- R

Reticulation

is a process of heating and cooling metal to allow it to draw itself into ridges and valleys, creating a unique texture - this is unpredictable and no two reticulated pieces will turn out identical. This process takes patience, concentration, and great care in using the torch.

Rhodochrosite - Mohs Hardness: 3.5-4.5 - Treatment: None - Color: Dark to medium rose pink, usually with light creme-colored banding.

Rose or peach-colored, with white band. Healing, comfort, harmony, amity and friendship. Promotes smooth energy flow, emotional expressiveness, kindness, tolerance, compassion and self-love. Helps us live our spiritual beliefs.

It facilitates balancing of the mental process such that the attunement to the higher-self can be attained, and ones awareness and spirituality can be enhanced. It assists in expanding ones conscious awareness of duality and allows for recognition and insight with respect to the method[s] by which the pervasive presence of duality affects ones life. It also assists one in the attainment of the solution to the puzzling concept relating to the contradiction of the duality of nature. It further assists one in accelerating the expansion of ones consciousness, and to both understand and initiate the practice of intensive relaxation, acceptance, and balancing. The crystalline structures are especially beneficial in these areas.

It removes tendencies toward avoidance or denial, and helps one to be willing to both accept and to integrate "new" information while maintaining a clarity of intellect and a moderate ideal of practicality. It assists one in the reinterpretation of traditional values, allowing for the reemergence and the re-actualization of the validity of living expression in all situations.

Vibrates to the number 4.

Rhodonite 

Rose Quartz - Mohs Hardness: 7 - Treatment: Dyed to enhance color - Color: Light to medium pink to nearly white

Pink. Enhances all forms of love: self-love, mother love, caring, kindness, platonic and romantic love. Opens our hearts and encourages us to be tender, peaceful and gentle. Emanates unconditional love and nurturance and helps us attract positive, gentle love into our lives. Teaches forgiveness and tolerance.

Vibrates to the number 7.

Ruby - Mohs Hardness: 9 - Treatment: Usually heat-treated - Color: Plum red

A red member of the Corundum family. Fosters integrity, devotion, happiness, healing, courage, passion, romance, enthusiasm and generosity. Also evokes warmth, inspiration, prosperity, high energy, power and leadership ability.

Red Star Ruby (laboratory grown)

Vibrates to the number 3.

Rutilated Quartz

Promotes determination, self-control, strength of will, resolve, self-reliance, volition, steadfastness and firmness. Good for people who have trouble making decisions. Also associated with happiness, communication with spirit guardians and general healing.

Vibrates to the number 4.

Rhyolite  (Astrological Sing of Sagittarius)

Rhyolite crystallizes in the form of fine-grained felsite, consisting mainly of alkaline feldspars and quartz. The color ranges include all colors except for dark gray, dark green, and black. Occasionally the form is fashioned to show a spider webbing, which is quite lovely.

This mineral represents change, variety, and progress. It lights the fire of creativity within the soul, bringing to fruition the quests upon which one has longed to travel. It further assists in providing insight to the subtle energy channels within the body and in promoting insight with respect to the process by which one may raise the energy, breaking through the barriers of the mind, to ultimately reach the profound, transcendental, and joyous state of knowing. it helps one to strengthen both body and mind and to learn how to enjoy the vast potential within the self. It is an excellent stone for promulgating , with humility, the concept and actualization of self-realization.

Rhyolite is also an excellent stone for meditation, bringing forth a systematic methodology, with an emphasis on the search for the highest truth which is inherent in each individual. It can assist one in the advancement of astuteness in all activities, allowing for the understanding that selfless action is as meditation. The energy can assist one to process "things" from the past and to clear the way toward the progression of the future, encouraging focus on each moment in time as it exists in the "now". It is a "stone of resolution", bringing the unresolved to completion.

Rhyolite can be used in the treatment of disorders of the veins, to dispel chills, to eliminate rashes and skin disorders, and to improve the assimilation and action of B-complex vitamins. It has also been used as an elixir to increase stamina and to improve muscular tone.

