Whole books have been written about Pearls and it is had to know where to begin. There is so much that can be said about Pearls.
Most Pearls are the products of bivalve mollusks, mainly oyster (salt water) and mussels (fresh water). Although, all mollusks can produce nacre (Mother-of-Pearl: Aragonite and Conchiolin) and can, therefore, produce Pearls. This includes aquatic snails!
Pearls occur naturally in many colors: white, pink, cream, golden, green, blue and black. But many Fresh Water Pearls on the market are color enhanced.
The Fresh Water Pearl has been cultured in lakes since the 1950s. Prior to that they were fished from rivers. Lake Biwa in Japan was one of the first. Today, China has a huge, thriving, cultured Fresh Water Pearl industry. In the beginning (1970s), China's Fresh Water Pearl quality was not as good as Japan's. Today, that is not true.
Paua is the Mother-of-Pearl of the Abalone that is native to Australia and New Zealand. It has a blue-green iridescence, sometimes with purple. It reminds one of peacock feathers.
Abalone found along the coasts of California and Florida are simply referred to as Abalone.
Peridot
Peridot is Dianne's birthstone and almost everything we make (except for earrings) has a small Peridot on it. It's usually near the clasp.
It is yellow-green, olive-green or brownish. Peridot is a magnesium iron silicate.
Its name probably derives from the Arabic word faridat (gem). It is also known as Chrysolite (Greek - gold stone). In mineralogy, it is commonly referred to as Olivine.
Peridot can be found in the southern part of Arizona (San Carlos Indian Reservation), on the Red Sea island of Zabargad, Myanmar, Tanzania, China, Brazil, Mexico and Norway to name a few.
Petrified Wood (see Chalcedony)
Petrified Wood is fossilized wood with the mineral composition of Jasper, Chalcedony and less frequently Opal. It consists of silicon dioxide only. The wood has not actually been made into stone as is thought by many people. Only the shape and structure of the wood is preserved. The organic matter is replaced by the inorganic silicon dioxide.
Petrified Woods display all of the colors of Jasper and sometimes are opalized. Though the colors are beautiful, they have none of the fire of precious Opal.
Petrified Wood is made into beads of all sizes and shapes. But some of the most prized pieces are the whole branch or trunk pieces where you can see the texture of the bark. These are typically sliced, left rough on the outside rim and the rings are then polished. The trunk slices can make beautiful table tops.
Petrified wood cabochon and pendant. These were both cut and polished by Dianne. The pendant on the right was also finished by Dianne.
Rhodonite
Rhodonite is Greek for rose and the best Rhodonite is a deep rosy pink with black dendritic inclusions. It is primarily a manganese silicate and is generally opaque. Translucent specimens are very rare.
There is, currently, Russian Rhodonite on the market that is a very deep pink and parts of it border on translucency.
It is found in North America, Russia, Finland, Australia and Japan to name a few.
Serpentine
Serpentine is a magnesium silicate and occurs in green, yellowish and brown colors.
Serpentine occurs as two different structures: leafy Antigorite and fibrous Chrysotite. Very finely fibrous varieties are called "asbestos". But don't worry about your "New Jade" or Serpentine beads, they won't harm you in any way, except maybe in your wallet.
It can be found in Afghanistan, China, New Zealand and the USA as well as pretty much wherever Jade is found.
Silver
The abbreviation for silver on the chart of elements is Ag. Silver is often found with gold and mercury and lesser amounts of arsenic and antimony. In color it is silver-white and tarnishes yellow. It is the addition of 7.5% copper to the alloy to make sterling silver that causes sterling to tarnish black. In rocks and ores, silver may appear brown, black or metallic.
Silver is widely distributed in small amounts and occurs in volcanic rocks and in various types of veins. Large irregular masses and sheets of silver can occur with copper, chalcocite and pumpellyite in basalt. It also occurs in quartz.
Silver was first mined for jewelry in the Bronze Age. Because silver is so often associated with lead, the miners died of lead poisoning after only two or three years. For this reason, free men would not mine it. So, slaves were forced to mine it. Even though Nevada is known as the Silver State and Arizona is known as the Copper State, there are still some fine sources of silver in Arizona.
The name is said to be Anglo-Saxon, but its ultimate origin is not known. The word argent has long been used to describe silver and some sources will refer to silver as argentium. Argentium® Sterling Silver is the trademarked name for a sterling silver that has had some of the copper in the alloy replaced with germanium making it more resistant to tarnishing.
Spiny Oyster Shell
Spiny Oyster Shell is just that. It is the product of a salt water mollusk that lives only in the Sea of Cortez (Mexico). The shell is very spiny, as the name implies, and also somewhat porous. The shells come in the colors of red, orange, purple and sometimes yellow and white.
Prices for Spiny Oyster Shell have recently taken a large increase. This is mostly due to the fact that only a few cutting houses are willing to deal with the hazards of cutting shell. Add to that the fact that it comes from only one place in the world and you can understand why it is one of the most expensive shell beads on the market.
Sunstone
Oligoclase, also known as sunstone, is a type of plagioclase feldspar. It is typically orange in color. It is sometimes called aventurine feldspar because of the sparkles within the stone. The name, aventurine feldspar is the result of a resemblance to a type of glass that was discovered by chance (Italian - a ventura) around 1700. The metallic glitter comes from tiny crystals of hematite or goethite. It is a durable stone with a hardness of 6 on the Mohs scale. It can be found in Norway, the USA, India, Russia and Canada.
Moonstone and labradorite are also plagioclase feldspars.
