Archive for October, 2009
Bringing Back Art Fair Memories
Throughout my childhood, I spent summers traveling from town to town with my grandmother. She had discovered woodworking later in life, after my grandfather died, and it became her passion and motivation to move forward. For my part, I liked hopping in the car on Saturday mornings and riding along for dozens or in some case hundreds of miles to an unfamiliar village. Once there, we would unload the car and start pitching the tent.
Arts and crafts fairs also appealed to me because of the wide variety of goods that were on display. I had never seen such exotic items before, and many of them were inspired by world cultures that I only knew about from books. The handcrafted artisan jewelry was beyond compare – available in styles, colors and designs of every stripe. When I was looking at jewelry on the Internet the other day, it brought these memories flooding back.
Avoid Scratches to Precious Jewelry
When I was just a young girl, I inherited a vast selection of priceless jewelry from my grandmother. She had been a scrupulous collector, and each piece was practically in mint condition. The collection came to me in a clunky old jewelry box that didn’t live up to my aesthetic standards. Without knowing any better, I ditched the box and kept the jewelry bunched together in my top dresser drawer. What a mistake.
Before long the pearl necklaces and sterling silver brooches were scratched beyond salvation. I had committed a serious jewelry faux pas by allowing the diamonds to mix with softer stones and precious metals. As it turned out, this whole mess could have been avoided if I knew about the Mohs hardness scale. In general, hard stones like diamonds should be kept away from more delicate pieces.
Take Gold for What It’s Worth
Gold jewelry is the standard by which all other varieties are measured. As one of the most precious metals on earth, gold is coveted by collectors and fashionistas alike. The substance pairs well with diamonds and other gemstones, and it’s an indicator of one’s status in the world. Before you purchase some glamorous gold jewelry of your very own, you should understand way its purity is measured.
The purity of gold is labeled in terms of karats. No piece of gold jewelry will be 100 percent pure as the metal is too soft to stand alone. Nickel, palladium and titanium are often used as alloys. A 24k piece is at least 99 percent pure, while 14k gold earrings must be 58.5 percent pure to meet domestic standards. You might find a karat rating as low as 10 in the U.S., which only amounts to 41.7 percent purity.