Zilberschmuck

11/01/2021

Chocolate layer cake with buttercream leaves and 13 pumpkins. The tree is sculpted from bittersweet Callebaut chocolate and toasted hazelnut fudge. The tombstone reads RIP 50's.

12/20/2018

A special family birthstone bracelet made by Brenda Roy. Sterling silver, yellow and rose gold with aquamarine, sapphire and topaz.

12/18/2017

My customer wanted to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary with a custom jewellery piece and I designed this pendant using their birthstones to represent the family. Local goldsmith Tony Leung created the piece from my drawing in 14K white gold with Aquamarines, London Blue Topaz and Blue Sapphire. Isn’t it pretty?

09/09/2017

Don Stuart and I at the opening reception of his exhibition, 50 Years of Creative Excellence, and what excellence it is! The room is filled with such beautiful work, what a talented man, so glad to see the show. The exhibition is at the Art Gallery of Northumberland, Victoria Hall, 55 King St West, Cobourg, ON. Open until 4:00 pm daily except closed on Mondays, show continues to October 29th. A must see!

04/13/2017

Misinterpretation, Misunderstanding and Mistakes – Understand Incorrectly

This article is regarding what you thought ‘it’ meant, because that is what you were lead to believe. Over the years I have heard many stories about jewellery and it occurred to me that some are inaccurate, misleading, or just plain incorrect, and I would like to talk about things that have been misunderstood and misinterpreted, but I’m not including any of the deliberate deception that some people do to fraudulently deceive the public, that is a story for another day.

My first example is the Mizpah ring, a gold band with the word MIZPAH engraved on it.
During the Victorian era this jewellery was very popular. The word Mizpah is Hebrew, meaning watchtower and the piece of jewellery was to represent the love between two people separated during war or bad times, however, if you read the scripture from which it came, it actually means something else. The quote to which I am referring to is Genesis 31:49, “And Mizpah; for he said, The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.” The verse sounds so loving, having God watch over the two separated sweethearts, but interestingly enough, if you read the whole chapter in the bible it is a story about Jacob and Laban, where Laban accuses Jacob of stealing from him and taking his daughters, and Mizpah, the “watchtower”, is the pile of stones at the border between their two properties on which they swear on to have God as a witness so that each shall not cross over this border to do bad and evil to the other. So it’s not really love after all is it, it’s actually two men promising not to do bad things to one another anymore. So there you have it, I believe the Mizpah ring fits into the category of misinterpretation on my list.

For misunderstanding I choose marcasite jewellery because the jewellery is actually made with pyrite but it is called marcasite. Both pyrite and marcasite are minerals that have the same composition chemically, but different crystal structures, and you could never confuse the two if you saw them in their crystal form. Pyrite and marcasite are polymorphs; Random House defines polymorphism as, “crystallization into two or more chemically identical, but crystallographically distinct forms”. It’s the different crystal structures that created the different physical properties. I don’t want to get too technical here but, to give you another more well known example of polymorphs we have graphite and diamond, both made from pure carbon, but the graphite didn’t receive the same pressure and heat during its formation that diamond did, causing the atoms in graphite to create weak bonds in its structure, which makes it soft, and a good lubricant. In the case of a diamond all the bonds are strong in every direction making it the hardest mineral structure on Earth. No one could ever confuse a diamond with graphite, but some members of the public are not aware that marcasite jewellery is actually pyrite jewellery. Both marcasite and pyrite are composed of Iron disulfide (FeS2) and they are a similar golden colour but the difference is in their crystal growth. Jewellery could never be made from marcasite because it is unstable and when exposed to air it decomposes and changes into sulphurous acid and sulfur as it decays, and that is not good for any jewellery. Just imagine the burns on your skin! So why do they call this jewellery marcasite? Some speculate that because pyrite is also known as ‘Fools Gold’ it would not sell well in the jewellery trade so for marketing purposes they called it marcasite because it was similar, but didn’t have the bad press already. So let’s call a spade a spade and from now on refer to this jewellery as pyrite and don’t continue the misunderstanding by telling people it’s marcasite when it isn’t; who cares if in its past pyrite was called Fools Gold, most people don’t even use the term anymore.

