Learning all about Flourite Jewelry

With all of the beautiful minerals that are found on earth, we have access to amazing gemstones that are created from amazing minerals. The Fluorite is a beautiful mineral that comes in a wide range of colors like; blue, green, yellow, yellow-orange, purple, brown, clear (colorless), pink, etc. Fluorite is found and mined from different deposits located in the United States of America, Russia, Pakistan and Canada.

While Fluorite is beautiful, it comes in on the Mohs hardness scale as a 4 so it is a soft mineral that needs to be taken care of properly. It has a tendency to crack to chip if not taken care of properly. Since this is a semi-soft mineral based gemstone, it is best used in earrings, pendants and pins. It doesn't make a good stone for bracelets or rings due to it's softness and our normal wear and tear on those two jewelry items.

Fluorite stones do need to be as flawless as possible to be used in a jewelry piece as irregularities in the stone, called inclusions, can be seen really well by the naked eye in this particular gem. The value of the stone would be lessened with the inclusions and they would detract from the beauty of the gem,

Just like your semi-precious and precious gemstones, Fluorite jewelry should never be submerged in water. When cleaning your jewelry you want to avoid harsh abrasive chemicals and just use a slightly dampened cloth. If your jewelry needs a deeper cleaning, it is recommended that a professional jeweler clean them.

Make sure to store your Fluorite jewelry in a protective jewelry box or jewelry armoire. This stone is very delicate so keep other jewelry pieces separate because damage can occur. Also, keep Fluorite jewelry out of direct sunlight and away from extreme heat/temperatures.

Following these simple procedures are going to insure that you're beautiful Fluorite jewelry will be in great condition to wear any time for many years to come.

by Karen Mollison, contributing editor at Chasing Treasure.com, online retailer of high quality jewelry boxes, watch cases and jewelry armoires.

Jewelry Clasp Terminology

Clasps are jewelry fasteners used in neck chains, bracelets and anklets to fasten one end of the chain to the other end of the chain. There are many different styles and shapes of jewelry clasps and they can be found in a wide variety of metals. Some clasps are purely functional and others are functional and decorative as part of the overall design of the jewelry piece. Here are some additional terminologies for the clasps that are available in the marketplace today.

Toggle Clasps
These are some of the easiest and prettiest of all your clasp types. This style of clasp features a ring and a t shaped bar. When you use this style of clasp the t-shaped bar simply slides through the ring and gravity will help to secure it. You often see this type of clasp used on necklaces and bracelets. The clasp can be purely functional but you can also find toggle clasps that are decorative/fancy and functional too.

Magnetic Clasps
These are a newer style jewelry that has hit the marketplace over the past several years and are great for those with dexterity problems as they are very easy to secure. The clasp is made up of 2 magnetic parts and as soon as those 2 parts get near each other they automatically connect themselves together. Just like your refrigerator and a magnet.  Those with pace makers, pregnant women or other patiencts who have electronic devices implanted in them should not use jewelry that contains magnetic strips.

S-Clasps
These types of clasps have been around for centuries and are still used today in jewelry making. This type of clasp is done in an s-shape and each end of the s will hook into small rings that are attached to your chain ends. This is another great clasp for those with dexterity issues.

Tube Bar Clasps
This type of clasp is only used on necklaces and consists of 2 parts which are shaped like tubes. The one tube is grooved and the other tube is slotted. The 2 pieces slide together and then lock into place.

Using these terms should help you in finding and selecting the right clasp for your chains.

by Karen Mollison, contributing editor at Chasing Treasure.com, online retailer of high quality jewelry boxes, watch cases and jewelry armoires.