explained that the chemical make-up of obsidian and pumice is essentially the same, but that they are ejected a different temperatures during volcanic eruptions. Obsidian has been used for eons; because of its flint-like quality it can easily be shaped into blades and spear tips and other cutting instruments. Today obsidian is even used as for surgical scalpels which produce less trauma than steel scalpels. Another less high-tech use of obsidian is as a gemstone, and many stores in the Eolian Islands sell jewelry crafted from this volcanic glass.
We came around the northern tip of Lipari where a beautiful view opened up toward the island of Salina. Pasquale took us up a mountain road to the Santuario di Chiesa Vecchia di Quattropani, a beautiful country church located on a hill with a phenomenal view over several of the Eolian Islands. As we were standing by the railing of the terrace, a jet fighter flew by at what seemed like supersonic speed, literally a few meters above the water. By the time we realized where the booming sound was coming from it was already disappearing into the horizon.
Another 15 minutes further on the west side of the island we stopped at an abandoned kaolin quarry. Kaolin is a silica-based mineral that is used in the production of ceramics, as a food additive and even as an ingredient in toothpaste. Everything was blooming around here, and yellow and purple flowers lit up the crags overlooking the sea.
At the southern tip of Lipari we stopped on a parking lot beside a private village and had a phenomenal view of the nearby island of Vulcano. We could even see the columns of sulphur fumes emanating from the fissures near the crater of this still active volcano. A flat stretch of land called Vulcanello is located in front of the main island of Vulcano. This part of the island appeared only about 2000 years ago in a volcanic eruption. Volcanism is still reshaping the earth all around here.
We had seen almost every corner of this small island and Pasquale dropped us off near downtown Lipari. This guided tour provided by a local expert was a great way of getting to know the island of Lipari. Claudia and I headed straight for an outdoor restaurant on the piazza by Marina Corta and had a well-deserved lunch and another nice stroll through town before we started to head back to our sailboat.
Around 3 pm we said goodbye to Lipari and set sail for our next destination: Vulcano. On our way our skipper Francesco took us past some very interesting rock formations at the southern end of Lipari. One protruding rock column was reminiscent of a praying pope while several tall isolated rocks grew right out of the sea in front of Lipari. We circled around to the eastern side of Vulcano and dropped anchor in the bay in front of Porto di Levante, the only landing place on the island. Several ferry boats were making their entries to and exits from the bay, and several other sailboats were anchored at a distance from the island.
Now it was time for our Italian lesson: for two hours in the late afternoon Claudia, Agnieszka and I were studying concepts such as the Italian Condizionale as well as the Congiuntivo under the guidance of our expert teacher Franco. You would definitely be hard-pressed to find a more stimulating environment to study Italian than a sailboat anchored in a beautiful bay in Southern Italy.
The wonderful thing about this sailing trip has been so far that it has been a nearly perfect immersion in Italian, where we are hearing the language all day and both our teachers communicate only in Italian with us. This concept is as close to full immersion as one can imagine, and the learning process is very intense and fast.
For the evening we stayed on the boat and watched a beautiful sunset which bathed the entire scene in hues of pink and purple. After our on-board dinner we retreated outside where Agnieszka, a gifted singer, and Franco, a great guitar player, teamed up and entertained us with many different soulfully delivered classics.
Sitting on a sailboat at night, by candlelight, in the beautiful bay of Vulcano, listening to the touching melodies of two gifted artists, was a magical, almost spiritual experience. I knew tomorrow was going to be our last day on this sailing trip, but I didn't want this moment to end.....
About the Author
Susanne Pacher is the publisher of http://www.travelandtransitions.com, a web portal for unconventional travel & cross-cultural connections. Check out our brand new FREE ebooks about travel.

