Gems en Vogue 18K Gold Accented 8.02ctw Roll-Top Ametrine & Zircon Ring

Zircon:
Zircon often suffers for its name’s similarity to “cubic zirconia,” the simulated diamond. The stone zircon, however, is actually a beautiful natural gemstone. It is named from the Persian word “zargun,” meaning “gold-colored.” This is despite the fact that it comes in a wide range of rainbow colors . The majority of zircons are brown or yellow-brown, while pure red and green are the most valuable colors. The yellow-red to reddish-brown variety is called “hyacinth.”

For many years, the most popular type of zircon was the colorless variety. More than any other natural stone, colorless zircons produce a brilliant sparkle similar to diamonds . The most popular color today tends to be the bright pastel blue variety. Sometimes called “starlite,” blue zircon has recently become considered an alternative birthstone for December.

Zircon is one of the heaviest gemstones, meaning that it will look smaller than other varieties of the same weight. It ranks a hardness between 6.5-7.5 on the Mohs Scale and is mined in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar and Australia.

Travelers during the 11th century wore zircon amulets for protection and to encourage welcome greetings on their journeys. In the Middle Ages, the stone was said to bring wisdom and prosperity to its owner. Hindu mythology even mentions the gem when referencing the Kalpa Tree, which was a glowing tree covered with gemstone fruit and leaves of zircon.

Ametrine
Ametrine is a variety of quartz that exhibits the best aspects of both purple amethyst and yellow citrine within the same crystal. These bicolor yellow and purple quartz gemstones have a hardness of 7.0 on the Mohs Scale and are ideally suited for a variety of jewelry uses.

Ametrine is most typically faceted in a rectangular shape with a 50/50 pairing of amethyst and citrine. When cut into emerald and pear shapes, the color distinction is most notable. Sometimes a checkerboard pattern of facets is added to the top to increase light reflection. Ametrine can also be cut to blend the two colors so that the resulting stone is a mix of yellow, purple and peach tones throughout the stone. When ametrine is fashioned as the less-common brilliant round shape, its colors reflect and blend together to create the peach-like color.

Ametrine is especially popular among artistic cutters and carvers who can play with the colors, creating landscapes in the stone. Amethyst's purple and citrine's yellow are opposite each other on the color wheel. They are called complementary colors, meaning that they enhance each other, and are considered by artists to be excellent colors to use together. Because its beauty lies in the coexistence of the two colors, ametrine is usually recovered in larger sizes; over five carats is most popular, which allows for the appreciation of the pronounced color contrast.

The Anahi Mine in Bolivia is the major world producer of ametrine. The mine first became famous in the seventeenth century when a Spanish conquistador received it as a dowry upon marrying a princess from the Ayoreos tribe, named Anahi. Ametrine was introduced to Europe through the conquistador's gifts to the Spanish queen. The stone is relatively inexpensive, considering that it comes from only a few mines in the world, including Bolivia and Brazil. Several suppliers have indicated that the ametrine mines have run out, and therefore quality material is now very difficult to obtain.

As a newcomer, ametrine does not yet have folklore or historical significance attached to it, as do amethyst and citrine. Some sources believe, however, that the best aspects of amethyst and citrine lore should be attributed to ametrine since it is a combination of both gems.

Palladium:
A selection of our jewelry is made of sterling palladium alloy. Palladium is a member of the platinum group of precious metals. By replacing a portion of the copper content used in standard sterling silver with palladium, this proprietary formula renders a precious metal with superior performance attributes. Sterling palladium is five times more tarnish-resistant than standard sterling silver and has strength similar to that of 14K gold.

Palladium has been used as a precious metal in jewelry since 1939, originally as an alternative to platinum for making white gold. Its naturally white color requires no rhodium plating. Additionally, palladium is proportionally much lighter than platinum and is ideal for use in heavier gemstone jewelry. It is a more expensive alloy than nickel, but it seldom causes the allergic reactions that nickel alloy can.

To care for your plated jewelry items:

Customization: Complimentary customization is available for ring size and/or plating and will NOT affect your return policy! Go to www.contactgev.com as soon as you place your order to send us a customization request or from 9AM-5PM ET call our toll-free number 1-800-268-7962. Complimentary customization is a time sensitive service that is only provided BEFORE the product ships and will require 2-3 additional business days for shipping. Any customization request received after the item has been shipped is NOT complimentary. Customized items are eligible for return with the original tag attached.