Turquoise the Birthstone of December

November 30, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
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Turquoise is a valuable mineral and is possibly the most valuable, non-transparent mineral in the jewelry trade. It was one of the first gemstones to be mined, in at least 6000 BC by early Egyptians. Its history also includes beautiful ornamental creations by Native Americans and Persians. Its popularity is still quite strong today.The name comes from a French word which means stone of Turkey, from where Persian material passed on its way to Europe. Turquoise is commonly found in micro-crystalline and its colour varies from sky blue to green depending on the quantities of iron and copper. Turquoise is most commonly opaque. Sometimes the colour can change with exposure to skin oils. (more…)

What are Gemstones?

November 3, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
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There are over 3000 different minerals, out of these only 50 are commonly used as gemstones. To be regarded as a gemstone the mineral must be beautiful particularly in colour and it must be rare because this increases the value. A gemstone must also be durable and hardwearing enough to survive constant use without becoming damaged.

Gemstones are generally made up of minerals which are natural, inorganic materials with a fixed chemical composition and a regular structure internally. A few gems are organic; these are produced by living organisms such as shellfish. Amber and pearls are two examples of an organic gemstone. Another type of gemstones are called synthetics which are not natural and are made in laboratories, these are often used as imitations of the real thing.

Gemstones begin their life as a crystal as shown with the amethyst to the left. This is normally built up of crystalline with their atoms arranged in regular and symmetrical patterns, like a lattice. This crystalline is normally embedded in a host rock known as the matrix. In this state the stone is referred to as rough. In its natural state the mineral may be a prism with clearly defined faces as shown with the hexagonal crystal on the right. (more…)

Topaz the Birthstone of November

October 29, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
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In Antiquity all yellow and brown gemstones were called “topaz”.  The name is probably derived from the name of the island in the Red Sea (where it was first found) Topazos, now called Zebirget. In common with all other gemstones, Topaz has several mystical powers associated with it: the Ancient Greeks believed that it was the guardian against all calamity because they associated its colour with the sun – itself a giver of life.

In the Middle Ages, Topaz was credited variously with preserving one from sensuality, calming anger and frenzy, strengthening the
intellect, brightening wit, giving joy and driving away broodings and apprehensions.

There are many other powers associated with it – including correcting sexual disorders, calming passions and giving a glimpse of the world beyond!  All the abilities of Topaz are believed to increase and decrease according to the phases of the Moon, with stronger powers near the full moon. (more…)

Opal the Birthstone of October

September 22, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
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When light strikes an Opal and creates a brilliant colour display, the traditional mystic explanation has been that the colours signify a favourable response heralding success and good fortune. When the light creates a dull reflection of colour from the Opal, interpreters have usually taken that for an unfavourable response – failure and disappointment will soon follow!

The name Opal is derived from an Indian word for “stone”. There are three groups of Opals: Common, Precious and Fire. Common or Potch Opal is opaque with no play of colour. Precious Opal, which is the one that most people think of as Opal and the type most used in jewellery, is prized for its opalescence. Fire Opal, named after its bright orange colour, is a transparent orange variety of Opal with no opalescence. As it is transparent, it usually cut in a faceted style. Whereas precious Opal, which is at best translucent, is cut as a shallow cabochon to display its opalescence. (more…)

Our 50 Year Celebrations!

September 20, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
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Thank you to everyone who came along on Saturday we had a wonderful day!

So far we have raised almost £1000 for grove house so we are hoping to reach that major mark very soon!

Our prize winners were picked on Saturday by our mayor, Councillor Aislinn Lee, who kindly came along to join in the celebrations. They should have all been informed and we also have a list of winners in the shop if you wish to check whether you have won. Some of the email addresses were hard to read and we may have made a few mistakes!

The battery competition came to a close on saturday as well, the total amount of batteries was 1567! Thank you to everyone who entered and helped us in raising money for grove house. The winners were as follows:

1st – Hilary Thurlow who guessed 1570

2nd – Val Nash who guessed 1575

3rd- Elaine Gatta, Anne Azzophand and Ann Morely who all guessed 1500

Also a great thank you to the local businesses who supported us.

These include Dixies Cupcakery in St Albans Town centre who provided us with the gorgeous cupcakes pictured above, despite ordering 300 I never thought we would actually get through that many! www.dixiescupcakery.co.uk

Ayletts Nurseries who lent us some beautiful flowers which we displayed outside the shop and around the marquee.www.aylettnurseries.co.uk

Printed Clothing who printed our t-shirts for the day, many people commented on how brilliant we all looked wearing matching tops! www.printedclothing.com

Fleetville Swing Band who performed throughout the afternoon and helped build up the lively atmosphere! www.fleetvilleswingband.co.uk

Also the St Albans Majorettes who performed fantastically despite the torrential rain and looked like they were having a lot of fun doing it! www.freewebs.com/stalbansmajorettesandbatontwirlers

 

TORGOEN – Our newest watch brand!

September 14, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
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TORGOEN was founded by a group of aviation enthusiasts to provide similar enthusiasts with watches of uncompromising quality.

With over 90 watches in the collection, this fantastic brand provides incredible quality and value for money. Every TORGOEN Swiss watch is driven by one or more Swiss movements, with the T8 range having 3 fully independent Swiss Ronda movements!

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Sapphire the Birthstone of September

August 24, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
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The word Sapphire is derived from the Greek word for blue. In early history all blue gems were called sapphire, however with modern gemmological techniques, we can be more precise in categorising different gems. The blue stone we refer to as sapphire is corundum  (aluminium oxide) with impurities of iron and titanium, which give the stone its colour. This varies from virtually colourless through the most desirable shades of intense cornflower blue to virtually black-navy blue. The colour in blue sapphire often occurs in bands; this is because as the crystal evolves, iron and titanium impurities are not constantly available to the crystal and hence the colour is not uniform. (more…)

Peter Pan Collars

August 17, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
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One of the must have items this season is these sixties inspired peter pan
 collars, many will remember them from childhood clothes but now adding a peter pan collar can instantly update any outfit!

The collar can be sold separately so it can be added to outfits to create a classic vintage look.

These collars are great to update work clothes as they are very smart yet highly fashionable.

Also necklaces are not required, they do however still look good especially if you wear a longer vintage style chain.  (more…)

Autumn/Winter Jewellery Trends

August 8, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
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As ever  jewellery has played a large part on the Autumn/Winter catwalk, with many of the trends continuing on from the previous seasons.  However there is less bold statement jewellery and the more delicate jewellery has returned. This is being seen on the red carpet too as many celebrities are opting for smaller more elegant pendants, rather than the bold glamorous collars that have featured in the previous years. Here are a few of the main trends for this season.

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50 Years of E J Wrights

July 28, 2011 by · 1 Comment
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On the 6th of August we will have been in business at our current location for a full 50 years!

In light of this special occasion we will be having lots of different promotions and prize give-aways happening over the next 2 months. All this will build up to a celebration day on Saturday 17th September when we will be offering free cake, Bucks Fizz and chocolates to everyone. There will be a live jazz band playing in the afternoon and the local Mayor will also be paying us a visit to announce our prize winners. We will also be helping to raise money for the Grove House Charity, our local cancer care unit.

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