Art Jewelry magazine Editors' Blog : gemstones

NASA finds new Space-opals on Mars!

Addie Kidd — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:47:00 GMT

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has spotted some opal-like material on Mars. Check out the satellite photo at left.

The presence of these hydrated minerals in relatively "young rock" (We're talking only about 2 billion years old here. You know...young.) has scientists all excited because it gives a timeline for when Mars likely had enough water to support life.

This discovery has me excited because I love pretty, pretty opals.

Now I'm just trying to figure out how long it will take space pioneers to start mining this stuff. Can you imagine?? Necklaces and possibly engagement rings of the future could be sporting Martian opals. Crazy, huh?

~Addie~

You can read the story on NASA's Web site here.
If you'd like more information about all thing opal, check out our printable Opal Glossary.
And for information about how best to clean opals and other gems, see out our printable Gemstone Cleaning Chart.

Thanks to The Daily Jewel blog for the link, and NASA for the picture.

Exhibit: The Nature of Diamonds at the Royal Ontario Museum

Katie Streeter — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:23:00 GMT

The Royal Ontario Museum has a cool series for the 2008-2009 season called "A Season of Gems." The Nature of Diamonds is a part of this series, and the exhibit can be viewed now through March 22, 2009. For more information on the exhibit, check out this article, or visit the Royal Ontario Museum's Web site.

—Katie

Think about visiting Tucson for the gem and mineral (and jewelry, tools, metals, wire...) shows! The Art Jewelry editors are.

Kristin Sutter — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:55:00 GMT

It's November, and here in the Art Jewelry offices, our thoughts are turning to the Southwest — not because our Wisconsin locale means we've already got snow in the forecast, but because in February, the city of Tucson, Ariz., is inundated with countless vendors from every facet of the jewelry world. Every year, we make the trip to scout for new products, new discoveries, new contacts, and new friends. If you've never heard of the phenomenon that is Tucson, check out "How to Tackle Tucson." The article, written by editor and veteran Tucson-goer Hazel L. Wheaton, is a practical guide to what "Tucson" is, why you should go, and how to enjoy the experience.

For dates of the 2009 Tucson shows, go to www.visittucson.org. If you can't make it to Tucson, you can look for shows near you in our Events Calendar. You can also discuss shows, including Tucson, in Going to a Show? on our forum.

Enjoy!

—Kristin

Huge record-breaking diamond found!

Addie Kidd — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:41:00 GMT

A massive diamond was found in Africa earlier this month.

At 478 carats, it's not the largest diamond ever (it's only the 20th). But the remarkable thing is that it's the highest color grade available (D) and it's practically flawless. When cut, it could yield the largest, highest-quality diamond ever.

Check out the story on CNN.com.

And don't forget to click on the video tab to see a quick video of this behemoth of a stone.

If you're curious, 478 carats is nearly 3.4 ounces, or 1/5 of a pound. Wow, that's a big rock!

~Addie~

Photo courtesy of CNN.com.

Watch an artistic video showing a collectible Louis Vuitton charm being made, from lost wax casting to stone setting to the final polishing

Kristin Sutter — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 20:56:00 GMT

I've read about how to do casting, I've seen video demonstrations of how to do casting, but I'd never seen a beautiful montage of the process until I came across this video that Christophe Graillot did for Louis Vuitton to showcase how they craft their jewelry. (If you're really averse to advertising, avoid the last minute or so.)

Let me know what you think!

—Kristin

Wedding ring makeover part 2: the new design may be a band with bead-set champagne melee diamonds

Kristin Sutter — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 19:19:00 GMT

If you've read my last blog post, you know that I'm in the process of revamping my wedding band to commemorate my and my husband's five-year wedding anniversary (read good excuse to change the design of a ring that neither of us loves). I'll be keeping the vintage engagement ring intact, but I'll have the band's infinity-symbol design changed because it's a bit jarring next to the delicate filigree.

Seconds after Associate Editor Addie Kidd told me that a good jeweler would incorporate my existing band's metal into a new band, she and I were brainstorming the new design. I attempted to sketch the design my husband had given to the jewelers five years ago (he mimicked some of the filigree pattern), but I wasn't remembering it right. Addie said, "You could add stones," and my first thought was, "No, that would be gaudy." She said, "They could be little. You could do a band with melee diamonds — they could be about 1 mm." And before I could reject the idea for looking too much like a mother's ring, I thought, "I could do champagne diamonds! And they would match the color of my metal (which isn't modern white gold, but an antique, yellower alloy). And I could do 13 of them!" (I would have 13 diamonds because that was my favorite number before I met my husband, it also happened to be his favorite number, serendipitously we started dating on the 13th, and we got married on the 13th.)

