SilverStones

Shop for natural stone jewelry at SilverStones! This sterling silver flower pendant has a 6mm natural cabochon stone in Chinese turquoise. We can make this pendant for you in thirteen other natural stones in amber, black onyx, denim lapis, lapis lazuli, sleeping beauty turquoise, hematite, nephrite jade, amethyst, citrine, iolite, rainbow topaz, Swiss blue topaz, and blue moonstone.  The price of this pendant depends on the stone you select.

This sterling silver pendant will accommodate a chain that measures up to 2mm in width. Wear this pendant with a chain you already own or add one of our sterling silver chains to your order.  SilverStones also has a large selection of plain sterling silver pendants in several unique designs. See our gemstone sections for other pendants available with natural stones.

Step back in time with this unique Victorian-style sterling silver pendant. If you are looking for a unique pendant with a romantic flair, this is the pendant for you.

This sterling silver pendant is oxidized to bring out the intricate design and has a large denim lapis stone. This pendant is also available in four other semi-precious stones: crysocolla, lapis lazuli, Chinese turquoise and sleeping beauty turquoise. The price of this pendant varies depending on the stone you select.  Shown in this photo is a denim lapis stone. Crysocolla is a stone with a green and blue matrix. Lapis lazuli is a navy blue stone that sometimes has flecks of gold. Chinese turquoise is blue and green with a dark matrix pattern. Sleeping beauty turquoise is a solid light blue stone. Like all semi-precious stones the matrix can vary from one stone to the next. All of these stones are high quality semi-precious stones.

We will make this pendant with your favorite stone listed above to create a unique pendant just for you.  Check out our other sterling silver pendants we offer without stones. Shop SilverStones for unique gifts in .925 sterling silver.

SilverStones offers natural stone jewelry in semi-precious and fine gemstone jewelry. Once upon a time there was a rule as to what stones were categorized as fine gemstones but that rule no longer applies today. We categorize our opaque stones as semi-precious and carry natural stone jewelry in turquoise, lapis lazuli, denim lapis, Baltic amber, black onyx, and multi-stone jewelry with a combination of semi-precious stones. In our fine gemstone jewelry section we carry amethyst, topaz, citrine, freshwater pearl and multi-stone jewelry. The gemstones in this section are translucent stones. You will also find more fine gemstone jewelry in our unique handcrafted section with garnets and jewelry with a combination of semi-precious stones and fine gemstones with calcite, garnets, amethyst, peridot, moonstone, amber and mother-of-pearl (MOP).

We highly scrutinize the stones we offer on our website. You will find gemstone jewelry on the Internet that are glass replicas of translucent gemstones. These gemstones have no value and do not have meta physical properties, such as, what these stones will do for you. Watch out for the term fashion jewelry. The stones used in this jewelry are usually fake. Simulated is another word that means it is not a real gemstone. Read the descriptions carefully when buying turquoise jewelry. You will often find that it is not turquoise but colored to look like turquoise. There is another post on our blog regarding turquoise jewelry – how to identify real turquoise with pictures of what real turquoise looks like. Read our FAQ section on our website for more information on terms used to describe stones.

The ring shown above has a hot pink topaz faceted gemstone with six diamonds in a white gold setting. This ring is located in the fine gemstone jewelry section under the topaz. This ring is listed on another website on the Internet for $200.00 more than we charge. Shop SilverStones for quality sterling silver jewelry at an affordable price.

Mother of Pearl is used in jewelry to add contrast and beauty like this flower pendant that has black onyx in the center with mother of pearl petals (shown right). Mother of Pearl is also referred to MOP, an abbreviation of Mother of Pearl.

Mother of Pearl is also known as nacre, an organic composite material produced by some mollusk as an inner layer of the shell. Mother of Pearl is a very strong, resilient, and iridescent stone that reflects different colors depending on the angle the light. The main sources of this stone are the shell of pearl oysters and fresh water pearl mussels. Mother of Pearl is also used in decorative purposes in furniture, buttons, and fingerboard inlays in guitars.

