This is a just a short article with random notes about how they "used to do it", as culled from early 1900's sources. As will become obvious from some of the ingredients used, they didn't take a lot of safety precautions back then. Hence, these are provided as a snapshot of history only and we don't recommend using anything but modern cleaners which have been proven safe.
Everyone has their tried and true methods of cleaning jewelry using various commercial products, baking soda and assorted home remedies. Back before the days of ultrasonic cleaners and safe, chemical-based cleaners, our ancestors had some unique approaches to keep their gold and sterling silver sparkling clean.
From the pages of The Boy Mechanic published in 1913:
Jewelry Cleaning
To cleanse articles of silver, gold, bronze and brass use a saturated solution of cyanide
of potassium. To clean small articles, dip each one into the solution and rinse
immediately in hot water; then dry and polish with a linen cloth. Larger articles are
cleaned by rubbing the surface with a small tuft of cotton saturated in the solution. As
cyanide of potassium is a deadly poison, care must be taken not to have it touch any sore
spot on the flesh.
From the same pages of The Boy Mechanic:
To Clean Silver:
A good method to clean silver of any kind is to place the articles in an aluminum
vessel and add a few pieces of zinc. Hot water is added and the silver boiled until clean.
It is best to use soft water. The tarnish is removed by the electrolytic action of the zinc
on the aluminum and the silver, and the latter will take on a bright luster. This method of
cleaning will not injure oxidized or black silver, nor that which is partly oxidized.
Our last item is just something we've always thought was amazing and it's sure to be a hit with antique watch collectors and historical photography bugs the world over!
Making Photographs on Watch Dials
1) Beat to a foam the white of an egg, with the addition of a little ammonia. Add 9 oz.
and 3 dr. of water and beat again. After the egg has settled, filter and let the liquid run
over the dial, which has been previously cleaned with ammonia. When the surplus has
run off, coat with the mixture and allow to dry.
2) A sensitive collodion is now produced as follows: Dissolve 9 gr. of chloride of zinc in
5 dr. of alcohol; add 7-1/2 gr. of collodion cotton and 6-1/2 dr. of ether. Shake the whole
forcibly.
3) Dissolve 23 gr. of nitrate of silver in hot water, add 1-1/2 dr. of alcohol and keep the
whole solution by heating. The silver solution is now added in small quantities at a time
to the collodion, which must be well settled. This, of course, is done in the dark room.
After 24 hours the emulsion is filtered by passing it through cotton moistened with
alcohol. This durable collodion emulsion is now flowed thinly upon the prepared watch
dial, which, after the collodion has coagulated, is moved up and down in distilled
water until the fatty stripes disappear. The water is then changed once, and after a short
immersion, the dial is left to dry on a piece of blotting paper.
4) It is now ready for exposure. Expose under magnesium light and develop with a citrate oxalic developer, or
in the following hydroquinone developer:
Hydroquinone ………… 1 dr.
Bromide of potassium .... 6 dr.
Sulphite of soda .……….. 1-1/2 oz.
Carbonate of soda .……... 2-2/3 dr.
Water ………………….. 14 oz.
5) After fixing and drying, coat with a transparent positive varnish.
It's hard for us to imagine how anyone ever figured that out to begin with! We hope you've enjoyed this look back at a time when people were forced to rely on good old Yankee know-how, common sense and their own ingenuity!
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Live from New York ....
Live from New York ..... it's Bijoux Extraordinaire! Being a jeweler has its perks. Several times each year I travel to distant cities and countries to discover what is new and exciting in jewelry and to meet with some of my favorite gem cutters, goldsmiths and jewelry designers.
Most recently, my destination was the Big Apple and the annual Jewelers of America show. With over 1,400 exhibitors this show is a wonderful opportunity to discover emerging jewelry trends, as well as conduct market research for our jewelry appraisal lab.
Of course, I also never resist the opportunity to acquire beautiful jewels and gemstones for our clients and the Bijoux collection. Following is a brief summary of what I saw, heard and purchased.
Part of the fun of the New York show is discovering new gemstones and cutting styles. One exciting innovation is the faceting of pearls. An inventive lapidary (gem cutter) has perfected a method for gently faceting these delicate gems and the results are astounding! When faceted, white and light colored pearls take on a shimmering sparkle as if they have been inset with numerous sparkling diamonds. For Tahitian Black and darker pearls, faceting creates a stunning optical illusion: a small, dark iridescent pearl appears to be magically floating within a larger pearl. The effect has to be seen to be believed. Naturally, we acquired several of these rare beauties for the Bijoux collection.