Conflict Diamonds, Should You Use Them? by Frank Vanderlugt

Conflict Diamonds, Should You Use Them? by Frank Vanderlugt
Diamonds are a source of power as well as a source of beauty. Diamonds can be sold for a great deal of money. When they are in the hands of unethical people, their beauty can quickly be overshadowed by the mistreatment that occurs along the way. These diamonds have come to be labeled conflict diamonds.
Mostly associated with Africa, conflict diamonds are rough diamonds that are used for funding by rebel groups trying to overthrow their local governments. As reported in the media, rebel groups take over a mining operation and force the local population to work under brutal conditions to retrieve the diamonds. The rebel group then sells these diamonds to raise funds for arms and other materials in their fight against the government.
While the diamond that was mined under unethical conditions is just as beautiful and valuable as any other stone, the conscientiousness of the buying public will not tolerate the history associated with these diamonds. Knowing that people were mistreated to produce a finished diamond added a taint that no amount of polishing can remove.
To address this problem the United Nations and other concerned groups formed the World Diamond Council and the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. The KPCS has been in use since 2003 and is the accepted way to certify the source of uncut diamonds. According to the DeBeers diamond company, one of the leading African diamond companies, the Kimberley Process has greatly reduced the amount of conflict diamonds in circulation in the world's markets.
The process works by requiring governments to ensure that each shipment of uncut diamonds is matched to an accompanying certificate. The certificate specifically traces the steps the diamond has taken from the mine. There are 70 countries currently participating in the Kimberley Process. They all agree to only accept diamond shipments that have the appropriate certification.
Public pressure also plays a key role in keeping conflict diamonds off the market. Jewelry stores want to assure their customers that their merchandise is conflict free. To meet these standards jewelers purchase their diamonds only from companies that follow the Kimberley Process and the System of Warranties. The warranties are in place to carry the diamond all the way through the finishing processes to the retail outlet. The warranty ensures that not conflict funding was generated at any step in the process.
Major diamond companies like DeBeers have fully embraced the Kimberley Process and have used it as a positive aspect of their business. They promote the warranties and make sure that all employees in the company understand the harm of conflict diamonds. By embracing the policy, companies can create positive public relations for their diamonds and give their customers confidence in their purchases.
In addition to conflict diamonds, the United Nations and the International Labor Organization are working to prevent the use of child labor in the diamond industry.
About the Author
frank j vanderlugt owns and operates http://www.diamondzmall.com Diamonds

