It's the letter "Z" for the Blogging A - Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “Z”.

Today’s letter is "Z" for Zoisite.  A mineral found in metamorphic and pegmatitic rock.  It’s color can be blue to violet, green, brown, pink, yellow, gray, or colorless.  It is said to be brittle and can have white or colorless streaks. 

Yellow Zoisite

Transparent stones are made into gemstones while translucent to opaque stones are used for carvings. 

It was first described by Abraham Werner in 1805.  He named it after the naturalist Sigmund Zois who sent him samples from Saualpe in Carinthia.  Zois realized that this mineral was unknown when brought to him by a mineral dealer 1797. 

Tanzanite

Thulite

Zoisite can be found in Tanzania, Kenya, Norway Switzerland, Austria, India, Pakistan and Washington state.  There are several varieties of zoisite – Tanzanite from in Tanzania, Thulite found in Norway, and Anyolite found in Kenya. 

Ruby Zoisite

Another popular variety is Ruby Zoisite, green zoisite with opaque ruby crystals that is used for carving.

Thanks for stopping by and following along while I did the Blogging A - Z Challenge. 

I will be posting about the 8th annual Bead Soup Blog Party on Saturday, May 3.  Please be sure to come back and see what I have made with the "bead soup" that my partner sent me.

Carolyn

The letter "Y" for the Blogging A - Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “Y”.

I was undecided what topic to cover for the letter “Y” as one is controversial and one is unknown – at least to me.  I decided to go with the unknown topic as I want to do more research on the controversial one.  That topic may come up in next year’s blogging challenge. 

So the subject for the letter “Y” is YAG.  YAG stands for the scientific name Yttrium Aluminum Garnet which is a manmade crystalline material of the garnet group.  It was created in the 1950s, developed in the 1960s and has been sold as a gem since 1969.  It is made by using the melt process where all the ingredients are heated until they liquefy.  A rod is then inserted, pulled slowly out and, as it is being pulled out, a crystal forms on the rod. 

It is usually colorless but may be pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue or purple because of the addition of dopants (elements added in trace amounts to the "standard ingredients".)  It was used for a time in the jewelry business as a diamond and other gemstone simulant.  As synthetics, they were valued for their clarity, durability, refractive index and dispersion.  

YAG has numerous varietal and trade names, such as, alexite, diamonair, regalair, and yttrium garnet.  Production for the gem trade has declined since the introduction of the synthetic cubic zirconia. 

Sorry there are no pictures but when I searched for pictures there were none available.

Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to come back tomorrow for the last of the Blogging A -Z Challenge blogs for the letter "Z".

Carolyn

It's the letter "W" for Blogging A - Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “W”.  I didn't quite make it to use all gemstones for my blogs this month.  I wasn't able to find a gemstone that started with the letter "W", but to keep with the jewelry theme, I chose White Gold for the letter "W".

White gold is an alloy of gold and at least one white metal, usually nickel, manganese or palladium.  Like gold, the purity of white gold is given in karats.  Alloys which are mixed with 14 parts gold and 10 parts alloy create 14-karat gold, 18 parts gold to 6 parts alloy create 18-karat gold. 

Rhodium plated white gold

The term white gold is used very loosely to describe karat gold alloys with a whitish hue.  Many commercial pieces are plated with rhodium and people believe that is the color of white gold.  “White” gold actually covers a large range of colors from pale yellow, tinted brown, and even a pale rose.  The jewelry industry often improves these off-white colors with rhodium plating. 

White gold properties depend on the metals and the proportions used.  Nickel alloy is hard and strong and is used for rings and pins.  Palladium alloy is soft and pliable and used for gemstone settings. 

Some people have an allergic reaction to the nickel in some of the alloys when worn over time.  Because of this, many European countries do not allow the importation of nickel white gold.

Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to come back Monday, April 28, to see if I can add some more gemstones to my list.  Only three more days to go.

Carolyn

It's the letter "V" for the Blogging A - Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “V”. 

Variscite is a relatively rare phosphate mineral that is sometimes confused with turquoise . It is a light green to emerald color but also sometimes a bluish-green or colorless.  It is usually greener, however, than turquoise.

Variscite is sometimes used as a semi-precious stone and can have distinctive color patterns that are very attractive.  It is used for carvings and ornamental use.  The color ranges have made it a popular gemstone in recent years.  It was named for the historical name of present day Vogtland, Germany which is Variscia.  Almost all gemstones originate from Utah where it might be known as Utahlite.  

It is also found in Nevada, Germany, Australia and Brazil.  The variscite found in Nevada is marked by black spiderwebbing matrix and is often confused with green turquoise.  Variscite is usually cut into cabochons with a round, convex polished surface to be used for brooches, earrings and beads.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to stop by tomorrow to see what the letter "W" will be.

Carolyn

Deep Waters Challenge reveal postponed

Just a quick note that the reveal date for the Deep Waters Challenge has been pushed out to May 8.  Please be sure to come back then to see what I and those others involved in the challenge have created.

Here are some pictures of what the ingredients are for the creations.  I have one necklace completed and another in process along with plans for some earrings.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit the Blogging A to Z Challenge posts that I have created.

You are also invited to come back on Saturday, May 3 for the reveal of the 8th annual Bead Soup Blog Party.

Carolyn

It's the letter "U" for the Blogging A - Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “U”.

Unakite is the stone for the letter “U”.  It was first discovered in the Unakas Mountains of North Carolina from which it got its name.  It is actually an altered granite made up of pink feldspar, green epidote, and clear quartz. 

It is typically a mottled green and pink color.  It can easily be made into different bead shapes, cabochons, and carved objects, such as, eggs, spheres, and animal carvings.  The coloring gives carved objects a real texture to the design. 

Unakite can also be found as pebbles on the shores of Lake Superior caused by glacial drift.  It is also found in Virginia in valleys after being washed down from the Blue Ridge Mountains.  It has also been found in South Africa, Brazil, and China.

Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to stop by tomorrow to see if I can continue to find stones to match the rest of the letters of the alphabet.

Carolyn

It's the letter "T" for the Blogging A - Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “T”.

“T” is the letter for today and the stone is Tanzanite, a pretty blue-purple color.  It was discovered in Tanzania in 1967 and was named after the location.  It is usually as reddish brown in its rough state and is heat treated to enhance the color. 

The deep blue color stones are harder to find now.  The paler colored stones are easier to find and are faceted and used for beads. 

 

In 2002, the American Gem Trade Association chose Tanzanite as the December birthstone, the first change to the birthstone list since 1912. 

The largest cut stone is 252.2 carats and is recognized by the Guinness World Records and the largest rough cut is 16,839 carats (7.46 lbs.) discovered in 2005. 

It was estimated that two million carats of tanzanite were mined between 1967 and 1971 when the mines were nationalized by the government.  In 1990, the government divided the mines into four sectors (A, B, C, and D) and leased two sectors (A and C) to large companies and the remaining sectors were reserved for the local miners.  In 2005, the lease for sector C for was renewed for 40 million dollars. 

In 2003, legislation was introduced to prohibit the export of rough cut stones to India (where many gemstones were processed) in order to spur development of local processing businesses.  This was phased in over two years when only stones over .5 grams were affected.  That was changed in 2010 to stones over 1 gram.

Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to come back tomorrow to discover what the "U" stone will be.

Carolyn