Custom Made Jewerly to your specifications

Are you looking for a custom, designer, one of a kind piece of jewelry made to your specifications? Elizabeta Jewelry can help! We have big name designers that can create the perfect piece for you. If you have an idea, we will run with it. And you would have the opportunity to see a "proof" before we actually produce the final piece, letting you make changes if you would like.

A case history was a client looking for a mother's pendant but she didn't want the usual (yet lovely) mother's pendant that we often see. She was looking for something modern and contemporary. So using the appropriate birthstones, a jewelry designer came up with the piece that is pictured. It uses palladium metal with a ruby, garnet, and aquamarine.

If you are looking for something unique and that reflects your sense of style, please contact us at elizabeta@charter.net and we can put something together. You get all of the convenience of shopping from home but the service and personalization of a designer jewelry store.

Gemstones - Background and Lore - Hessonite

Hessonite is a variety of garnet. It tends to be warm brownish yellows, brownish oranges, or brownish reds. Because of its color and historic connection with the spice producing country of Sri Lanka, the stone is also called the cinnamon stone. It is found in Brazil, Canada, Madagascar, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and the US. It rates a 7-7.5 on the Moh's hardness scale, and its toughness is considered fair to good. It can fracture if exposed to extreme temperature changes, and it is attacked by hydrofluoric acid. Never steam clean this stone as it may fracture. It is usually safe to clean ultrasonically, but it is safest to use warm soapy water and a toothbrush. Some alternatives to hessonite include almandite, citrine, fire opal, sapphire, spessartite, topaz, and zircon.

The use of this stone increases creativity and good use of the imagination. It may also serve to increase the level of self-confidence and reduce the propensity to be fearful. It can also increase the awareness of a person's subtle senses and increase ambition, which may also be for spiritual advancement.

Physically, it is said to help nervous disorders and such degenerative diseases as cancer. It may improve immune functions and counteract the harmful effects of radiation. Hessonite is said to help avert disasters and to protect against evil spirits. Supposedly it can prevent or avert insanity and protect from sudden misfortunes. It also has a reputation for giving great abilities in the sciences.

Gemstones - Background and Lore - Emerald

The emerald's lush green has soothed souls and excited imaginations for a long time. It's name comes from the Greek word for green, "smaragdus". It was said to be good for the eyes as it is so soothing to look at. The first emeralds were mined in Egypt dating back to 330 B.C. Cleopatra was known to have a passion for emeralds and used them in her royal adornments. Emeralds from what is now Colombia were part of the plunder when sixteen-century Spanish explorers invaded the New World. Emerald is often mined and sold under peril - the natural resource Colombians cherish is also coveted by underworld drug traders. The availability of fine-quality emerald is limited, and emerald was plagued in the late 1990's by negative publicity about treatments used to improve its clarity. Emerald is the most famous member of the beryl family. Legend gave it the power to make its wearer more intelligent and quick-witted. It was once also believed to cure diseases like cholera and malaria. Its color reflects new spring growth, which makes it the perfect choice of a birthstone for the month of May. It's also the gemstone for the 20th and 35th wedding anniversary. It can be found in Colombia, Brazil, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It is rated as a 7.5-8 on the Moh's Scale of hardness and the toughness is poor to good. Heat may cause the stone to fracture. Fracture fillings may dry out or alter under intense light. They may also be affected by any type of chemical. Emerald itself is resistant to all acids except hydrofluoric. Some emeralds are commonly fracture filled. This improves clarity, but it is not permanent. Some emeralds are dyed to improve color. This is rarely done and is not permanent. And sometimes a light colored beryl is coated with green plastic to appear to be an emerald. This is rare and is fraudulent if being represented as a true emerald. Emeralds should never be steam cleaned or ultrasonically cleaned. Warm soap and water is the best method, but you should avoid vigorous scrubbing. Some said emeralds would heal if simply worn, others said gaining help required gazing deeply into the green for a while. In every language, there were reports of the emerald helping eyesight. The Sumerians said that if an emerald was worn in a ring on the little finger of the left hand, it would cure inflammation of the eyes. During the time of Hippocrates, emeralds were crushed into a fine powder and made into an eye lotion. Some alternatives for an emerald include alexandrite, demantoid garnet, diopside, jadeite, peridot, sapphire, tourmaline, tsavorite garnet, and zircon.

