Informational

Real Stones- Synthetic vs. Simulant

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What is a “real” stone? Synthetic vs. Simulant

We are often handed a piece and asked “is this stone real?” This question is a little more complicated then most people understand, and in this article we will discuss what it means for gems to be real, synthetic, or simulated.

What is a real stone created by nature?

Gemstones are classified according to their chemical composition and crystal structure. Diamonds, for example, are made of pure carbon. Graphite is also made of pure carbon, but has a different arrangement of atoms which makes the two stones completely different. Other gemstones, such as ruby and sapphire, are both the mineral corundum and defined by their color. Corundum has a chemical composition of Al2O3, ruby is a corundum that has formed with trace elements in it to turn it red and sapphire is a corundum with trace elements that turned it blue. Real gemstones grow in the ground over thousands of years as heat and pressure turns rock into crystals.

What is a synthetic stone?

A synthetic stone is a real gemstone created by mankind instead of nature. For about 100 years humans have had the knowledge to create gemstones in expensive and complicated methods by which they take minerals and apply extreme heat and pressure to speed up the natural gemstone creation process. The stones created are chemically, physically, and visually identical to those grown by nature. This means synthetic rubies are exactly the same as rubies grown by nature except in very subtle ways that can sometimes only be detected by advanced laboratories. So is a synthetic stone a real stone? They are not just imitations, but most people assume that “real” implies grown by nature: and so the answer to that question is no, and thus the Federal Trade Commission requires that businesses disclose that a stone is synthetic and requires them to be called “created” stones. Chatham Created stones are one of the biggest name brands in synthetic stones and are known across the world as a quality gemstone even though they are man made. Synthetic stones lack some of the “magic” and “wonder” that natural stones have, but they can be a way to get a beautiful stone at a less expensive price.

 

Diamond is the most commonly imitated stone.

What is a simulant?

Simulant or imitation are the textbook terms for a fake stone. Simulants are stones that look like a different, typically more expensive, gemstone. Cubic Zirconia is one of the most famous and commonly used simulants, and is typically known for being a fake diamond. Moissanite is another diamond simulant which is more difficult to detect and still relatively expensive. Glass is a simulant that has been used for years for many gemstones. When people ask if a stone is “fake” they usually mean is it a simulant or imitation.

So what is a real stone? Gemstones created by nature are clearly “real”, and simulants are “fake”. Synthetics are more complicated but at Silver City we usually avoid them unless someone asks for one specifically. We hope you enjoyed this article the best jewelry store in Ocala, keep checking back here for more jewelry information and articles!

 

Inclusions are a good way to tell that a stone is natural.

Precious or Semi-Precious?

|Categories: colored stones, Informational|Tags: , , |

Tourmaline, a classically “semi-precious” gemstone.

Everyone has heard the terms “Precious” and “Semi-Precious” to describe gemstones. These terms have been used since ancient times and are still commonly used today by experienced and educated jewelers. Today at Ocala’s best jewelry store we answer “what do these terms mean?”, “where did they come from?”, and “should they still be used today?”

History and Meaning of Precious and Semi-Precious

Gemstones have been valued by human civilization for thousands of years and so the study of gemstones by science, religion, and people of other scholarly pursuits have been commonplace since ancient times. Before humans had the tools to understand the chemical makeup and properties of each stone, they were organized into different categories by logical but archaic methods. As an example, for a long time all red gemstones were classified as “Rubies” including garnets and red spinel.

“Precious” and “Semi-Precious” were classifications that came from writings of these early scholars, separating the “best” stones from the “not as good” by a variety of factors- rarity, hardness, transparency, popularity, market value or other values could all be considered. In the 1909 book “A Book of Precious Stones” by Julius Wodiska, the author included which stones were classified as “precious” by some of the most well known gemologists of his time, as well as his own list. His list of gems deemed “precious” included only the universally accepted emerald, diamond, ruby, and sapphire with his own addition being pearl. He considered all others to be semi-precious. Other lists of “precious” gems included a few more stones, including topaz, garnet, zircon, and tourmaline. Wodiska himself admitted that gemologists of that day could not agree on any criteria for calling a gem “precious” or “semi-precious”.