What is exciting in estate jewelry? The hottest trend is filigree rings from the Edwardian and the early Art Deco periods. Most often crafted in platinum or white gold, these intricate, lacy jewels are an ideal setting for a diamond or colored gemstone. In New York we purchased several wonderful antique filigree rings. We also discovered a very talented contemporary goldsmith who is working in these antique styles and has mastered the arts of filigree, engraving and chasing. If you would like to view these beautiful antique and contemporary filigree rings, please give us a call (800 770-9440).
The vibrant blues and purples of tanzanite continue to win fans among jewelry designers and consumers. Popular settings for this captivating gemstone include antique-style platinum rings and elegant custom design jewels. Because of increased demand and waning mine production, finer quality tanzanites are becoming more difficult to find in sizes greater than one carat. As a result, the cost of these finer gemstones is increasing.
In contrast, lesser quality and commercial grade tanzanites are readily available and in abundant supply. By exploiting the recent cave-in and tragedy at the tanzanite mines, some unscrupulous gem dealers are attempting to create a false sense of scarcity and manipulate consumers into paying excessive prices for lower quality gemstones. This is occurring in both the retail and wholesale markets. Remember, when buying jewelry and gemstones always be wary of tall tales and big sales.
While in New York we acquired a wonderful selection of fine jewelry, faceted pearls and dazzling gemstones. If you would like to learn more about these exciting jewels, please call to arrange a convenient time to come and visit us.
Most recently, my destination was the Big Apple and the annual Jewelers of America show. With over 1,400 exhibitors this show is a wonderful opportunity to discover emerging jewelry trends, as well as conduct market research for our jewelry appraisal lab.
Of course, I also never resist the opportunity to acquire beautiful jewels and gemstones for our clients and the Bijoux collection. Following is a brief summary of what I saw, heard and purchased.
Part of the fun of the New York show is discovering new gemstones and cutting styles. One exciting innovation is the faceting of pearls. An inventive lapidary (gem cutter) has perfected a method for gently faceting these delicate gems and the results are astounding! When faceted, white and light colored pearls take on a shimmering sparkle as if they have been inset with numerous sparkling diamonds. For Tahitian Black and darker pearls, faceting creates a stunning optical illusion: a small, dark iridescent pearl appears to be magically floating within a larger pearl. The effect has to be seen to be believed. Naturally, we acquired several of these rare beauties for the Bijoux collection.
What is exciting in estate jewelry? The hottest trend is filigree rings from the Edwardian and the early Art Deco periods. Most often crafted in platinum or white gold, these intricate, lacy jewels are an ideal setting for a diamond or colored gemstone. In New York we purchased several wonderful antique filigree rings. We also discovered a very talented contemporary goldsmith who is working in these antique styles and has mastered the arts of filigree, engraving and chasing. If you would like to view these beautiful antique and contemporary filigree rings, please give us a call (800 770-9440).
The vibrant blues and purples of tanzanite continue to win fans among jewelry designers and consumers. Popular settings for this captivating gemstone include antique-style platinum rings and elegant custom design jewels. Because of increased demand and waning mine production, finer quality tanzanites are becoming more difficult to find in sizes greater than one carat. As a result, the cost of these finer gemstones is increasing.
In contrast, lesser quality and commercial grade tanzanites are readily available and in abundant supply. By exploiting the recent cave-in and tragedy at the tanzanite mines, some unscrupulous gem dealers are attempting to create a false sense of scarcity and manipulate consumers into paying excessive prices for lower quality gemstones. This is occurring in both the retail and wholesale markets. Remember, when buying jewelry and gemstones always be wary of tall tales and big sales.
While in New York we acquired a wonderful selection of fine jewelry, faceted pearls and dazzling gemstones. If you would like to learn more about these exciting jewels, please call to arrange a convenient time to come and visit us.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
What is a Reputable Jeweler?
Shopping for a diamond or expensive jewelry item has always been a daunting task. However, shoppers now have a wealth of shopping advice available online. While not all online shopping guides are accurate or necessarily agree, one common recommendation is to find a reputable jewelry retailer.
So how does the typical diamond or jewelry shopper determine which retailer is reputable and trustworthy?
You cannot assume that longevity means a jeweler is reputable. Just because the same family has owned their jewelry store for over fifty years does not equate to trustworthy. Bad advice, inflated prices, low quality diamonds and switching diamonds have made many jewelers wealthy for many years so years in business is not a reliable measure.
A big expensive store or recognized business name does not mean the person you are dealing with is giving you advice that is best for you. Likewise, a GIA Graduate Gemologist or an AGS Certified Gemologist diploma on the wall means the person knows about diamonds and gemstones, but does not guarantee they are giving you the best advice, the best diamonds or the best value.
There is no single sure way to identify a trustworthy and reputable jewelry retailer but there are some excellent indicators.
