Opalescent jewelry

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Winged heart opal brooch, Pre Raphaelite (Arts & Crafts) tiara (1900s) and William Morris’ illustration. Opalescence is the optical property of a transparent or translucide material which gives it an aspect or a milky color with iridescent reflects like the … Continue reading

Paraiba tourmaline jewelry

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Paraiba tourmaline is a copper-bearing tourmaline. The name comes from the location where the stone was discovered : in the Brazilian state of Paraiba (city of Sao Jose da Batalha). This fine gemstone had been found in 1989 by the miner Heitor … Continue reading

Marco Bicego jewelry

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Inspired by his Venetian roots, the Italian jewelry designer Marco Bicego creates wonderful 18 karat gold jewels decorated with colored gemstones. Each piece of jewelry is unique since the manufacture is handcrafted. The Italian craftmanship is highlighted through Marco Bicego’s … Continue reading

ILA Collection jewelry

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Ila Collection was founded by the Indian brother and sister Vikas and Ila Sodhani in 2007. They draw their inspiration from Indian culture, designs, architecture, ornaments and craftmanship. For 8 years, Ila had been designed high-end diamond jewelry with her … Continue reading

Irene Neuwirth jewelry

Founded in 2003 by designer Irene Neuwirth and business partner Tracy Stoll, the brand is an independent fine jewelry company based in Los Angeles. Irene Neuwirth creates unique, modern and sophisticated jewels decorated with stunning gemstones. Her style is immediately recognizable : superb colorful gemstones, geometric shapes, mix of different forms and colours, use of gold, large jewels…

Recognized as a leading jewelry label in the United States, her jewels are regularly  in fashion magazines like Vogue, Elle and Harper’s Bazaar. Celebrities such as  Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry, and Reese Witherspoon are become admirers of the brand. Recognized by her peers, Irene Neuwirth won the Town & Country Couture Design Editors’ Choice Award (2006) and was finalist for the coveted CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund (2008). Besides, she joined in 2009, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) as member.

Pippa Small jewelry

The London-based jewelry designer Pippa Small creates beautiful “organic, ethnic and ethical” jewels. The shapes are unregular because she works on the original shape of the stones. Respecting the organic nature of the stones characterizes her work. Very careful to the details, each stone is personally chosen by Pippa Small. Each piece of jewelry is unique. Committed jewelry designer, Pippa Small undertakes ethical projects : she works with communities,  indigenous, tribal and traditional crafts persons to develop jewelry lines.

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

The jewelry designer Alice Cicolini

Alice Cicolini is a British jewelry designer inspired by Indian designs and using the Meenakari traditions. She had been Director Arts & Culture for the British Council in India. She used the sacred architecture and patterns of the Silk Route as an inpiration for her jewelry. All the jewels are handmade in India ; the studio of Kamal Kumar Meenakar uses the meenakari enameling traditions. The jewels are real pieces of art : patterns are engraved into 23.5 carat gold to the reverse of the jewels and colored with enamel. The jewels are decorated with gemstones.

Alice Cicolini’s work pays a tribute to the Meenakari jewelry. “Enameling or Meenakari is the art of colorings or decorating a metal surface by attaching or fusing pieces of different mineral substances, over it.” “Enamel is a combination of ground, pigmented glass and metal, heat fired into the recesses created by the engraving and then polished with agate stone.” “More commonly, enamel is applied to the reverse of jewels, where the precious stones such as diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds are privileged at the forefront.”

A mosaic of blue gemstones

mosaiques pierres bleues

Apatite is a calcium phosphate mineral. It is the most widespread phosphate in the  nature. The name Apatite derives from Greek “apatein” meaning “misleading” because this gemstone was confused with other minerals like tourmaline, peridot, emerald or aquamarine. Surprisingly, Apatite is the main constituent of bones and teeth!

Apatite can be blue, green, brown, yellow, violet, pink or colorless. This gemstone is found in Brazil, Burma, Mexico. The violet and purple ones are found in Maine and Afghanistan. My favourite varieties of Apatite are : neon blue apatite and Paraiba apatite. Besides, Apatite is believed to have calming, comforting and stimulating properties.

