Materials

Metals

Sterling silver is 92.5% pure silver (.925) metal. This standard alloy is used to assure consistent quality among sterling products. Silver that is not sterling has less pure silver content and will often be softer, darker in color and less shiny. Sterling is 92.5% pure instead of 100% pure in order to achieve the requisite hardness and stability to resist wear and tear, and hold its shape. Sterling Silver has no nickel, so is wearable by most segments of the population. Sterling is sometimes stamped .925, because sterling silver is made of 92.5% silver, and 7.5% copper. All my pieces are Sterling Silver .925. I do not work with lower quality silver.

Gold filled is a layered gold product that is gaining popularity throughout the Americas, Asia and Europe. It is a quality material that is common in all types of jewelry. The product is easy to care for and will maintain its golden shine for a lifetime.

Gold filled is constructed in two or three layers. The core metal is jewelers’ brass. A gold alloy is then bonded to one or both surfaces of the brass core with heat and pressure. The bonded raw material is then sold as sheet or wire to jewelry manufacturers for use in designs.

Gold filled is legally required to contain 5% or 1/20 gold by weight. This 5% is then described by the karatage of the gold alloy. Most gold-filled is 12kt or 14kt gold-filled. It is most accurately labeled with the karatage, the “/” symbol, and then 20 to reflect this construction. Products are identified as 14/20 Gold filled or 12/20 Gold Filled; alternatively, 14kt Gold Filled or 12kt Gold Filled are also acceptable. The product is also sometimes described as “gold fill” with the appropriate karatage.

Birthstones & Gemstones

A birthstone is a gem or stone which is associated with the month which someone was born. They are a tradition and often given as gifts. Although the Modern birthstone is the most common, many cultures reconize different lists than others. You can find some of the semiprecious stones in my jewelry.

What is a Gemstone?

The term “Gemstone” can be used to identify any mineral highly prized for it’s beauty, durability, and rarity. A Gem is a mineral enhanced in some manner by altering the shape, usually by cutting or polishing. Over 4000 minerals have been identified, however, fewer than 100 are classified as gemstones.

What classifies a Gemstone as Precious or Semi-Precious?

Only a minority of these 100 minerals classified as Gemstones are of major importance. Some of these are the diamond, corundum (sapphire and ruby), beryl (emerald and aquamarine), chrysoberyl, feldspar (sunstone, moonstone, and labradorite), garnets, jadeite and nephrite (jade), lazurite (lapis lazuli), olivines (peridot), opal, aragonite (pearl), quartz (in all its varieties), spinel, topaz, tourmaline, turquoise and zircon. These are usally divided into two categories: precious and semiprecious. Diamond, the two color varieties of corundum, sapphire, ruby and the deep variety of beryl (emerald) are considered precious. You can find some semiprecious stone in the unique handmade jewelry here at Kincaidesigns. Some of these semiprecious stones used in the handmade jewelry are peridot, amethyst, onyx, garnet, aquamarine, quartz, lemon quartz, tourmaline, and more.

