Jewelry is art and as such adorns us and makes a statement about who we are and what we value. Just as great art that adorns the home, beautiful, valuable jewelry will be treasured and last a lifetime. Tanya Lown Designs provides beautiful jewelry ranging from everyday chic, to dressy, to bold and beautiful. This jewelry combines precious and semi precious stones with fine or sterling silver and or gold.
ABOUT SILVER
Fine silver is 99.9% pure silver and is the most precious of the types of silver and is also the quality of silver traded on the commodities market. American Sterling silver is 92.5% silver with the remaining 7.5% being another alloy, usually copper. Tanya Lown Designs uses both fine silver and sterling silver in her designs. A Sterling silver containing a higher concentration of fine silver is often used in these designs, making them 95% pure silver. The alloys are added to silver to strengthen the silver but also cause tarnishing. While fine silver is more flexible than Sterling, it too oxidizes but at a much slower rate and with a lighter color. We do not use silver plated components although in gold earrings, we may use gold filled ear wires. On this site, the exact makeup of the metal in the item for sale will be disclosed.
Fine silver and Sterling will both get scratches so to keep your silver looking nice, lay each piece by itself or wrap it in a soft cloth. Do not toss them upon each other or wear in the pool or when cleaning the house using harsh chemicals. Also, to keep your jewelry as tarnish free as possible, wear often!! But when not wearing, store it away from base metals and moisture. When storing for a long time (as when wearing at a certain time of year, or when traveling to a very humid place, place in a plastic baggie.
To restore your fine silver to a mirror shine, use a mild soap and water to clean your jewelry and then polish with a good quality polishing cloth.
BIRTH STONES
January – Garnet February – Amethyst March - Aquamarine, Boodstone April – Diamond May – Emerald, Chrysocphrase June – Pearl, Alexandrite, Moonstone July – Ruby, Carnelian August – Peridot, Sardonyx September – Sapphire, Lapis October – Tourmaline, Opal November – Topaz, Citrine December – Tanzanite, Zircon, Turquoise, Blue Topaz
COLOR ASSOCIATIONS
Black – mystery Blue – serenity, innocence Brown - stability, honesty, warmth Green – fertility, harmony Orange – pride, flamboyance Red – love, passion, power Violet – royalty, spirituality White – virtue, innocence, purity, hope Yellow – happiness, wisdom
GEMSTONE PROPERTIES - HARDNESS AND METAPHYSICAL*
Tanya Lown Designs uses, almost exclusively, genuine stones and pearls, therefore here is some information about stones that the wearer could find useful. First, all stones have a measured hardness ranging generally from (2) to (10). Diamonds are rated 10 and are the hardest of stones. Listed here is the hardness of each stone. Second, it is said that some people feel that stones have metaphysical properties. The following information regarding the metaphysical properties of stones was gathered from various sources.
*We do not guarantee the validity of any of the information regarding metaphysical properties or other associations.
STONE (hardness) METAPHYSICAL PROPERTIES
Agate- (6.5) compassion, generosity, good fortune, a keen sense of justice, balance Alexandrite - (8.5) balance, confidence, self esteem Amazonite – (6) soothing nerves, enhancing love Ametrine – (7) tension relief, serenity, creativity Amethyst – (7) spirituality, contentment, stability, strength, peace Apatite –(5) insight, creativity and learning Aquamarine - (7) courage, intellect, protection, spiritual awareness, actualization Aventurine – (7) optimism, enthusiasm, adventurousness Azurite /malachite –(3.5) natural healing, listening to oneself Bloodstone- (6.5) centering, adaptability Carnelian = (6.5) self esteem, physical energy Chrysocolla – (2) soothes, calms, inspires Chrysoprase – happiness, enterprise, prudence Citrine – (7) prosperity Coral – (3) value of life Cubic Zirconia – (8.5) (depends on color) Diamond – (10) commitment, problem resolution, clear thought Emerald - (8) beauty and love Flourite – (4) stability, order, concentration, new beginnings Garnet – (7) quick return to separated love, aids in treatment of melancholy and depression, benefits business Hematite –(5.5) grounding Howlite - (3.5) offers openness, trust and discipline Iolite – (7) helps us to see the path we are on and the path we should take Jade –(7) balances body chemistry, anxiety disappears and calm appears Jasper (6.5) – protection, awareness, insight Kyanite – (6) calmness, communication, Labradorite – (6) intuition Lapis – (5) knowledge, wisdom, perfection, creativity of expression Larimar – (4.5) physical and spiritual communication Malachite – (3.5) brings harmony to one’s life, strengthens intuition Moonstone - (6) sensitivity, intuition, protection Mother of Pearl – (6.5) prosperity, intuition Onyx – (6.5) enhances regeneration, new beginnings, protective qualities Opal – (5.5) creativity, better eyesight (some believe black opals are bad luck to anyone not born in October) Pearl – (2.5) balance in body rhythms , inner wisdom, love, faith, innocence Peridot – (6.5) compassion, good health, emotional balance, creativity Pieterisite- (7.5) intuition, clarity of thought, clear communication, leadership, restoration of calm Ruby – (9) love, nurturing, spirituality, protection of wealth Quartz - (7) Clear Quartz - clarity of consciousness Lemon Quartz – helps structure, focus Rose Quartz – related to love, the heart, beauty Rutilated Quartz – inspiration, clairvoyance Smokey Quartz – dissolves negativity Sapphire – (9) creativity, focus, purity of thought, new love, commitment Snowflake Obsidian - (5-5.5) stress release, balance of body, mind, spirit Sodalite – (5.5) courage to tell the truth Sugilite - (5.5) spiritual love, perfection, inspiration, confidence Spinel – (8) devotion, passion, longevity Tanzanite – (6.5) higher consciousness, intuition and perception Tiffany Stone - (6-7) pleasure, drive to achieve, communication, balances emotion and intellect, love, healing Topaz – (8) compassion, communication, curiosity, humor, success, creativity, joy Tourmaline – (7) love of humanity and humanitarianism Turquoise – (5) communication, enthusiasm; artistic abilities; prosperity Zircon – virtue, unification, continuity Zoisite – (6) creative empowerment