Smart Gems

One of the most spectacular all-diamond pieces of jewelry in the Smithsonian Insitution is the Napoleon necklace. Thought to have originally been owned by Catherine the Great of Russia, it was presented by the Emperor Napoleon of France to his second wife, Marie-Louise of Austria on the birth of their son in 1811. The silver and gold set necklace contains172 diamonds weighing 275 carats – 28 oval and cushion-cut diamonds, dangling 19 briolette-cut oval and pear shaped diamonds and accented by small, round diamonds and diamond set motifs in a silver and gold setting. The diamonds are cut in “old mine” style, the precursor to the modern brilliant cut, and have a high degree of fire (flashes of color as the stone moves in light), but less brilliance due to less light refraction through the top of the stone.

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Gems come in every color of the spectrum. While sapphires, rubies and emeralds are what come to mind first when one thinks of a colored gem, there are so many other beautiful colored gemstones to consider. Even among gems normally associated with one color, there are gradations and variations to them. A sapphire, for example, comes in many different hues of blue, depending on where it’s from. But sapphires can also come in pink, yellow and green.

The most highly prized colored gems are in the very deepest, richest hues of the color. While sapphires can range from pale blue to near-black, the most valuable are a rich, deep blue. The same holds true for rubies. While they too can range in color from pale to very dark and murky, the most highly-valued color is what’s called pigeon’s blood, a deep blood-red ruby that is mined in what was once known as Burma.

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Overstock.com is one of the best emerging sites for buy-and-sell services in the internet. With thousands of visitors per day, Overstock.com is truly an ideal site for handling your buy and sell business activities online.Â

Overstock.com has the latest buy-and-sell collection on jewelries, such as gold chains, entertainment items, health and wellness gadgets, clothing and gift-for-keeps items for sale. While jewelry buying is a lot riskier online, there are a few trusted online retailers in the buy-and-sell area that offer the best protection against any type of fraud. Â

At Overstock.com, you can click on the jewelry link right above the site between clothing and watches area to get to the area of the site where you will be able to see a vast collection of gold chains sold at very reasonable prices ranging from $30.00 to $600. Gold chains available in the Jewelry section come from online reliable sellers that are bound to terms and conditions applicable for the site’s buy-and-sell terms of use.

None of the online internet selling sites has that vast collection of gold chains online other than Overstock.com, which means that you can usually find anything you want or need to match that pendant you have had sitting in a drawer since what seems like the beginning of time. Since Overstock.com is an emerging leader in online buying and selling activities, it has set rules among member-sellers regarding ethics online and how they can keep each and every user of Overstock.com protected against possible fraud by adhering to these rules.

All-in-all, overstock offers a huge selection of goods, and as the items are obviously overstocks from other retailers, the price saving scan be huge. This means that you have a really good chance of buying exactly what you are looking for without having to go through lots of sites or visit lots of stores to find what you want – saving you both time and money.

When did diamonds first become recognized as precious stones and used for jewelry? The earliest reference to them has been found in a Sanskrit document dated around 300 BCE. They were associated with the gods and were used to decorate religious icons and statues. In India, only kings, the highest caste, were allowed to own them.

Although diamonds were traded east and west of India, they were still prized in their natural crystal state, or polished to increase the shine and luster of them. The first guild of diamond cutters was established in 1375, and it was then that the practice of cutting the stones and faceting them was developed.

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About Diamonds

The world’s largest cut topaz, called the American Topaz, resides at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. A 172-faceted topaz weighing 22,892.50 carats (5785 kg), it’s the largest cut yellow topaz in the world, and one of the largest faceted gems of any kind in the world. Originating from Minais Gerais, Brazil, it was cut over a period of two years. It was purchased by the Rockhound Hobbyists of America and presented to the Smithsonian Institution in 1988.

As stunning as this cut topaz is, another display at the Smithsonian is equally dazzling and awe-inspiring. That’s a sherry-colored topaz “spray” from the Thomas Range in Utah. This color of topaz can be found in Mexico and Utah, but when it’s exposed to sunlight, will become clear.

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The appeal of diamonds and other precious gems has endured for eons. They confer on the wearer a feeling of beauty, value, status. We are drawn to them and we all have our personal favorites. Sometimes it’s our birthstone. For others, a particular stone reflects a favorite color. There is almost a magical feeling when you are near them, the energy they create it is palpable.

While the clear diamond has been the traditional stone of choice for engagement and wedding bands, other stones are actually more valued and prized because of their rarity. The sapphire has often been the stone of choice for royal betrothal rings. When Princess Diana selected her 18-carat sapphire-and-diamond engagement ring, she selected one of the rarest stones on the earth. When Jennifer Lopez was engaged to Ben Affleck, she sported a 6-carat pink diamond ring. Camilla Parker-Bowles chose an emerald ring when she became engaged to Prince Charles.

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