1) Does the retailer truly listen to you and work to find what you want, which might be different from what they have in their display case? A reputable jeweler is more of a consultant than a sales person. Diamonds and jewelry are not an exact science but you should be able to verify the advice you receive with other expert opinions you find online. Be wary of “tag readers” who know little more about the product they sell than what they read on the tag attached to the jewelry item.
2) Does the jeweler sell diamonds graded by the GIA or AGS, which are the industry leading independent grading laboratories? A reputable jeweler should be stressing the importance of a top level grading report, often called a certification. While very small diamonds typically do not have certifications, any significant diamonds you consider should have a grading report from one of the top laboratories. While reputable jewelers do sell diamonds without certifications, their first recommendations should be diamonds that have grading reports. Not all grading reports are equal in accuracy and consistency so insist on the industry leading certifications for your diamond.
3) Appraisals should not be something used as a selling tactic. Appraised value is usually for establishing estimated retail replacement values for insurance purposes and often bares little relevance to the low retail price you deserve. An appraisal is not the same as a certification, which has no dollar value and is prepared by an independent laboratory.
4) Beware of the “lifetime guarantee” sales scheme. Most of the services promised are already available to you or are of little value to begin with. Insurance is a smart investment for expensive jewelry because it protects your investment from loss, theft and damage. The store guarantees are typically tactics to get you back in the store on a regular basis and tend to draw attention away from the quality of the diamond or the price you are paying.
Buying a diamond is an expensive purchase that warrants doing your homework and research so you can make the best decisions possible. If you enter the diamond buying process with some diamond knowledge and a strategy for determining a reputable, low price retailer, your reward will be years of enjoyment and satisfaction.
So how does the typical diamond or jewelry shopper determine which retailer is reputable and trustworthy?
You cannot assume that longevity means a jeweler is reputable. Just because the same family has owned their jewelry store for over fifty years does not equate to trustworthy. Bad advice, inflated prices, low quality diamonds and switching diamonds have made many jewelers wealthy for many years so years in business is not a reliable measure.
A big expensive store or recognized business name does not mean the person you are dealing with is giving you advice that is best for you. Likewise, a GIA Graduate Gemologist or an AGS Certified Gemologist diploma on the wall means the person knows about diamonds and gemstones, but does not guarantee they are giving you the best advice, the best diamonds or the best value.
There is no single sure way to identify a trustworthy and reputable jewelry retailer but there are some excellent indicators.
1) Does the retailer truly listen to you and work to find what you want, which might be different from what they have in their display case? A reputable jeweler is more of a consultant than a sales person. Diamonds and jewelry are not an exact science but you should be able to verify the advice you receive with other expert opinions you find online. Be wary of “tag readers” who know little more about the product they sell than what they read on the tag attached to the jewelry item.
2) Does the jeweler sell diamonds graded by the GIA or AGS, which are the industry leading independent grading laboratories? A reputable jeweler should be stressing the importance of a top level grading report, often called a certification. While very small diamonds typically do not have certifications, any significant diamonds you consider should have a grading report from one of the top laboratories. While reputable jewelers do sell diamonds without certifications, their first recommendations should be diamonds that have grading reports. Not all grading reports are equal in accuracy and consistency so insist on the industry leading certifications for your diamond.
3) Appraisals should not be something used as a selling tactic. Appraised value is usually for establishing estimated retail replacement values for insurance purposes and often bares little relevance to the low retail price you deserve. An appraisal is not the same as a certification, which has no dollar value and is prepared by an independent laboratory.
4) Beware of the “lifetime guarantee” sales scheme. Most of the services promised are already available to you or are of little value to begin with. Insurance is a smart investment for expensive jewelry because it protects your investment from loss, theft and damage. The store guarantees are typically tactics to get you back in the store on a regular basis and tend to draw attention away from the quality of the diamond or the price you are paying.
Buying a diamond is an expensive purchase that warrants doing your homework and research so you can make the best decisions possible. If you enter the diamond buying process with some diamond knowledge and a strategy for determining a reputable, low price retailer, your reward will be years of enjoyment and satisfaction.
Wholesale Beads for Easy-to-make Earrings
Jewelry assembled out of beads will grab everyone’s attention whether you are wearing it in casual circumstances or whether you choose to display it on special events. But what really gets you thinking about beadwork is that you can take advantage of the available offers of wholesale beads anytime by ordering online and turning jewelry making into an occasion of running your own small business: a business that functions due to the attraction people have towards beautiful or peculiar beads and ornaments. Your business can not fail as long as you provide your customers with innovative or eye-catching ideas for jewelry making which can, in turn, make them feel beautiful or special.
