Cerussite

The Royal Ontario Museum houses the world’s largest faceted specimen of a mineral called Cerussite. Cerussite, from the Latin “white lead”, is a lead carbonate mineral with the chemical formula PbCO₃. 

Cerussite is especially interesting to jewelers and gem enthusiasts because of its extreme dispersion or fire. Dispersion is a gem’s ability to split light into prismatic colours. The desirable sparkle and flash a diamond displays is nothing compared to the vibrant dispersion of Cerussite. 

Diamond lovers can rest easy knowing that fragile Cerussite will never become the gem of choice despite its colour and flash. Besides only having a mohs hardness between 3 and 3.5 (quite soft!), Cerussite is very sensitive to heat and vibration. The specimen of Cerussite on display at the ROM is called the “Light of the Desert”, and weighs an astounding 898 carats and is approximately four times the size of the next largest faceted specimen. Considering how fragile Cerussite is, the “Light of the Desert” is an amazing feat of gemstone faceting.

Evolution of a bracelet

Happy Saturday friends!!  For my Very First Blog ever, I thought I would share with you the most recent addition to my bracelet family.  This golden beauty was born just this past Wednesday, and I have documented her arrival into this jewelled world for you.  Enjoy!

 

This is the prep stage.  I start by tracing the shape onto the wax, and then cut around it with my jeweller's saw.  I then use various tools, such as wax files and burs, to gradually carve out the final shape of the bracelet:

Once I am satisfied with the final product, I attach the wax sprues around the piece in order to prepare for casting.





 

Once the piece is cast, I use files, emery and polishing buffs to create the final finish.

 

As the final step, I electroplated this bracelet with 14karat gold-plating solution, to achieve the final golden glow.  And voila! 

 

- Sasha Oda-

Fun amethyst cocktail ring

As a jewelry designer there is nothing I love more than a cocktail ring. I came up with this sample spontaneously but I think it has potential. The ring shown is fabricated from sterling silver with a synthetic amethyst. I am not usually drawn to synthetic stones, but this one changes colour from deep purple to fuchsia pink - fun and cost effective!

Iona Alexandra Jewellery

Learning Curve to New Beginnings

A couple weeks ago, I finished up teaching my first 8 week Intro to Fabrication class. I must say, I was terribly nervous but excited at the same time. I had taught people how to do things before, as I'm sure everyone has, but I had never been in an actual teacher-student position. Lucky for me, my class was great. It was a pleasure helping them bring their visions to life.
Here are some pictures of the final projects!
Be sure to check back for Jewel Envy's latest class posting here, or sign up for our news letter and we'll notify you of the newest classes (and when we're set up in our new location!).
-L