Finally, we come to mistakes. Many people make mistakes when they believe what they were told and continue telling the story as if it was true without confirming it. Most have seen the different Antique Shows on TV and the variety of stories about a family heirloom, where it came from, and how long it had been in the family, when the appraiser tells them the truth. Your Aunt June thought she had a genuine gemstone because the seller told her it was, but it was actually glass. So how does this happen? A lot of people just assume what they are told is fact and don’t verify it and the story gets passed down with the item. Many years ago, before I studied gemology, I purchased an antique necklace that was labeled amethyst, even on the receipt, and for years I believed it was an amethyst, but it wasn’t until I began my gem identification studies that I took out all my jewellery and had a more educated look at it, and to my dismay I discovered the stone was just plain purple glass, not amethyst. So if you are not purchasing gemstone jewellery at a reputable jeweller and you are buying off the Internet, a garage sale, flea or antique market, do not rely on what someone thinks it is. If you are doing it for fun and looking for inexpensive items, buy a loupe and learn what to look for; if you want to purchase a very expensive stone, pay to have a gem laboratory confirm the stone for you before you purchase it. With my gemological education and loupe in hand I now take a closer and keener look at the piece so I don’t make a mistake by just taking someone’s word for it.

Sources
Holy Bible
The Random House Dictionary, The Unabridged Edition
GIA Diamond Grading Lesson 4 - How Diamonds Form, Course Materials 2014
Handbook of Rocks Minerals & Gemstones by Walter Schumann, English translation 1993, HarperCollins Publishers and Houghton Mifflin Company

12/11/2016

New jewellery store opened in the east end at 1015 Queen Street, just east of Pape. I'm working today noon to 5:00. Come out and see us. https://www.facebook.com/ontheotherhandjewellery/

Fine & Fashion Jewellery, in the heart of Leslieville at Queen and Pape.

11/25/2016

Plagioclase feldspar - labradorite

Everyone loves the pretty flash of colour from labradorite. It always reminds me of the iridescent Costa Rican, Morpho butterfly, as it flutters along a forest riverside. While I’ve never been to Costa Rica, I have seen the beautiful butterfly in a conservatory and visualizing a forest is far more romantic to me then a greenhouse, so I’m going to use that image.

So what is labradorite and where does it come from? In 1770, a missionary on an island off the coast of Labrador, Newfoundland, first discovered this pretty flashy feldspar and named it after the region it was found, and while many people think that Newfoundland is the only source for labradorite, it can be found in many places in North and South America and Norway, but the best quality pieces come from Finland and Madagascar. The Finland variety, has the gem trade name Spectrolite, and is the most prized labradorite of all for its spectral colours. Labradorite belongs to the group called feldspar, (in gemology, a group is composed of a number of closely related species like feldspar and garnet) and feldspar is the most widespread mineral on earth, and includes the gemstones Labradorite, Sunstone and Moonstone. There are two basic groups of feldspars, and all of them contain aluminum, oxygen and silicon and with the addition of other elements this creates the different feldspar, those that contain potassium, and those that contain calcium and sodium. Plagioclase feldspar contains a mixture of sodium and calcium and these include labradorite, the focus of this article.

What is the colourful flash called and what causes it? Labradorite displays labradorescence, which is the broad flash of colour that appears and disappears when the gem is moved; most often, it is just a plain looking dark greyish stone, but when it shows the phenomenal colours the feldspar becomes the gemstone labradorite (Fig. 1). The phenomenal colours are caused by interference of light reflecting off the gem’s layered structure. The triclinic crystal structure, which labradorite belongs to, have three leaning angles, none are at right angles, and all of the axes are of varied lengths. In the case of labradorite, layers of albite are intergrown with plagioclase feldspar in fine layers and when light hits these microscopic layers, its wavelengths shift. The wavelengths interfere with each other making parallel bands of shimmering spectral colour; typically blues and greens called labradorescence, but can contain other colours (Fig. 2).

