Being blue never felt so good! It doesn't have to be all sad songs and rainy days - being blue can be totally beautiful. Here's a great example - a marquise shaped blue kyanite cabochon in a refined rhodium over sterling silver setting that hangs around your neck from a rolo chain. Ethereal hues that you can keep close to your heart. That's worth a smile.
All weights pertaining to gemstones, including diamonds, are minimum weights. Additionally, please note that many gemstones are treated to enhance their beauty. View Gemstone Enhancements and Special Care Requirements for important information.
Sterling silver, also called fine silver, is a beautifully lustrous cool-toned precious metal favored in fine jewelry among other products. The most reflective of all metals (excluding mercury), sterling silver looks stunning by itself and brings out the best hues in an array of colorful gemstones.
Sterling silver can be polished to a higher sheen than platinum. In fact, Ag, the chemical symbol for silver, comes from a word that means “white and shining.” The surface of silver can boast that shiny, polished appearance, or can be brushed, satin, matte, sandblasted, antiqued or oxidized (chemically blackened).
In order to be called sterling silver, a metal must be made up of a minimum of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% alloy (meaning other metals), including but not limited to copper and nickel. The alloy is added to pure silver to make the metal more durable, tougher and harder. Sterling silver is designated a fineness of “925.” Pieces with sterling silver may be marked “sterling.”
Finishes on Sterling Silver
Finishing, or plating, is a common treatment with sterling silver. Popular types of plating are rhodium plating, gold plating and anti-tarnish plating. Plating is used to extend the life and sheen of the jewelry. After sizing or buffing a piece of jewelry with a machine, it must be re-plated to restore the finish.
Caring for Sterling Silver
Sterling silver becomes tarnished as the result of a natural chemical process that occurs when sterling silver is exposed to chemicals in the air, rubber, wool and latex. Humidity also plays a role in accelerating tarnishing. It's easy to keep your sterling silver sparkling, though, by taking a few steps to prevent tarnish and other wear and tear.
Kyanite
Kyanite is a silicate mineral whose name is derived from the Greek word kyanos, meaning blue. This blue mineral can also appear to be white, grey, black or green. It is believed that kyanite will help you understand life lessons and tap into your creative side with art, dance and writing. It is also known to deflect negative energy to bring serenity and inner peace. This stone is thought to be good for communication, mental awareness, meditation, and dream recall.
Due to differing atom concentrations and orientations amongst crystal structures, most gems' hardness rankings can somewhat vary from crystal to crystal within a specific gem classification. Kyanite's identifying characteristic, however, is that it is uniquely anisotropic, which means its hardness often varies widely in the same crystal. For this reason, kyanite ranges 4.5-6.5 on the Mohs Hardness Scale.
As a gemstone, kyanite has been somewhat limited by its varying and unusual hardness ranking. Regardless, it has a lovely appearance when used in jewelry. Notable occurrences include Brazil, Switzerland, Russia, Serbia, India, Kenya, and in the southern United States.