Thailand Jewelry

Iolite Beads

Out of all the beautiful stones that I brought to sell on The Big Island of Hawai’i it was the strand of rectangular Iolite beads that piqued my interest the most – I ended up keeping it to make a bracelet for myself. There is something about its blue-gray-purple color with hints of silver and gold that reminded me of a clouded sky reflecting off the turbulent ocean surrounding the islands.

The name Iolite comes from the Greek word for violet. Even though the stone beads I have are almost violet, it still brought to my mind a stormy sea at dusk.

After researching about Iolite, I found out that it is also called ‘water sapphire’ or ‘Viking’s Compass’ because of its ability to tell the direction of the sun on cloudy days. There is some correlation with the polarization of light scattered by air molecules. I am not entirely sure how this works and will research it more. Is there anyone who can help explain it? I would love to hear from you. Contact me.

Iolite is not that well known. In mineralogy they call it Cordierite and it is a magnesium iron aluminum cyclosilicate. Iron is almost always present. It is sometimes used as a less expensive alternative to sapphire and is found in many countries including Sri Lanka, India, Burma, Brazil, Tanzania. Read more about Iolite on wikipedia. Or see more gemstone quality Iolite at Google images.

Currently on The Big Island, Hawai’i to sell stones, beads and visit family. Will resume posting in December when I am back in Bangkok, Thailand. Thanks! Email me if any questions: info [at] thailandjewelryblog.com

Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair – February 26 to March 2, 2010

For more info, visit the organizer’s website.

Daniel Design is a manufacturer and exporter located in Bangkok, Thailand.

They produce 925 sterling silver jewelry in a variety of designs including bracelets, rings, pendants, earrings, necklaces, bangles with precious, semiprecious gem stones and diamond. Fine finish with silver, rhodium, or gold plated.

Learn more at www.danieldesignco.com

Reese Witherspoon InStyle Nov 2009

November 2009

Two magazine covers.

Two A-list Hollywood actresses.

Similar Yellow Gold Layered Necklaces

In an earlier post we talked about white and black rhodium plating. There are other types of jewelry plating. Here you can see four types of jewelry plating on four rings. For each ring the base metal is silver and the stones are invisibly set with imitation gemstones.

1. 18K Yellow Gold

2. 18K Rose Gold

3. White Rhodium

4. Black Rhodium

For more information about Cube Jewelry, visit their website.

Tissoro | Silver & Black Leather Men's Jewelry Collection

Tissoro (Thailand) Launches New Silver & Black Leather Men’s Jewelry Collection

Thailand Sea Turtle Jewelry - Bracelet Watch

Sea Turtles: Eggs Gender and Jewelry

Did you know…sea turtle eggs are neither male or female when they are laid? Turtle egg gender depends on the temperature of the sand where they are buried. Lighter sand results in higher temperatures and more female hatchlings.

In Thailand, there is an island named Turtle Island or Koh Tao (เกาะเต่า). Located off the Eastern coast in the Gulf of Thailand, Koh Tao is well known for its wildlife and coral reefs making it a perfect destination for scuba diving and snorkeling.

This Thailand Sea Turtle Watch is a beautiful example of Thai silver work and is accompanied by antique trade beads, semi precious stones and an old Indian silver charm. 7 ½ inches long.

(Did you know fact: courtesy of Kirsty Bennett)

V-Report: Insanely Stainless Steel

V-Reporter: Esan Nishaburi
Bangkok, Thailand
15 October 2009

Stainless steel is a new and exciting material used in modern jewelry but it hasn’t always been so stainless.

Dating back to 12th century BC, iron was used by humans for creating many tools, and as the knowledge of metallurgy progressed, man overcame the major disadvantage of iron oxidization and corrosion by adding carbon to iron, thus making steel. The use of steel became so common that steel artifacts have been found in almost every historical site across Europe, Middle East, and many other parts of Asia including India and China. Two noticeable examples are the 4000 year old steel spear swords and blades in Anatolia (current day Turkey) and the Iron Pillar of Delhi erected by the order of Kumara Gupta I around 400 AD which has resisted major corrosion for nearly 1600 years.

Further advancement in metallurgy in the 18th and 19th century helped increase the resistance of steel to oxidization by using alloys such as chromium and decreasing the presence of carbon. Stainless steel or inox steel was born and with it’s birth came thousands of new uses ranging from cutlery and watch cases to military, architecture and surgical tools.

Modern stainless still with the absence of carbon is now being produced in higher qualities obtaining an increasing presence in the jewelry world. Traditionally inox is used to make watch bands and watch cases, but in the past 4 to 5 years the use of high quality stainless steel for other types of jewelry is on the rise.

A wide range of stainless steel bracelets, rings, cufflinks, pendants, money clips and tie pins are now available for the modern trendy man and occasionally for women.

Hard surface, durability, attractive silvery color, and a wide range of possible surface finishing, combined with corrosion resistance and 100% recyclable properties has made this metal ideal for modern jewelry. Since the symbol for iron and ‘man’ are the same, it’s no surprise that stainless steel is currently used more often in men’s jewelry than women’s jewelry, but maybe it will even out over time ;-)

Thailand Jewelry - Nature Art Gallery

Thailand Jewelry – Nature Art Gallery

www.thailand-jewelry.com

Micha Trav and his partner Shai Shalom Nissim, at Nature Art Gallery want to share their love of stones with you. Through nearly twenty years of combined travel and experience living in the Orient, Micha and Shai developed a deep appreciation and knowledge of the world of crystals.

As a team, Micha and Shai bring an extensive love and understanding of the power of crystals and aim to share that with the public by educating people about the properties of stones and crystals and creating unique jewelry that is not only beautiful, but also highly healing in nature.

There are already four locations of the Nature Art Gallery in Thailand, three in Haad Rin on Koh Pha Ngan and the newest one on Koh Samui in the popular Chaweng beach area. There will be more stores to come elsewhere in the near future. All four shops sell unique jewelry made of gold, silver, precious and semi-precious stones as well as a selection of hand-made leather bags, belts and other accessories. Welcome to the mysterious and magical world of stones. Come and let the stone choose you.

Read more about founders, Micha Trav and his partner Shai Shalom Nissim at the Nature Art Gallery website or contact them.