About Us and Our Sterling Silver Jewellery
At Akandadirect we specialise in high quality, limited
edition,
sterling silver jewellery. We stock silver pendants, silver earrings,
silver bracelets and silver necklaces and chains. Most of our
sterling silver jewellery is individual and hand
crafted. The stones and pearls that we use in our sterling silver
jewellery are all
natural, with the exception of Cubic Zirconia and Blue Topaz, and
include the following:
Stones
Amethyst – range in
colour from a soft lilac
to deep purple. The paler shades are often seen set in jewellery
designed in the Victorian era. The deep colours have been considered
the most valuable, possibly because purple has been thought of, since
Egyptian times, as the colour of royalty. Amethysts have been set into
Crown Jewels and religious ornamentations since the Middle Ages.
Amethyst is the birthstone of the month of February and the zodiac sign
of Pisces.
Black Onyx – is one of
the many colour
varieties of the quartz stone onyx. Generally, when people speak of
onyx jewellery they are referring to black onyx. The word
‘onyx’ is Greek and means the “nail of a
finger”. Greek mythology says that the cut nails of the
goddess
Venus were turned into onyx by the celestial gods to stop any part of
the goddess dying. As well as being favoured as a gift for the 10th
anniversary of marriage, black onyx is an alternate birthstone for
February and August and for the zodiac sign of Leo.
Blue Topaz – ranges in
colour from a very
light blue to almost ink blue. Whilst blue topaz can occur naturally in
the environment, it is more commonly made by heating clear topaz
stones. Blue Topaz is extremely popular today and is the birthstone of
the month of December and the zodiac sign of Sagittarius.
Cubic Zirconia – is a synthetic gemstone created in a laboratory originally as a substitute for diamond. In more recent years cubic zirconia has become popular in jewellery in its own right. This has largely been through the efforts of Swarovski & Co., who started producing cubic zirconia for popular jewellery in the 1980’s. Because of the internal properties of the cubic zirconia the stones often appear larger when set in sterling silver.
Golden Topaz
- is also known as Imperial Topaz and has often been associated in the
past to royalty. Topaz is a very hard stone (8 on the Mohs
Hardness Scale) which makes it quite scratch resistant and it can hold
an electric charge for up to 30 hours. Golden Topaz is a rich
golden honey colour that seems to have captured the warmth and
brilliance of the sun.
Peridot – has been used
in jewellery since
ancient Egyptian times and historically is considered to be the
favourite gemstone of Cleopatra and that some of the
“emeralds” worn by her were actually peridot.
Folklore
attributes peridot with bringing the wearer good luck, peace and
success. The wearer will attract love while repelling negative
emotions. The colour is best described as a golden pistachio green.
Sunlight reflecting off the peridot facets highlights the yellow and
green hues. Peridot is the birthstone of the month of August and the
zodiac sign of Libra.
Rose Quartz – is one of the most sought after varieties of quartz and ranges in colour from pale pink to rose red. The stones are often cloudy in appearance giving the stone depth and look stunning cut as a cabochon (cut with a rounded convex surface and flat base). It is a symbol of beauty and love. Rose Quartz is said to balance the emotions, giving inner peace and harmony. The wearer of this stone is said to have an enhanced capacity to love themselves and others. Truly a stone meant to be a gift to yourself and significant others in your life.
Tourmaline – comes in a wide variety of colours including green, blue, red, yellow, pink and watermelon which is green on the outside of the stone and pink on the inside. An ancient Egyptian legend tells us that as Tourmaline journeyed from the Earth’s centre up towards the sun it travelled along a rainbow and collected all the colours of the rainbow; hence the modern nick-name of the “Rainbow Gemstone”. From ancient times magical powers have been attributed to Tourmalines because the stones change colour depending on the light. This makes each Tourmaline an original and has contributed to its popularity in modern jewellery. Tourmaline is the birthstone of the month of October.Pearls
Pearls are formed, within certain species of oyster and
mussel, by
repeated layering of ‘nacre’, or mother-of pearl as
most of
us know it, in response to an irritant within the shell. This irritant
can occur naturally, for example a grain of sand or piece of shell, or
be placed into the oyster or mussel, as is the case for
‘cultured
pearls’. Pearls are formed in either freshwater or saltwater
and
the size and shape of the resulting pearl depends on the size of the
oyster or mussel and the size and shape of the irritant. Freshwater
pearls are characterised by the reflection of rainbow colours in the
pearl lustre.
Baroque Pearl are pearls that have formed into an irregular shape - either in fresh- or saltwater and are valued because of their individuality.
Biwa Pearl – are formed in the mussel that is native to Lake Biwa, the largest and most ancient of Japan’s lakes. The Biwa Pearl is irregular in shape and takes about 3 years to grow from the time that a small piece of mother of pearl is inserted into the oyster.Blister Pearl – are pearls that have formed naturally on the shell of an oyster or mussel and so have a flat base
Mabe Pearls –are cultured Blister Pearls.
Mother of Pearl – is the iridescent nacre that is deposited on the inside of the oyster shell.
Pearls are made to be worn and the warmth of the skin seems to heighten the lustre. Keeping pearls safely tucked away in jewellery cases is denying the pearl the warm, moist environment in which it flourishes.
Pearls are the birth jewel for the month of June and the
anniversary jewel for the 3rd year of marriage.