Our Jewellery are handmade from the finest and most natural pearls, and semi precious stones.

What do you know about your jewellery ? Read on.

Freshwater vs. Cultured Pearls
A common question posed by many pearl buyers today is whether or not a particular strand of pearls is composed of freshwater or cultured pearls. This question cannot have a definitive answer because freshwater pearls are in fact cultured pearls. The reason so many buyers distinguish cultured pearls from freshwater pearls is because 'cultured pearls' is a trade term still used today by many to describe Akoya pearls. This is important to understand when shopping for pearls because a seller of freshwater pearls can describe their product as cultured pearls. It is always important to identify the origin of the cultured pearls to make an informed purchase decision because a strand of freshwater pearls will never be as valuable as a strand of equivalent quality Akoya pearls.
Any pearl that is grown and marketed today (other than those from the Persian Gulf ) are considered cultured pearls. This is because these pearls would not exist without human intervention. A freshwater pearl, although it may be solid nacre, is still a cultured pearl because the mussel was nucleated with a piece of mantle tissue. All pearls cultured in saltwater are nucleated as well, but with a piece of mantle-tissue, and a mother-of-pearl bead.

Semi Precious Stones
Amber
The history of Amber reaches back one million years. Formed from the fossilized sticky resin from ancient Pine trees, Amber sometimes contains unusual inclusions such as fossilized insects, bugs and plant life. A perfectly formed fossilized inclusion can greatly enhance the value of Amber.
Amber is a very soft gemstone, so great care should be taken to avoid scratching the stone. Throughout the ages Sorcerers have used amber, believing it to enhance their magical powers. It is known as the 'Stone of the Sun' and has been considered to have purifying powers.
The fossil-storing abilities of this yellow/orange stone are of great use to those studying extinct species. You may remember that fossilized dinosaur remains were stored in Amber in the great Hollywood movie, Jurassic Park.

Emerald
Emerald, the beautiful rich green gemstone is highly prized throughout the world. Whereas inclusions and flaws in other stones may reduce their value and desirability, flaws in Emeralds are often considered to add to their value by adding to each stones unique character and even acting as an assurance as to the stone's authenticity.
Emerald belongs to the same mineral family as Aquamarine, Beryl. It is used in a variety of jewellery including rings, bracelets, pendants and necklaces. Rich sources of Emerald deposits include Southeast Asia, southern Africa, Australia and the USA.

Jade
The ancient Chinese and Egyptians believed Jade to have talismanic qualities, attracting good fortune and personal loyalty. It has been used often in statues, pendants and amulets.
There are two types of Jade: Jadeite and Nephrite. Nephrite is the more common type and is always green on colour. Jadeite however can come in one of several colours, including red, green, black and blue.
Jade is an extremely hard and durable stone and because of this it is often used in gem carving. The most valuable Jade is known as Imperial Jade and comes from Burma.

Lapis Lazuli
The jewel of wisdom and inner vision is blue in colour, sometimes with a violet or green tint. Its blueness stems from the sulphur content of the stone.
Finest quality Lapis Lazuli hails from Afghanistan where it has been mined for around 6000 years. Belief in the stone's spiritual qualities led to its use in Ancient Egypt and Biblical times by priests and Holy men.
In addition to its use in jewellery, Lapis Lazuli is also used as an ornamental stone and has also been used in ground-down form as a base material for paint.

Onyx
This beautiful stone was a favourite of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Indeed, the name Onyx comes from the Greek myth in which Cupid cut the fingernails of the Goddess Venus. The Fates transformed the fingernail clippings into stone to preserve and protect these fallen parts of the Goddess. The name Onyx is derived from the Greek for 'fingernail'.
Although we mostly think of Onyx as a black stone, there is Onyx that has white stripes and a variety called Sardonyx is a reddish brown colour with white and lighter red bands.

Ruby
Ruby belongs to the Corundum mineral family. The red variety of Corundum is known as Ruby, while other coloured stones in that family are known as Sapphire.
Although we think of Ruby red as a deep red colour, rubies can be any shade of red right through to a pink shade. The redness of a ruby depends on the chromium and iron content of the stone.
Although this type of gemstone is hard and durable, care should be taken to avoid fracturing or chipping rubies.

Sapphire
Sapphires are commonly thought of as blue in colour, but they can be nearly any colour. Sapphire belongs to the same family of stones as the ruby called the Corundum family of minerals. Rubies are red, of course, and sapphires are the non-red stones of the Corundum family.
Although sapphire is a hard-wearing stone, one should take care to avoid chipping and fracturing these precious gemstones.