For instance, look at a fast and cost-effective manner of making earrings you can then sell. Of course, your advantage over the competition will consist in a smart option: the idea to buy wholesale beads from an online shop with good prices: gemmall.com. These wholesale beads are less expensive and you can acquire as many as possible, in the same affordable limits, in order to craft a sufficient number of pairs of earrings to guarantee a profit to your investment.
The “attraction through attraction” principle we are talking about functions on the following commonsensical premise: if your jewelry making efforts result in beadwork attractive enough so as to suggest potential customers that by wearing your ornaments their entire appearance will appropriate the same degree of attractiveness, then you are on the right road to a successful business.
Going back to the cost-effective and easy-to-make pairs of earrings your business will promote, you should first take a look at the kind of materials you could use out of an incredibly diverse offer of wholesale beads. Depending on how much money you are willing to invest, you could use simple glass or plastic beads, for the cheaper versions of earrings, and precious metal, gemstones or pearl beads for the more expensive products.
Of course, jewelry making is not entirely based on wholesale beads. Even if beads are the elements that give the final, decorative touch to the resulting beadwork, there are other components that practically offer support for the beads. As a result, for our earrings, apart from the beads of your choice, you will also need ear wires, head pins, a wire twisting tool and a wire cutting tool. Make sure that the ear wires and the head pins are made from a reliable material, such as sterling silver. Don’t be cheap with such parts of the earrings: they will not be quality products if the material breaks only because you were too mean to invest a bit more in more reliable materials.
You also need to be careful with pushing the beads onto the head pin. You will place onto the head pin as many beads you consider necessary for the final length of the earrings. When you are done with the beads, you will use the wire cutting tool in order to cut whatever length of wire is in excess. Be careful: the same as it happens with any other kind of jewelry making, earring crafting requires delicate actions. Make sure that there is some wire left: this part will have to be curled into a small circle with the wire twisting tool.
Next, with the same wire twisting tool, you will open the end of the ear wire and through it you will introduce the small circle you have curled out of the remaining part of the head pin. Finally, you need to see that you fastened the opening of the ear wire around the head pin.
With so many curls and twists, you can now understand why the ear wires and the head pins need to be made out of more resistant materials: weaker ones can easily break, maybe even before you get to actually see how such a pair of earrings looks like. If quality materials are used, no matter the material of the beads employed, the resulting earrings will also meet high quality standards, fit for complying with customer expectations.
For instance, look at a fast and cost-effective manner of making earrings you can then sell. Of course, your advantage over the competition will consist in a smart option: the idea to buy wholesale beads from an online shop with good prices: gemmall.com. These wholesale beads are less expensive and you can acquire as many as possible, in the same affordable limits, in order to craft a sufficient number of pairs of earrings to guarantee a profit to your investment.
The “attraction through attraction” principle we are talking about functions on the following commonsensical premise: if your jewelry making efforts result in beadwork attractive enough so as to suggest potential customers that by wearing your ornaments their entire appearance will appropriate the same degree of attractiveness, then you are on the right road to a successful business.
Going back to the cost-effective and easy-to-make pairs of earrings your business will promote, you should first take a look at the kind of materials you could use out of an incredibly diverse offer of wholesale beads. Depending on how much money you are willing to invest, you could use simple glass or plastic beads, for the cheaper versions of earrings, and precious metal, gemstones or pearl beads for the more expensive products.
Of course, jewelry making is not entirely based on wholesale beads. Even if beads are the elements that give the final, decorative touch to the resulting beadwork, there are other components that practically offer support for the beads. As a result, for our earrings, apart from the beads of your choice, you will also need ear wires, head pins, a wire twisting tool and a wire cutting tool. Make sure that the ear wires and the head pins are made from a reliable material, such as sterling silver. Don’t be cheap with such parts of the earrings: they will not be quality products if the material breaks only because you were too mean to invest a bit more in more reliable materials.
You also need to be careful with pushing the beads onto the head pin. You will place onto the head pin as many beads you consider necessary for the final length of the earrings. When you are done with the beads, you will use the wire cutting tool in order to cut whatever length of wire is in excess. Be careful: the same as it happens with any other kind of jewelry making, earring crafting requires delicate actions. Make sure that there is some wire left: this part will have to be curled into a small circle with the wire twisting tool.
Next, with the same wire twisting tool, you will open the end of the ear wire and through it you will introduce the small circle you have curled out of the remaining part of the head pin. Finally, you need to see that you fastened the opening of the ear wire around the head pin.
With so many curls and twists, you can now understand why the ear wires and the head pins need to be made out of more resistant materials: weaker ones can easily break, maybe even before you get to actually see how such a pair of earrings looks like. If quality materials are used, no matter the material of the beads employed, the resulting earrings will also meet high quality standards, fit for complying with customer expectations.
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