Amethyst: History and Symbols

Amethyst is popularly regarded as a gemstone. Several names have been attributed to it due to its characteristics and variety in colors. The pinkish lavender shade is called ?Rose de France.? It is the least sought after variety compared to the intense violet shade called ?Siberian? which is the most-sought after shade of all. The latter shade is usually found not just in Siberia but also in the African region of Zambia and Uruguay. Ametrine on the other hand, is a gem of Bolivia which exhibits alternating bands of citrine orange and purple. Oriental amethyst is also the name of the purple corundum as well as fine samples of amethystine quartz which does not necessarily come from the Eastern regions of the globe.

Amethyst in History and its Symbolisms

Amethyst is generally known as the birthstone of February celebrators which indirectly links it to the horoscope calendar of Pisces, Aries, Sagittarius and Aquarius. High ranking officials of the Roman Catholic sect wear rings with amethyst stones as symbolism of their offices.

From the Greek word amethystos, it literally means not drunken. This name was an offshoot of its use in ancient times as an antidote for drunkenness. This also gave rise to the practice then of carving wine goblets from amethyst. According to Greek mythology, a maiden by the name of Amethystos was being pursued by the drunken Dionysus. Amethystos prayed to the gods for protection against Dionysus? unwanted affection. Artemis, the goddess heard her prayer so she transformed the maiden into a white stone. When Dionysus realized what happened to her, he poured wine over the stone as an act of offering. This act transformed the white stone to a crystal purple.

Another mythical story about the origin of amethyst involved the god Dionysus. He was angered by an insult coming from a mere mortal. He swore that the next mortal he will come across will die through the fierce tigers he has created to carry out his revenge. An unsuspecting maiden named Amethyst happened to be on her way to make an offering to the goddess Diana. Knowing what was bound to the happen to the poor mortal, the goddess changed Amethyst to a crystalline quartz to prevent her from being ravaged by the brutal tigers. The blinded Dionysus wept after knowing what happened to the mortal and the tears trickled to the crystals turning it to a purple color.

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White Gold Pendants

Application of alloys of white gold for the wares of jewellers, as an alternative to more dear platinum, is known from 20th.

The more than half of people think that quality of gold depends on the color of this metal, but it quite not so.Quality of jeweller good depends quite not on a color, and ot the alloy of gold, that ligature - his test or carat, as she is yet named. Ligature - it and there is an alloy of gold with other metals which help to do gold decorations more durable and steady to the scratches.

To destroy all incorrect ideas about white gold I would like to be divided the knowledges about this noble metal.

White gold is an alloy on the basis of gold, by appearance reminding platinum.At making of white gold use gold 375, 583 or 750 tests with addition in different combinations of platinum, palladium, silver, nickel and zinc.Colouring of gold in a white color is carried out by a nickel and palladium.A lump sum makes to 64%, the yellow disappears.One of advantages of white gold it is the promoted firmness to corrosion and hardness of metal.For today new alloys in which as a bleaching constituent additionally use a manganese or chrome and iron are developed also. In these alloys palladium either is not contained or his stake is maximum small. For them the laboured plastic deformation and workability is characteristic. In addition, there are problems of receipt of intensive white color of wares in many cases. Dimmings and chappy surfaces have to be corrected by mixing.Presently jewellers experiment with black and blue gold. Exact composition and technology of receipt of such rare alloys remain the secrets of firms, openings them.

In the USA there are a few companies which are specialized on the sale of wares from quality white gold.With one products of these companies you can meet - Vegas Jewelry Star More than half of our wares it is decorations from white gold : ear-rings, rings, charms, bangles, necklaces and not only.

Residential Art Glass Lighting - Design Trends in Chandeliers, Sconces, & Pendants

Much in the way jazz altered our concept of music, glass art has changed our expectations of residential lighting. In fact, glass art lighting is being hailed as one of the hottest new trends to hit luxury home design. According to 25-year Southern California interior designer Greg Griffith, G. Griffith & Co. of Destin, FL, “It’s emerging as a transitional point for a more energetic look. From Asian to 18th Century, every style and design can incorporate glass art lighting. The fact that these are actual sculptured pieces means you’re adding art to the room without cluttering the wall.”

Aside from aesthetics, the benefit to glass art lighting is that it’s so flexible, it ends up resolving many design conflicts. Take, for example, the story of the Wisdom Window. This stained glass piece was created by a California glass artist to create a welcoming light at the end of a dark, New York apartment hallway. The artist created four matching sconces, but wanted the end of the hallway to feel like a window. He innovated a design where a diffuser sheet will be installed underneath the stained glass piece, and lit from behind.

