Fashion and Beauty Lifestyle Articles for Women Exploring Exciting Ideas About Fashion and Style
There is typically 4 ways to make jewelry
There is lost wax casting-where the design is done in wax and then cast in metal, there is metalsmithing-where the work is done with metal, there is wirewrapping, and then there is snap settings-premade settings, usually cast, that all you have to do is add a standard cut stone to. For obvious reasons custom cut cabochons are not usually used in the latter type. For the other 3 types, the jeweler may have a design in mind and then go looking for a cabochon, or find a cabochon that "speaks" to them and design around it. Jewelers can go through 1000's of cabochons looking for just the right one. And it can be very frustrating when the one they find is out of their budget.
Why are custom cut cabochons so much more expensive than standard commercial ones?
The main problem of course is the product we sell. We sell a product that takes millions of years to produce, is sometimes found only in one area, and many times the deposits get played out. The natural stone materials can even change in pattern or color from one foot to the next of the deposit! Often you don't really know what you're getting when you buy the rough, until you actually start cutting it. It is not like you can just pick up the phone and order 1000 more hamburgers. And there is no cost control.
The History of Stone Cutting - most people have no idea that there is a lapidary field...
When asked what I do for a living, my response is usually "lapidarist". This inevitably gets the "Huh?" response. Most people have no idea that there is a lapidary field and that lapidary may quite possibly be one of the oldest professions!
A lapidary is an artist who practices the craft of working, forming, and finishing stone, mineral, and gemstones into decorative pieces or wearable items.
In prehistoric times, man learned to make tools from stone, using one stone to chip away at another, and in the process learned that stones good be worked and that they had different hardnesses. By 3,000 B.C. man had developed his lapidary skills to such an extent that they could make cylinders from serpentine. In all ancient civilizations history records the carving of stones for tools and adornment. Beads, scarabs, amulets, seals, even bowls were cut from stone. It is believed that around the 1300's early faceting occurred. But in the 1400's real developments began.
Sunscreens Are An Integral Part Of Your Skin Care Regimen. No Matter What Season It Is Or What Skin Type You Have... A Sunscreen Is Imperative
Sunscreens protect your skin against the harmful UV radiations of the sun and prevent sunburns, sun spots and premature aging of the skin.
However, it becomes quite difficult to select a good sunscreen from the overwhelming choices that are available in the market. The trick to choosing the best sunscreen for you is knowing what to look for in it.
So how to choose a sunscreen? Here are some things you should consider while looking for a good sunscreen:
