History of the Wedding Ring

The history of the wedding ring began in Northern Africa with the Egyptians. Egyptians settled along the fertile Nile river gathered sedges, rushes and reeds from the flood plains and twisted and braided them into rings for fingers and larger ones for bracelets. The Egyptians believed that the circle was the symbol of eternity, and so then, were the rings.

These rings were worn on the same finger as today, the fourth finger of the left hand, because it was believed that finger had a vein that led directly from the heart. When the Greeks conquered Egypt, they carried on this tradition, and then it passed onto the Romans. The Romans also believed in the ring finger and the vein from the heart, but instead of giving the ring as a token of love, it was seen as a symbol of ownership. A man laid claim to his woman with giving the ring.

These early wedding rings lasted at most a year from regular wear and so other materials were sought after for use. Leather, bone and ivory were then fashioned into rings and used in the same way.

In Asia, puzzle rings were popular for wedding rings. These rings came apart if they were taken off the hand and than had to be put back together by someone who had the knowledge to do it. Middle Eastern men often gave these rings to their wives as a way of knowing if they were being loyal to them or not. Remember, if the ring came off, it came apart. Very clever.

The earliest known wedding rings made of metal were very akward and unrefined. Gemstones were added to make them more attractive. This can be seen in Eqyptian heiroglyphs. At this time, jewelry was more to show wealth than for sentimental reasons.

In early Rome, iron was the chosen metal for rings while others were using copper or brass. Iron symbolized the strength of a man's love for his wife. It also was a sign of ownership. The woman became the property of the man.

Silver became the metal of choice in 17th century England and France. Poesy, or posy rings, were widely popular then. These were rings inscribed with a love poem, and some reference to faith and hope included in the verse. Silver was also popular in renaissance Italy for engagement rings, decorated with enamel engraving.

In medieval Europe, coinage gold was used to make rings, with gemstones added. Rubies were often chosen because their color red was like the color of the heart. Sapphires and diamonds were also used.

Today, both engagement rings and wedding rings are very special pieces of jewelry. Gold, white gold, platinum and titanium are currently the metals of choice. As in ancient times, wedding rings are not only used for adornment, but are symbolic of love, fidelity and commitment. The wearing of wedding rings, which began in ancient times, is still a recognizable symbol of the union of a man and woman in matrimony.

(Article sources: Ezine Articles, "The History of Engagement Rings and Wedding Bands" by Reno Charlton and "The History of the Wedding Ring-A Recognizable Symbol of Love" by Matt Jacks)

May's Birthstone, Emerald

Emerald is the birthstone for the month of May. Emeralds are part of the Beryl family of minerals. It's green color is caused by the addition of chromium and iron to it's mineral structure during it's formation. How much or how little of these other two minerals will determine how deep green the emerald will be. And with emeralds, the deeper the green, the more valuable the stone.

Emeralds are known for having inclusions (flaws and veins of chemicals). This is a natural part of the stone and does not take away from the it's value. It is actually proof that the stone is genuine.


A green colored oil is often used to enhance the color of the emerald. The oil also fills in any cracks or fractures the gem may have. It is recommended that the emerald be cleaned with a soft, dry cloth. Do not use cleaners, chemicals, hot soapy water, or an ultrasonic cleaner on your gem. This can remove the oil and make the fractures more visible. The oil may also evaporate as the gem ages. In this case, use a high-grade mineral oil to enhance the stone.

Be very careful when wearing an emerald. They are one of the softest gemstones and dropping, banging it against a hard surface, and even extreme temperatures can create internal cracks within the stone.

The earliest findings of emerald mines were in Egypt around 2000 B.C. The Egyptian Queen Cleopatra was known to have the most famous mines. She was known for wearing lots of large emerald jewelry and for giving the gem away to her important visitors. Emeralds have also been found in mines in Siberia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Brazil, Australia, Russia, Zimbabwe, Columbia, and in North Carolina in the US.

According to legend, the emerald strengthens memory and intelligence. It is said to drive away evil spirits and aid in predicting the future. Healers believe the gem is useful in healing relationships, for over all health, and specifically for the heart.

