Why we place semi-precious gemstones into pieces of handmade jewellery.
Semi-precious stones have been used in pieces of handmade jewellery in some form or another forever and you can see these in bracelets, earrings, bracelets and silver wedding jewellery sets. The designs and the setting may have changed over the years but the love of these semi-precious gemstones has not.
I think that most people think or semi-precious gemstones as being minerals and this is not true as many of these natures treasures by definition are rocks and examples of these you will find are Black Onyx and the beautiful deep blue coloured Lapis Lazuli. Others like the wonderful golden coloured Amber are fossilised sap from a tree. Precious gemstones like diamonds and rubies are minerals and these grow in nature and pearls and coral that we use in handmade jewellery designs are what are called collectables.
The Greeks divided these beautiful natural stones into two categories and these are precious and semi-precious gemstones. The precious gemstones can sometimes be called cardinal gemstones and this is because of their historical link with religious ceremonies and these stones can be seen in many churches set into many religious objects and cardinals, bishops and even the pope wears a ring with one of these precious stones. The five stones that we refer to as being precious are diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and amethyst. These have this classification because they are the rarest and pieces of jewellery handmade from these stones will be more expensive that piece of handmade jewellery that has been crafted from semi-precious stones.
You will find 100’s of different semi-precious stones that are used to create unique and original pieces of handmade jewellery and some of these are Rose Quartz, Jade, Tigers Eye, Aventurine, Carnelian, Amazonite and Jasper. These stones are cut and polished before thay are used to create pieces of handmade jewellery like handmade bracelets, jewellery sets, pendants and rings and this polishing and cutting will bring out all the natural beauty of the stone.
These stones can be cut into beads that are through drilled so that they can be strung into beaded jewellery designs or they can be cut into cabochons and these are used to set into metal settings like gold, silver and platinum. You will find smooth cut cabochons in semi-precious stones like Turquoise, Onyx both green and black, Jade, Opals, Aventurine, Jet and these have cuts like this because these stones are opaque.
Other clear or transparent stones will have faceted cuts and this is where the very skilled jeweller will cut the stone at angles at regular intervals so that the reflected light is maximised and the stone will look at its most beautiful. With the precious gemstones the cutting of these stones can take days and it is a very skilled art. And a good or a bad cut can determine the value of the stone there for the jewellery handmade from it.
Some of the gemstones sometimes have treatments that will enhance the colour of the stones making pieces of handmade jewellery set with them even more beautiful. Heat treatment is one of these and by doing this process it will improve the clarity and deepen the colour of a transparent stone. Radiation is another one of these treatments and this will even out the colours in these natural stones and it will even change to colours in some but this treatment is not always permanent. Some stones are waxed and Turquoise and Jade are two of these and this is done to disguise any imperfections in the stones.
Nature gave us these beautiful stones only for their beauty so it is only right that we turn them into unique and stunning pieces of handmade jewellery like earrings, necklaces, rings, bracelets and pendants.
You will find many pieces of jewellery handmade from semi-precious beads and stones. These could be a pair of earrings, individually designed handmade bracelets, pendants, rings and necklaces. We wear these stunning unique designs because nature gave us the beautiful natural stones.