Various Gemstone Beads Used for Making Beaded Jewelry

Various Gemstone Beads Used for Making Beaded Jewelry
Welcome to the Bead Bar in Orlando, Florida. My name is Sonia and on this segment for Expert Village, we are going to discuss a little bit about gem stones. Now there is a lot to learn about gemstones. Just a sort of to give you a little bit of background on gemstones: the rough product is mined all over the world and then processed and shaped in two major countries, China and India. So no matter where the gemstones come from they all will be sent to either China or India. As far the quality and pricing on gemstones will vary greatly. A lot of gemstones when they are priced and marketed there are three factors to take into consideration; one is color, cut and clarity. Also, supply and demand will also affect the pricing. I have got a few gemstones here to show everyone, but before we also explain some of the beads we have on the table, if you have any doubts about any gemstones there are some fantastic reference books out there, so I would encourage you to may be invest in a couple of those. Okay, right here we have some turquoise, the turquoise comes from China; this is actually Chinese turquoise. Over here, this is called a flat oval shaped; this is the picture jasper. Over here we have some Opalite and this is the chips and the chips are going to come in many different stones. Then we jump up to these gorgeous Burmese rubies and they are all hand-cut. Over here, this is called the top drilled nugget and this is Citrine here. Okay, over here we have a beautiful strand of aquamarine. This is Labradorite; by the way this shape is called a pear fasted, top drilled. Another strand of flat oval turquoise here and over here we have carnelian. Again the carnelian in a round fasted and you can see how the color varies in the stones and you will find that in a lot of the other stones too. They are going to have different variations in the colors. This one is called Picasso Jasper and these are all great fun shapes and design elements. Here this stone is called Lepidolite, a beautiful purple color. There are so many options, so many shapes, you really just have to get in there and just have fun with all of them. You would not have any regrets. Thank you.