Silver Jewelry Information-

MINERAL NAME	DESCRIPTION
Abalone	Abalone is mineral generated by the marine mollusks and used for many silver jewelry items.
Agate	Banded colors of quartz take center stage with silver jewelry of the agate collection.
Alexandrite	Alexandrite, the birthsone for June, is named after the Czar Alexander of Russia in the former Soviet Union.
Amazonite	Amazonite is gemstone variety of microcline feldspar and varies in color from yellowish green to blue green.
Amber	Made naturally from the resin or pine sap of ancient plants, amber is one of the few minerals with an organic origin.
Amethyst	Brazil, Mexico, Canda, and Europe are all major players in the amethyst market.
Aquamarine	Aquamarine and emeralds are classed in same group of minerals known as beryls.
Aventurine	Mica, hematite, and several other minerals are often found within the green quartz variety of the aventurine gemstone.
Black Onyx	Black onyx is abundant in many parts of the world including India, Brazil, and Madagascar.
Cat's Eye	Gemstones which display the cat's eye phenomenon are said to exhibit the optical property of chatoyancy.
Diamond	Utilized almost exclusively as the gemstone representing love, eternity, and happiness, the diamond is the hardest gem material on earth.
Emerald	Most of the better quality emeralds which hail from Brazil are often highly included.
Feldspar	The feldspars are really a family of minerals and not merely a single gemstone.
Fluorite	The term fluorescence gets its name from the mineral fluorite as this mineral often exhibits this characteristic glow.
Garnet	Granatium, the latin word for pomegranate is the sorce for the word garnet
Gaspeite	Relatively new to the jewelry industry, the mineral gaspeite is unique with its opaque, Granny Smith apple green color.
Hematite	Frequently fashioned as a cabochon or beads, the mineral hematite is highly versatile.
Iolite	With its light bluish to violet color, the mineral iolite is often referred to as "water sapphire".
Jade	Becasue of its tenacity, strength, and toughness jade was first utilized in the making of prehistoric weapons.
Jasper	Jasper is generally used for ornamentation such as ashtrays, jewelry boxes, and candlesticks and secondarily in silver jewelry.
Jet	What is jet? How is jet formed? What are the properties of jet?
Kunzite	The light pink variety of the mineral spodumene is a primary source of lithium and is known in the the jewelry world as kunzite.
Lapis Lazuli	Lapis lazuli is the product of limestone and contact metamorphism.
Malachite	Turquoise and malachite are traditional gemstones used in southwestern silver jewelry.
Marcasite	Within fossil beds, marcasite may frequently be found as a replacement mineral.
Milk Quartz	Quartz occurs naturally in many colors including a white variation known as milky quartz or milk quartz.
Opal	The extensive deserts on the continet of Australia are responsible for 95% of the world's opal gem material available today.
Pearl	One of the few gems materials with an organic origin, pearls are a product of marine and fresh water mollusks.
Peridot	The characteristic green color of peridot owes its existance to the ratio of iron to magnesium within the mineral.
Pink Mussel	Shallow and gravel-rich freshwater less than two feet deep are the preferred habitat requirements of of the pink mussel.
Quartz	Quartz is available in dozens of colors and is the earth's most abundant mineral.
Rose Quartz	Of all the colors available naturally in quartz, the light pink hues of the rose quartz are the most feminine.
Ruby	The distinctive red color of ruby enhance both silver and gold jewelry with elegance.
Tiger Eye	Often a favorite of men's jewelry, tiger eye affords a characteristic brown and gold banded shimmering effect.
Tourmaline	The colors of tourmaline are highly varied and may even present themselves as bicolor as in the pink and green variety known as "watermelon tourmaline".
Turquoise	Inspiring and exhilarating, turquoise is the quintessential southwest silver jewelry gemstone.
Sapphire	One of the world top three best-selling gemstones, the world's best sapphires are found in Sri Lanka, India, Burma, Thailand, and Brazil.
Sodalite	Dark blue in color, sodalite is frequently mistaken for lapis, however the presence of white veins are only present in the sodalite mineral.
Spinel	Spinel's red color so closely resembles that of fine ruby, making spinel a less expensive substitute for many jewelers.
Sugilite	The mid range purple is typical color for the mineral named sugilite, named for the Japanese geologist Ken-ichi Sugi, who discovered it.
Tanzanite	Along with amethyst, tanzanite is one of the most popular of the purple colored gemstones.
Topaz	Topaz is frequently found in 10 colors in nature, with the pink to reddish orange known as imperial topaz known to be the scarcest and most valuable.
Zircon	The mineral zircon has been known to man for over 3000 yers and has been called such names as jargon, hyacinth and jacinth.

Jewelry Clasps:
Clasps are various fasteners which close chains and some
bracelets. Styles include a Lobster Claw so named as it
resembles the claw of a lobster. Spring Ring, which is a
classic type of closure used on most smaller chains. Toggle
Clasp is a two piece lock system whereby a small loop on one
end of a chain or bracelet accomodates a small bar which
slips through the loop and remains locked. Box Clasp most
often seen on fancy and eleborate silver bracelets like the
Marcarsite bracelets.