January's Birthstone, the Garnet

The American Association of Jewelers, in 1912, decided which gemstone would be the official stone for each birth month. Garnets, as we know, have been chosen for January. Garnets are also used as gifts for the 2nd and 6th wedding anniversaries.

Garnet is a very durable stone ranging on the Mohs scale of hardness at a 7 to 7.5. The oldest known garnet finding was on a necklace worn by a young man in a grave dating back to 3000 B.C., which is proof of the stones durability.
Garnet is actually the name of a family of 10 different gems that have a similar chemical structure, the main difference between the stones is in the variation of color, density and refractive abilities. Another interesting fact that I did not know about was that the garnet spans a variety of colors, all except for blue. Of course, they are best known in a variety of deep red.

The U.S, (Arizona), South Africa, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Myanmar (Burma), Scotland, Switzerland and Tanzania are all areas where garnets have been found.

Throughout time, there have been many ancient traditions and legends about the garnet. They were believed to have healing, strength and protective powers. It has been said that the garnet can cure the wearer of all disease and preserve his health, bring him honors and protect him during times of travel. In medieval times, the stones were thought to cure depression and protect against bad dreams. According to legend, Noah used a finely cut, glowing garnet to illuminate the ark during the dark, rainy days and nights. Christian tradition considered the blood-red garnet as a symbol of Jesus' sacrifice. The Greeks believed that it guarded children from drowning.

The King of Saxony is said to have had a garnet over 465 carats in size. I just had to include that fact. I would LOVE to see that. What an incredible stone that had to have been.

HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR GARNET
As with most gemstones, it is important to protect your garnet from harsh blows, extreme temperatures and chemicals. You can clean your garnet with soapy water and a soft brush. Rinse the stone well after cleaning it. You can also use an ultrasonic cleaner for all garnets except the demantoid variety.

March's Birthstone, Aquamarine

Aquamarine is the birthstone for March. Its name comes from the Latin "aqua," meaning water, and "mare," meaning sea. Aquamarines are available in the pale blues, pale blue-greens, and pale greens. This stone is usually clear, and the iron content of the stone gives it its green color. In the past, green aquamarines were highly valued. Now it is the bluer shades of the stone that are prized. Depending on how you look at the stone, you may see shades of blue so pale it looks colorless. Almost all aquamarines available to consumers have been heat treated to deepen the blue color and get rid of the green color. These gemstones are almost entirely free of inclusions.

An aquamarine is a very hard stone, ranging on the Mohs scale at 7.5 to 8. The hardness of the stone makes it more durable and less likely to scratch.

The best way to clean an aquamarine is with warm, soapy water and an old toothbrush. Be sure to rinse the soap away thoroughly. Be sure to use warm water and not hot. The extreme in temperature for aquamarines, and many other gemstones, can damage the stone. It is best to avoid harsh chemicals and household detergents. An ultrasonic cleaner is also not advisable.

The best quality aquamarines come from Brazil. There stones weighing up to several kilos have been found. Other areas include Nigeria, Zambia, Madagascar, the Soviet Union, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and the United States.

In ancient times, the aquamarine was regarded as a sailor's lucky stone. The Egyptians and Sumerians believed it was a symbol of happiness and everlasting youth. According to folklore, the aquamarine would bring victory in battle and legal disputes. It was also considered an especially effective cure for problems with the jaw, throat, stomach and toothaches. During the Middle Ages, the aquamarine was considered a very popular oracle, and when cut into the shape of a crystal ball, could help predict the future.

According to old traditions, the wearer of an aquamarine was promised a happy marriage. Aquamarine is also considered the anniversary stone for the 19th year of marriage.

Semi Precious Cabochons Common Terms

Cabochon: A gem that is cut round without facets into the shape of a smooth polished dome.

Semi-precious: Traditionally, the precious gemstones included diamond, ruby, sapphire and emerald. Semi-precious gemstones included everything else. Other gems have also been labeled precious at times, including opal, amethyst and pearl. No longer are gems referred to as precious and semi-precious by many in the gem trade.

Most gemstones are naturally made. But others are man-made such as gold stone. Gems can also be treated in many ways.

Treated Gemstone: A stone can be heated, dyed, irradiated, or stained in order to improve the color or the clarity. A stone is also considered treated if it has had cracks or fractures concealed with filling material.

