 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
shop collections lookbook locations events press about us blog customer care |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
materials
At iram-inal designs, we use all natural semi-precious stones and silver in our hand-made creations. Each stone has a variance and beauty that, when combined with other stones and findings, makes each jewelry creation unique.
In addition to semi-precious stones and sterling, we also complement our distinctive designs with other components regularly found in jewelry making, such as Swarovski crystals, Czech glass beads, cultured freshwater pearls, and abalone and mother-of-pearl shell, just to name a few. We believe that using components that derive from nature bring us closer to earth’s creation, and allow us to be as individual and “iconic” as is the beauty found in each individual stone.
Click the links below to learn more about the materials we use in our creations at iram-inal designs. To learn more about other semi-precious stones not described here, please see our Fun Facts about Stones section.
(Click on the link to find out about some of the materials we use in our designs!)
Daniel Swarovski, of Bohemia, created the Swarovski company in 1895. He invented and implemented the use of the automatic cutting machine to cut glass crystal, in his crystal cutting factory in Austria.
Swarovski vs. Other Glass Crystals: One main difference that's found in Swarovski is seen in the lead content of the crystal. While fire-polished cyrstals have no lead, and Celestial crystals test at 12% - 14% lead content, the Swarovski crystal tests anywhere from 21% - 32% lead content, depending upon the shape of the crystal.
Swarovski vs. Natural Crystals: Swarovski and other glass crystals are man-made crystals. Manufacturers of leaded glass crystal are found in Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Egypt and elsewhere. In contrast to man-made glass crystal, naturally occurring gemstone crystal is found and mined in earth deposits. Natural crystals are often referred to as semi-precious. Diamonds, rubies, sapphires, amethyst, citrine, peridot, garnet, tourmaline, and aquamarine are all mined in crystal form before they re cut and polished in the gemstone shapes your purchase in the store.
Fire-polished beads are machine faceted, then polished by glazing the stones inside a red-hot oven. This glazing gives them a beautiful, glistening color, with a softer look and a smoother feel, at a less expensive price than the fire-polished Czech crystal. Sight imperfections are to be expected in this bead, and add to the allure of these much sought-after beads.
It was not until the 1550's in Bohemia that a major glass industry was founded in the cities of Jablone, Stanovsko, and Bedrichov (now modern Reichenberg) in Bohemia (known as the current Czech Republic). These glassmakers were mostly decentralized cottage crafters making beads for use in larger, centralized jewelry factories.
A pearl is a hard, rounded object produced by mollusks and oysters. Pearls are normally white, sometimes with a creamy or pinkish tinge, but may be tinted yellow, green, blue, brown, red, purple, or black.
Pearls fit into two categories: Freshwater and saltwater. Freshwater pearls are formed in freshwater mussels that live in lakes, rivers, ponds, and other bodies of fresh water. Most freshwater cultured pearls (pearls made by placing a piece of debris in a mussel to "force" production of a pearl) sold today come from China. By contrast, saltwater pearls grow in oysters that live in the ocean, usually protected by lagoons. Akoya, South Sea and Tahitian are the three main types of saltwater pearls.
Luster, color, size, symmetry and aesthetic perfection (or being close thereto) is what gives pearls greater value. To most jewelers, a strong luster is what makes a pearl go from "good" to "great." Additionally, bigger pearls are considered to be more valuable overall.
Pearl Shapes Pearls come in eight basic shapes: Round, semi-round, button, drop, pear, oval, baroque, and ringed;many of which we use in our iram-inal creations.
Cultivated vs. Natural Cultivated pearls, or pearls that are “grown” by man, are less valuable than pearls that grow on their own in nature. Jewelers can tell the difference between a “cultivated” pearl, and one that is natural by looking at the inside of the pearl with a X-ray. If the pearl was grown by man, the center of the pearl would be a perfect sphere; the sphere shape would be the result of the cultivator inserting perfectly round grit in an effort to create a perfectly round pearl.
If the center of the pearl is not perfectly round, then they jeweler knows that the pearl was not grown in nature. In our custom-made designs, we use cultured freshwater pearls of all shapes and varieties.
The beautiful shine that you see when looking at a piece of jewelry made of mother-of-pearl? It’s called nacre, and is created when a mollusk that is living peacefully is infiltrated by a parasite or foreign object that they cannot remove from their shell. As a result of being occupied by this foreign object, the mollusk begins to entomb the foreign entity by creating layers of nacre around it.