Hello From Sicily - Medieval Treasures In Cefalu by Susanne Pacher

Hello From Sicily - Medieval Treasures In Cefalu by Susanne Pacher
An early morning was in store for me: I decided to accompany my newly found friend and sailing buddy Claudia to her bus which would take her to the airport in Catania to return back to her home in Germany. Right next to the bus station, a few steps from the municipal buildings of Milazzo, was a bus stop for a local bus that was going to the train station. I inquired with the bus driver who told me he would be leaving within 10 minutes. Perfect! My backpack contained all the necessities for a day excursion by train to Cefalu, a gorgeous medieval town about two hours west of Milazzo.
So Claudia and I had to say goodbye, after spending more than a week together, having enjoyed our intense sailing experience through the Eolian Islands. After a big hug and the promise that we would both see each other again, we went our separate ways. A fifteen minute bus ride took me to Milazzo's rather unremarkable train station on the outskirts of town where I caught the 8:12 am train to Cefalu.
I enjoyed two hours of the beautiful ride along the northern coastline of Sicily, past hills, villages, orchards and vineyards. Just after 10:15 I arrived in this medieval town and I noticed right away that this was a popular tourist destination. The walk downtown was very quick and within 10 minutes I had reached the old medieval section of town. Corso Ruggero is the town's main street and lined with many retail shops featuring food, fashion and local handicrafts, particularly some of the brightly painted earthenware items such as vases and huge round plates.
Today were municipal elections and several polling stations had been set up around town to allow the locals to cast their vote. I had reached the main square, Piazza Duomo, which is anchored on the eastern side by Cefalu's Cathedral, an enormous imposing building, starting in 1131 under Norman ruler Roger I. A beautiful square flanked by numerous outdoor cafes was stretching up towards the steps of the Duomo whose size truly dwarfs all the other surrounding houses.
The Cathedral dominates the square with its two massive bell towers. I walked into church but a mass was just being held for a group of boys and girls who were celebrating their First Communion. Far away from the entrance door I could see the extremely well-preserved gigantic Byzantine stone mosaic of Christ Pantocrator with the Virgin Mary, dating back to 1148. Norman churches are generally very rare, and their grey stone austerity differs greatly from the generously ornamented baroque churches that are much more common throughout Europe and Latin America.
From here I started to explore the old town of Cefalu. I walked all the way to Via Ortolano, the street furthest north which is separated from the seafront by a row of houses. The Capo Marchiafava rampart, a fortification dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries, testifies to the strategic importance of this town on the northern coast of Sicily.
As a matter of fact, similar to other areas of Sicily, Cefalu has been inhabited for thousands of years. During the Greek era it was called Cephaloedis (meaning "head"), and the Greeks, Carthaginians, Byzantines, Romans, Normans and many other feudal groups left their mark on this town. Narrow houses with small windows are built together, and most of them feature hidden interior courtyards, private sanctuaries for generations.
At the northern end of Via Ortolano is an opening towards the small fishing harbour of Cefalu. A small sandy beach provided a great opportunity for local kids to cool off, restaurants with outdoor terraces invited to have a cool drink, and Japanese tourists, well sheltered from the noon time sun, were sitting in a corner of the beach, painting the scenic waterfront.
I relaxed a bit on a bench, watching the scene and continued my walk westwards along Via Vittorio Emanuele, the main street running along the northern waterfront of Cefalu, separated from the water by narrow medieval fishermen's houses.
One of the popular sights in Cefalu is the Gothic-style "Porta Marina", also called "Porta dei Pescatori" (Fishermen's Gate), the only remaining of four city gates and a popular spot for photographers. A few steps away from here is the "lavatoio", a public laundry washing area with a stone fountain with numerous basins that were used until recently to wash clothes by hand.
I strolled through the narrow streets which were now getting quieter since the afternoon siesta time had started. Cefalu is flanked on its eastern side by a rocky promontory called "La Rocca" which towers over the town and promised to provide a perfect vantage point of the area.
So I strolled up to the Piazza Duomo and beside the ancient Norman cathedral I found a narrow side street that was running right along the base of the rock. A few hundred meters further inland the pathway started to climb upwards, with the view getting increasingly more impressive. About 15 minutes into the climb I reached a gate with two local municipal employees who were charging admission of 3.50 Euros to the rock. I figured it was worth it, paid the fee and continued my climb.
Looking up towards the top of the rock I saw the stony ruins of a fortification dating back to the 12th and 13th century. Once I had reached the plateau below the summit I saw a number of ancient structures, including the "Tempio di Diana", a megalithic structure dating back to about the 9th century BC.
The noon time sun was too hot for me to try to make it all the way to the Norman fortification ruins at the top of the mountain so I walked along the forested plateau towards a lookout area that provided an astounding view of the centre of Cefalu. The rock walls descended almost vertically down, and this vantage point allowed me to look almost straight down into the courtyard of the Norman Cathedral. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the views over the turquoise coastline of Sicily were simply phenomenal. I sat down for a bit to rest and soak it all in.
Then I strolled along the lower fortification walls which cap off the plateau area just before the precipitous drop of the rock and caught a good look westwards of the town and the coastal mountains inland. I have traveled a fair bit in the last few years, but the beauty of Sicily is indeed quite overwhelming.
The heat had made me thirsty and I figured it was time to head back into town to sit down in some patio and take in some fluids. Naturally, the walk down was much quicker than the climb up and within about 25 minutes I had reached the old town. It was the middle of the afternoon and everything was shut down now, typical siesta-style. I did find a local bar that served me an ice-cold limonata (actually two or three since I was absolutely parched) and I was listening to some Australian tourists talking loudly at the next table. There seemed to be quite a few Aussies in this town, along with some German and French tourists. Definitely not too many North American travelers though...
After quenching my thirst I took a stroll along the waterfront promenade in the modern portion of Cefalu. Dozens of street vendors, mostly of North African background, had set up tables to sell belts, inexpensive jewelry, electronic gadgets and all sorts of other knick-knacks. People were lounging along the long sandy beach in the new part of this town and it certainly looked like a great place for some sun-worshipping.
I felt a little exhausted from all the hiking in the hot sun and decided to head back to Milazzo and caught a train back. I really enjoyed the two hour train ride, all the windows were open and the warm air was blowing through my train compartment. In my head I was still trying to process all the beautiful images that I had seen in this exquisite historic town.
After a quiet evening and a stroll along the Lungomare (to watch the ritual of the passegiata, the daily stroll along the waterfront), I had a nice relaxing evening in the apartment, reading, sitting on the balcony, and looking forward to my final discoveries of Milazzo and its surrounding areas tomorrow.
About the Author
Susanne Pacher is the publisher of http://www.travelandtransitions.com, a web portal for unconventional travel & cross-cultural connections. Check out our brand new FREE ebooks about travel.

