Breath of fresh art

I have found some beautiful pieces for the shop. Moldavite and Larimar are not as common as some of the other semi-precious stones used in jewellery. So when I'm curating I always get so excited by unusual finds. The two are very different from one another but each has an allure of it's own. Moldavite is a member of the Tektite group of natural glasses formed by interplanetary collisions. (The Greek word tektos, means "molten,"). Tektites are glassy mixtures of minerals with an amorphous crystal structure. Moldavite is a deep forest green and is the only variety suitable for cutting and faceting as a gem. Found only in the area previously known as Czechoslovakia, Moldavite is named for the Moldau River (called the Vltava in Czech). While scientists differ in theories regarding Moldavite's origin, nearly all agree its formation coincides with the crash of a large meteorite approximately 14.8 million years ago in what is now the Bohemian plateau. Moldavite i...

Valentine’s Day is coming up soon!. In the spirit of the day, we take a look at the history of the heart symbol and the rather grizly story behind the real St. Valentine. We do   know that February has long been celebrated   as a month of romance, and that St.   Valentine's Day contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. The   history   of   Valentine's Day–and the story of its patron saint–is shrouded in mystery.   Most scholars believe that the St. Valentine of the holiday was a priest who attracted the dis-favour of Roman emperor Claudius ll around 270. At this stage, the factual ends and the mythic begins. According to one legend, Claudius II had prohibited marriage for young men, claiming that bachelors made better soldiers. Valentine continued to secretly perform marriage ceremonies but was eventually apprehended by the Romans and put to death. There are many symbols that are attached to Valentine's day and with ...