Turquoise
Probably the most highly valued non-opaque gemstone; Turquoise is believed to relieve stress and aid in relaxing the mind.
The name Turquoise comes from the stones origins and introduction into Europe from Eastern Mediterranean traders - literally, in French, it is the stone of the Turks. Its long history dates right back to 6000BC when the ancient Egyptians used the stone.
Iranian turquoise is regarded as the highest quality turquoise. Other regions that produce turquoise include Mexico and the southwestern states of the USA.
Turquoise is a soft stone and you should avoid exposing stones to hot water and household chemicals.

PRECIOUS METALS
Gold
This most famous of precious metals has been highly sought after and valued throughout human history not only because of its rarity and beauty, but also because of its usefulness and that it is often found highly pure in content.
Gold is very malleable (easy to work with) and durable because it does not corrode or tarnish. Its malleability can be realised if we think of how just one ounce of gold can be beaten into a flat sheet of gold leaf measuring 17 square metres.
As for its durability, we only have to consider all the historical relics such as ancient Egyptian artefacts, which have survived intact for thousands of years. Considering this then, one begins to comprehend just how ancient and historically important the craft of goldsmithing is.
Pure gold is very soft and therefore liable to damage. For this reason, most gold jewellery is made of gold alloys. The content of gold alloys consists of gold and other metals. The gold content of jewellery is measured in carats (expressed fractionally as 24ths). For example, 24 carat jewellery is pure gold, while 9 carat gold has a gold content of 9/24ths, or just over one third.

Platinum
Although artefacts containing platinum have been found dating back to the times of the ancient Egyptians, it is thought that they were unaware of this precious metal being present in the mainly gold pieces it has been found in. The first discoveries, which identify Platinum as a distinct precious metal, occurred in 16th century Columbia. Indeed, the name Platinum dates from this time, when Spanish invaders noted its resemblance to silver; the word platinum coming from the Spanish, 'platina del Pinta'.
The demand for platinum in jewellery has greatly increased in recent times, with particularly high demand in Japan. Most of the world's platinum comes from the Transvaal area of South Africa and Russia.

Silver
Though not as highly valued as gold, this soft and lustrous white metal has a proud history dating back thousands of years. Ornamental and decorative silverware has been unearthed in royal tombs dating back to 4000 BC.
Although much harder than gold, silver can be easily worked and beaten into silver leaf for decorative use. And just like gold it is long lasting and hard-wearing.
Silver has been used in jewellery and coinage throughout the ages in the form of a silver alloy. The fineness of silver items is measured as a proportion of the silver content. For instance, Sterling silver has a fineness of 925, which is to say that the silver content amounts to 92.5% of the piece. The other metal content of silver alloys used in jewellery is usually copper. Most silver jewellery has a fineness rating of 800, so there is 80% silver content and 20% copper in most silver jewellery.
High silver content is also evident in white gold. The gold content of white gold usually amounts to just over half, with silver amounting to one quarter of the content.

Bronze
The history of mankind's use of bronze stretches way back to 3000 BC. Bronze is often an alloy made up of the metals copper and tin, although in recent times bronze has also been made using aluminium, manganese or zinc instead of tin.
Being very hard and durable yet easy to cast, bronze has been widely used throughout history for coinage, tools and weaponry. Iron has taken the place of bronze in many uses over the centuries because it is more widely available, rather than it being significantly better or more suited to its uses.

Assaying
Processes of chemical analysis called assaying determine the content and value of precious metals. The history and formulation of the processes involved is rooted in the work of ancient alchemists and goldsmiths who would subject base metals to heat.
Assaying by fire is still the most economical methods of assaying precious metals, even more so than modern methods such as spectrographic analysis because of the amounts of the metals needed to carry out the tests.
The fire assaying method consists of 6 steps:
Sampling. A representative sample is taken.
Fusion. The sample is then melted along with flexes and other agents to collect elements of precious metals in droplets of lead. These are then cooled to produce a 'lead button'.
Coppelation. The 'lead button' is then melted and the impurities are oxidized. Beads of precious metals then form.
Weighing. Beads of gold and silver are then weighed to determine their gold and silver content. Platinum is present in quantities to small to weigh however.
Parting. Each bead is then treated to dissolve out the silver content.
Weighing. Finally, the remaining gold content is weighed and this measurement is subtracted from the gold-silver bead weight previously measured. This calculation then gives us the weight of the silver content.