Natural abalone shells collected in the Pacific Ocean with beautiful iridescent colors in shades of blue-green, silver and pink. These abalone shells are composed primarily of calcium carbonate, which was deposited in thin overlapping layers. Reflected light from these layers causes the colorful iridescence, which what we refer to as mother-of-pearl.
The glowing, iridescent inner layer is regularly used in making jewelry, and can also be seen as decorative inlays in wood furniture or guitars.
Mollusks that grow nacre are found in warmer climates, namely in Asia, but are also found growing in the United States, parts of Europe, and other Pacific Ocean regions.
Mother of Pearl is easily dyable, and can be found in a wide variety of colors.
Abalone Shell, which is also used in many iram-inal creations, comes from a mollusk call Haliotis, which is also commonly referred to as an ear shell. It is the pearly interior of the shell that is formed in to the beautiful abalone shell beads that we use in many of our designs.
The inside of the shell consists of iridescent, silvery white to green-red mother-of-pearl in certain varieties, while other varieties (there are over 300 species of “ear shell” mollusks found in various parts of the world) show pinks and reds with predominant deep blues, greens and purples. The shell of the abalone is known for being exceptionally strong. The mollusks that create abalone shell are found primarily in South Africa, New Zealand, and the coasts of Australia.
Everyone has a birthstone that represents the time of their birth, regardless of the culture or place where that person is born. In America, birthstones are assigned based on the Gregorian Calendar.
That “birthstone” – normally of the semi-precious variety – symbolizes the month of birth for everyone. The question: Which stone is connected to your birth month? Is there more than one stone that represents the month of your birth? Well, that all depends on which chart you’re using to determine your birthstone. Indeed, there are three different categories for the birthstone. Amongst the many different birthstone groupings that exist, we are going to focus on three particular groupings: Traditional, Zodiac, and Mystical birthstone charts. The Traditional category includes the stones that are most often recognized by Americans as birthstones. It is speculated that the Traditional birthstone list originates from the Christian gospel, although this is not confirmed. Stones assigned to months are discussed the Christian Books of Exodus and Revelation. In the Book of Exodus 39:10-14, the “stones” are discussed in The Breastplate of Aaron section, which states:
(10) Then they mounted four rows of precious stones on it. In the first row there was a ruby, a topaz and a beryl; (11) in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and an emerald; (12) in the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst; (13) in the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper. They were mounted in gold filigree settings. (14) There were twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.
In the Book of Revelation 21:19-20, the foundation stones of New Jerusalem are listed in the order of the Roman calendar, reading:
(19) And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; (20) The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
Adopted in 1912 by the National Association of Jewelers, Jewelers of America, this list is generally used in America, and other countries, including Austria and Thailand. includes the birthstones that are commonly associated with birthdays: the diamond, the ruby, the opal, etc. (click on the month in the chart below to learn about that month's birthstone ):
Here are some "fun facts" about birthstones: Colors:
Origin of Name:
Where in the World is it Found?
Did you Know?
Metaphysical Properties:
February Birthstone – Amethyst Colors:
Origin of Name: Comes from the Greek phrase a methuskein, meaning, "to intoxicate." a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness; the ancient Greeks and Romans wore amethyst and made drinking vessels of it in the belief that it would prevent intoxication. Where in the World is it Found?
Did you Know?
Metaphysical Properties
Colors:
Origin of Name:
Where in the World is it Found?
Did You Know?
Metaphysical Properties:
Colors:
Origin of Name:
Where in the World is it Found?
Did you Know?
Colors:
Origin of Name:
Where in the World is it Found?
Metaphysical Properties:
Did you Know?
Colors:
Where in the World is it Found?
Did you Know?
Colors:
Origin of Name:
Where in the World is it Found?
Did you Know?
Colors:
Origin of a Name:
Where in the World is it Found?
Did You Know?
September Birthstone – Sapphire (Blue) Colors:
Origin of a Name:
Where in the World is it Found?
Did You Know?
Colors:
Origin of a Name:
Where in the World is it Found?
Did You Know?
Colors:
The Origin of a Name:
Where in the World is it Found?
Did You Know?
Colors :
The Origin of a Name:
Where in the World is it Found?
Did You Know?
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||