Julie's Friday Crystal Ball 25 January 2019

Hello dear Empaness supporters and gemstone jewellery fanatics

Hope its been a good start to 2019 for you and yours -  in Chinese astrology, 2019 is the year of the Earth Pig (Feb 5, 2019- January 25, 2020). A year of positive energies, benevolence, good will and luck ! Lets all have some of this in 2019 please ! 

I’ve decided to start a weekly blog so as to share my enthusiasm for all things gemstone related and also to keep everyone up to date on what’s on my workbench (literally and figuratively) for the week. Of course  I’d most welcome a chance to answer any questions on gemstone jewellery ,if I can.  And I’d love to hear any feedback on what to make next - nothing is better than delighting my customers with my creations !

 Gemstone musings

 

 Wow, there is a lot of subject matter on gemstones !  

It may seem strange to say but I feel these crystallised minerals have an ability, when nearby, to communicate in a non-verbal way. More about that in later posts but for now here are ten interesting ramblings about gemstones:  

 

• Emeralds, were first mined in Egypt, where Cleopatra adored the green gem. The Ancient Egyptians believed Emeralds could be used to treat eye diseases and that the green colour represented fertility and rebirth.

 

• One of the oldest underground mines is located in eSwantini (formerly Swaziland) and dates back to 4100 BC. They mined hematite there — a principle component of iron. Hematite is said to have healing properties, but it was also used as a red chalk

 

• Silver can prevent wounds from becoming infected - The antibacterial activity of silver has long been known and has found a variety of applications because its toxicity to human cells is considerably lower than to bacteria. The most widely documented uses are prophylactic treatment of burns and water disinfection.

  

• Freshwater pearls are pearls which grow in non-saline environment in freshwater mussels. Although the traditional source of pearls has been saltwater mollusks, freshwater mussels, which live in ponds, lakes and rivers, can also produce pearls.

 

• The colour of Smoky Quartz is thought to be caused by natural irradiation of Quartz. Citrine, the yellow to orange variety of Quartz, sometimes has a brownish tinge, and a stone can thus be border lined between Citrine and Smoky Quartz.

  

• The use of colour and crystals as therapy is a truly holistic, non-invasive therapy which dates back thousands of years. Evidence of this can be found in ancient texts from India, China, and Egypt. Chakras are circular petal-shaped fields of energy lying across seven different points on the human spine. The energy associated with each chakra has an effect on the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual levels of consciousness.

 

• A gemstone (also called a gem, fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semi-precious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewellery other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli and opal) and occasionally organic materials that are not minerals (such as amber, jet, and pearl) are also used for jewellery and are therefore often considered to be gemstones as well. (Wiki)

  

• The rare transparent euhedral crystals of rose quartz owe their coloration to aluminum and phosphorous impurities.

 

• According to Judy Hall, crystals are mentioned 1,704 times in the bible.

  

• Crystals have unique and stable resonant frequencies which lend themselves to a wide range of technological applications. For example: A quartz clock is a clock that uses an electronic oscillator that is regulated by a quartz crystal to keep time. This crystal oscillator creates a signal with very precise frequency, so that quartz clocks are at least an order of magnitude more accurate than mechanical clocks. 

 

This week’s news from Julie’s craft bench:

 

So excited, my order of beautiful high grade gemstones has arrived today! Take a look at some of them below:

  

 

 

 

 

My creations usually start in my head then can turn to being drawn (not very well) on paper. I always have post it notes or scribble paper on me as I can have a design come into my thoughts at any time. So I am always doodling ha ha.

 

I have plans for the strand of Montana Agate to be mixed with the small black round Onyx for a stunning necklace, bracelet and earrings to be worn as a set or by themselves. 

 

The bright and colourful large 12mm round Fluorite - too many ideas. I’ll work on that. Same with the polished Tigers Eye.

 

One of my best clients was very excited that I was able to get another pair of the beautiful, dazzling faceted Smokey Quartz Briolette drops (picture below). Making for her some earrings from them this week. (The other one I made recently sold pretty quickly). 

 

 

 

And I’m excited that I have also received four sets of drops to make into earrings. Clear Rock Crystal Briolette drops, Blue Lace Agate Briolette drops, Black Onyx Briolette drops and Labradorite Africa drops.

 

Thats it for me now, have a great weekend everyone, and stay safe.

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