HOW TO MAKE A PHOTO BOX

I've noticed that a lot of people (in general)
could use this method.

ITEMS YOU NEED


12x12x12 box
14 x 10 piece of plexy glass or glass
a knife
background paper (scrapbooking paper is great from craft store)
wax paper
60-100 watt light

How to put it all together:

1) Take your 12x12x12 box and cut out one side. Keep the bottom of
your box intact.

2) (open side you just cut out) Measure 9 inches from the bottom and
make a slit all the way to the back of the box on both sides. Do not
cut the back of the box.

3) Slide your glass into the slits of the box

4) Take the wax paper and tape it over the light source. The
wax paper is used to defuse the light.

5) Aim the light towards the opening of your box.

6) Lay your background on the bottom of your box as your background.

7) Shine your light into to open area of the box. Take your photos from the

back of the box... with the light facing you.

Your camera should focus on the jewelry or small object. The
background will be fuzzy due to the distance of the background from
the object.

what does nickel free means

Many times nickel, another hard metal known also as Ni, is placed between the coating and the silver because it facilitates the adherence and luster of the plating to the metal. When used in silver jewelry, this can cause irritation to those who are sensitive to nickel or have nickel allergies. For that reason, there is nickel-free jewelry available. 95% of our sterling silver jewelry is nickel-free and all of our nickel-free jewelry is clearly marked on the site.

Nickel Allergies On The Rise
...Nickel is a metal often present in certain jewelry components. Nearly 15% of the US population suffers from an allergy to nickel. This figure is up from 10% in the 80’s, due, it is believed, to the increased popularity of body piercing.

Symptoms
...People suffering from allergies to nickel have symptoms ranging from slight itching and redness of the skin to blisters at the area of contact. Actually, it is the nickel salts formed when the metal comes in contact with perspiration that cause the allergy. Once an allergy to nickel has been acquired, it is usually lifelong.

Ban On Nickel
...This problem is so prevalent that, since January 2000, the European Union has imposed a nickel ban on all jewelry sold there. The European nickel free standard states that items labeled “nickel free” may contain no more than 0.05% nickel (no more than 1 part in 2000 that is nickel)

Surgical Steel
...Surgical steel, often used in earring wires and advertised as hypo-allergenic, is NOT nickel free, usually containing 8% nickel. People with a slight nickel allergy may tolerate surgical steel earrings for a few hours or maybe even all day. But they may be so sensitive that even the buttons of their jeans cannot touch their skin. Why chance it? Unless specifically stated otherwise,

Sterling silver

Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925.

Fine silver (99.9% pure) is generally too soft for producing large functional objects; therefore, the silver is usually alloyed with either copper or titanium to give it strength, while at the same time preserving the ductility and beauty of the precious metal. Other metals can replace the copper, usually with the intent to improve various properties of the basic sterling alloy such as reducing casting porosity, eliminating firescale, and increasing resistance to tarnish. These replacement metals include germanium, zinc and platinum, as well as a variety of other additives, including silicon and boron. A number of alloys have appeared in recent years, formulated to lessen firescale or to inhibit tarnish, and this has sparked heavy competition among the various manufacturers, who are rushing to make claims of having the best formulation. However, no one alloy has emerged to replace copper as the industry standard, and alloy development is a very active area.

Storing Sterling Silver Jewelry
Store your sterling silver jewelry in tarnish prevention cloths or bags. The treated cloth slows down the tarnishing process and keeps the jewelry from rubbing against harder jewelry that can scratch it. Try to to keep your sterling silver jewelry in a cool, dry place.

Cleaning Your Sterling Silver Jewelry
Clean sterling silver with a phosphate free detergent. A low abrasive cleaner, such as 3M Tarni-Shield Silver Polish, is a good choice for removing light tarnish. Some people use toothpaste to clean their sterling silver, but most silver experts caution against it because they feel toothpaste is too abrasive and leaves dulling scratches.

