Garnets
Garnets come in a variety of colours but the most popular
are shades of red, pink and orange. Garnets have long been
carried by travellers to protect them whilst away from home.
Ancient Egyptians and Greeks created garnet jewellery for decoration,
and Medieval wearers prized the stone for its protection against
poisons, wounds, and bad dreams. An extremely hard gem, garnets
have been ground to be used as abrasives, and nineteenth-century
Asiatic warriors used the stones as bullets.
Legend links garnets to romantic love and passion. Garnets are believed
to possess energising effects and to grant positive thoughts and inspiration.
Red garnets have also long been associated with career success, popularity
and self-confidence. Green garnets, which are also a popular form of
garnet, are said to foster peace, serenity and creativity. It is also
associated with purification and patience.
Amongst these are the orange Hessanite
Garnet, the deep red Almandine Garnet and a pinkish red stone known locally
as the Rose Garnet. There are additionally numerous shades of red garnets
found in Sri Lankan gempits which are also used. Because of the vast
variety of garnets produced in Sri Lanka it is often difficult to match
up shades from gems mined in different areas.
Topaz
Although most commonly found as yellow or blue in colour,
topazes also may be transparent, brown, and most rarely pink
or red. Their colours can be unstable and change according
to temperature.
Topazes have been used to cure bad vision and to ward off death. During
the spread of the Bubonic plague the clergy touched topazes to people's
sores. They were also ground into a powder and added to wine to prevent
asthma and insomnia. Topazes are believed to bring intelligence, long
life, beauty, and loyalty.
According to legend topazes also fend off nightmares and ends sleepwalking.
They are also believed to relieve the pain of rheumatism and arthritis,
regulate the digestive system and calm emotions subject to external stress.
Much colourless topaz is mined in Sri Lanka. Blue Topaz stones are partially
cut, or performed, by their expert artisans before they are exported
to the United States, Germany, or Sweden where they are treated under
strict conditions which turn blue light into various shades. A natural
topaz which has been enhanced to give it an even shade of colour.
Sterling Silver
In its pure form silver is too soft for normal or "domestic" use.
For this reason it is necessary to mix the pure silver with
a hardening agent, usually copper. Once alloyed (mixed), the
silver metal is beaten out using a hammer - a process called
annealing. Copper is an ideal hardening agent because it does
not discolour the silver - a caveat of this is that it is impossible
to assess the purity of silver using the naked eye and thus
an unscrupulous silversmith could increase the percentage of
copper in silver wares without much fear of being detected.
As a guarantee of the purity and "fitness", silver had to be tested or
assayed by a licensed Assay Office. To indicate that the silver had been
tested and "passed at assay" (met with the standard for purity), items
are marked (See Hallmarking). From 1300 only silver containing at least
925 parts of silver per thousand (that is 92.5%) to 75 of copper (7.5%)
is considered and termed "sterling" and marked with an official stamp.
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