Fracture Filling: Small cracks can interrupt the flow of light through the stone, creating white or "dead" spots in the color. Fractures are sometimes filled with oil, wax, glass, epoxy, or borax. These materials allow the light to pass through smoothly.

I often speak of inclusions in my descriptions of cabochons.

Inclusions: Inclusions are characteristics which are inside a stone or extend to the inside from the surface. They are normal within gemstones and most do not affect the structural integrity of the stone. These include:
- Clouds- hazy areas in a stone
- Needles- long thin inclusions, also called growth tubes
- Cracks- also called fractures, breaks or feathers. Straight flat cracks are called cleavages.
- Halos- circular fractures
- Growth or Color Zoning- uneven color distribution in a stone
- Cavities- holes or indentations extending from the surface into the stone
- Chips- notches or chips

Calibrated: A calibrated gemstone is one that is cut to a standard size that is uniform with commercial jewelry settings. The measurement is in millimeters, such as 10mm round, 16x12mm oval, etc.

That is all for today's lesson on common gemstone and cabochon terminology. I hope this is helpful for the novice jeweler and anyone just interested in gems.

Brass

Brass is an alloy. That means two metals are melted and blended together to make a unique new property. In the case of brass, it's any alloy of copper and zinc.

On their own, copper will turn blue, green, or dark and tarnish rapidly. Zinc will also turn very dark. Together, they are much more resistant to tarnish. Brass itself will vary in color from a dark copperish gold to a bright yellow gold. Many people like it's golden appearance for jewelry. Brass is an inexpensive substitute for gold.

Like sterling silver, brass does tarnish, especially in great humidity or air pollution. Just use a soft cotton cloth to polish it to its original shine.

Plating adheres very well to brass, but it will slowly dull and fade away. How fast this occurs depends on the wearer's body chemistry, and the quality and humidity of the air. To help the plating last longer, do not use a jewelry cloth to polish the metal. Just use a soft cloth and wipe clean. Do not use any cleaners either. And the best way to keep the silver plating tarnish free is to store your jewelry piece in a zip lock bag that is airtight.

I Have a Dream

Over this year, I have purchased many items for my bead store that have never made it to Tiger Beads. I would just buy more and more and get overwhelmed with all the photographing and listing I needed to do. Buying the beads and gems is always much more fun.

But I have a dream! I am going to do my best to photo and list the cabs and beads and pendants I just have stored and get them in my store. I also need to rephotograph some of my beads. Some of my photos just do not do justice to how pretty some of these beads really are.

So if you need supplies, keep an eye on my bead store for more additions.

And a Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers and their families.

My Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday. I went to work and my boss had made me a special cake. You have to see this.


I call it kitty litter cake.

My boss is very creative. And she loves to cook. This cake is made with german chocolate cake mix, white cake mix, some pudding, and crumbled cookies on top. She melted tootsie rolls and they really looked like turds, which she placed in and on top of the cake. It was made in a kitty litter plastic box, with a litter liner, and the cake server was a litter scooper.

I know it sounds gross, and it looked too gross for some of my coworkers, but I really appreciated all the work she put into it and how clever it was. And I have to say, it did taste good too.

Scenes From My Favorite Vacation Spot

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I went back to our favorite cabin in the woods. This was out 2nd visit and we enjoyed it as much as the first time. There was one major change since the last time we were there. The suspension bridge was replaced with a new, more durable bridge.


You can see the old bridge from the photos. A little rickety I would say.


This photo gives you an idea of how long the bridge is.


Path from the cabin into the woods.


A look at the river from the cabin.




And a couple of good river photos.

Hopefully we will make it back next year.

And New Necklaces to Share

This first necklace has a purple flourite briolette (gemstone drop) as the focal piece. It hangs from a sterling silver chain with a pretty sterling clasp. The sweet little flowers are made of pewter.



I may have all ready shared this necklace. I took some fast photos of it maybe a week ago. It is made with amazonite beads and all sterling silver.



Both of these necklaces are available at my NEW Artfire online store.