Vibrates to the number 4.

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Sapphire - Mohs Hardness: 9 - Vibrates to the number 2.

A member of the Corundum family. DARK BLUE SAPPHIRE inspires creative expression, intuition and meditation. GREEN SAPPHIRE brings luck. ORANGE SAPPHIRE, also known as Padparadschah, augments wisdom, optimism and friendliness. PINK SAPPHIRE encourages generosity, love and loyalty. WHITE SAPPHIRE is associated with self-appreciation and spiritual development. YELLOW SAPPHIRE enhances intellect, study, knowledge and memory.

STAR SAPPHIRE (Astrological Signs of Sagittarius & Capricorn) vibrates to the number 6. Star Sapphire enhances the centering of ones thoughts. It brings the knowledge of human nature to the user and enhances the ability to understand the intentions of another. It helps to make one cheerful and friendly.

It can also facilitate contact with the advanced beings of planetary worlds other than the Earth plane. It is knows as "stone of wisdom and good luck" - helping one to regain the conscious recognition of the perfect order of the universe which exists at birth.

Blue Star Sapphire - (Labratory grown)

Sardonyx

• Pure silver, like pure gold is too soft for most uses and is often alloyed. Though many metals may be used, copper is preferred since it greatly toughens the alloy without detracting from the bright shine characteristic of silver.
• .999 Silver used in our work is from PMC (Precious Metal Clay) - this is a pure silver with no alloys and will not tarnish as quickly as sterling silver.
• STERLING is the alloy most commonly used in jewelry making and silversmithing. It was adopted as a standard alloy in England in the 12th century when King Henry II imported refiners from an area of Germany known as the Easterling. The product they made was of a consistent quality and came into usage as currency 1300 when it was known as Easterling silver. Sterling - the standard of purity for silver -
• The term STERLING SILVER denotes any silver alloy in which pure silver makes up at least 92.5% of the content. This is what it means when 925 is referred to or stamped on silver pieces.
• An elemental metal. Fosters hope, meditation, unconditional love, mothering, nurturance, grounding, appreciation of women and nature, mystic visions, spiritual and romantic love, tenderness, kindness, sensitivity and psychic abilities. This metal is sacred to the Moon Goddess

  Silver brings one "the advantage" throughout life. It can be used to improve ones quality of speech and can bring eloquence to conversations. It tends to bring an air of culture to ones presence and to eliminate abrasive traits while promoting popularity.

  It can draw forth negativity from the body while transferring the positive forces of the other mineral; hence, it performs as a balancing agent.

  Silver is used extensively with gem stones because the metal is able to both attract and retain, unto itself, those qualities that are emitted by the stone. The silver provides a steadying influence for the jewel. It is also used during the preparation of elixirs to energize the primary mineral for use in the elixir.

  Vibrates to the number 4.

  Silver - Click here to see how Bali Silver beads are made!

Sodalite

Sodalite, whose name reflects its sodium content, is found in all shades of blue and is a major constituent of the rock lapis lazuli - so the two are easily confused. However, unlike lapis lazuli, sodalite very rarely contains brassy pyrite specks. Found in Italy, Brazil (Bahia), Canada (Ontario), India, Greenland, Russia (Urals), Namibia, and the USA (Montana & Nevada) The most important commercial source of sodalite is Bancroft in Ontario, Canada. It was discovered during a royal visit by Princess Margaret of England. For this reason, sodalite from Bancroft is sometimes called Princess Blue. Sodalite may be useful for balancing the metabolism. it is also a good shock absorber, and may be used to combat the negative effects of radioactive materials and treatments, such as X-rays, radiation, and chemotherapy. Sodalite is a record-keeper, and is easily impressed with new ideas and emotions. It is an excellent memory bank and can help you follow the track of previous incarnational experiences. Healing PROPERTIES: Keeps sister and journey safe. Attraction abilities. Protects from danger. Helps overcome despair. Facilitates ability to think rationally and derive logical conclusions. Brings mental balance, independence, good judgment, heightened perception. Enhances dreams, provides awakening. Eases path towards accomplishment. Expands consciousness. Helpful with careers and transitions. Fosters attraction, positive attitude toward others. Benefits swollen glands, insomnia, adrenal gland and intestinal worms. Energy:  Electromagnetic Element:  Air and Water Planet/Sign:  Moon/Cancer; Mercury/Gemini; Saturn-Uranus/Aquarius

Vibrates to the number 4.