 

Emerald and Ruby, two classically “precious” gemstones

Are “Precious” and “Semi-Precious” Still Valid Terms to Use for Gemstones? (No)

Today, due in a large part to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the terms “precious” and “semi-precious” are considered obsolete, archaic, and inaccurate. There are no gemstones that are “better” or “worse” then each other, and the term “precious” has never been given any significant meaning or criteria beyond that. Some jewelers still use “precious” and “semi-precious” as a way of stating whether the stones on average are valuable or not, however, this is incorrect as there are a myriad of factors that determines the price of each individual gemstone and many of the most expensive stones in the world are those that are classically considered “semi-precious.” The modern jewelry industry and science of gemology have agreed that the terms have no accurate meaning and are relics of the past.

Thanks for reading, hope we were informative and interesting. Until next time, keep checking back here with the best jewelry store in Ocala.

 

Sapphire, another of the classically “precious” gems

What to Know Before Buying a Diamond (beyond the 4 C’s)

|Categories: diamonds, Informational|Tags: , , , , , , |

Clarity grading matters, but always look at a diamond (with magnification and without) before buying it

Our best advice right from the start: After observing hundreds of thousands of diamonds, the best advice we can give is to look at any diamond in person before buying it. Every diamond is different, and two diamonds of the same quality will not look exactly the same, no matter what the salesperson tries to tell you. Diamond grading is important, and should be considered, but no one should ever buy a diamond based on its grading alone.

You can’t judge a diamond piece’s value based on total carat weight

Clusters of small diamonds have significantly less value than one large stone with the same total carat weight, given similar clarity grades. A tennis bracelet with a 3 carat total weight made of 30 stones will be significantly more valuable than a bracelet with the same carat total weight but made of 60 stones, if the stones are roughly the same clarity and color. Check out our post on the difference between Carats and Karats.

What type of jewelry will the diamond be set in?

Earrings typically look better with larger diamonds of lower clarity because they are often viewed from a further distance than rings

Some diamonds work better for different types and styles of jewelry. Earrings typically look better with larger diamonds of lower clarity because they are typically viewed from a further distance than rings. Diamonds set in yellow gold will look a few color grades higher than if they are set in white gold. Round diamonds larger than 2 Carats are often considered too big to look appropriate in rings, and a shopper looking for an extra large stone for a ring would usually do better with a pear-shaped diamond or another unique shape.

Diamonds need to be secure

There is always a trade off between style and security when considering what a diamond should be set in, and it’s something you should always think about. If you are considering a piece with many small diamonds and few, very small prongs around those diamonds, you should know that the diamonds may be far more likely to fall out than a piece with slightly bigger stones and slightly bigger prongs. On an engagement ring, accident-prone people may opt for 6 prongs instead of 4 prongs for the extra security. Stones don’t magically stay in place and some styles are less secure than others. Always consider or ask about these issues when purchasing a diamond.

The 4 C’s

The 4 C’s are usually the first talking point when it comes to diamonds. There is a wealth of information available all over the internet on the 4 C’s, so we will be brief. The 4 C’s are Color, Cut, Clarity, and Carat. Color is how white the diamond is, Cut describes its symmetry and in theory how much it sparkles, Clarity is a measure of a stone’s inclusions and some other visible characteristics, and Carat is how much the stone weighs (how big it is). As each of those qualities go up, the value of a diamond raises. These qualities can be measured by trained jewelers with a very low margin for error, or graded in a laboratory for more exact calculations. No single category of the 4 C’s is definitely more important than another when judging how nice a stone will look in jewelry; however, the best-looking stones for the money usually have no category that is too low on the scale. Check out our guide on buying an engagement ring for more information.

 

Karats or Carats?

|Categories: diamonds, Gold, Informational|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

 

 

Easily the most confusing pair of words in the jewelry business, “carat” is a measure of weight equal to one-fifth of a gram while “karat” is the measure of fineness of gold. Today we’re going to highlight the difference between the meanings of karat and carat and how the confusing words came about. Both are pronounced the same as our favorite orange vegetable, “carrot”, but they actually came about from a different piece of vegetation- the carob seed.

 
Carob seeds were a seed that almost always grew to be the same size and weight as all the other carob seeds. Ancient jewelers found that they were small enough and consistent enough to be used to measure the weight of diamonds and other precious stones, thus they started measuring in “carats” which meant how many carob seeds the jewel weighed equal to. As technology developed, the weight was standardized to be 1/5 of a gram and is used primarily to measure gemstones. Everyone knows that a one carat diamond is fairly big, so jewelers divide carats into fractions of 100 called points. A 1/10th carat diamond is .10 of a carat or 10 points in weight. The earrings in the image above approximately 1 carat total weight, which means each of them are about .5 carats.