New Earrings

Simple, simple. That seems to be the style these days. At least from what I am noticing. Simplier, smaller and pretty. Both of these pairs of earrings are made with a chalcedony briolette (drop), one a deep red color, the other, a pretty pink-purple color, depending on how the light reflects from the stone.




Both of these earrings are available at my Maria Bella Jewelry store.

Artfire is On Fire

Artfire, an online selling venue for handmade arts and crafts is on fire!! They keep adding more and more new features to the site to make it very artist friendly. The latest addition is the ability to download all your listings from Etsy to Artfire with minimal editing to each listing. It's a great feature. It takes a lot of time putting a listing on both venues. This will be a great time saver.

Thanks Artfire!

Finally

Oh my God... I finally had some time and initiative to make a piece of jewelry. I also got to get in touch with how much I miss being creative. This is the necklace I finished...



This necklace is made with amazonite and sterling beads and the cable chain is also sterling. I made it so that it can be worn as a necklace 18", or anywhere up to 20" long.

I have more ideas for necklaces so stay tuned.

Wire-Wrappers

Creators of Wire Wrapped Jewelry

Visit Wire-Wrappers

If you like viewing wire wrapped jewelry, this is a new site I recently joined. If you make wire wrap jewelry, you can join also if you are interested. Take a look.

One Over Grown Ground Cover

My garden has gotten out of control. Besides the berry stalks that want to take over my yard, we have lots of ivy, and 1 overgrown ground cover.


We hired 2 gardeners to start the cleanup but found out that that is quite expensive. Now I am continuing on with the clean up process.

A word of advice to my fellow gardeners, if your spouse or partner suggests a plant that you are not really fond of planting, just say no. Or make an agreement that when the time comes and it takes over the yard and he decides that maybe we don't want it there anymore, that he remove the plant. Get it in writing!

I love my husband, don't get me wrong. But this ground cover is taking days to remove. Intertwined with the thorned berry stalks and the ivy, it makes removing the ground cover a real treat!




These 2 photos show the weeded area in the foreground, and the green area you see in back is the forest of weeds. 12 hours of labor has all been expended and see how far this project has gone. I approximate another 12 hours in the weeding, then I want to put a ground cover on top. All of this just in time for fall!

BIG Bead Sale at Tiger Beads

Time to clear out the inventory to make way for new items at Tiger Beads. I have many great bead deals listed, many strands below wholesale. Take a look. You may find just what you need for your next creation!

A Name Change

I decided to change the name of my jewelry from Testagrossa Jewelry Design to Maria Bella Jewelry. I have wanted to change the name for a while but was not sure what to change it to. Maria Bella was a name my father used to call me when I was very young. I think the new name sounds prettier, more feminine.

I have not been writing much on my blog since the beginning of the year. I do not have as much to show because I have not been making jewelry. I hope to get back to it very soon.

Looking for Wire Wrap Jewelry Artists

I have just started a "Top 100" list for wire wrap jewelry artists. It is essentially a directory where people can look for wire wrap artists all in one place. You can attach your blog or your website and I am hoping to create more traffic for you, and me.

If you are interested, please go to http://WireWrapJewelry.goTop100.com. And if you know other wire wrap artists that maybe interested, please pass the word. I believe the more talent listed will help everyone get more exposure.

A Fun New Feature

I was just reading an article on Rena Klingenberg's latest newsletter by Rita Juhlin about a cool new feature you could add to you blog. It is called LinkWithin and it is a great gadget that searches your blog and brings up three prior blog entries and places them under your post which relate to that post. You can see it on this blog. The posts are linked so anyone can click on your other stories. It's really cool! Try it out.

FedEx Delivers a New Order

Hurray! FedEx just delivered a new order from one of my suppliers. Always one of the best days in my whole life. Just a joke. My son used to say that whenever something good happened to him such as seeing a Batman movie or not having to go to school for some reason.

But it is exciting. Receiving new gemstones is like being a kid in a candy store. As a jewelry artist, these are the tools of the trade. Not the boring tools like pliers and wire cutters, but the pretty, fancy stuff, that enhance a design.

I ordered cabachons in different stones than I currently have available at Tiger Beads, and new briolettes, labradorite and iolite. I hope to get the photography started today so I can list them in the store.

Stop by soon, even just to look if you have an interest in gemstones.