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5 Quick Tips for Great Holiday Hair and Makeup
This holiday season you might say that old fashioned glitter and glamour is back. The online beauty tips web site http://www.1-minute-beauty-diva.com has snooped out what’s hot this season: a modernized version of the old Hollywood glamour...
Fashion After 40
With so many designers and trends targeting the svelte body of the twenty-something, is it possible to look fashionable as the years pass and your body begins to tell the tale?
Absolutely!
In fact, with a little ingenuity and sleigh-of-hand,...
The (American) Bride Wore Red
Increasing numbers of American brides are thinking about doing something that used to be unthinkable -- getting married in a bold red gown.
Not that red is a stranger to marriage -- far from it. Red plays a major role in Chinese, Hindu, and...
Top 10 Fashion Mistakes: What NOT to Wear
Image includes everything that is in your appearance – not simply how well you put your makeup on and style your hair, and not just how expensive is your bag, but also how well you put all these things together. Sometimes a tiny flaw can ruin the...
Your Home and Garden Décor: Creating Bountiful Spaces
Temperatures are on the rise and so is the anticipation to get your home ready for maximum enjoyment. It’s time to get motivated for the season. It’s always advisable to take a good hard look around every room before you begin. Make a mental list...
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Precious Stones Explained!
The mineral to which the term " precious stone" is applied, must be adaptable for jewelry or ornamental purposes and must possess beauty, hardness, and rarity.
The beauty of a precious stone or gem consists of its color or colorlessness, brilliancy or softness of luster, and transparency. To take a high and lasting polish, a mineral must be hard, —and many stones that would otherwise be highly valued are low in the estimate of worth because they do not possess of sufficient hardness to make them endure the wear and friction to which a precious stone is subjected when used in the form of jewelry. The rareness of precious stones has a decided effect in determining their values. For instance, the crocidolite, commercially known as tiger-eye, was sold by the carat some years ago, and was largely used in the making of fine jewelry. Today, this material is so plentiful that it is no longer classed among the higher gems, but serves for cameos and intaglios like chalcedony and onyx.
The changes of fashion have much to do with determining the market value of precious stones. Amethysts, topazes, cat's-eyes, aquamarines, alexandrites, and even emeralds and opals have been eagerly sought for at times and then again neglected for other gems, causing a sensible difference in the value of these stones.
It has been a mooted question as to the proper dividing line between stones that deserve the
title “precious,” and those, which should be placed in a so-called semi-precious or lower category. To draw such a line is hardly possible, as neither hardness, rareness, nor value would be a positive test--some of the hard stones, like zircon and almandines being less valuable than softer opal, while the diamond, one of the most plentiful of precious stones, is at the same time, one of the most valuable.
Neither can price be taken as a complete test, because fashion makes a turquoise, an opal, or an emerald much more valuable at one time than at another, All precious minerals used for ornamental purposes, from the diamond to quartz, or chalcedony, may properly be termed precious stones.
The Final Word On Precious Stones
The most precious stones are the diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires. The pearl is oftentimes classed with precious stones. Although strictly speaking while it is not a stone it holds an esteemed place in jewelry.
About the Author
The Authors of the above Article, Sam and Tami Serio have been passionately involved with Jewelry and Gemstones for over fifteen-years. You are cordially invited to visit http://www.morninglightjewelry.com for a wealth of information about the fascinating world of Jewelry and Gemstones. Together they also shelter 20 abandoned and abused dogs & cats. A portion of their profits goes to the care and feeding of the animals.
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