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Gold: All gold wire, components, ear wires, hoops, chain, etc. is made of 14k gold-filled. What is 14k gold-filled? Unlike gold plating or vermeil (gold plated silver), gold-filled is a thick layer of 14k gold over a small core of base metal (usually brass), and will NOT wear off or tarnish. You can have all the beauty and wearability of 14k gold without the huge cost.
Most people who have metal allergies who feel they must wear 14k gold usually do not have any problems with the gold-filled.
Silver: All silver wire, components, ear wires, hoops, chain, etc. is made of .925 sterling silver. Unlike gold-filled, sterling silver will tarnish. Cleaning sterling is easy, but must be done frequently to keep it looking bright and fresh (see Cleaning and Care below).
What is handcrafted? "Handcrafted" can be a loosely based term, but at Calico Juno Designs, every piece is truly handcrafted by the artist. There are no mass-produced or machine-made parts or components. Everything is made by hand (even the earwires and hoops) with the utmost attention to detail and craftsmanship used. So when you wear Calico Juno Designs jewelry, you'll know you're wearing something special that was lovingly created by the artist, and will have that unique look that is distinctive to something truly made by hand.
Gemstones, Pearls, and Crystals: All gemstones, pearls, and crystals used by Calico Juno Designs are carefully selected by the artist to assure that high-quality stones are used. All gemstones and pearls are all-natural, meaning that there are no fake imitations or cheap stones used. Crystals and cubic zirconia are always manmade, but they have the longevity and color-fastness and brilliance of real gemstones, while at a fraction of the cost.
Semi-precious and Precious Gemstones, pearls, crystals:
(translucent = light shines through easily and is semi-clear)
(opaque = some light shines through and is a more solid color)
Tourmaline --- various shades, usually deep-to-pale pink and some greens (translucent)
Peridot --- lime green (translucent)
Lemon quartz --- pale yellow (translucent)
Rose Quartz --- very pale rosy-pink (opaque)
Clear Quartz --- clear, with some inclusions of crystallization (translucent)
Cherry Quartz --- medium peachy-red (translucent)
Citrine --- pale orange-yellow (translucent)
Carnelian --- deep orange (opaque)
Apatite --- bright blue-green (translucent)
Iolite --- medium denim blue (translucent)
Amethyst --- dark to light purple (translucent)
Idocrase --- bright leaf-green (translucent)
Chalcedony --- in the natural state is a pale periwinkle blue, but due to certain properties of the stone, it lends itself to being treated in various colors ranging from bright pink to tangerine to yellow to pale mint-green or blue to lavender (opaque)
Garnet --- deep blood-red to reddish-purple (translucent)
Grossular Garnet --- yellowish-green (translucent)
Spinel --- close to ruby in makeup and hardness, spinel can have a small range of colors (used here is a brilliant red-pink (translucent) and black (that has highlights of red)
Sapphire --- range of colors, used here is pink and tundru
Topaz --- various shades - shown here is a golden topaz (dark burnt-orange, translucent)
and lemon topaz (pale, bright lemon yellow - translucent)
Ruby --- one of the hardest of the corundums, usually a brilliant pinky dark red
(all stones below are opaque)
Peruvian Opal --- glowing sea-foam blue
Turquoise --- bright green-blue
Red Coral --- bright blood-red
Howlite< --- brilliant blue-green
Raspberry Agate --- ranges from pale purple-pink to bright purple
Onyx ---can vary in shades, used here is a bright royal blue and black
Jade --- rich mossy-green
Amber --- orange-yellow
Pearls --- all pearls are freshwater, irregular shapes, and can range in color from opalescent ivory to ivory-pink, ivory-peach, pale green-gold, copper, bronze, gold, and ebony.
Opalescent means that while one color is predominant, many other colors will sparkle and shine through when the light hits it; a trademark sign of true freshwater pearls.
Keshi or Biwa pearls are from Japan and are always irregularly shaped - from long skinny sticks to wide oblong pieces to irregular round pieces.
Crystals and Cubic Zirconia --- all are created in a similar fashion to making glass, and while that sounds "artificial", these stones are meticulously created in labs and come in a range of gorgeously beautiful colors, and have the lasting longevity of color, brilliance, and sparkle of natural gemstones.
What is Cubic Zirconia?
Cubic Zirconia is a synthetic gemstone, zirconium oxide (ZrO2), a mineral that is extremely rare in nature but is widely synthesized for use as a diamond simulant. The synthesized material is hard, optically flawless and usually colorless, but may be made in a variety of different colors by using certain metal oxides during the manufacturing process. Cubic zirconia is relatively hard, at about 8.5 on the Mohs scale - close to diamond, and much harder than most natural gems. Because of its low cost, durability, and close visual likeness to diamond, synthetic cubic zirconia has remained the most gemologically and economically important diamond simulant since 1976.
CARE AND CLEANING OF YOUR JEWELRY
Gold - while gold-filled jewelry does not tarnish as does sterling silver, occasionally it can be cleaned (the same way as regular 14k gold) using warm soapy water and an old toothbrush. A little ammonia added will help too. Or, you can use a commercial liquid gold cleaner.
Sterling silver jewelry needs to be cleaned often to keep it bright and shiny, as it will tarnish and become dull and dingy looking, eventually oxidizing and turning almost black.
Tarnishing is the natural process of a metal oxidizing, reacting with oxygen in the air and changing color (like iron rusting). This does not happen with gold as gold is an inert metal and does not react with oxygen, which is why it is valuable and highly prized.
Keeping your sterling silver jewelry protected in a jewelry box will help slow down the tarnishing.
But every so often, maybe every month or so, or when you notice your silver jewelry is no longer looking bright silvery white but dull and perhaps even grey, clean it with a commercial silver cleaner. Tarnex, a liquid silver cleaner (that smells like rotten eggs!) is recommended. You can just dunk your jewelry in the liquid, swish it around for about 5-7 seconds, and pull it out,any longer may damage stones!!! Rinse with warm running water and dry with a paper towel (not terry cloth, as it may snag), and your jewelry will look bright and shiny again.
All Calico Juno Designs jewelry should be handled with care, as it is delicate. If it does snag on something, do not pull at the jewelry as it may stretch it out of shape (if this has already happened, please contact me!). Gently hold the jewelry and pull instead on the snagged item.
While not being worn, the jewelry should be carefully stored in separate quarters away from other jewelry, to keep it from getting tangled. Optimally it should be hung up on special displays designed for hanging jewerly on.
Any questions, please contact me! CalicoJunoDesigns@msn.com
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