Gemstone Globes - A Beautiful Representation Of The Earth by Jesse Akre

Gemstone Globes - A Beautiful Representation Of The Earth by Jesse Akre
Are you looking to add some decoration to your home, but are sick of the same old options that are available. You do not want anymore wall art, the plant and matching vase fad is a bit overrated, and basically, you are just stumped as to what to do. Well, a great solution to your problem is gemstone globes, a beautiful fixture and the perfect way to enhance the look of any room in your home.
If you are thinking, a globe is a globe and how can one be beautiful? The thing is, this fixture can be and gemstone globes are the most beautiful of all. The reason being is the gemstones that are used to make them. These are gorgeous looking stones are precious or semi-precious and are available in a wide variety of colors sparkling colors. They are cut and polished to be used for a number of different things, one of them being jewelry. So, if they are one of the top materials used to make jewelry, then you know a globe made out of them definitely be extremely appealing to the eye. Another reason why these fixtures have a fantastic look is that they are made by hand. So, each individual stone is cut into the necessary shapes and set into a lovely globe, that is also fashioned out of eye-catching materials like ivory or wood, by hand. This process creates a detailed, one of a kind piece that is just like a work of art.
There are a number of different places where you could put gemstone globes throughout your home. One great spot is in your living room, you could use it as a nice accent piece to complement the space. Another nice place that you could put one is in your den, something that will give you inspiration while you are working on different projects. Basically, one would be a fantastic addition to any room in your home and other nice options include the family library, any bedroom, and even a formal dining area.
Plus, not only are gemstone globes beautiful and nice decorative pieces, but they are also a very practical fixture. Remember, they are in fact a globe and globes are precise 3-D representations of the earth. They are great learning tools for teaching others, especially kids, all about geography and all of the important places on the earth. Like, continents, countries, states, bodies of water, and even mountain ranges.
If you are looking for a fantastic way to add some decoration to your space and are sick of the same old options, then a great option for you is gemstone globes. They have a wonderful appearance and through online shopping, you can easily find the perfect one for you and your space. Along the way, you will probably find the best possible price for one too. So, what are you waiting for, go out and get one today because then tomorrow the room where you decide to put it will look that much better.
About the Author
Jesse Akre, owner of many unique home design sites comments on world globes and gemstone globes. Click today: earth globe.

Ruby Jewelry - It's precious by J.Mosley

Ruby Jewelry - It's precious by J.Mosley
Ruby doesn't need any introduction - it is one of the most precious stones, which can shine brilliantly in a necklace and at the same time glow with a subtlety in a ring. Ruby and red go together and it can ignite a thousand desires that will light your candle of passion without your having to say a word. That's the magic of a ruby.
Being one of the rarest stones, it is precious and expensive but ruby has a beauty that can't be expressed through words. It represents a power that comes with the red color, the color of blood, the color of an enchanting sunset and the color of love. The best ruby though is the fine ruby, which is born out of chromium. What chromium really does is that it breaks up the stone from inside to give it the perfection that comes with the name. You can recognize a good ruby from a bad one by looking at the color saturation. A good ruby will always have a high color saturation, which occurs due to the mixture of a red fluorescent emission and a bluish red body color.
We all relate to the ruby for the red glow but did you know that it is one of the rare and glorious accidents of nature. This red glow is the reason why ruby is so popular. In fact the Thai and the Cambodian rubies are purer versions of red, but they lack the fluorescence that some rubies are famous for. Most of the stones possess a certain degree of extinction but a fine ruby with its crimson fluorescence can mask it. Some of the best Burmese rubies glow with a red that is quite unfound and bathe in a red fluorescence that paints its entire glory right across the face of the stone.
The value of a ruby is determined by the intensity of the red color. So when you are buying a ring that has a ruby in it, the more intense the color, the more expensive it will be. The color will be intense without being too dark or too light. Another thing, you need to check while buying a ruby is the clarity. The general rule is that when you look into the stone, there should not be any inclusions. If there are any inclusions and it is visible to the naked eye then don't buy it. The third most important and decision making factor is the cut. You will find rubies in different shapes and styles depending on how they have been cut. The most common type of cut is the oval one but you will also find round ones and the emerald cut.
Apart from the imperial jadeite and some rare diamonds, ruby is next most expensive gem in the world. The best quality ruby comes from the following countries:
1. Mogok, Burma 2. Sri Lanka 3. Madagascar 4. Nanyazeik, Burma
So when you are buying a ruby ring, necklace or any high quality jewelry containing ruby, be rest assured that it will sparkle with an intensity that can be next only to your passion or love.
About the Author
Affinity Jewelers is committed to offering the absolute highest quality jewelry at the guaranteed lowest prices.