Feldspar are softer gems with cleavage in two directions, so they require protective settings and I would not recommend it in a ring or bracelet if you are hard on your jewellery, but a pair of earrings or a necklace of labradorite will bring you years of enjoyment.

Sources
Gemological Institute of America, Coloured Stones course materials – 2015.

11/03/2016

I have heard many stories regarding lost, stolen, and damaged jewellery over the years and although I can’t help you find your lost treasures, I have a few tips for keeping what you have looking its best. Some of what you’ll be reading may seem like common sense, but it warrants being said to encourage those that take chances to reconsider before it costs them in the end. The photos refer to tip #9. I hope you find this information useful.

1. Do not wear your jewellery while cleaning and cooking. Chemical cleaners can be harmful to metals and stones as well as the activity may cause damage. Wearing your rings while cooking can expose them to many things that can make them potentially harmful, like bacteria from raw chicken for instance.

2. Do not wear your jewellery while exercising. Chlorine in swimming pools and saltwater oceans are not good for your jewellery. Wearing your jewellery at the gym is not a good idea as your sweat will tarnish silver and lifting weights can scratch and dent your rings. Best to leave it at home - for an extra incentive, many people have had their lockers broken into at the gym and their jewellery taken.

3. Take your jewellery off before bathing or going to bed. You will end up making your jewellery dirty by showering or bathing with it on. Fabrics, hair and clothing can catch on your jewellery while sleeping.

4. Use the last on, first off rule. After you finish grooming/dressing put on your jewellery and make it the first thing you remove before un******ng. Never apply hair spray or perfume when you are wearing pearls.

5. Apply hand cream and allow it to absorb into skin before putting on your rings. When you use hand cream and don’t remove your rings, the stones get caked with the lotion and they will not sparkle. Best advice is to apply your hand cream before you go to bed when you are not going to be wearing your rings.

6. When not wearing your jewellery store rings in slot storage boxes, lay necklaces and pendants flat and not touching one another. Stacking metals causes scratches. When travelling always have pieces bagged separately inside a box to avoid unnecessary damage. Separate chains from pendants whenever possible or double bag the pendant by putting the pendant into a small bag leaving the chain outside the bag and place this bag inside another larger bag.

7. Clean silver jewellery with a silver polish cloth. These are available at department jewellery stores. It is a soft cloth that cleans sterling silver as you rub it over the surface.
Here are a few other products on the market.
“Hagerty Silver Care” in a blue jar, is a pink paste that has an anti-oxidizing agent ‘R-22’ in it. To clean, use the same method as above.

“Hagerty Silver Clean” & “Connoisseurs Silver Jewellery Cleaner” liquid cleaners.
These chemical dips have harsh chemicals, are irritants and should only be used on items that are too difficult to clean using the other methods listed above. I have found that habitual cleaning with the liquid cleaners can cause the silver to tarnish more often. I recommend using them on silver only without stones, never for pearls and no more than 5 seconds, then wash and dry very well. If not dried properly, a ‘stain’ will appear on the silver within a couple of days and you’ll have to clean it again.

Deliberately oxidized ‘antiqued’ sterling silver should not be cleaned with chemical dips. A commercial chemical cleaner made by Hagerty offers a special product to clean patina silver. “Hagerty Silver Foam” comes in a white jar- this brown paste is used with a moist sponge to make foam and rub off tarnish without affecting the antique finish. Apply paste and foam up on the silver then rinse in clean water and dry with a soft cloth. Always test a small area first. It is very mild and is good to use on both silver and gold.

8. Home recipe for cleaning dirty (not tarnished) gold and silver pieces containing synthetic, diamonds and precious stones. Soak in equal parts rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide and hot water for 10 minutes, (if it is too hot for your hands- it’s too hot), rinse in clean water and dry with a soft cloth.
NEVER clean an opal with anything other than water and NOT HOT water as opals are sensitive to sudden changes in temperature and can crack. To clean pearls moisten a soft cloth and roll the strand along the cloth to remove any dirt. Always store pearls in a soft fabric padded pouch and never in plastic bags, as they need humidity.

