Stones

nabstudios only uses quality materials in its sterling silver jewellery. Stones are an essential element in adding colour and texture to a piece of jewellery.

It is also interesting to note the historical and mythical back ground of stones as they have a long and influential relationship with cultures around the world.

Azurite and Malachite are basic carbonates of copper. The two stones are often found mixed together creating beautiful patterns. They are found wherever there are copper deposits. Large copper deposits are in the southwest United States, Australia, Chile, central Africa and France.

The name azurite comes from its beautiful blue colour (azul means blue in Arabic). The ancient Egyptians used it as a make-up for the eyes.

Malachite has bands of light and dark green. It is used for gem carving, some massive works are part of the collection in Moscow at the Hermitage Museum.

Azurite is believed to fortify memory and intellectual receptivity. It is believed to help ease rheumatism.

Malachite is also believed to ease rheumatism. It is a symbol of creativity and is used to make one conscience of fears and desires.

Amethyst is the purple variety of quartz and the most valued member of the quartz family.

It must be purple to be amethyst, but it can display a range of shades including deep purple, light lilac, lavender and mauve.

Its purple colour made it a stone of royalty for many thousands of years.

Throughout history amethyst has been used to guard against drunkenness and is thought to be helpful in overcoming addiction.

It has been used for hearing disorders, insomnia, headaches and other pain. Some sources suggest it is used to stabilize mental disorders.

Worn to make the wearer gentle and amiable. Amethyst powers include: dreams, healing, peace, love, spiritual upliftment, courage, psychism, Happiness, and protection against thieves.

The pink to rose red colour is completely unique, unlike any other pink mineral species. The color is caused by iron and titanium impurities.

Rose quartz is said to balance the emotions, thus giving inner peace and harmony, and to enhance one's sensitivity to beauty, art and music.

It is also said to calm aggression and resentment while increasing self-esteem and self-confidence, and to enhance one's compassion, patience and forgiveness.

It is said to enhance your capacity to love others and yourself.

Rose quartz is said to help treat depression and to assist in weight loss. It is said to give a clear soft complexion and to prevent wrinkles. Rose quartz is also said to aid the proper functioning of the kidneys, adrenals, genitals, liver, lungs and heart, and to increase fertility and protect against radiation.

The documented use of garnet and reported findings of garnet jewellery have been evidence of the wide-spread availability and importance of this semiprecious jewel throughout history.

Some of these findings of garnet use do not solely pertain to jewelry and healing crystals. In fact, in India during a rebellion on the Kashmir territory, tribal soldiers fired at the British army with garnet bullets. The effect of this type of ammunition was thought to be more fatal and more efficient for battle.

In even earlier writings garnet had been mistaken for rubies and were said to fend off evil spirits. It is also noted that Crusaders adorned garnets as protection in battle and a symbol of safe return to their loved ones.

Garnet has also been noted to adorn the belongings of powerful royalty. Some of these include the wives of the Russian Czars, Queen Victoria of Great Britain and Mary Queen of Scots.

Jasper is an opaque and fine-grained variety of Chalcedony. It is found in all colors including: red, brown, pink, yellow, green, gray/white and shades of blue and purple.

It often contains organic material and mineral oxides, which give it interesting patterns, bands and colors. Many of these patterns resemble landscapes with mountains and valleys, thus the name "picture" is part of the name of many well know jaspers.

Jasper was a favorite gem in ancient times and is referenced in Greek, Hebrew, Assyrian and Latin literature.

Blue lace agate is a gentle, calming stone that engenders tranquility. Blue lace agate brings with this calm and tranquility a lessening of anger, even deep anger issues, and a calming of nervousness.

Blue lace agate is a stone oozing in peace and calmness. It has a gentle energy, which helps promote a feeling of space, connecting us with the more subtle energies of the spiritual realm.

It’s a useful tool for meditation and can be good for those with a gentle nature, who don’t wish to be affected by the harsh events they may encounter in the course of their daily lives. It’s a stone of wisdom, kindness and peace that reminds us of our spiritual origins.

Some followers of Pagan religions also believe agate is a crystal whose powers can be used for love, mental clarity, and good luck in card games.

Malachite is an opaque, banded stone, the colors in the bands range from a very light green to almost deep green.

It is named for the Greek word for "mallow", a green herb. Its banded light and dark green designs are one-of-a-kind, and give it a unique ornamental quality unlike that of any other stone.

Mining Malachite began as early as 4000 BC by ancient Egyptians. In the Middle ages, malachite was worn to protect from black magic and sorcery. In Ancient Greece amulets for children were made of malachite.

Malachite was used as a mineral pigment in green paints from antiquity until about 1800.

"The Tazza", one of the largest pieces of malachite in North America and a gift from Tsar Nicholas II, stands as the focal point in the center of the room of Linda Hall Library.

Chalcedony, of any color, is named for the ancient seaport of Chalcedon (now Kadikoy , Turkey).

Chalcedony has been in use almost as long as the earth has been inhabited and some of the earliest primitive tools created by man's ancestors some 2.5 million years ago were made of various types of Chalcedony.

It has a long history in jewellery. Archaeologists have discovered Babylonian and Assyrian chalcedony cylinder-seals dating from 2500 to 500BC

It is believed that Blue Chalcedony helps with effective communication through listening, understanding and dissolving resistance to acceptance of new situations. It aids light-heartedness, self-awareness, improves memory, calms and dissolves stress.

It is also believed that Blue Chalcedony can help in diplomacy, creativity, openness to inspiration, respiratory problems due to colds and smoking, sensitivity to extreme weather changes, as an anti-inflammatory, eye and balance problems, lowering blood pressure and aids with water retention.

Chalcedonies are believed to have been considered sacred stones by Native American Indians and they were often used for ceremonial purposes, particularly for promoting stability within the tribes.

The name Iolite was derived from the Greek word for violet, "ios".

Iolite has a violet blue colour, and is sometimes called “water sapphire” because it looks very much like a blue sapphire.

There is a Viking legend that claims Iolite was used for nautical purposes. The story is told that when Leif Eriksson and the other legendary Viking explorers ventured far out into the Atlantic Ocean, away from any coastline that could help them determine position, they used thin pieces of iolite as the world's first polarizing filter. Looking through an iolite lens, they could determine the exact position of the sun, which allowed them to navigate safely.

Iolite is considered to be a powerful crystal for change into a more positive way of being. It helps let go of old unwanted patterns. It opens a line of communication between the subconscious and conscious. Iolite is a powerful visualization Crystal.