While inclusions in gemstones are usually a negative, this is often untrue with quartz. While you want a flawless diamond (if you can get it), you may just fall in love with the uniqueness and patterns of the "stuff" found in quartzes ...
Gemstones Are The Original Wearable Art
We developed Simple Elegance Gems to reverse the standard approach to gemstone jewelry. We make a single stone the star of the show and have that stone complement you. We want the stones we choose and set to become your stones – the ones that speak to you. We want to make pieces that people will ask you about. And we want you to be proud and able to tell people about them. In short, we want to make jewelry that emphasizes the uniqueness of you.
Jennifer M — Seattle, WA
Thank you so much for the beautiful rutilated quartz necklace. It was so fortunate for me to have walked into your shop on that particular day. I will wear it proudly and tell everyone where I got it!
Tanessa W — Ontario, Canada
I wanted to email you and tell you that my friend loved her necklace so much. Thank you once again for the awesome deal and the amazing gift you were able to give my best friend.
Margaret G — Worcester, MA
The necklace I bought from you is so striking it that my friends keep telling me that it SHOULD be man-made. You showed me that it was real stone. Even better, you showed me how I could tell others exactly what it really was. I could tell them how it formed and what was done to it before it wound up around my neck! What a kick!
Bridget B — Woodbury, CT
Thank you so much for the beautiful stone! The jeweler said it was a great stone. They also said it was very, very nice for its size and a very unique shape. Also, hard to find larger sized peridot for such a fair price! I love it!
Pat B — Portland, ME
One of the things I really love about wearing your jewelry is knowing something about the stone and the work that went into bringing it to me. I know, for example, that my boulder opal came not only from Australia, but from Queensland in Australia. I know that, if I really want to know, I could find out who found and polished it. Thanks for the education as well as the beautiful, people-stopping piece!
At Simple Elegance Gems, we are all about the stones. We purchase stones, one-at-a-time, from suppliers who have been with us from our beginning. Many of our suppliers are also the miners or cutters of our stones. Our suppliers know where to find the best stones and how to enhance their beauty by cutting and polishing. We can often tell you precisely where your stone came from.
STUFF IN QUARTZ
OPALS
Like snowflakes, no two opals are identical. Every real opal you buy is a one-of-a-kind piece. Beautiful opal comes from all over the world - and each place produces a different kind of opal. Selecting just one stone can make your head spin! ...
DRUZY
Real druzy (or drusie or drusey) consists of a layer or two of six-sided quartz crystals that form atop another rock. Usually druzy grows inside a geode or on another form of quartz material called chalcedony ...
AGATES AND JASPERS
Agates and jaspers have unique patterns and colors that depend on how and where they were created and what trace elements happened to be in the water that seeped into the host rock. Many types have their own names - even though they are both types of chalcedony. Blue Lace Agate comes in stripes of different shades of light blue, for example. Crazy Lace Agate looks something like a Jackson Pollock painting done in browns, rusts and related colors. Poppy Jasper is an intense red with bits and veins of clear and very dark stone throughout....
LIGHT
The rarest of all phenomena is color change. Many stones seem to shift a bit in color as you look at them from different angles. True color-change gems (alexandrite, garnet, etc.) actually react to the different colors of the kind of light in which you see them. Alexandrite, for example, looks like an "emerald by day" (green) and a "ruby by night" (pink/red). The change is instantaneous - as soon as you walk outside or inside....
FACETED
Transparent and translucent gemstones usually have facets that let light into the stone. The number and angles of the facets control how light bounces around or sparkles in the stone...
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I get the item and I don’t like it?
That’s easy! If within 30 days from purchase you decide you don’t like the item you got, you can return it for a full refund of the purchase price. You do not need to have a “good reason”. We will ask you why you’re returning the item simply so that we can do better next time. You need to return it the way we sent it to you – in original condition, by USPS Priority Mail, Insured.
Should I buy only untreated gemstones (if I can find any)?
Under the rules of the AGTA (American Gemological Trade Association) ALL gemstone treatments must be disclosed to a buyer or potential buyer. Dealers, however, often assume that you know gems are treated and therefore do very sketchy disclosure. Certain kinds of treatment methods are less stable than others and need to be handled with greater care. Topaz treatments, for example, are often done by a vapor diffusion method that will scratch away if cleaned incorrectly. Many kinds of dyes, particularly in turquoise, fade in strong sunlight.
Why do you send your items by mail instead of courier service?
Believe it or not, the US Mail is the safest way to send any small, valuable item. The Hope Diamond was shipped from New York City to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC by insured US mail. And, if it’s good enough for all 45.52 carats of the Hope Diamond...
Can I send one of your pieces to someone else as a gift?
Absolutely! We’ll handwrite your message as well. We notify you by email of the order and shipping dates. We’ll also send the recipient a packing slip without prices along with instructions for return (just in case). And if you have any special requests, ask. We may be able to do it for you.
Find
One-of-a-kind gemstones from all around the world
Design
Original hand-crafted and wirewrapped settings
Create
Beautifully unique pieces that enhance both character and color
© 2016 Simple Elegance LLC
web development by turbocatalyst