Gemstones - Background and Lore - Demantoid

Demantoid means "diamond like" in Dutch. It is called that because although it is softer than a diamond it has a higher dispersion, so it flashes a rainbow of color when light hits it. This green gem is a variety of andradite and a member of the garnet family. Demantoid ranges from intense green to yellow green. Under a microscope, demantoid has what are called horse tails - wisps of long, golden, fiber-like inclusions that radiate from a central point. Demantoid was discovered in the Ural Mountains of Russia in 1868. Tiffany and Company bought up a bunch of it and marketed it as a cheaper alternative to emerald. It adorned much Victorian jewelry crafted between 1895 to 1915. The supply of demantoid has dwindled making it a prized collector's stone. Recently discovered in Namibia have slightly boosted the availability. Demantoid joins the garnet group in that it is a birthstone for January. It has a hardness of 6.5 - 7 on the Mohs Scale of hardness. It's toughness is considered fair to good. Extreme changes in temperature may cause this stone to fracture. Also, hydrofluoric acid will attack this gem. Ultrasonic cleaning is usually safe unless the stone contains liquid inclusions. Never steam clean this stone. The safest way to clean the stone is with warm and soapy water. Some alternatives include emerald, green sapphire, green zircon, peridot, tourmaline, and tsavorite garnet.

According to the ancient Jewish text the Talmud, a garnet provided the only source of light on Noah's Ark. Garnet jewelry has been found in Egyptian, Greek and Roman ruins. Some Asiatic tribes fashioned garnets into bullets believing that they would be more lethal than lead bullets. Garnet is also believed to protect its wearer from evil and disaster. The word garnet comes from a Latin word meaning pomegranate. Demantoid Garnet's are said to enhance creativity, understanding, and to help to bring success to business matters. Physically they are said to fight infectious diseases, blood poisonings, and heart and lung diseases.

Gemstones - Background and Lore - Citrine

Citrine is one of the November birthstones. Topaz is the other. Citrine is a quartz variety. It gets it's name from the Latin word citrus, meaning "citron" (a fruit closely related to the lemon). Citrine comes in a wide range of sizes. Most citrine is found in traditional rounds and fancy shapes, but it is also available in more contemporary cuts and carvings. Before the development of modern gemology, citrine was often confused for topaz. Citrine is found in Bolivia, Brazil, and Spain. It is a 7 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness and has good toughness. High heat can cause color loss. Sudden or extreme temperature change can cause fracturing. Citrine is soluble in hydrofluoric acid and ammonium fluoride. It is slightly soluble in alkalis. Citrine is routinely heated to produce the desired color. Often it is produced by heating amethyst. This treatment is undetectable and assumed. Ultrasonic cleaning is usually safe. Steam cleaning is not recommended. The safest cleaning method is warm soapy water and a toothbrush. Alternatives include amber, carnelian, chrysoberyl, Malaya garnet, sapphire, smoky quartz, spessartite garnet, topaz, and tourmaline. Citrine is believed to help the heart, kidney, digestive tract, liver and muscles. It promotes creativity, helps personal clarity and eliminates self-destructive tendencies.

Getting Engaged in Uncertain Times

If you are like me, you have been watching the news a lot lately waiting to see what is going to happen with our economy. The economic future is somewhat uncertain and most people are being cautious with their spending, and rightly so. I am optimistic as Americans have overcome challenges before. However, we have to be smart. If you are in the process of searching for an engagement ring, we have an economic solution for the perfect ring that won't compromise your distingushed taste and eye for quality. If you purchase an engagement ring semi mount (the ring without the center stone), Elizabeta Jewelry will give you a 1 carat diamond hybrid for FREE! Choose from one of our many designer rings and we will set a diamond hybrid for you. Sometime in the future, you can upgrade to a natural diamond if you wish. However, you may be pleasantly surprised with the quality, fire, and brilliance of the diamond hybrid. Diamond hybrids come in a wide variety of shapes that include round brilliant, square princess, asscher, cushion cut, emerald cut, and radiant cut.

The Diamond HybridTM has been called a "greener" product, as it does not come from the ground like mined diamonds. However, the Diamond HybridTM is made from real diamonds, giving it that same look and feel without paying the price.

Diamond HybridTM is hand-cut to precision and grades better in every aspect of the GIA diamond grading scale than most diamonds (Diamond HybridTM is F-G color, Flawless and scores excellent in Polish, Symmetry, and Proportions).

Diamond HybridTM is the only diamond simulant in the world that employs a patent pending form of Amorphous Diamond which is man-made and "composed of a multitude of tiny diamond crystals all aligned together*". To better describe how the hybrid stone is completed, we have begun calling it "Diamond Infused", as atomic force microscope analysis shows that the microscopic diamond crystals literally penetrate into the upper layers of the Diamond crystal to form a new hybrid diamond simulant.

For more information on the diamond hybrid, go to http://www.diamondhybrid.com/.

Please browse our selection of rings and if you purchase one, use discount code DHNC at checkout and indicate the shape you would like in you comments. Or contact us at elizabeta@charter.net for more information.