 March 2011 |
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Spring Fever
|  Goodbye winter blues... Hello spring! It seems Punxsutawney Phil was right this year and a change in season is right around the corner (and in case you missed it... Phil!).
Flowers are in bloom, birds are singing, and a little green is starting to show through that snow mound melting on your front lawn. While the exact timing of the start of spring varies according to different cultures, climates, and customs, it is a season traditionally associated with rebirth, regrowth, and renewal. At Anatometal we are reinventing ourselves everyday with new challenges and jewelry styling like our Gear Eyelets (something totally different for us). Have you got anything in the works this spring? Let's all get out there, try something new, get inventive, and see what happens! |
These are a few of our favorite things...
|  - Sinflower Plugs - Cast in solid bronze, silver, or 18k gold, the Sinflower is welded to an ASTM F-138 stainless steel or solid 18k gold plug or eyelet; 6ga to 2ga. All cabochon and facted stone options are available, see Gems/Metals section of our main website for full selection. Your choice of double flare, single flare, or screw on flat-back.
 - Gold Flower Navel Curves - Our Gold Flower Navel Curves are cast in solid 18k yellow or white gold; 14ga. Your choice of genuine or synthetic faceted gem stones; all hand-set, no glues or adhesives used.
- Curved Barbells - Wearable in almost any piercing, our Curved Barbells come in stainless steel, titanium, solid 18k gold, or niobium; 16ga to 00ga. Available in a wide variety of lengths and compatible with most of our Threaded Ends, our Curved Barbells are extremely customizable.
- Twisters - Available in stainless steel, titanium, solid 18k gold, and niobium; 16ga, 14ga, 12ga. Our twisters come in multiple sizes and diameters, along with multiple loops which makes them perfect for advanced ear projects or multiple ear piercings.
 - Gemmed Plumeria Eyelets - Inspired by one of Hawaii's most precious gems, Anatometal brings you the Plumeria Eyelet. Choose from stainless steel or solid 18k gold for the outer setting; the center flower can be cast in silver, bronze, or gold. Any of our round gems can be set in the plumeria itself and the outer setting; see the Gems/Metals section of our main website for full selection. Our Plumeria Eyelet is made from 00ga to 1" and is available in single or double flare. |
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Meet Anatometal
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We know how much you love your Anatometal and what it stands for: handcrafted right here in the USA, made with only the highest quality materials. There is so much that goes into each piece as it moves from our machine shop, to the polishing room, to the gold room, through quality assurance, packaging, and to our shipping department. We thought you would like to get to know the people who make that Gemmed Eyelet, Heart Navel Curve, and Nostril Screw possible! In the coming months, we will be invading all the departments here at Anatometal Headquarters and bringing our hard workers right to you!
This month we bring you...
From The Steam Room, Joe Rosa!
Anatometal: What do you do here at Anatometal?
Joe: I am a steamer. I clean every piece of jewelry before it hits assembly or quality assurance.
Anatometal: How long have you worked for Anatometal?
Joe: It will be 4 years in April
Anatometal: What is your favorite piece that Anatometal makes?
Joe: Hmmmm... Floating Stone Eyelets, definitely, because they are a great excuse for a really big stone. That, and Teardrop Eyelets look terrible on me.
Anatometal: Tell us 3 things about yourself.
Joe: Oh god... I am too Portuguese for my own good, I have a club foot...
Anatometal: ummm no you don't
Joe: *puts face on desk* You are right, I don't
Anatometal: Come on, give me something real
Joe: OK, OK, I am afraid of horses. They are huge and I don't know what they are thinking, and I have more books than I do furniture
Anatometal: Ninjas or Pirates?
Joe: PIRATES!!!!
Thanks for letting us get to know you a bit Joe! Who will be featured next month? Be sure to check back to find out!
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Gemstones
| Jewelry in its most basic form has been used since the dawn of man in conjunction with the earliest-known use of both clothing, and tools. Before written language or the spoken  word, there was jewelry. Is it any wonder that we are still so in awe of what can be created by a master jeweler, designer, or stone cutter? Nowadays there are precious gemstones, semi-precious gemstones, synthetic gemstones, and stone cuts that mimic fantasy.