9. For pieces without stones you can use the ‘salt and tinfoil method’. Line the bottom of a bowl with tin foil, (shiny side up or down does not matter), pour one tablespoon of baking soda, one tablespoon of salt on top of the foil and cover with hot water, (not so hot it would burn), add jewellery in a single layer and make sure it touches the tin foil. Rinse in clean water and dry with a soft cloth. This method can also be done in your sink to clean large silver pieces. Works like a charm on your silver plated flatware.

10. Use an old soft bristle toothbrush to clean interior of rings by adding a little bit of dish soap to the brush to clean the dirt out. When using a toothbrush to clean in and around prong set diamonds, be careful not to force the bristles into the setting in case you loosen the prongs.

11. If you are susceptible to rashes from wearing your ring, you can put it in rubbing alcohol for a few minutes while you take the time to brush your teeth, this will help to prohibit skin and bacteria from building up on the inside of the shank. Clean your teeth and clean your ring, two things done.

Here’s to keeping your jewellery lovely and enjoying it for years to come!

10/15/2016

Opals, a brief history and care of the phenomenal gem.

There have been many discussions on opals and the superstitions surrounding them. Stories with good fortune about the opal date back to Aztec and Roman times, but most remember the ‘Bad Luck’ associated with them from Sir Walter Scott’s 1829 novel Anne of Geierstein, where the character Hermione, (Anne’s Grandmother) falls ill after her beautiful opal looses its play-of-colour when a few drops of holy water touch it. She is carried to her bed and the next day only a pile of ashes remained where she had once lain. Many readers interpreted this clever storytelling as truth and that if an opal could be affected by holy water it therefore must be demonic. The story actually caused the opal market to crash after everyone stopped wearing them for about 50 years, but Queen Victoria laughed at such nonsense an actually gave opals as wedding presents to her daughters, and her love of the gem made it fashionable again.

Opals are beautiful and their play-of-colour certainly can inspire fanciful stories around them attributing their flashes as presence of power and nefarious plots, but they are not demonic, just pretty gemstones made from billions of uniform submicroscopic silica spheres that have been stacked in an orderly pattern over millions of years and produce pretty colours when light interacts with it.

The Sir Walter Scott’s story of the opal and water has a real connection. Opals are created with exposure to water and contain 3% to 10% water by weight with some opal types containing 20% water. They were formed in desert areas that had considerable seasonal rainfall on land that was rich in silica, like volcanic ash and some sedimentary rock. During the winter, when the heavy rain fell on the silica rich earth it caused the water table to rise; the rainwater trickled down through the cracks between the rocks and took the silica solution with it leaving it to fill the cavities in the rocks below the water table. Then in the summer, the sun dried the water on the landscape and forced the water table downward, as the water evaporated, the silica stayed in place and subsequently formed the opal deposits about 15 to 30 million years ago.

Historically opals came from Hungary, (now south eastern Slovakia) but today 90% of the world’s opal supply comes from Australia where they first mined them in the 1800’s.
There are seven opal types on the market today: black, white, crystal, water, boulder, fire, and assembled opal. Of all the types black opal commands the highest price while white opal is the most commercially available.

I like jewellery and typically purchased pieces I liked for their overall design and didn’t pay too much attention to their gemstones until I studied gemology and began to scrutinize my own collection. Here then is when I noticed that over the years I had collected several pieces containing opals. Of them, there is one black opal and the rest are all white opals, so now I have the task of finding the other opal types. Oh my, now isn’t that a terrible chore to have?