Addie pointed out that if I did 1 mm bead-set champagne diamonds, the stones wouldn't draw attention away from the engagement ring; they would merely provide sparkle. Also, 13 stones would line up nicely, one centered on the engagement ring's diamond and six on each side. She suggested that I have the melee diamonds bead-set to mimic the vintage look. She found a good example of what she envisioned here in a piece by Etienne Perret. Of course, my band would look a bit different from Perret's. I'd like to keep the filigree and etching on the side of the band to mimic the engagement ring, and the band will need to curve to fit the contour of my ring. If at all possible, I'm hoping that the band will be a bit thinner than it is right now, too.

So, that's the concept for the new design. I am, however, open to further suggestions. If you want to throw any ideas into the mix, just comment below. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

—Kristin

Tucson Gem Shows 2008: A tour in photos from a first-time visitor, including gems, fossils, minerals, jewelry, and tourist attractions.

Addie Kidd — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:59:00 GMT

For years, I've wanted to visit Tucson's town-full-of-shows gem and mineral extravaganza, but schedule or budget or both always managed to get in the way. I finally got my wish, when earlier this February I flew from snowy Milwaukee, Wisconsin (left), to sunny Tucson, Arizona (right) for a week of jewelry immersion.

I tried as best I could to capture the overwhelming and eclectic nature of these shows through a bunch of photos. Here's my virtual scrapbook so that you can follow along.

Upon arrival, we wanted to get into the Wild West spirit. So dinner was at the ultra-touristy and cute Pinnacle Peak. While waiting for a table, I couldn't help but try one the old miner persona, a la wooden standee. (I love cheesy touristy stuff, can you tell??)

What amazed me the most about Tucson was the diversity of not only the items for sale at each show, but the also the diversity of the shows and venues themselves.

Vendors were set up in hotel rooms, tents, non-descript alleyways, and in high security convention centers.

There were tables upon tables of crystals and carved rocks. And there were massive rough crystal geodes...

How about a natural amethyst coffee table base? (That's going on my Christmas list.)

Here I'm posing next to a gigantic rough citrine geode still crated up.

There were also breathtakingly huge fossils to check out, like this very cool turtle.

And of course there were walls and walls (and walls!) of beads made out of everything imaginable: gemstones, glass, ceramic, polymer, fiber, etc.

I was especially excited to check out the rough rock. I have lapidary equipment in my home studio, and am always on the lookout for something new and pretty to grind and polish.

This table was laden with Prima Verde, a newly discovered stone offered by the folks at The Unconventional Lapidarist. (I picked up a pound or two, myself.)

If you're wondering what it looks like polished, here are some samples they had on display.

A well-known Tucson landmark is the snake bridge. It's a pedestrian bridge shaped like a rattlesnake, fangs and everything.

As I walked through it, I definitely got a feel for the snake's "ribs."

And I was delighted yet startled (read: practically jumped out of my skin) to find out that there's a motion sensor as you walk out the tail end of the bridge. As soon as you're close enough to see that giant rattle, a hidden speaker lets off a loud rattlling sound. Brilliant.

Back to the gem shows... AGTA was a treat. It's enormous showfloor held more gems and pearls and finished jewelry than you could imagine.

It was at AGTA that fellow editor Jill Erickson and I met up with Todd Reed. He was as friendly and nice as his signature rough diamond designs are beautiful.

He even let me try on one of his bracelets. (And let me tell you, tens of thousands of dollars feel pretty good on your wrist!)

Of course it wasn't all just meeting with artists like Todd, and scouting for new information. There was plenty of quality shopping time to be had.

Here, I'm hunting for loose green amethysts amid a table full of gemstones at AGTA.

After taking a little break for food and rest, Jill and I headed over to check out a local shop, Obsidian Gallery.

It's a small but well chosen gallery with art, decoratives objects, and of course jewelry.

Jill and I also made sure to check our Rio Grande's Catalog in Motion show. We caught one of the free informative lectures: Bill Fretz demonstrating hammering techniques.

"In motion" is right! People were elbow to elbow to try out all the new products Rio had on display.

It was especially cool that you could touch and try out nearly everything.

Check out this mammoth pile o' pliers!

It was also pretty neat to see that beside their diplay showcasing Spectrum Finishing papers, Rio Grande had my review posted from our March issue.

Jill spotted it, and we were both so tickled that we had to take a photo. You can see it here.

We wrapped up our exploring with a stop at the Electric Park show. It's outdoor, laid back attitude was a nice change from the crowded streets of downtown.

More massive crystals!

After a week of non-stop gem shows, Jill and I were almost sparkled out. (Hey, I said "almost.")

I even had to run to a nearby Target to buy an extra duffel bag just to haul all my stones, goodies, and tools home.

I'm glad that I finally got to Tucson. After attending, I'm not sure how I got along in the jewelry world without it. To be surrounded by that much enthusiasm, beauty, and creativity is so invigorating.

As I enjoyed the sunset on my flight home, I wasn't even sad to leave. I already knew that this wouldn't be my last trip out to Tucson.

Did any of you go? What were your favorite parts? And tips for folks thinking about heading out next year?