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Boone Titanium Rings:The Allure of Alternative Metals

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Traditional jewelry has always been based on what’s known as the precious metals. These include gold, platinum, silver, and white gold. The metals are easy to cast, solder, bend, and shape, and they take a good finish. They have worked well for thousands of years, but today’s customers are looking for some alternatives. Precious metals are at or near all time highs, and men in particular don’t care for the offerings in a typical jewelry store. It seems that most stores are geared towards women, and only have around 10 men’s rings to choose from, and they are either very plain in a soft white metal or covered with diamonds. Neither option is very appealing to him. The advent of alternative metals such as titanium or zirconium offers a break from the ordinary.

Titanium is a material so strong and lightweight that it was originally used for aerospace applications. It was found to be extremely inert, so later found uses in medical implants like femurs and bone screws. A person can wear a titanium rings even if they are allergic to white gold, as many people are. They are much stronger than precious metals, so won’t dent or ding like the softer metals can. The increased strength also allows such innovations as inlays of exotic hardwoods, meteorite, carbon fiber or other materials.

Another perfect application for titanium is in the use of tension set rings. Tension sets are rings that hold onto diamonds without the use of traditional prongs. The ring itself holds the stone by small grooves cut into the side walls, and the stone looks to be suspended without trusses, braces, or other visible means of support. This allows more light to get through the stone, and it greatly improves the look of a diamond. The stone needs to be held with a lot of force. Past tension sets have been made in gold or platinum, but generally had to be very thick in order to get the needed strength. The rings were also extremely expensive because they were controlled by patents that deal with making the weaker metals more springy so they could work. Only four companies in the world were licensed to make them, so they controlled the market, charging huge prices and having long lead times. Titanium has the advantages of being a springier and stronger metal to begin with, so no special treatment is necessary to work better than precious metals in this application.

Titanium has been overlooked by jewelers in the past because it takes very special equipment to make rings from it. It is normally machined from solid bar rather than cast like silver or gold. It takes special computer controlled machines which are out of the scope of most jewelers. Being versed in the technology needed to make the rings allows manufacturers to make custom rings to order in a short amount of time.

Cast Iron Fireplaces – What you Should Know

When most people think of a fireplace, they envision one made of brick or even stone. But today more and more folks are turning to a cast iron fireplace. Here are some of the things to look for when considering getting your own cast iron fireplace.

Fireplace set up

A fireplace made from cast iron will generally feature a cast iron fireplace insert. It also includes a hearth, fireplace surround and fireplace mantel.

While the firebox and insert itself is made of cast iron, the other parts to the fireplace can be made from any type of materials you desire. For example, the fireplace mantel design can be out of wood or stone.

Design

This type of fireplace design is open to several different options. Since it is cast iron, you could choose to have a standard insert or it could be angled or arched for that matter.

You have total control over any custom made cast iron fireplace.

Heat source

You can decide on what type of heating source you want, whether it is gas, propane or even electric. The insert can be designed for any of them.

Finding a cast iron fireplace is not difficult. You can look online and find suppliers everywhere. Many websites have online catalogs that make browsing and shopping very convenient. Ordering is simple and delivery can be with in10-14 days.

If you are looking for something different in a fireplace you may want to take a closer look at the different types of cast iron fireplaces. They offer solid benefits such as longevity, cost and ease of clean-up and may be the solution you’ve been searching for.

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Here is a fun and trendy long bright pink, blue, and yellow beaded necklace and earrings set. This necklace has uniquely designed oval links, blue, yellow, orange and green stone beads, and silver oval links. Comes with matching pink stone fish hook dangle earrings. This set is the perfect finishing touch to brighten up your outfit! Necklace is 30″ long. Your necklace set will come to you in a foil gift box perfect for gift giving. Box may be a different color than the one shown.

Pink Blue and Yellow Metal Casting Oval Link and Stone Necklace Earring Set Fashion Jewelry

I am making a piece of Jewelery and I don’t have the resources to cast silver. However I do have plenty of materials at hand to use. I was wondering if it was possible to cut a larger stone (probably not a gem) into a pendant, and have jewels encrusted in it, and for it to look good? If its possible, what stones would work the best and look the best together?

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This is a stunning burnished silver casting and turquoise stone necklace and earrings set. Necklace has three panels with large oval turquoise stones in the center. Silver dics dangle from each panel. Necklace is 18″ long and hangs from a multi-stranded cord. Comes with matching oval turqoise stone earrings. Your necklace and earrings set will come to you in a foil gift box perfect for gift giving. Box may be a different color than the one shown.