Opals are easy to look after. If it is a solid opal use warm water, mild detergent and a soft cloth for the opal and a toothbrush for the setting is all you need. Never put a doublet or a triplet opal in water because over time the water can pe*****te the glued sections, just use a damp cloth to wipe it clean. Store opals like all your jewellery, in a single layer in your box or bag it separately. NEVER put opals in an ultrasonic cleaner, the vibrations can cause cracking, and last but not least, avoid extreme temperature changes. One of my instructors related a story about his friend who skied all day wearing an opal ring and once back at the cabin she warmed her hands over a fire before going out onto the balcony to have a glass of wine when her opal exploded in front of her. So no extreme temperature changes and you’ll enjoy your beautiful opal jewellery for a long time. The accompanying photograph features brooch/pendants from my opal collection.

Glossary
Common opal: A type of opal, also known as patch opal that lacks the play-of-colour.
Doublet: Two pieces of material, common opal and precious opal cemented together to form a single assembled stone.
Phenomenon: an unusual optical effect displayed by a gemstone, like stars, cat’s eye, colour change and play-of-colour for example.
Precious opal: A type of opal, which displays play-of-colour.
Triplet: A triplet has a piece of clear quartz on top of the two opal layers underneath.

Sources
“The World of Opals” by Allan W. Eckert, published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
“Exotic Gems” Volume 2 by Renée Newman GG, published by International Jewelry Publications.

08/26/2016

In this article our topic is pearls; there is so much to learn about pearls so here is a taste into the history and how to care for them. Today we will discuss akoya specifically, and in future articles there will be more information about the other pearl types available.

So to start, there are four major types of cultured pearls: akoya, freshwater, South Sea and Tahitian. Historically, akoya come from Japan, and today the species is also cultivated in China, but the mollusk can be found in many places around the globe. So where does the name akoya come from? Some literature suggest that in Japanese, the word akoya means oyster, and others say it is the specific place where the oyster came from. In my education I learned that there are 5 species of the akoya mollusk, and one is the Pinctada fucata – subspecies martensii, all of which are Latin names, and a little technical for this article’s purpose, as I wanted to know the Japanese origin.

Here are a couple excerpts from forum posts regarding the meaning for akoya. http://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?140-Does-Akoya-mean-saltwater-in-Japanese.
From Jeremy Shepherd and Doug Fiske. They dug into the origin and here is a little that I found out from them. They asked Dr. Tomoo Homma who has a PhD in Medical Science, and he said; Akoya originated from the location name where this pearl oyster was collected in the distant past. Long ago, akoya pearls were found in large quantities at Akoya-No-Ura in Aichi prefecture.

Osamo Fukumoto, another writer, cites the Wakunnoshiori, a Japanese dictionary written by Kotosuga Tanigawa (1709-1776), and published in 1805 stated that Ako is old Japanese; which means: my baby, or my child and is a suffix after someone’s name and used to express affection. This word is still used today. Mr. Fukumoto believed that because pearls were so highly prized and treated tenderly, ancient Japanese people started calling pearls akoya, like their children, and that is where the name of the akoya oyster came from.

So you can take your pick, personally, I like the Ako version myself, as it is more romantic, and well, pearls are romantic aren’t they?

I won’t get into the ‘A’ versus ‘a’ arguments, in akoya. From my understanding, in Japanese, there is no formalization of nouns and names and these words are not capitalized like in English. So Akoya is akoya, and that is used today when writing about these pearls in English.

If you didn’t already know, cultured blister pearls were first made in China in the 1300’s, but the pioneer for pearl marketing began in Japan with Kokichi Mikimoto in the 1890’s. By 1900, he was successfully cultivating and later selling his pearls in stores in Europe and North America.

Since that time, many akoya necklaces have been passed down through families and that is how I received my akoya necklace. My uncle gave the strand to my aunt when they got married in the 1950’s, and when she passed away, he gave them to my mother, and when I got married, she gave them to me.

