Yellow Turquoise, Purple Turquoise…
Posted by Administrator on Feb 17, 2006
Turquoise is generally a bluish/greenish color, with some matrix that is brown or black. So what are these stones for sale called yellow turquoise and purple turquoise?
While I can’t answer that question definitely, I can shed a little light on the subject. Turquoise doesn’t come in purple, at least not from nature. Purple turquoise may very well by dyed turquoise, but don’t let anyone fool you into thinking that bright, almost magenta colored stone is natural.
Yellow turquoise, on the other hand, is trickier. I’ve heard that there is a rare variety of turquoise that is yellow in color. The keyword here is rare — and so-called yellow turquoise beads are most definitely not rare. Most of the beads I’ve seen that people are calling yellow turquoise don’t even really look like turquoise to me. Sure, they have some matrix, but a lot of stones have matrix. A yellowish stone with matrix does not equal yellow turquoise.
Why do I care about this? Mostly for the same reasons I cared a few years ago about “Cherry Quartz” which turned out to be glass, and why it irritates me that so many greenish stones are being called jade. I want people to be honest about what they are selling, and I have a selfish motivation for that. If I buy something from a vendor, and I’m told that it’s yellow turquoise, I might use it in a piece of jewelry and go on to sell that piece of jewelry, all the while claiming that I made it with yellow turquoise. Although I haven’t intentionally mislead a customer at that point, there is a chance that if the customer finds out the stone is not what I said it was, that I could be found guilty of fraud. Besides, I just don’t think it’s nice to lie to people in order to get their money.
Sometimes customers will ask my what kind of stone or shell I’ve used in a piece of jewelry - and often my answer is simply, “I’m not sure, but I thought it was pretty.” I like to use big stone beads - and big beads tend to be made of less expensive raw materials - stones like serpentine and various types of jasper and agate. These stones come in lots of different colors, and some of the jaspers and agates have really beautiful patterns in them - naturally. I see no reason to pretend that the pretty yellowish stone beads with the interesting matrix, which I bought in Tucson, are actually turquoise when I know full well that real turquoise beads (yellow or not) in that size would have been about ten times the money. Are my beads any less beautiful by not being turquoise? Absolutely not, and by being honest with my customers, I am able to build trust, and feel good about myself and the way I do business. Of course, I would like to know what these beads actually are, but that’s a whole different topic…
Fusing fine silver jump rings
Posted by Administrator on Feb 6, 2006
Fusing fine silver is possibly the easiest thing that a jewelry maker can do with a torch. That is my opinion, of course, but in my experience, it’s a great way to begin working with a torch.
Because fine silver doesn’t get firescale, and doesn’t require flux, you really don’t have to do any clean-up after you fuse. That also means no chemicals - no flux, no pickle - so the only fumes you have to worry about are the ones created by burning the gas in the torch.
Simple instructions:
Start with a soldering surface, a torch (even the small butane torches should work), and some fine silver jump rings. Make sure that you use good safety practices - use ventilation, wear goggles and a respirator, and because you are using fire, make sure there is a fire extinguisher close by just in case something other than the silver gets torched….trust me on this — I’ve burned holes in rugs, scorched my workbench, and singed my hair. Luckily I’ve never actually started a fire, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. (Speaking of hair, if you have long hair, keep it tied back when working with a torch.)
Make sure the jump rings are closed tightly, so that the seams are barely visible.
Light the torch, and heat a jump ring, focusing the flame back and forth near the seam. When you see the metal flash a little bit, you’re done - remove the flame.
Don’t touch the ring - it will be hot - pick it up with tweezers, or wait a few minutes for it to cool off.
And that’s it! When you first start fusing, you might melt some jump rings, or remove the flame before the fusing happens. This is totally normal and part of learning the process, so keep practicing. Silver scrap can always be sent to a refiner to be made into new wire, so don’t worry about melting a little bit of wire when you are learning a new technique.