Traditional Gemstone Properties

Agates: Balancing physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual energies; perceptiveness, strength, inspiration, awakening talents.
Amazonite: Success, joy, self-expression, awakening heart, soothing, harmony, balancing.
Amber: Soothing, calming, cleansing.
Amethyst: Contentment, spirituality, dreams, healing, peace, happiness, love, intuition.
Ametrine: Intellectual stimulation, attunement, releasing, dispelling tension, connecting.
Apatite: Intellect, achieving results, healing, insight, humanitarianism, meditation, balance, creativity.
Aquamarine: Courage, purification, peace, intuition, self-expression, balance, preparedness.
Aventurine: Healing, money, mental agility, visual acuity, peace, opening heart, motivation, leadership.
Azurite: Intuitive energy, dreams, healing, insight, stilling the mind, concentration, self transformation.
Bloodstone: Courage, intense healing, renewal, strength, victory, intuitive decision making.
Calcite: Purification, peace, calming, memory, awareness, appreciation of nature.
Carnelian: Precision, analytical capabilities, physical energy, verbal skill, peace, spirituality.
Celestite: Verbal skill, healing, compassion, calming, growth, intuition, hope.
Chrysocolla: Easing heartache, stamina, wisdom, peace, love, communication, vitality, inner strength.
Chrysoprase: Balancing male-female energy, love, grace, compassion, clemency, personal growth.
Citrine: Intuition, comfort, protection, creativity, physical energy, wealth, mental awakening.
Coral: Diplomacy, quieting emotions, visualization.
Crystal Quartz: Intensifying energy, spiritual development, healing, raising consciousness.
Diamond: Courage, strength, healing, protection, spirituality, mental abilities.
Dumortierite: Self-reliance, stamina, patience, recognition of potential, understanding, communication of ideas.
Emerald: Love, domestic bliss, sensitivity, loyalty, memory, mental capacity, harmony, focus, eliminating negativity.
Fluorite: Stability, impartial reasoning, responsibility, concentration, health.
Fossil Stone: Accomplishments, improvement of one’s environment, communication, innovation.
Garnet: Health, removing negativity, awareness, commitment, regeneration, order, insight.
Hematite: Mental attunement, memory, calming, balance, focusing energy and emotions, peace, inner happiness, transforming negativity.
Howlite: Awareness, calm, emotional expression, observation, patience, eliminating negativity.
Iolite: Intuition, spiritual growth, healing, balance, releasing discord, awakening to inner knowledge.
Jade: Fidelity, dreams, realization of potential, peace, accord, resourcefulness, accomplishment.
Jaspers: Protection, nurturing, joy, awareness; balancing of physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual energies.
Labradorite: Alignment, spiritual connection, transformation, clarity, peace, progression, discernment.
Lapis Lazuli: Wisdom, intuition, awareness, objectivity, clarity, creativity, expanded consciousness, dreams, purity, courage, serenity.
Lepidolite: Hope, stress reduction, birth, peace, spirituality, physical strength, luck, protection, emotional balance.
Malachite: Transformation, insight, clarifying emotions, fidelity, loyalty, practicality.
Marble: Charitable actions, original thinking, alleviation of sorrow.
Moonstone: Introspection, reflection, beginnings, insight, tenderness, harmony, peace, travel.
Mother of Pearl: Mental clarity, intuition, sensitivity, imagination, adaptability, cooperation.
Obsidians: Clarity, deflecting negativity, protection, healing.
Onyx: Self-control, decision making, intuition, recognition of personal strengths.
Opal: Creativity, spontaneity, relationships, memory, happy dreams and changes.
Pearl: Purity, faith, charity, innocence, integrity, focus, wisdom, spirituality, sincerity, fertility.
Peridot: Warmth, friendliness, understanding, openness in love and relationships, regulation of cycles.
Pyrite: Defense, prevention, protection from negativity, physical wholeness, memory.
Rhodocrosite: Love, emotional balance, cleansing, renewal, relaxation, expansion of consciousness.
Rhodonite: Peace, generosity, attention to details.
Rhyolite: Change, variety, progress, creativity, transcending barriers.
Rose Quartz: Love, peace, happiness, gentleness, healing emotional wounds.
Ruby: Nurturing, spiritual wisdom, attainment of values, economic stability, protection from distress.
Sapphire: Joy, peace, beauty, intuition, prosperity, fulfillment of dreams.
Serpentine: (see Jade)
Smoky Quartz: Dissolving emotional blockage, clearing the mind, cooperation, personal pride, joy in living, attentiveness to the moment, protection.
Sodalite: Wisdom, logic, calmness, healing, stress reduction, companionship, self-esteem.
Sunstone: Alleviating fears, energizing, cleansing.
Tanzanite: Communication, intuition, protection, symmetry, decision-making, spirituality.
Tiger Eye: Practicality, peacefulness, clarity, intelligence, intuition, new experiences, financial stability, calmness, releasing inhibitions.
Tiger Iron: Artistic endeavors, beauty, vitality.
Topaz: True love, success in endeavors, understanding of interrelationships, expression of ideas, trust, health, personal expansion and growth.
Tourmaline: Energizing, soul-searching, releasing.
Turquoise: Spiritual attunement, cleansing, healing, protection, valor, soothing, peace of mind, guidance through the unknown, romantic spontaneity.
Unakite: Balance, re-birth, foresight, emotional balance.
Zoisite: Dispelling laziness, facilitating advancement.

Swarovski Crystal Beads

Swarovski (Austrian) crystals are expertly faceted and polished to create the world’s finest quality crystals. In 1892 glassmaker Daniel Swarovski invented a machine that revolutionized the crystal cutting and polishing process. For over 120 years Swarovski has continued to lead the world in crystal quality, colors and shapes.