Tag: jewel school

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Jewel School 3 – Purple Gemstones

BVLA Marquise Fan

Purple Gemstones- Why We Love Them!

If any of you have ever paid a visit to Rogue, you will know I’m obsessed with purple. Purple hair, purple nails and purple gemstones. This weeks blog is all about our top 4 purple gemstones that are available from high-end brands such as BVLA and Anatometal.

Howdy from the princess of Purple!

The biggest pro of ordering jewellery from BVLA or Anatometal is the huge range of natural gemstones they offer. BVLA in particular is famous for offering over 200 unique gemstones! There’s gotta be some beautiful purple options in there, right? Absolutely.

1) Amethyst

Purple Gemstones! BVLA Mini Kandy RG AA Amethyst
BVLA ‘Mini Kandy’ set with Genuine AA Amethyst. Purchase HERE.

The color in amethyst comes from colour centers in the quartz. These colour centers are created when trace amounts of iron are exposed to natural levels of radiation from the surrounding rock. Amethyst is probably my favourite gemstone currently. Although I do change my mind on that every 3-6 weeks! Personally I like the richness of Amethyst. In comparison to the other purples in this list, Amethyst is a warm, inviting purple with a surprising amount of clarity and sparkle for what some might consider a “dark” stone. When expertly cut and set, like these two examples from BVLA, Amethyst can’t be beat. Purple gemstones such as Amethyst are perfect if this is your first foray into colour!

BVLA Extra-Large Marquise Fan set with 3 purple gemstones in AA Amethysts.
I can’t write a blog about Amethyst without talking about my newest baby, this drop-dead gorgeous and very sexy Marquise Fan from our friends at BVLA! The two outer gems are sandblasted, to give more texture and interest to the piece. For custom order enquiries, email kat@roguepiercing.co.uk.

2) Purple Copper Turquoise

Purple Copper Turquoise Prong-Set Cabochon
Purple Copper Turquoise Cabochon set in 14k White Gold prongs. A pair are available to purchase HERE.

Purple Copper Turquoise is such a unique stone. It’s a stone made from the natural marriage of Purple Turquoise stones and rich copper veins. This opaque stone has a lovely grounding influence on any collection, especially if you don’t want too much sparkle and would much rather enjoy the pure colour you can get from this stone. I would personally love to see this pair of prong-set Cabochons adorning a pair of nostril piercings, or if a custom order was in the mix, have them threaded and worn in cheek piercings.

3) Mystic Topaz

Anatometal Trio Mystic Topaz
Anatometal Mystic Topaz Trio set in 18k White Gold. Purchase here.

Mystic topaz might be seen as the dark horse of this list- It’s not really purple! But looking closely, mystic topaz is a beautiful purple-green duochrome. It flashes both purple and rich green in different lights. This is a favourite of our head piercer Aiden- He has a Mystic Topaz collection in his paired conch piercings. They’re utterly stunning, and have definitely earned their place in this Jewel School Purple Gemstone showdown! Mystic Topaz is an enhanced natural stone- A thin layer of Titanium only microns thick is layered onto the back of the stone to give it it’s duochrome appearance. This gemstone would look stunning alone or set alongside other purple or green stones, such as in a cluster or marquise fan.

4) Dark Purple Chalcedony

Dark Purple Chalcedony Gemstone
This Dark Purple Chalcedony image is courtesy of Luxe Piercing Boutique, IL.

I’ve never had the pleasure of working with Dark Purple Chalcedony. In fact until mere months ago I had no idea this stone even existed! As soon as I saw it though, I was hooked. It looks like someone has taken a droplet of warm summer sunset, and set it into Gold. Chalcedony is a type of Quartz and looks stunning paired with simple styles and White Gold. We would love to do some custom order work in this stone! As always, custom orders are very welcome as we get to explore much more unique and exciting styles! For more information, this blog post gives a run down of the entire process.

So, I hope this blog inspires you to delve into the sheer opulence of purple jewellery. It isn’t the colour of royalty for nothing! If you would like to discuss jewellery and the infinite options available to you here at Rogue, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Thank you all for reading, and have a lovely weekend!

-Kat

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Jewel School 1- Cubic Zirconia vs Diamonds?

At Rogue we offer jewellery adorned with real Diamonds, and also pieces set with Cubic Zirconia. So what is Cubic Zirconia, and what is the difference between the two?

Cubic Zirconia, or CZ, is a man-made crystal structure that was first produced in 1976 as a more affordable alternative to Diamonds. CZ is not to be confused with Zirconium- This is a silvery metal used in the production of Cubic Zirconia. CZ is made from a specialist mixture of Zirconium and Zirconium Dioxide which is heated to 2750 celsius. Cubic Zirconia of varying colours are created by adding different coloured oxides to the molten CZ mixture during its firing process. Once the molten mixture begins to cool, crystals will form that are then cut and polished in the same way that Diamonds are. Diamonds are often naturally formed from Carbon deposits by intense heat and pressure in the Earth’s crust. They can also be formed synthetically in labs. There is almost no difference between naturally formed and synthetically made Diamonds.

This BVLA Snowflake is an example of a Diamond-set piece which is available on our website! How handy. Shop Here!

How does Cubic Zirconia differ from Diamonds? 

Well, because it is completely man-made, it can be made absolutely perfectly with no inclusions or imperfections. Almost all Diamonds will have minute inclusions in them. Hardly any Diamonds are completely perfect as they are naturally formed in imperfect conditions. Even professional Diamond jewellers may never see a completely perfect Diamond in their entire career.

Cubic Zirconia are slightly less hard than Diamonds- They are an 8.5 on the Mohs Hardness scale whereas Diamonds are a 10. One notable difference is that since CZ are slightly less hard than Diamonds, the facets of their cut are slightly softer and more rounded than a Diamond. Diamonds, being incredibly hard, can hold a significantly sharper facet. However to the naked eye looking at a CZ gem and Diamond of similar size and cut, it is often impossible to tell the two apart. CZ gems are also slightly heavier than Diamonds, being 1.7 times more dense. 

This Marquise Fan from BVLA is set with three Swarovski Cubic Zirconia gems. If you look closely at the far right gem, you can see the Swarovski logo laser-cut into the gem. Shop Here

How are CZ similar to Diamonds?

Cubic Zirconia can be coloured any colour a diamond can, and more. Diamonds can be steel gray, white, blue, yellow, orange, red, green, pink to purple, brown, or black. Cubic Zirconia offers a more affordable yet still visually impactful option. CZ shouldn’t be considered a “poor man’s Diamond” as it can offer intense colours and variety. 

This BVLA Marquise Fan is set with three Cubic Zirconia gems, but they have been created with an Aurora Borealis finish that simply cannot be recreated with genuine Diamonds.

To conclude, both Diamonds and Cubic Zirconia have their own merits. Diamonds are, of course, highly sought after and expensive for a reason. They can become family heirlooms and are often treasured for generations. Cubic Zirconia is often more perfected than Diamond simply due to its manufacturing process and can give a gorgeous sparkle without as much of a large price tag. Some people say that CZ is lower quality because it is placed into cheaper, less well-made settings and jewellery than Diamonds. This is simply untrue for any jewellery sold as Rogue. All of our jewellery is produced by brands at the forefront of jewellery quality. We simply do not sell low-quality jewellery so you can be confident that whichever gem you chose, you will be very happy with the results!

If you have enjoyed the photography shown off in this post, make sure to follow our Instagram for more stunning photos and more!