Soo Chow (see Serpentine)

Heat treated serpentine

Spinel - {Elemental Astrological Signs of Sagittarius and Aries}

Many large red stones formerly thought to be rubies or red diamonds recently have been correctly identified as spinel. They are very brilliant and come in many colors including red, pink, blue, and green. They are said to relieve stress and depression and assist with mental rejuvenation.

The energy of spinel is the energy of beauty. It is known as a "stone of immortality" bringing freshness to all endeavors and initiating rejuvenation to that which is beginning to degrade.

Vibrates to the number 3

Sugilite - {also known as Royal Lavulite and Royal Azel}

Dark purple in color. Helps us attain conscious awareness, spirituality, positive thoughts and feelings as well as channeling ability. It helps our souls remain unhurt by the shocks and disappointments of the world.

It can be used to protect against the harsh realities of this world and to enable one to willingly accept being here and living now.

It can be used to eliminate hostility - it is quite difficult for one to remain hostile toward oneself; in addition, and following the same logic, it can also be used to eliminate anger, abrasiveness, jealousy, and prejudice.

It is wonderful to wear or carry - it gives one a feeling of being free - being on top of a mountain with the breeze ruffling your hair. It infuses the being with inspiration and confidence.

It is an excellent remedy for headaches; one can hold a piece of sugilite containing the black manganese in order to allow pain to be transferred to the manganese/sugilite stone. It has been used to dispel all types of discomforts and feelings of disorder.

Astrological sign of Virgo

Vibrates to the numberd 2, 3, and 7.

Sunstone

A metallic shiny plagioclase feldspar; named after a type of glass that was discovered by chance (Italian - a vantura) around 1700. Typically, it has a red, more rarely a green or blue, glitter which is caused by light interference on tiny hematite or goethite platelets. Deposits are found in India, Canada, Madagascar, Norway, Russia (Siberia,) and the USA.

Inspires freedom, originality, sensuality, romance, sexuality, independence and luck.

Vibrates to the number 1.

Swarovski Austrian Crystal

Swarovski crystal is not quartz crystal, which is mined and found naturally in nature.It is also not just cut glass. Simple glass does not have the brilliance or rainbow refraction. It is finest full cut and polished crystal with a high lead content which accounts for its brilliance and refraction of light. Each piece is full cut, polished and assembled with the highest quality standards. Lead crystal is made from a mixture of silica (sand), potash and lead oxide. To be considered "lead crystal" the content of lead oxide must be at least 24%. It is this mixture that offers exceptional clarity and prismatic colors. The exclusive Swarovski formula is, of course, a closely guarded secret, as are the cutting and polishing techniques. Crystal making requires unique manufacturing technologies because the material must be worked while extremely hot and the forming operations must be completed in a very short time. Each piece, created by hand, is worked by as many as seven craftspeople. This hand process results in a truly unique piece.

The pieces are highly valued by collectors and the retired pieces and closed editions which are no longer available from Swarovski often fetch astronomical sums in the secondary market. The same is, of course, true for the SCS Annual Editions which are only available to Swarovski Collectors Society members (one piece per member per year) and which are only available during their year of issue. The Swarovski crystal and Swarovski Jewelry is covered by a global warranty policy for quality.