We carry Mother of Pearl jewelry in our black onyx and turquoise sections of our online store like these pretty blue turquoise and Mother of Pearl post earrings set in sterling silver. Check out all the beautiful earrings and pendants we offer in Mother of Pearl jewelry set in sterling silver.

How are stones made to fit in jewelry? This piece on the left is a black onyx and mother of pearl (MOP) sterling silver slide pendant. This pendant has a stone inlay that was cut to fit this slide pendant. In natural stone jewelry stones are either cut to fit the piece or the stone has been reconstituted which means the stone has been ground to a powder then mixed with resin and pressed into the piece of jewelry. This is still considered a natural stone.

This cross pendant is an example of jewelry that has reconstituted stones. Hard to tell the difference isn’t it?

This natural turquoise stone ring, shown below, has a cabochon stone. Cabochon stones have been ground into a shape, polished, and have a flat back. This type of stone is either glued into the jewelry setting or depending on the type of setting may have the silver pressed around the stone to hold it in place. Semi-precious stones can be cut or reconstituted; translucent stones like amethyst, topaz, and citrine are usually cut into faceted shapes to catch the light to make them sparkle.

Beads used in making jewelry are tumbled and then drilled. When buying a strand of stones examine them closely, not all stones are real in other words they could be simulated (fake). Natural stones are always cool to the touch.

This is one of my favorite turquoise bracelets. This is a multi stone three-strand bracelet that has turquoise, spiney oyster, sponge coral and lapis lazuli with sterling silver findings. This bracelet with its multi colored stones goes with just about anything. This bracelet makes a great accessory for jeans or casual outfits.

You get additional protection when you wear a piece of jewelry like this because of the metaphysical properties of these gemstones and silver accentuates their powers. Turquoise attracts prosperity and success. Lapis Lazuli promotes intellect and creativity. Spiney oyster dispels impatience and depression. Sponge coral promotes emotional healing. Not only is this a beautiful bracelet; it’s a must have for people who need help coping with life.

There are different types of natural turquoise stones. There is Sleeping Beauty turquoise that is solid sky blue in color. Chinese turquoise has more of a green tint and has a brown matrix but sometime this turquoise has blue stones in the strand. Then, there is green turquoise that comes from Taiwan. There is also American turquoise; most of this turquoise is recycled from older jewelry due to over mining. You will want to dig through my blogs to find another article I wrote showing the difference between natural turquoise and the stones dyed to look like turquoise.

The prices of these stone vary greatly. I am basing these prices on a 6mm round stone with a strand length of 16″, these are wholesale prices. The least expensive is green turquoise from Taiwan, a stand of this cost around $10. Chinese turquoise cost around $30 a strand. Sleeping Beauty turquoise (sit down, you might faint) cost around $200 a strand! Why does Sleeping Beauty turquoise cost so much? I suspect the price is due to over mining and it is hard to come by. Like everything else supply and demand increases the price, the harder it is to get the more it costs.

The turquoise jewelry shown here is what Sleeping Beauty turquoise looks like (even though it didn’t say that was what the stone is). It’s hard to tell natural turquoise stones from stones dyed to look like turquoise, so be an informed shopper and don’t get ripped off.

How to identify real Turquoise

Shown above is an example of a genuine Chinese Turquoise stone. Chinese Turquoise can be blue or green with a dark brown or black matrix, sometime no matrix at all. Other types of Turquoise are Sleeping Beauty Turquoise, which is a solid sky blue color, and American Turquoise. Sleeping Beauty Turquoise is extremely expensive and hard to find. American Turquoise is very rare due to the over mining in the 60′s and 70′s. Jewelry that is made with American Turquoise is usually remade from older pieces. Chinese Turquoise is quite expensive and what is on the market today is usually Chinese Turquoise.

Turquoise that is referred to as simulated is not Turquoise at all but dyed the color of turquoise. Two examples above show simulated Turquoise, this is dyed Howlite and Magnesite, as you can see the color of these stones are weak in value and the streaks are more of a light brown. These fake stones have a different matrix pattern from genuine Turquoise stones.

You will find Turquoise jewelry that claims to be Turquoise and is often priced the same. Real Turquoise stones are not cheap. Know what you’re buying and keep a look out for stones dyed to look like Turquoise.