Silver Casting Turqoise Stone Necklace and Earrings Set Fashion Jewelry

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This is a stunning silver casting and purple stone necklace and earrings set. Necklace has one large textured silver panel with a beautiful round purple stone in its center. You’ll love the way it looks on you! Necklace is 16″ long and hangs from a multi-stranded cord. Comes with matching purple stone earrings. Your necklace and earrings set will come to you in a foil gift box perfect for gift giving. Box may be a different color than the one shown.

Silver Casting Purple Stone Necklace and Earrings Set Fashion Jewelry

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• BEAUTIFUL TRADITIONAL STYLE
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Here is a trendy silvertone crystal stone metal casting bar pendant necklace. The bar pendant is approximately 1 1/2″ long and hangs from a silver 16″ long diamond cut ball chain. This beautiful piece is perfect for gift giving or for yourself. Your necklace will come to you in a foil gift box. Box may be a different color than the one shown.

Crystal Stone Metal Casting Bar Charm Pendant Necklace

Amber, which is actually fossilized pine sap, has become, through the creativity of men, part of jewelry. Amber jewelry is today more or less a part of our lives. The difference between now and decades ago is only one: everyone can afford a piece of amber jewelry today and doesn’t know what to do with it, but a long time ago people suspected its powers and a lot of them couldn’t afford to own this kind of jewelry.

The first name given to Amber was electron. After that, around the sixth century B.C., the scientists of that time discovered that, if you rubbed amber against a wool cloth, it became electrically charged. Because of its property it could attract small pieces of paper, fact which amazed the people of that time. Carrying a negative electrical charge, it was thought that the stone itself was able to draw power and energy into its bearer. This belief helped make the stone famous and valuable. People started using it in amber jewelry and making amulets and magical objects. Besides being able to attract energy, it was believed that it aided the intellect. It was prescribed for a lot of curious illnesses like memory loss, anxiety and eccentric behavior.

Amber jewelry was known for its capacity to influence the mood of the bearer. People though that wearing amber jewelry would help them and that the small yellow-brown stone could lighten the burdens of their lives filling their spirit with white light. The results of its actions were supposes to be a feeling of happiness and joy. From the healer’s point of view, the idea was that amber jewelry somehow activated the altruistic side and made people realize the power of their spiritual intellect to the fullest.

For thousands of years Amber has been regarded as a precious substance for its warm beauty. Because no one knew then were it came from, it was thought to be of divine origin. People believed that no harm could come to the one that wore amber jewelry because the stone would protect him. Because of these beliefs the stone become used for medical purposes. Philosophers and alchemists have tried for a long period of time to explain how the amber stones came to be and looked the way they did. Around the first century A.D. a Roman senator and historian recorded a popular belief on the forming of the stone. He wrote it was formed from the urine of the lynx. The male was supposed to produce the dark colored stones and the females the lighter ones with yellow colors. Since there was no explanation to how this miraculous gem appeared, people became superstitious. Another one of the spoken beliefs was that the rays of the setting sun were concealed in the evening sea and then they were cast upon the shore in the form of the stone we all know. This is why we can say that amber jewelry is a piece of brilliant sun. Around the year 240 B.C., an astrologer, Sudines, came pretty close to the real origin of amber. He said that the gemstone is the product of a tree called the “lynx”. It was indeed the product of a tree. Amber was a resin.

The one that made the amber color and amber jewelry famous was Nero. He compared his wife’s hair to the color of the gemstone. From that point on every respectable woman, wives of the noble men at that time, started to aspire to that color and it became a symbol. The woman with the red hair that had the setting sun reflected in the evening sea trapped in her hair felt very proud of the similitude between the amber stone and her beauty. That’s why amber jewelry is regarded the way it is. A small piece of “brilliant sun” or “frozen gold” hides the mysteries of the gem in the beauty of the amber jewelry.

As for the medical use of amber, nothing can be scientifically proven. The ancient Romans had great confidence in the powers of baltic amber jewelry and they used amber in other ways too. They thought that some powder of the gemstone taken in a cup of wine could cure illnesses like fever, asthma or even infections of the throat. This type of medicine was used by the ancient Romans for ear and eye problems too. A fine powder was mixed with honey and, sometimes, with oil made from roses and it was either poured on the infected area or taken internally. Not all types of amber were thought to have healing proprieties, only the reddish stones. Nowadays, it’s also recommended to wear some amber jewelry around the neck (a necklace or a pendant) for the same purpose.

Wearing amber jewelry is a double win situation: it looks good and makes you feel good also. Precious, mysterious and miraculous, amber is by far the most complex gemstone. Its past and its aspect still fascinate a lot of people. Amber jewelry can create an effect that no diamond can ever do and is indeed, as poets say, “a slice of sunshine”.