Women's Chain Length Guide:(approximate)

13" just above the collar bone
15" laying on collar bone
16" below the collar bone
18" 2" below 16"
20" middle between shoulder and strapless dress
24" almost tothe top of a strapless dress
30" almost to the bottom of bust line

Chart For Birthstones:
       Jan-Garnet
       Feb-Amethyst
       March-Aquamarine
       April-Diamond
       May-Emerald
       June-Pearl
       July-Ruby
       August-Peridot
       Sept-Sapphire
       Oct-Opal
       Nov-Citrine
       Dec-Blue Topaz

Jewelry Trends:
Pearl- Mabe earrings, Fresh Water Pearl (mostly twists), blister pearls used in pendants and brooches, longer strands (32-80") most often baroque, pearls to offer more affordability,pearl bracelets with 2-5 strands with or without gold bars

Gemstone- Cabochons-Now So Popular that facet-quality material is being cut cabochon.
Cabs in unusual shapes such as tongue, sugarloaf or bullet, double cabs and various outline shapes. Pink gold jewelry with gemstones. 60's colors, especially peridot, as a result of stong yellow-green in the fashion color palette in recent years. More wide spread use of materials such as agates and chalcedony due to growing consumer acceptance and need for lower price points. Color combinations as a design element.
Silver- Neo-Victorian jewelry, delicate designs, oxidized silver, cameos and intaglios. Western, Native American themes. Scatter pins, cufflinks. Textured, matte silver with 14K-24K gold accents. Silver jewelry and pearls. Belt buckles, jewelry designers are entering the silver belt buckle market very sucessfully.
Diamonds- Stars and astral themes, animal and nature themes. Soft, fluid shapes and small stones. More white gold mixed with yellow gold. Flush setting-once a designer only fashion, now its everywhere. Different textures and finishes.
Gold- Nature inspired designs in 14-18K. Earrings dangling ith balls, beads, strands and fringes. Color and textures, espically with enamel and colored gems. Multi strand links and combination bangle link bracelets.
Platinum -Platinum and 18K gold combos. Polished matte and etched finishes. Increase in affordable platinum mesh jewelry.

Convert mm to inches

How can I tell how wide or long my jewelry is?

Are you confused when viewing MM (Millimeter) dimensions throughout the features and descriptions of jewelry items in our store? Use the chart below to get an idea what those sizes are in inches.

MM

INCHES

1.6 1/16

3.2 1/8

4.8 3/16

6.3 1/4

7.9 5/16

9.5 3/8

11.1 7/16

12.7 1/2

14.3 9/16

15.9 5/8

17.5 11/16

19.0 3/4

20.6 13/16

22.2 7/8

23.8 15/16

25.4 1

mm inches inches mm inches
inches

1 0.04 0.63/16 26 1.02 1 0.38/16

2 0.08 1.26/16 27 1.06 1 1.01/16

3 0.12 1.89/16 28 1.10 1 1.64/16

4 0.16 2.52/16 29 1.14 1 2.27/16

5 0.20 3.15/16 30 1.18 1 2.90/16

6 0.24 3.78/16 31 1.22 1 3.53/16

7 0.28 4.41/16 32 1.26 1 4.16/16

8 0.31 5.04/16 33 1.30 1 4.79/16

9 0.35 5.67/16 34 1.34 1 5.42/16

10 0.39 6.30/16 35 1.38 1 6.05/16

11 0.43 6.93/16 36 1.42 1 6.68/16

12 0.47 7.56/16 37 1.46 1 7.31/16

13 0.51 8.19/16 38 1.50 1 7.94/16

14 0.55 8.82/16 39 1.54 1 8.57/16

15 0.59 9.45/16 40 1.57 1 9.20/16

16 0.63 10.08/16 41 1.61 1 9.83/16

17 0.67 10.71/16 42 1.65 1 10.46/16

18 0.71 11.34/16 43 1.69 1 11.09/16

19 0.75 11.97/16 44 1.73 1 11.72/16

20 0.79 12.60/16 45 1.77 1 12.35/16

21 0.83 13.23/16 46 1.81 1 12.98/16

22 0.87 13.86/16 47 1.85 1 13.61/16

23 0.91 14.49/16 48 1.89 1 14.24/16

24 0.94 15.12/16 49 1.93 1 14.87/16

25 0.98 15.75/16 50 1.97 1 15.50/16

Learn about Silver

Silver

Silver has a long and noble history, second only to that of gold. Popular as a jewelry metal for thousands of years, it is harder than gold and much more plentiful. The abundant supply and ease of working it make silver more affordable and a good alternative to gold and platinum (although it does tarnish and need polishing from time to time).

Sterling silver is a silver alloy with a fixed standard of purity. It consists of 925 parts silver (out of 1,000) and 75 parts copper. Like gold alloys, sterling silver can be used to plate other metals. All silver jewelry we offer at Jewelry By Net is guaranteed sterling silver and is stamped .925.

Silver was one of the first metals to be used and can be traced back to the ancient Egyptian, Phoenician, and Byzantine empires. The work of silver was also popular in colonial America where it developed along other craft traditions. Silver is now the metal that is mostly used throughout the world.