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Tiger Opal (see Jasper)

Tiger's Eye - Mohs Hardness: 7- Treatment: None - Color: Shades of honey yellow and brown

Formed from hawk's eye where the iron in inclusions of crocidolite has oxidized to a brown color, keeping the fibrous structure. The luster is silky with a wavy light-ray on fractures. Typically displays stripes, because included fibers are crooked or bent. It is sensitive to acids. Found in South Africa (where the export of raw material is forbidden), also in Australia, Burma (Myanmar), India, Namibia, and the USA (California)

Tiger's eye quartz contains the gentle grounding energy of Earth. It is stabilizing, enduring, and can help build confidence and increase one's sense of security. Tiger's Eye can help us to recognize our personal resources and use our abilities to attain our dreams because it is an excellent stone for developing and encouraging discipline and concentration, especially in children. This stone may bring abundance, prosperity, and financial independence to the wearer.

Healing PROPERTIES: Keeps children safe. Brings awareness of the needs of self and others. Helps settle disputes. Attracts good luck. Aids during periods of transition. Encourages clear perception, grounding, centering and insight. Provides calming effect. Brings greater joy. Stimulates astral travel. Contains slight masculine energy. Benefits digestive organs, spleen, colon, pancreas, and infections. Energy:  Electric Element:  Fire and Air Planet/Sign:  Sagittarius; Mercury/Virgo

Vibrates to the number 4.

Tiger Iron (Astrological Sign of Leo)

Is comprised of gold tiger eye, red jasper, and black hematite. It combines the qualities of these three minerals.

It can also be used to assist in creative endeavors, prompting the artistic abilities toward wondrous beauty and works, revealing the ultimate in balance and mathematical exactitude.

It helps one to find havens of refuge when danger is perceived.

In addition, it stimulates the physical vitality to "put a tiger in your tank." It has been used to promote the assimilation of the B-complex vitamins and to increase the white/red blood cell count. It can also be used to strengthen the muscular structure, and to stimulate the production of steroids.

Vibrates to the number 7.

Topaz (Astrological Sign of Sagittarius)

BLUE TOPAZ - Mohs Hardness: 8 - Treatment: Irradiated and heat-treated - Color: Intense dark blue; color saturation increases in larger sizes.

Inspires leadership ability, psychic knowing, spiritual growth, tranquility and psychic insight. CLEAR TOPAZ helps us communicate with Nature Spirits and with all the animals and plants of the earth. GOLDEN TOPAZ builds generosity, happiness, humor, optimism, creativity, wisdom, inspiration, abundance and love. It also attracts love to us and teaches us about spiritual love. GREEN TOPAZ guides us towards forgiveness and understanding. PINK TOPAZ promotes honor and truth.

Vibrates to the number 6.

Tourmaline - Mohs Hardness: 7-7.5 - Treatment: Usually heat-treated

Tourmaline is mined in the United States, Brazil, Australia, Mexico and Russia. It became a known gemstone in the eighteenth century.

When heated, tourmaline will develop opposing electrical charges at the opposite ends of the crystal, indicating extreme focusing power.

Tourmaline works to purify the entire body, including the auric field. It is a wonderful stress reducer, perhaps due to the sheer beauty of the stone. Worn against the skin at heart level, tourmaline conveys peace and tranquility, and helps to organize scattered thoughts and emotions.

This stone is also well known for its ability to absorb tremendous amounts of negativity, both from the wearer and from the environment.

Healing PROPERTIES: Keeps wife safe. Repels "Evil Eye." Brings abundance, good luck. Promotes generosity. Dispels fear. Helps overcome inferiority complex. Assists in dealing with emotions, despair and death. Highly electromagnetic. Strong and protective influence. Helps avoid negativity. Enhances concentration, sensitivity and understanding. Encourages education, brings greater psychic awareness, clairvoyance, higher wisdom. Effective in meditation. Attracts the Great Masters. Aids access to spiritual plane. Powerful healer. Helps balance endocrine system. Energizes body and mind. Facilitates sleep. Increases energy levels. Benefits headaches and blood circulation.

Energy:  Electromagnetic Element:  Air, Earth and Fire Planet/Sign:  Mercury/Virgo; Jupiter/Sagittarius

Vibrates to the number 2.