A gemstone is a piece of mineral which in cut and polished form is used to make jewelry or other adornments. There are also certain rocks like lapis lazuli, and organic materials like amber, that are not minerals but are still used for jewelry and are often considered to be gemstones as well.
Traditional gem classification in the West goes back to the Ancient Greeks and begins with a distinction between precious and semi-precious stones; similar distinctions are made in other cultures. In modern usage the precious stones are diamond, ruby, sapphire and emerald, with all other gemstones being semi-precious. This distinction is unscientific and reflects the rarity of the stones in ancient times as well as their quality: all are translucent with fine color in their purest forms (except for the colorless diamond), and are very hard. This traditional distinction does not necessarily reflect modern values however, for example, while garnets are relatively inexpensive, a green garnet called Tsavorite, can be far more valuable than a mid-quality emerald (which can be more expensive than diamonds). Use of the terms 'precious' and 'semi-precious' in a commercial context can seem misleading in that it deceptively implies certain stones are intrinsically more valuable than others, which is not the case.
 | Raw gemstones
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Very few gemstones are used for jewelry in the crystal form in which they are found; most are cut and polished for their intended purpose. The two main classifications of cuts are stones shaped into a smooth dome called cabochons, and stones which are cut into exact angles called facets. Within the division of faceted cut stones however, there is a huge variety: Princess-cut, Brilliant-cut, Oval, Heart, Pear, Baguette, Cushion-cut, Radiant-cut (just to name a few).
Lapidary is the art of cutting gemstones and has been practiced for thousands or years. The cutting of gem stones is required because many stones have a strong and rigid crystalline structure making them too hard and brittle to be shaped any other way. The task of the lapidary is to balance the beauty of the gemstone with commercial considerations (such as karat weight). The cut of a gem directly effects its overall value as the cut determines how well a gem reflects its body color back to the eye.
 | Small sample of gemstone cut
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Some gemstones are now manufactured to imitate other gemstones. For example cubic zirconia is a synthetic diamond composed of zirconium oxide (a genuine diamond is composed of carbon). The imitations copy the look and color of the real stone but possess neither their chemical nor physical characteristics. There are also lab created gemstones but these are not imitations at all. Diamonds, ruby, sapphires and emeralds have all been manufactured in labs to possess identical chemical and physical characteristics to the naturally occurring variety. Synthetic (lab created) corundum, including ruby and sapphire, are very common and they cost only a fraction of what the natural stones do. Whether a gemstone is a natural stone or a lab-created (synthetic) stone, the characteristics of each are the same. The most noticeable difference between the two, is lab-created stones tend to have a more vivid color to them, as impurities are not present in a lab and do not modify the clarity or color of the stone. Cuts, color, clarity, lab created... there is just so much to stone working: this article barely scratches the surface of gemstones, lapidary, and synthetic vs, natural. With at least a basic understanding of what makes a gemstone precious or semi precious, or how a cut effects a stones value, you can make more informed purchases in your future body (or any other) jewelry investments! |
Ask a Piercer
|  Healing Time
The Question: My piercing looks healed but it's only been a few days, can I stop cleaning it?
The Answer: - NO. Do NOT stop cleaning your piercing just because you think it "looks" healed. - The outer/visible portion of your piercing will look healed long before it is actually finished with the healing process. That's because your body will heal it from the outside in basically. Your skin wants to make sure that no foreign objects enter the body through the new hole you have made...so it will heal that portion first. - Just because it looks healed from the outside, does NOT mean that the healing process is finished. It will take several more weeks for the inner healing to be complete. A good rule regarding this would be: If you are completely sure that your piercing is healed......then in another 6 to 8 weeks it will be. - Don't rush it......you should continue to clean your piercing per your piercer's instructions for as long as it is necessary. Some piercings take longer to heal than others and will require care for a longer period of time. - Take care of your piercing, and take care of your body and allow the healing process to run its course.
*To have your questions answer by one of our resident piercers just send in email form to heather.anatometal@gmail.com
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Wow are we at the end of this newsletter already!? We just have so much fun putting this together it's easy to loose track of where we are... Thanks for joining us once again, see you next month!
Sincerely,
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Your friends at Anatometal
Questions? Comments? Please send them to heather.anatometal@gmail.com. If you know someone who will enjoy this publication as much as you do, don't hesitate to pass it along.
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