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Summer is my favorite time of year, but all that fun-in-the-sun can be hard on your jewelry. Here are a few tips to help you make it through beach season with your favorite jewels in tact: It’s best to keep your jewelry out of the sun. Gemstones can be sensitive to light. Amethyst and topaz for example, can fade in color when exposed to sunlight. Pearls can become dry and brittle when subjected to extreme heat and light. It’s best to leave your gemstone jewelry at home when you are headed out for a beach day. Be careful with sunscreen....

It's simple...

Green amethyst is one of the most popular gems I work with.  The soft green color is flattering on just about everyone.  Other gems like purple amethyst or blue topaz give the wearer a bold pop of color, but green amethyst reads more like a neutral.  You can really wear it with everything.  But did you know that green amethyst is actually a misnomer? The accurate name of green amethyst is prasiolite (pronounced "PRAYS-ee-oh-light”). Prasiolite is a yellow-green variety of quartz.  Most prasiolite is produced by heating natural amethyst, which changes the color of the amethyst from purple to green. ...

Repairs or edits to finished jewelry can be tricky, especially when gemstones are involved. Very few gems can stand up to the heat of soldering. So when confronted with a soldering task near a vulnerable gem, you can either remove the gem from the setting, or figure out a way to protect the gem from the heat.  Enter the potato...