Wholesale beads & jewelry making supplies

House of Gems for wholesale beads and jewelry making supplies
HOME Home Go
Beads and Beading Blog
Beads and Beading Blog - the Official Weblog of House Of Gems, Inc. (www.houseofgems.com). Here you can find exciting news and tips on - beads, gemstones, beading materials & methods, jewelry making plus product and website updates , promotions and more. This is a place for us to interact with our customers and the beading community, in general, on a fairly regular basis.Tune in regularly to the voice of House Of Gems.
Bookmark and Share
Friday, May 23, 2008

Garnet

Garnets were said to be magnets for prosperity and glory, and to dream of them was said to symbolize the gaining of wealth. Garnets were also came to be an emblem of truth and fidelity. Perhaps as a symbol of faith even beyond death, Italian widows favored garnets and the stone became known as pietra della vedovanza, the stone of widowhood. Metaphysically, garnet is a stone of regeneration, a stone that pours energy into all the chakras and then balances those energies. Garnet is said to spark past-life recall and psychic awareness. It’s also believed to inspire both love and devotion. Garnet is considered a particularly powerful ally in times of crisis, enhancing the survival instinct.

Below is information about specific types of garnet:
Almandine (Garnet): dark red (usually darker than pyrope); iron aluminum silicate; Mohs’ hardness 7 ½; often opaque or subtranslucent; vitreous luster; cubic crystal system. Almandine is found worldwide in metamorphic rocks and granitic pegmatites.

This dark red garnet was worn by the Crusaders as a protection against wounds and poison. A famous almandine was given to Emperor Otto by his son and set in the German monarch’s crown.

Metaphysically, almandine is strongly connected with regeneration and is a stone said to both draw deep love and support a connection to one’s higher self, opening the way to both compassion and charity. It’s also known to open the channel between the crown and base chakras. This dark red garnet is tremendously versatile in jewelry. Its strong color can easily balance both transparent and opaque stones. If you want to work with transparent gems, string it with any of the green garnets, green or pink tourmaline, and for contrast citrine or amber. It also goes well jade, grey and white pearls, black onyx, and ruby fuschite.

Pyrope (Garnet): pinkish red, blood red, slightly brownish red; magnesium aluminum silicate; Mohs’ hardness 7-7 ½; virtreous luster; cubic crystal system.

The name pyrope comes from the Greek pyropos, which means fiery or fire-like. Pyrope’s legendary red color comes from trace amounts of iron and chromium. This garnet is usually found in alluvial deposits and volcanic rock in sites around the globe such as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Burma, Scotland, Switzerland, Tanzania and the United States.

Pyrope was very popular in Europe in both the 18th and 19th centuries, and accounts for most of the dark red garnets in Victorian jewelry. The Victorian pyrope garnets were also known as Bohemian garnets, because they were found in Czechoslovakia (formely Bohemia), and were typically rose cut for the Victorian settings. Metaphysically, pyrope is connected with charisma, vitality, and helping bring in a wonderful quality of life. It’s also considered a stabilizing stone that protects the base and crown chakras. Pyrope is very dramatic with black onyx beads, as well as any of the green garnets. It also looks beautiful with white, grey, or black pearls, and with tanzanite. Rhodolite is a lovely pinkish-red pyrope.

This garnet was first found in North Carolina at the end of the 19th century, and its name is taken from the pinkish-red blossoms of the local rhododendron. Now most rhodolite is mined in Tanzania, India, and Sri Lanka. Metaphysically, rhodolite is said to radiate warmth, trust, and sincerity. It’s believed to be a good creative stone, sparking intuition, and inspiration. Rhodolite is also considered a stone that protects the base chakra and supports healthy sexuality. Rhodolite looks beautiful when strung with peridot, grossularite, amethyst, blue topaz, and sapphire, and is quite luscious when combined with the darker red garnets or even rubies.

Grossular (Garnet): can be pink or green; calcium aluminum silicate; Mohs’ hardness 7; vitreous luster; cubic crystal system. Grossular or Grossularite’s name comes from Ribes grossularia, the botanical name for gooseberry, because the first grossular crystals found were a pale green that resembled gooseberry. Of all the garnet minerals, grossularite has the widest range of colors. Metaphysically, grossularite is a stone that helps one to “go with the flow.” It’s said to be particularly useful during times of challenge and confrontation, helping to maintain a feeling of relaxation even in the midst of stressful conflict. Green grossularite works well with amethyst, rhodolite, iolite, hessonite, blue topaz, blue tourmaline, spessartine, and smoky quartz. For a striking contrast, pair this green garnet with the bright orange fire opal or turquoise—or both. Hessonite, also called cinnamon stone, is a yellow to reddish-orange grossular, found mostly in Sri Lanka and Brazil.