Here is the backstory for my necklace that I discovered while learning about akoya pearls. World War II heavily damaged the Japanese akoya cultured pearl industry and production was limited in the 1940’s making it extremely difficult to make uniform strands, so, being pragmatic, they made graduated strands until their production increased. Most common were 17” long with a single 7 mm center pearl and 3 mm pearls at the clasp. I always loved the long graduated strand passed down to me; it measures 26” L., made with 91 pearls, with one 8.5 mm center pearl and descending in size down to 5.5 mm pearls at the clasp. With this information about the wartime limitations on production and when my uncle married, I have a pretty good idea that the necklace was purchased sometime between 1948 and 1952.

Historically, akoya pearls are known for their consistent size and shape and are held to a higher standard for matching than the other pearl types and if you look at these strands you will notice that they are all very, very closely sized to one another and are exceptionally round. The akoya oysters are cultivated in the colder waters and because of this their nacre is deposited slowly, giving the pearl a better luster, and for this reason, cultivators harvest the mollusks during the winter months. This luster is very evident, and depending upon the quality of the strand, the luster can almost be mirror like.

So if you would like to purchase a strand of akoya pearls, or if you already own one, what can you do to keep them looking beautiful? Most importantly, Use the Last On, First Off Rule. Which means, after you finish grooming/dressing, put on your jewellery and make it the first thing you remove before un******ng. If you love your pearls and want to keep them nice, never, ever, ever, apply hair spray or perfume when you are wearing pearls, and I hope I don’t need to tell you not to wear your pearl earrings while you take a dip in the swimming pool.

Pearls are organic and therefore soft and will be damaged by chemicals and they are easily scratched so they should be stored separately, with the clasp closed in their own bag. They are a treasure; so let them sleep in a nice soft velvet bag.

If you wear them often you will need to clean them, and the best way is to place them on a damp, not wet, towel and gently roll the strand over the cloth. Be careful not to pull onto the strand as you roll, as you may stretch the knotted silk thread and make the strand uneven looking. Periodically check your knots to see if there is fraying as the silk will wear out over time and they may need to be restrung. If you are still wearing Grandma’s akoya pearl necklace, you may need to have them cleaned and restrung, and if you do so, your pearls should last into another generation like mine. I hope this article will help you enjoy your akoya necklace even more!

08/16/2016

Hi all, Cheryl here, stay tuned to our news feed, as I will be talking about gemstones, gemology, and the history of jewellery. My first entry is about the care of your diamond rings and why it is important that you remove them before cooking and cleaning.

Did you know that diamonds have an affinity to grease? I mean a REAL attraction, literally. Did you know that they use grease during the mining process to separate diamonds from the ore and other stones? The equipment used are large tables and belts that are covered with grease that shake the ore across them causing everything to bounce off leaving behind the diamonds which stick onto the grease, finally they are scraped off and boiled to remove the grease. Yes, it’s true.

What does this mean to you and why this is important? Well, I encourage you to remove your rings before you wash the dishes, as the grease in the water will cling onto your diamonds, and the film will reduce the flashes of colour and sparkle of the stone. I also suggest you remove your rings before applying hand cream and allow the cream to absorb into your skin before putting on the rings. If you apply the cream while wearing your rings it gets onto and under the stone and also decreases the stone’s ability to show its fire and scintillation, just like grease does.

The simple way to clean your rings, is to use an old soft toothbrush and ordinary dish soap, not pump soft soap hand cleansers, as they have oily creams in it them to moisturize your hands. (Be careful when using a toothbrush to clean in and around prong set diamonds, being careful not to force the bristles into the setting in case you loosen the prongs.)

So give your rings a cleaning and watch how they sparkle again.

05/26/2016

It's now ready to enjoy. I've finished the Blurb book of the Innovation exhibition. This year you also have a choice, a real book to hold or a PDF version for your devices. Thank you all for participating in the exhibition. Shows runs until June 2nd at 18Karat, 1156 Yonge Street, Toronto.
http://www.blurb.ca/bookstore/invited/6367850/6171c000d559d516ba55b295c71792288fece444

70th Anniversary INNOVATION exhibition of the Metal Arts Guild of Canada, featuring art metal creations from Canadian artists from across the country and selections from past exhibition winners.