Opals are expensive and opal miners and opal cutters like to make even the thinnest or smallest piece of opal stone into something that will sell and look good in jewelry.

An opal cutter begins with a piece of opal and he or she wishes to make it into a particular shape, most times that will be an oval, but there will be odd shapes like triangles and small chips left over so these small bits are polished as well in the hope that they can be sold as chips to be used in jewelry making somehow.

But then sometimes a nice piece of opal will be so thin that it will break apart if we use it in a ring or other piece of jewelry. In that case the cutter can glue a piece of common opal , called potch, on the back of it and this will reinforce it so that it can be set in jewelry. These two pieces of opal glued together are now called something else – a doublet and another name for that is an opal product. Some people wishfully like to call it a reinforced opal but no matter how you think about it you cannot escape the fact that it is a doublet. Doublets are worth less than a solid opal.

Sometimes the thin piece of opal is so thin that even a backing to reinforce it is not enough so the cutter puts a third piece on the first two. This third piece is usually a clear dome of quartz or perhaps glass or some other clear substance. This opal product is now called a triplet. Triplets are worth less than doublets.

The last type of opal product is called mosaic. Mosaics are made by very patient and skilled people who get chips of bright colored opal and glue them together into intricate patterns and make them into jewelry or wall hangings. They are often magnificent and relatively cheap as they are mostly from cottage industry craftspeople.

The short story is that the most prized of the non blue sapphires or the “fancy” sapphires is called the Padparadscha which gets its name form the lotus flower. Its colouring is a blend of pink and orange. These stones are rare and have a distinct even arrangement of the colours throughout. The colours are evenly spread throughout the stone but if you view it from the side and the tones are be separated then this is just a fancy sapphire rather than a true padparadscha.

The longer story is more complex and the colour identity is not as easy as most writers discuss. It seems that people who research this thoroughly suggest that the colouring is also like a tropical sunset.

Experts suggest that even the term padparadscha is misunderstood and perhaps should not be used for what is now commonly understood by the term.

The bottom line for consumer is simply how to tell a padparadscha from a pink sapphire. If experts seem to have so much trouble in deciding what it is exactly and what it should be called then what hope has a consumer got? The answer is to trust your eyes and trust your vendor after taking the steps to make sure that you actually can trust him or her.

The gem experts suggest that a high quality Padparadscha will be untreated, eye clean, that is having no inclusions visible to the naked eye, will have a blend of pink and orange, and will be best cut as a round stone. They will come from Ceylon.

They are best viewed in daylight or fluorescent light rather than incandescent. The lesser quality stones will most likely be heat treated to improve their overall quality as only the very best are untreated. They may also come from other countries such as Vietnam and Africa and even Australia. There are also synthetic padparadscha stones.

The best way to get your loved one the diamond ring she'll love and cherish for always is to let her choose her favorite diamond ring herself. But if you are worried she'll pick out a ring with the biggest diamond in store or you simply want to get down on your knees and surprise her with that big question, then the second best thing is to choose for her.

Buying a diamond engagement ring is pretty tricky since you are a man. Here are easy guidelines for you to follow before heading out to a jeweler's in town or visiting an online jewelry store. Just make sure you're well-prepared and know how to buy a diamond ring before you really buy one.

1. Do you know what kind of metal does she like to wear? - Every woman is different. While some prefer gold jewelry, others adore white gold and platinum. Have you noticed her jewelry? Is her necklace in gold or silver color? What about her earrings and bracelets? If they're all the same, and she kind of wears them all the time, then that's her favorite. So, when you buy her a diamond ring, you'll have to look at either the ones in gold or the ones in white gold or platinum. Note that white gold is cheaper than platinum. It will be a lot easier for you.

2. Is she an adventurous, a classic or a contemporary woman? - You must know her. After all, she is the one you love, isn't she? If you can summarize her in one word? What's she like? Is she funky, edgy, eccentric, shy, old-world, self-confident, dare-devil, outspoken, conservative, elegant, urban, modern, sexy or what? Is she an Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider, an Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's, a Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City, or a Jennifer Aniston in Friends? Keep this in mind when you pick out a diamond ring for her. The diamond ring must portrays her style.

3. Notice her hands and fingers: Are they short and chubby or long and sleek? - This is an extremely important factor. If she has short and chubby hands and fingers, then the best choice would be an elongated diamond like a marquise or an oval because it will make her fingers look longer. If her hands and fingers are long and sleek, then you would have no problem at all. Any diamond will look good on her. Now about the band. If the band is thick, it will make her fingers look shorter. On the contrary, if the band is thin, it will make her fingers look longer.