Metaphysically, hessonite is a stone of self-respect that counters feelings of inferiority or guilt and encourages new journeys and challenges. It’s also said to be useful in opening to intuition and psychic awareness. String it with green garnets, peridot, citrine, amethyst, or blue topaz; or for a gentler piece, try it with lemon quartz, iolite, and white pearls. For rich autumnal tones, pair it with smoky quartz. Tsavorite is the most valuable grossular, a radiant green gem that was first identified in 1968 by Campbell R. Bridges, a British gemologist, who found the stones in Kenya’s Tsavo National Park. Tsavorites, in fact, can be so brilliant that they’ve been called the “poor man’s emerald.” Their green color usually comes from trace elements of chromium and vanadium. Metaphysically, Tsavorite supports self-knowledge and self-love. It’s also said to be useful in connecting with both the higher planes and the spiritual world, and can be useful in psychic communication. This dark green stone is a class act when strung with white pearls, but it’s also a gorgeous stone to contrast with the darker, equally glittering gems like sapphire, ruby, and tanzanite. For an equally dramatic but different sort of contrast, try Tsavorite with black opals that show green or blue fire.

Spessartine (Garnet): often orange; manganese aluminum silicate; Mohs’ hardness 7; vitreous luster; cubic crystal system Spessartine gets its color from manganese and is found in alluvial deposits in Brazil, Madagascar, Mexico, Nigeria, Tanzania, and the United States. A particularly intense and radiant orange spessartine found in Namibia is known as mandarin garnet. Metaphysically, spessartine is a stone for a generous and strong heart, opening the way to acting with compassion and charity. It’s also said to strengthens one’s rational and analytic abilities. Spessartine’s rich color is set off beautifully by other stones with deep colors: amethyst, sapphire, the green garnets, boulder opal, and depending on the shade of spessartine, amber. It also works well with jade, turquoise, and the brown agates.
posted by HouseOfGems @ 05/23/2008   Perma Link Comments [ 0 ]
Thursday, May 15, 2008

Rhodonite Gemstone Beads

Color: Red with black veins
Chemical composition: MnSiO3 magnesium metasilicate
Mohs’ hardness: 5 ½-6 ½
Transparency: Opaque-transparent
Luster: Vitreous
Fracture: Uneven, conchoidal
Crystal system: Triclinic; rarely in plates or long crystals, usually compact grainy aggregates
Cleavage: Perfect
Specific gravity: 3.40-3.70
Refractive index: 1.733-1.744
Dispersion: none
Pleochroism: Definite; yellow-red, rose-red, red-yellow
Fluorescence: None
Occurrence: Australia, Canada (Vancouver), India, Malagasy Republic, Mexico, Russia (the Urals), South Africa, Sweden, United States (Franklin, New Jersey)
Astrology: Taurus
Chakra: 4th (heart) chakra

Like rhodochrosite, rhodonite’s name comes from the Greek rhodos, which means rose. The two rose-red minerals have often been confused, but rhodochrosite shows white streaks of calcium and reacts to acids. Rhodonite, which does not react to acids, can usually be distinguished by its black dendritic inclusions, which are manganese oxide. (Occasionally, rhodonite will be solid rose-red, showing none of the black.) Transparent or translucent rhodonite crystals are extremely rare and fragile. Most rhodonite is cut in cabochons or beads. It’s also been carved for ornamental objects and was a favorite material of the Russian court during the 18th century.

Considered a minor gem, there isn’t much historical lore about rhodonite, but it’s been widely embraced by the metaphysical gem healers, who connect the stone with the heart. Rhodonite is said to clear and activate the heart chakra, help balance the emotions, and aid one in becoming more heart-centered. It’s also used to strength meditation that is based on the use of mantras. As a healing stone, rhodonite is said to be particularly effective when dealing with grief or emotional shock or panic. It’s considered a stone that can help heal old psychic and emotional wounds, because its energy is attuned to the energy of forgiveness. In magical traditions, rhodonite has also been worn to counter confusion and to shut down the psychic centers when one is feeling vulnerable.

Rhodonite beads are perfect when strung with either black onyx or black, white, or grey pearls. Rhodonite also goes well with its sister gem, rhodochrosite. To add sparkle to rhodonite beads, string them with pink tourmaline, cherry quartz, red garnets, and/or ruby. For other opaque stones that echo and will complement the black patterns in rhodonite, combine rhodonite beads with any of the black agates or hypersthene.
posted by HouseOfGems @ 05/15/2008   Perma Link Comments [ 0 ]
 Recent Posts
Working with Beads
Wooden Beads Can Make Stunning Jewelry
Tips on Using Gold filled Spacer Beads to Make Jewelry
Marketing Jewelry Featuring Sterling Silver Beads
Choosing the Perfect Gold filled Findings
Peridot Gemstone
Tiger Eye
Moonstone
Gold Filled Chains
Jewelry Design with sterling silver beads Past and Present
Amethyst
Pearls
Silver Story
Gemstone Quartz
Pearl 101
Black Onyx Real Or Fake
Knot with my thread
Clear Quartz Gemstone Beads
About Gem Beads
Gold Filled and Gold Plated as Same
Toughness Chart
What Is Green Amethyst
Precious Metal length weight Chart
Gold Filled and Gold Plated
The Feldspar Group
The Alloys Of Gold
See All..
 Archives
Jul 2010
Jun 2010
May 2010
Mar 2010
Jan 2010
Dec 2009
Nov 2009
Oct 2009
Jul 2009
Jun 2009
May 2009
Apr 2009
Mar 2009
Feb 2009
Jan 2009
Jul 2008
Jun 2008
May 2008
 Links
Wholesale Beads
Bead
Jewelry making supplies
Beads Craft
Clasp
Gemstone Beads
Sterling Silver Beads