Tremolite

Keeps brother safe. Attracts love, money. Exposes denial. Helps overcome despair, brings comfort. Promotes awareness, psychic vision and mediumship. Encourages honesty, fidelity. Protects from illness, conveys good health.

Vibrates to the number 9.

Tufa Casting

Tufa is a lightweight, highly refractory, natural pumice stone that is used primarily by the American Indians to make molds for casting "flat back" silver jewelry such as pendants and belt buckles. As in cuttle fish casting, only relatively simple shapes that do not have undercuts or intircate detail can be cast successfully. However, it is possible to reuse the tufa mold for up to twenty castings, whereas a cuttle fish mold can be used only once.

Turquoise - Mohs Hardness: 5-6 - Treatment: Matrix may be darkened to enhance beauty - Color: Ranges from sky blue, to blue-green, to yellow-green.

One of the first gemstones to be mined, turquoise has long been prized for its intense color, which varies from sky blue to green, depending on the quantities of iron and copper within it. Turquoise is commonly found in microcrystalline, massive form, usually as encrustations, in veins, or as nodules. It is opaque to semitranslucent, light and very fragile.

Found in Iran, Tibet, Afghanistan, Argentina, Brazil, China, Israel, Mexico, Tanzania, Chile, Australia, Turkestan, Cornwall (England), and the USA

Turquoise has been thought to warn the wearer of danger or illness by changing color.

In the thirteenth century, turquoise was the stone to wear if you didn't want to fall off a horse, a building, or a precipice, or have a house or wall fall on your head. This latter applied especially if the turquoise was set in gold. Thirteenth-century Turks often attached turquoise to the bridles of their horses as amulets to keep them from becoming ill as a result of overexertion. In medieval times, turquoise was considered to be the quintessential "horse-amulet."

During the seventeenth century, the turquoise was considered to be a man's stone; women rarely wore it.

Turquoise is also thought to be an accurate timepiece. If the stone were suspended from a thread held between the thumb and forefinger (like a pendulum) the vibrations would cause it to strike the side of a glass in such a way as to tell the correct time.

Back in the 1800's much turquoise was mined at Mount Chalchiuihtl in the Cerrillos Hills in New Mexico. The Pueblo Indians of the region greatly disapproved of this action, because to them the turquoise was (and still is) a sacred stone. In fact, a medicine man would not receive proper recognition without a turquoise in his possession. A mining disaster in the Cerrillos Hills back then buried many of the Indian miners alive, and the area remains haunted to this day.

Native Americans from New Mexico and Arizona carve turquoise into animal shapes such as frogs, birds, squirrels, bears, coyotes, and even porpoises and whales. The fetishes are usually strung together on a necklace and worn as a protective amulet. Turquoise is also a strong talisman for the hunter: a turquoise tied to a gun would ensure a swift and accurate kill.

Healing PROPERTIES: Keeps husband safe. Encourages family bonding. Promotes trust, love, kindness and innocence. Empowers artistic traits. Provides discipline, attention and understanding. Good for cleansing. Tones and strengthens entire body. Brings Master Guide, greater love. Induces enthusiasm. Stimulates tissue regeneration. Revitalizes blood, nervous system. Beneficial for circulation, bowel cramps and chest area including lungs and respiratory system.

Energy:  Magnetic Element:  Earth and Air Planet/Sign:  Venus-Neptune/Libra

Vibrates to the number 1.

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Unakite (New to the Market)

Opaque granitic rock with main parts of aggregate being quartz and feldspar as well as greenish epidote. Very compact and hard. Named after place of discovery in South Carolina, USA.

"new to the market" does not necessarily mean that this stone has not been around for a long time, but its importance for the gemstone trade has remained minor or insignificant due to its extreme rarity of occurrence in gemstone quality or because it has been poorly marketed.

Vibrates to the number 9.

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Variscite

Verd-antique

Green to yellow rock, interspersed with white calcite or dolomite veins; a serpentinite brecia. Simply called serpentine in the trade.

Vibrates to the number 7.

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White Howlite

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