 
Its good to remember that carats are actually a measure of weight not size, and 2 different gemstones of the same dimensions will usually be different carats.

750 (18k) Mark On Cameo

 

 
Karat, the one that starts with a “K”, refers to the purity of gold out of 24 parts. Pure gold would be 24k, but nearly all gold made for jewelry is alloyed with other metals to make it stronger, improve its color, or in some cases to make it cost less. The term karat is believed to have come about when the Roman emperor Constantine minted a new gold coin that was 24 carats in weight. The amount of those 24 carats of weight that were pure gold was its “fineness” which means its gold purity.In the US most jewelry is 10k, 14k, or 18k, which are 41.7% pure 58.5% pure and 75% pure respectively. Different countries have different regulations, but nearly all gold jewelry should be marked somewhere with its karat.

 
On behalf of the jewelry industry, we at silver city apologize for the confusion caused by these terms being so similar and hope that this explains the different meanings and why they are used. Check back with us at silvercityjewelers.com for more informative articles like this if you like learning more about jewelry!

 

 

10k Mark On Clasp

Identifying Sterling Silverware

|Categories: Informational, silver|Tags: , , , , , |

Do you have a silverware set that you think might be valuable? Heres a guide on how to tell if your set is sterling or plated!

#1- Look at the markings on the back of the piece.

For hundreds of years, silverware has been required by law to be marked whether its Sterling Silver or not.

Sometimes these marks can be complicated, and occasionally confusing, but most of the time the marks on the back of silverware will tell you exactly what is made of without any other testing.

Good Marks- Sterling, 925

Bad Marks- AAA, triple plate, EPNS, IS, silver plate, copper, pewter

Marks that might mean its sterling or lower purity silver-  Lions, 800, 900, no markings at all

If your pieces are marked with either the good or bad marks, then you need to go no further. However, If you have one of the marks that are maybes, then continue reading on.

DSC_00062

#2- Look at the color of the pieces

There is no difference in color between solid sterling silver and plated silver when the silverware is newly made or clean, however, plated silver will tarnish differently then sterling. Sterling will always tarnish with black and brown colors, plated silver will usually get a multi color tarnish that will be purple, greenish, and bluish like an oil slick. If your piece doesn’t have a good mark on it, and it has acquired a sort of chemical color to it, then the odds are that your piece is plated.

#3- Bring it in for us to acid test.

We don’t recommend that anyone do this at home, but the last step in determining if a piece is plated or sterling is to file into it a few millimeters and put a drop of acid into the cut.

Don’t bother with these tests for silverware-

Unlike jewelry, magnets are bad for testing silverware as no silverware should be magnetic, whether sterling or plated. Tests that rely on temperature are also unreliable with silverware, likely due to the thickness of plating. The presence of green residue is also unlikely to mean anything as plated silverware doesn’t age like plated jewelry, and it will instead get the aforementioned “oil slick” color on it.

We hope this will help you identify whether or not your silverware is real silver or not.  If you liked this article or found it helpful, check back with us for more in the future!

Caring for your Jewelry- By Ashley Stone

|Categories: Informational, repair|Tags: , , , |

We hear all the time from our amazing customers that they wear their jewelry out in the garden while doing yard work, washing the dishes, or cleaning with chemicals. We know you love your jewelry, but there are many times you need to take them off.  This article is here to educate you on how to properly care for your jewelry!

First, its important to explain that precious metals are all physically soft and can all be effected by chemicals. In addition to caring for the metal in your ring, your stones are typically held in only by a few prongs (tiny pieces of metal which can easily be damaged) and making sure you don’t expose your prongs to too much punishment is very important to keeping your stones secure.

Here are a list of things to do/not do to help you never physically or chemically damage your jewelry.

1. Take jewelry off right when you get home from work, safely placing it on your dresser or nightstand where you will remember each morning to put it back on. Don’t ever sleep with your jewelry on.
2. Do not where your rings/ jewelry while working in the yard. This is fairly self explanatory and will also be useful for keeping your pieces clean.
3. Do not wear your jewelry while doing house work such as cleaning bathrooms, washing dishes, or mopping the floors. The cleaners are often bad for the metal.
4. Don’t swim in your jewelry, the chlorine from the pool will slowly damage your metals.

Of course if your jewelry does get broken, we at Silver City will always be available to repair it for you, but any jewelry piece can only be repaired a certain number of times before it becomes completely ruined. Taking care of your jewelry is very important because we all want our pieces to stay clean and pretty, and last our whole lives!