4. Do you know what shape of jewelry she likes? - While round diamonds are the most popular shape of diamond, it is very important that you pick the diamond shape she likes the best. You can always tell by looking at the jewelry she wears every day. Is it round, pear-shaped, square, or cluttered? Do you think she'd prefer a solitaire diamond engagement ring (a diamond set alone in a ring)? Or do you think she'd perfer a cluster of diamonds? If you take a good look at her everyday jewelry, you'll have a pretty good idea.

All pearls are formed when a small object finds its way into a oyster and becomes an irritant. As a natural reaction the oyster coats it with a substance called nacre and it is the continual covering of this nacre which we call the pearl.

There are two types of pearls. Natural and cultivated. Natural pearls are those which nature has formed by itself. The irritant has gotten into the oyster through some crevasse or small opening and irritated the oyster to form the nacre covering.

A cultivated pearl is made by the deliberate insertion of a foreign substance, often another piece of shell, to the oyster and then nurturing it for a number of years until a pearl is made.

Whereas the natural pearl can be many different shapes and sizes and even colors, the cultivated pearl tends to be round or spherical in shape although coloring can be added to ensure the pearl is of a particular hue or color.

The discovery of how to make cultivated pearls changed the pearl industry for all time. Pearls became available to most people and not just to the select few due to their rarity.

This boosted the industry to a multi million dollar enterprise that flourishes around the world today.

Cultured pearls can be made virtually if not completely flawless and the oyster, during the pearl making process, is monitored and cared for in order to enable it to produce the best cultivated pearls.

Ti can also be done in bulk and this also brings the price for cultivated pearls down to an affordable price and pearls became accessible to large numbers of people around the world.

The advent of cultured pearls took most of the risk, and guesswork out of the pearl industry, allowing it to become stable and predictable, and fostering its rapid growth over the past 100 years. Today the cultured pearl industry has effectively replaced the natural pearl industry, turning the natural gems of old into collectors' pieces.

Apart from the obvious color, size and shape of natural pearls as against cultivated you can also tell the difference using x-rays to reveal the nucleus of the pearl.

Pearls are formed inside the body of oysters. The mollusk deposits layer of nacre, a combination of crystalline and organic substances, when any irritant or parasite enters or placed inside its body. Over a period of time with nacre building up in layers and layers, the pearl is formed.

All the pearls sold in USA and in other countries around the world are cultured pearls and are known by various names such as freshwater pearls, akoya seawater pearls etc. Natural pearls are rarity.

The bead-nucleating technology of producing cultured pearls was developed and perfected by Kokichi Mikimoto of Japan in early 20th Century. Japan is famous for producing akoya cultured pearls but recently China has become the leading source of all cultured pearls - freshwater and akoya pearls.

Difference in cultured and natural pearls can’t be made with naked eyes; however, distinction becomes very prominent when seen through x-rays. Cultured pearls are used in pearl jewelry as well as in cosmetics. One should also be careful about imitation pearls.

Cultured pearls are generally in white colors but can be colored-dyed in various colors.

In the world of creative arts, bead jewelry making and design is quickly becoming the most popular craft. This craft offers boundless possibilities in terms of design and materials and will surely awaken the artist in you. The limitless possibilities in design and form in this craft may be overwhelming and may cause some problems but at the same time may allow you to exercise your creativity freely.

An expert in the art of bead jewelry making maintains that problems in the craft may pave the way for the birth of unique design elements. Take for example her experience with designing a bracelet out of jasper and copper. Jasper drill rings are unpopular with crafters because they are generally unattractive and not conveniently functional.

She chose a colorful combination of red, brown and green jasper drill rings for her bracelet design. However the result of her effort looked appalling. She decided to try another style to salvage her project. She experimented with copper to compliment the colors in the jasper drill rings.

The results were dramatic. The element of copper blended the colors of the jasper drill rings and transformed into a stunning masterpiece. She even accented the bracelet with copper wire. She discovered that the key to working with any element when it comes to bead jewelry making was in the harmony and blending of the colors.

The abundance of materials in bead jewelry making gives you plenty of opportunities to experiment. All you need is your imagination and a lot of patience. The initial results of your project may not be impressive but if you keep at it you may be rewarded with a stunning work of art.

One of the recent and most fashionable trends in bead jewelry making is cell phone charms. They are easy to make and allows you to exercise our creativity in personalizing your cell phone. They are very popular among young girls and many of them have started to make their own design. Materials that give headaches to seasoned crafters may provide inspiration for young budding artists.