Anne Sisteron’s earrings

Jamie Wolf jewelry

Jamie Wolf is an American fine jewelry designer based in New York City. Her jewels in 18kt gold are decorated with precious and semi precious stones (white topaze, tourmaline, amethyst, quartz…). Her jewelry’s shapes are feminine, elegant and inspired. I love particulary the “Aladdin” and “Scallop Pavé” collections. All the pieces are made in New York. She realizes also engagement rings by request. The website : http://jamiewolf.com/

Morganite

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Morganite is a variety of beryl (an aluminum beryllium silicate) like emerald and aquamarine. Its colour is pink and varies from light pink to violet-pink, peach, peachy-pink, or salmon color. That’s why, it is sometimes called “pink emerald”. Morganite is … Continue reading

Iolite jewelry

Iolite is a magnesium aluminium silicate and has a blue-violet colour. This fine gemstone is found in Brazil, India, Madagascar, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and in the United States. Furthermore, the name comes from the greec word “ios” meaning “purple”. The Viking sailors used the iolite as a polarizing filter in order to find the sun during cloudy days.

Emerald jewelry

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Emerald is a precious stone belonging to the beryl group of minerals.  Emeralds are green with different shades (medium green, darker green, blue-green or  yellowish-green). “Emerald” comes from the old French word “esmeralde” deriving from the Greek word “smaragdos” meaning … Continue reading

Amethyst jewelry

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Amethyst belongs to the macrocrystalline branch of the quartz group of  minerals. The amethyst’s colour varries from purple and violet to pale red-violet. Its colour comes from the iron and aluminium impurities. Furthermore, this fine gemstone is found mainly in Brazil … Continue reading

Pink tourmaline

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Tourmaline is an important group of complex gem-quality boron silicate minerals. This fine stone can be found in a multitude of colours : “from black to bluish-black, dark brown, yellow, medium brown, blue to neon blue, lime to dark forest … Continue reading

Lapis Lazuli jewelry

Lazurite is a feldspathoid silicate and belongs to sodalite group of minerals. It is a blue stone which can vary from “greenish blue to violetish, from medium to dark and from low to highly saturated”.

This fine stone is found mainly in Afghanistan but is also found in Angola, Argentina, Canada, Chile (North of Santiago), India, Italy, Myanmar (Burma), Pakistan, Russia and the United States (California and Colorado).

Besides, the name “lapis lazuli” comes from the Latin word “lapis” meaning “stone” and from the Arabic and the Persian word “lazaward” (Persian name for lapis stone and the name of the mining location).

Blue topaz jewelry

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Topaz is an aluminium silicate containing fluorine and hydroxyl. Purely, it is colourless (white) ; it is the impurities which cause the variations of colour. “Topaz ranges from colourless to yellow, orange, red-brown, light to dark-blue, pink to red, violet … Continue reading

Tanzanite jewelry

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Tanzanite is a variety of Zoisite (calcium aluminum silicate ) and has a colour varying from blue to violet. This stone is Heat treatments enhance the Tanzanite’s colours. This gemstone is named “Tanzanite” because a deposit was found in 1967 … Continue reading

Amazonite jewelry

The Amazonite (also named Microcline) is a variety of potassium feldspar (like moonstone). The name “Amazonite” comes from the Amazon River in Brazil. The colour varies from green to blue-green. This fine gemstone can be confused with Turquoise and Jade. Amazonite is found mainly in Colorado, Brazil, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Namibie, Russia and Zimbabwe.

Jacquie Aiche’s charm

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Moonstone jewelry

This gallery contains 5 photos.

Moonstone is a fine gemstone belonging to the silicate group and the feldspar family of minerals. Jean Claude Delamétherie discovered this stone in 1801. The moonstone is characterized by the adularescence :  an optical phenomenum constiting in “a milky, bluish … Continue reading

Apatite jewelry

This gallery contains 2 photos.

Apatite is a calcium phosphate mineral. It is the most widespread phosphate in the  nature. The name Apatite derives from Greek “apatein” meaning “misleading” because this gemstone was confused with other minerals like tourmaline, peridot, emerald or aquamarine. Surprisingly, Apatite … Continue reading

Bounkit

The Moroccan designer Hassan Bounkit launched his eponym’s jewelry collection  in 2006. The jewels are designed and manufactured in New York City. Inspired by his Mediterranean background and the traditional Moroccan design, Bounkit creates luminous, colorful and unique jewels. I love the mix of colours, the use of big gemstones and the oriental touch.

The website : http://bounkit.com/