Thanks for reading 🙂

What is Platinum

|Categories: Informational, Platinum|Tags: , |

Platinum is a white metal that is similar in appearance to silver. Platinum is an alternative to white gold and silver for people who like jewelry made in a white metal. Platinum is the most expensive of the standard three precious metals, but also often considered the most prestigious.

Why choose Platinum for Jewelry?

For people who like all of their jewelry to be white metal, Platinum is a great choice. Platinum is naturally white, unlike white gold which will always be yellow-tinged. Platinum looks similar to silver, but doesn’t have the drawback of tarnishing. Platinum jewelry is typically harder to break and can be repaired by most jewelers. It is also extremely rare for a person to have allergies to platinum.

Is Platinum definitely better than white gold if I can afford it? (No!)

Platinum is typically considered to be more prestigious and is more expensive then gold because of its rarity. Platinum is not, however, a superior choice to white gold for making quality jewelry. Platinum has some properties that are better for jewelry and many that are worse. Platinum is also not perfectly white and has a color that some people will like better than white gold while others will not. Many, if not most, jewelers believe that white gold has more advantages to it then platinum for jewelry.

Will platinum jewelry last longer than white gold jewelry?

Because of the numerous properties of metals, it is easy to call one metal “stronger” then others if you only focus on one aspect of a metal’s strength. It is true though that platinum will handle some wear and tear better than gold does, and jewelry made of platinum typically is harder to break. White gold rings will sometimes use a platinum head to hold a diamond to add security because of platinum’s strength.

What are the drawbacks of platinum?

Platinum alloys used in jewelry are typically close to pure and the manufacturing process is more expensive. This makes platinum jewelry cost significantly more than gold, even if the market prices of platinum and gold are close to the same. Platinum is softer then gold and scratches more easily which makes it require polishing regularly. Platinum is also more labor intensive to work on and costs as much as double to repair. Platinum can also be a moderately dull grey color and is usually plated with a bright white metal when manufactured. After a few months when the plating wears off, some people can be disappointed with its color.

A Beginner’s Guide to Shopping for Engagement Rings

|Categories: diamonds, Informational|Tags: , , , , , , |

If you are thinking about proposing, it can be very intimidating to start shopping for an engagement ring. If you don’t know the first thing about jewelry and diamonds- don’t worry! If you have time to visit us at Silver City, we will always be able to help guide you toward buying the ring that’s right for you. If you don’t, or want to start thinking about it from home, here is a beginning guide on how to start your search.

#1- How much should you spend?

Tradition suggests that three months salary is the “correct” amount to spend on an engagement ring, but everyone has their own unique financial situation. Whatever the number you choose is, you will want to know your budget ahead of time.

#2- Styles of engagement rings

Engagement rings come in many styles and each have their own expression. Your goal is to pick the style that your soon-to-be fiancé wants most and expresses her personal style. A solitaire setting (which is a plain-ish ring with a single diamond) is a classic choice for the lady who likes tradition. A halo setting (which is a ring in which a larger stone is encircled by smaller stones) is a trendy choice for the socially-conscious lady who is always on Pinterest and Facebook and keeps up with the latest fashions. Those are the two most popular styles right now; however, there are many other styles of engagement rings, from bezel set to three stone. If you don’t know which one she wants, then go shopping and look at the styles in jewelry stores. Or ask her friends or relatives if they know what she likes. If they don’t know, check out what kind of rings her married friends have.

#3-  The Diamond

The center stone in an engagement ring is where most of the cost is. The first question you should try to answer is, what shape would my soon-to-be fiancé like the most. The second thing you need to do is learn a little about the characteristics of diamonds and decide which are most important to you. Color, cut, and clarity make a diamond look nice, size makes it stand out. You will have to figure out where your priority is, but it’s advisable to keep the clarity and color at reasonable level. After considering these questions, go look at diamonds in person! Diamonds can not be accurately captured with a camera, you must see them in person to be able to truly know how nice they are. Look at diamonds and then ask what their grade is, take note of what qualities the diamonds have that you find nicest. Keep in mind that even diamonds graded exactly the same do not look exactly alike.

#4- Where to buy your engagement ring

Jewelry stores are not all created equal- many will give you a good deal on the right piece and many more will sell you a bad product for as much money as possible. First, choose a store that has experienced and educated staff who will work with you to find the ring that’s right for you. Second, keep in mind that some jewelry stores have much higher markups on their pieces than others, charging as much as double or triple for the same diamond. Make sure you compare prices. Third, don’t forget that your ring may need service and repair over the years, and choose a store that will be there if your ring needs to be sized, re-pronged, or fixed in any way. At Silver City, we do all these things and more. We are a great place to begin your search for the most important ring you will ever purchase.