One New York glass artist developed a unique way to illuminate her bathroom. She created her own mosaic glass sink and lit it from underneath to create a warm, amber glow. It also doubles as her nightlight. To underscore the look of an underlit sink, matching sconces are ideal. Some kitchen designers are commissioning glass art sconces and pendants to match underlit glass kitchen countertops. This creates interesting, ambient lighting in a more finished-looking lighting package.

Glass art lighting can be a subtle accent, or a prism through which the light bathes a room in a swatch of exotic colors. “I find many decorators driving décor based on the lighting fixtures,” says Seattle-based glass artist, Suzanne Guttman. “It’s easy to fall in love with a tentacled pendant light or chandelier and make it the centerpiece of a room.”

The Cost of Beautiful

Investing in gorgeous glass art lighting is less daunting than one may assume. A Bellagio budget isn’t necessary to incorporate museum-quality glass lighting into a residential design. Sconces range from $400 to $1,200; small pendant lighting (suspended by one point in the ceiling) ranges from $300 to $600; larger pendants and chandeliers can range from $1,500 to $10,000. Serious collectors consider glass art an investment as well as being an aesthetic piece, just as they would an original painting, or a piece of antique furniture.

Glass Art Lighting 101

Once a homeowner decides on glass art lighting, it’s helpful to know a little about the glass and where it should be used, based on its physical characteristics. Here are some tips:

Blown glass has some limitations to the size and diameter that an artist can create. Some blown glass lighting utilizes many pieces in its design to create a larger, more sculptural effect.

Cast glass is very beautiful, but quite unusual in lighting because it is very heavy to suspend. One glass artist has created a woven glass technique that takes on the look of woven fabric, and results in a glass art lighting fixture that feels like a glass blanket.

Fused & slumped glass is popular for glass art lighting. Through the use of molds, fusing allows the artist to create large diameter canopied type lighting, thus enabling a single shade to be up to 48” in diameter. This creates consistency in shape and wonderful, unusual textures.

Etched glass is another wonderful medium for flat panel lighting. Pieces such as The Three Graces, by glass artist Margaret Oldman, can be lit with plain or multi-colored fiber optics, depending on the look a designer is trying to achieve.

Mosaic and stained glass are similar, in that they’re both ideal for flat panel lighting. Artists will often incorporate Italian smalti glass, blown sheets of transparent glass broken into small pieces, or dichroic glass, which is coated on one side with a metallic-like mirror finish.

Buyer Beware

One thing homeowners should remember, especially with lighting, is to be sure that the glass artist they’ve chosen understands how the electrical specs will dovetail with the piece, and that they know U.L. standards. As founder of Glass Artists Gallery, I estimate that close to 30% of our first-time customers come to us because they had negative experiences commissioning residential glass art lighting on their own. We are very careful about screening the artists we represent to make sure they understand the technical specifications

In short, glass art lighting choices become a very personal way to reveal a homeowner’s fingerprint on the interior design. As George Bernard Shaw once said, “You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul.”

For more information or to see thousands of images of art glass lighting, visit Art Lighting Gallery

Jack Healy is part owner of Functional Art Gallery, LLC - Functional Art Gallery - a growing family of online resources for the designer, architect, builder and discerning homeowner. The company focuses on handcrafted functional & architectural works of art for both residential and commercial projects. The Functional Art Gallery family includes Glass Artists Gallery, Sinks Gallery and Art Lighting Gallery. Together these resources provide the largest collection of artisan and designer products available in North America.

How To Energise Your Moonstone Pendant

Moonstone is one type of popular gemstone and is also a nature's wonder. Millions of years of formation have made Moonstone having strong healing properties and energies that can benefit the wearer spiritually. Personally I have some moonstone pendants and I wear them often to soothe my mood.

But before using a moonstone accessory for spiritual healing, it is good to purify it as they may have passed through different hands like money, travelled through different environments and filled with various magnetic fields. All these are imprinted within the stones and stored in their "crystalline" memory. It is always advisable to erase any "memory" recorded in the stone structure before they are worn.

In order to do so, Maria Duval advises you to immerse the moonstone pendant in a glass of receptable containing spring water (mineral water) for 24 hours. After that, do so regularly (about every second month) in order to discharge the gemstone of any negative energies it may possibly have accumulated in its structure.

To "recharge" your gemstone with lunar fluid, all you need to do is to expose your moonstone pendant to the moonlight overnight, preferably when the moon is in the Ascendant (the period extending from the New Moon to the Full Moon), on a window sill just to take an example.

Do this every two months too, after first purifying your stone in spring water. That way you will always have available a moonstone accessory capable of working at the best of its magic potentials.

Mere T is a spiritual researcher, blogger, and conservationist. She has benefited a lot from the guidance of psychic Maria Duval in the topic of spirituality. She lives in New Zealand with her family and she enjoys the serenity of her country as it helps her to build up on her spiritual bonding with the environment. Her Maria Duval blog is Maria Duval | Psychic | Clairvoyant.