Gemstone Fakes and Deceptions

Call them what you like: faux or fake gemstones, imitations, or simulated gems -- they all have one thing in common, they can look just like the real thing, but they do not have any of the physical characteristics of the natural or synthetic gemstone they are meant to represent.

Faux gems can be a very good option, because they give us an inexpensive way to wear colorful, lush-looking jewelry without the hefty price tag that comes with the real thing. There's no reason to avoid faux gems -- what you do want to avoid is paying too much for misrepresented merchandise.

Materials Used to Make Faux Gemstones

* Today's imitation stones are often made of glass or plastic. A jeweler can easily detect those materials, so have the jewelry inspected if you think you might have purchased a fake.

* A real gemstone can be mounted in a solid-back setting, with foil placed underneath the gem to make it look more brilliant or change its color.

Composite Gemstones
Composite gemstones are made from a small piece of a desirable, genuine stone that's combined with an inexpensive or imitation gemstone. Opal jewelry is often with composites.

Doublets are composite stones made with a large, inexpensive chunk of some kind that's topped by a thin slice of a desirable gemstone. The division usually isn't obvious until you look at the piece under magnification.

One type of doublet is assembled by sandwiching a colored bonding agent between two clear, inexpensive stones -- the added hue makes it look like a colored gemstone.

Triplets are composites that are assembled in three parts instead of two.

Creative Gemstone Names Can be a Signal
Descriptive terms are sometimes used before the name of a gemstone, like Oriental emerald (a green sapphire). An American ruby is a garnet. Australian jade is treated quartz. Question the authenticity of any gemstone that's advertised with an extra, descriptive name.

http://jewelry.about.com/od/birthstonefactsandfolklore/a/misleading_name.htm

How to Avoid Buying a Fake Diamond

When purchasing a precious stone, your first line of defense against fraud is having the right information. Learn ways you can detect a fake diamond from a real one, and find out the most trusted places to buy diamond jewelry.

Buy Diamonds From Established Jewelers

The most important first step in buying a diamond ring and to avoid buying a fake is to purchase from a jeweler that you know and trust. You should look for someone who has a long standing reputation in the community, who is an established jeweler and is often times a member of the American Gem Society. To be a member of the American Gem Society you need to withhold certain standards and need to have certain credentials.

Assess the Diamond Reflection

When you are looking at a diamond versus a synthetic stone you will notice that diamonds reflect light differently. And often times with a synthetic stone when moved at certain angles you will find spots that have dead areas that are not reflecting light in the same way - which may be a little hard to tell on camera but in person you will be able to tell the difference. A diamond has a brilliance like no other stone, so when you are looking at a cubic zirconia or another man made type diamond it will generally look quite a bit different in person.

Examine the Diamond Up Close

The next step in looking at a diamond would be under a jeweler’s looth or a microscope, and under magnification of about 10 times natural vision you should be able to see some imperfections in most diamonds. As you are moving the stone around look for small black spots or white imperfections, this will tell you that the stone is not a synthetic.

Sapphire - The September Birthstone

Sapphires are members of the corundum family of minerals. They exist in nearly every color except red, because red corundum is always called ruby. One of the hardest minerals, sapphires are durable gemstones that have been in demand since ancient times.

Sapphire Hardness

* 9 on the Mohs' scale; compare to diamonds at 10 and turquoise at 5-6.

Sapphire Colors

* Cornflower blue is the most popular sapphire color, but all shades of blue are found

* Sapphires exist in many other colors, including yellow, colorless, black, white, orange, pink, and brown

* A variety of orangish-pink sapphire is called padparadsha, which means "lotus flower."

Sapphire Treatments

* Heat treatment is commonly used to deepen sapphire color and improve clarity

Where Sapphires Are Found

* Quality sapphires are found in Ceylon, Thailand, Australia, India, Burma, Africa, and Brazil.

Unusual Sapphires

* Some sapphires are cut into cabochons (smooth domes) and produce a star with six rays that stretch across the sapphire's surface.

Synthetic Sapphires

* Like many other popular gemstones, sapphires can be created in a laboratory. Some synthetic sapphires are difficult to distinguish from gemstones formed in nature.