Identifying Quality Jewelry

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Quality jewelry is jewelry that lasts, that looks good throughout the years, and that doesn’t fall apart when you wear it every day. With so many jewelry products available to buy, how can a normal person know which ones are quality? Fortunately, even if you aren’t a gemologist, there are many easy ways to tell if a piece is worth your money.

Don’t trust the mall, the TV, or places you visit on a cruise to sell quality jewelry!

Most major “rip-offs” in jewelry come from two places, mall chains and TV sales channels; with cruise ships easily being third. The majority of pieces that they sell are either grossly overpriced, easy to break and virtually unrepairable, or not what they claim to be.

Stay away from hollow!

Some retailers sell pieces that are comprised of hollowed out metal. This is a dishonest way for places to make it seem like they are charging less for the same product. While it saves cost in metal weight, hollow pieces are extremely easy to break and very difficult or impossible to repair. Hollow chains and bracelets might cost half of what the same size piece would cost, but will likely fall apart before a year passes. At Silver City we carry only solid pieces that should last you a lifetime.

Plating never lasts!

There are many examples of pieces being plated in the jewelry industry. Gold plated silver is sold as a cheaper alternative to yellow gold. Sterling silver is sold with rhodium plating that makes it look whiter then sterling’s natural color. Some white or yellow gold pieces are sold with plating in areas that show designs or make it look fancy with two colors. All plating will come off quickly and is impossible or extremely cost inefficient to redo.

Be wary of tiny diamonds!

Many popular styles of jewelry include lots of tiny diamonds in a large cluster. This allows retailers to claim that the piece has a high total carat weight while saving themselves cost. Often these stones are supported by very little and will fall out constantly with wear. Even if you like the cluster style, buying a piece with fewer, larger diamonds will normally result in a piece that stays together better.

Magic/illusion set rings are big trouble!

Magic or illusion set rings are where manufacturers set many smaller stones together to make it appear like one larger stone. These stones put together with each other like a jigsaw puzzle and can easily fall out. If one of the stones does fall out, the ring can be entirely ruined with no way to repair it. At Silver City we refuse to sell magic set rings and advise people to never buy them.

At Silver City we only sell pieces that meet our high quality standard!

With over 150 years of combined jewelry experience, we only sell pieces that know are well made and that we are confident will last. Come see our selection today!

How to Clean Jewelry

|Categories: Informational, repair|Tags: , , , |

At Silver City we are always happy to offer free jewelry cleaning if you stop by during regular hours. However, if you need to clean your jewelry at home, it’s a simple and easy process. First, get a cleaning solution that works for your metal; gold and platinum use the same cleaner while silver uses a stronger liquid. At Silver City, we sell a few different cleaning solutions for about $7 each.

For gold and platinum, the goal is to remove any dirt or residue that has gotten behind stones or in small openings in the metal, and you’ll want to soak your jewelry in the solution anywhere from 10 minutes to a few hours. It may be helpful to use a toothbrush to brush around the stones. After removing the jewelry from the liquid, inspect it to make sure that you haven’t lost any stones in the cleaning solution, rinse it with water, and dry it off.

For silver pieces, the cleaning solution is much more powerful and designed to quickly remove any tarnish. Dip the silver piece in the cleaner and then take it out after a few seconds, look to see if there is any more tarnish that the cleaner has failed to remove, and if so, then dip it again. If the piece is clean, then rinse it with water. If your sterling piece is now nice and white, but lacks shine, you can use a polishing cloth, which you can buy at Silver City for about $7, to polish the piece until it is nice and shiny.

IMPORTANT-What not to do while cleaning!

Never mix metals in a cleaner! You can clean multiple pieces of gold but never pieces of gold and silver at the same time.

Never let pieces sit in silver cleaner for a long time! The silver cleaning solution is a very mild acid that can harm your jewelry after a few minutes.

Be safe with the chemicals! Make sure to minimize any contact that your skin has directly with the cleaners. They won’t hurt you just by accidently getting on your fingers while dipping your jewelry but prolonged exposure should be avoided. And, like most household cleaners, jewelry cleaner can be harmful if ingested or if it gets in the eyes.

If these cleaning methods fail to achieve the desired results, bring us the piece, and we can professionally polish, steam, and use an ultra-sonic cleaner to make it look brand new.

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