 March 2012 |
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Changing of the seasons
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 Spring is just around the corner! It's starting to stay light out later and daylight savings is coming up. Don't forget to turn those clocks ahead! The first day of spring is March 20th and we are ready! We are looking forward to seeing flowers bloom, tucking away our winter coats, and of course the Spring 2012 edition of our catalog! Are you caught up on all the back issues? To make sure you receive your copy, contact gina@anatometal.com with your request and mailing information. |
These are a few of our favorite things...
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- Gemmed Eyelets - Available in ASTM F-138 stainless steel, ASTM F-136 titanium, and solid 18k gold; 10ga to 6". Choose from single or double flare. Most of our faceted and cabochon stones can be set in this style; see the Gems/Metals section of our main site for full selection.
- Threaded Disks - Made of solid stock material for internally threaded jewelry. Available in ASTM F-138 stainless steel, ASTM F-136 titanium, and 18k gold; 10ga to 00ga.
- Navel Orbits - Available in ASTM F-138 stainless steel, ASTM F-136 titanium, solid 18k gold; 14ga and 12ga. Choose from "mini" and "large", match with a variety of our Threaded Ends for easy customization. Most of our faceted and cabochon stones can be set in this style; see the Gems/Metals section of our main site for full selection .
- Fishtail -Machined out of ASTM F-138 stainless steel, ASTM F-136 titanium, or cast in solid 18k gold: 18ga to 12ga. One side is rounded for easy insertion, the other is internally threaded to be matched with Threaded Ends. Standard shaft length is 1 1/4".
- Ellipse Eyelets - Made in ASTM F-138 stainless steel, ASTM F-136 titanium, or solid 18k gold: 1/2" to 6". Our Ellipse Eyelets are available with double flare. Choose from most of our faceted and cabochon stones to be set in this style.
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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:
Heather from Marketing
Anatometal: What do you do here at Anatometal?
Heather: I manage Anatometal's social media pages like Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, all those. I take pictures of the jewelry, I set the quarterly catalogs Anatometal puts out, and I put together this newsletter!
Anatometal: How long have you worked for Anatometal?
Heather: I just passed the two year mark this February.
Anatometal: What is your favorite piece that Anatometal makes?
Heather: Our Super Teardrop Eyelets, for sure. I love them and wear them all the time, the shape is the best! Our Princess Eyelets are high up on my favorites list as well; simple and classic.
Anatometal: Tell us three things about yourself.
Heather: You know, I thought this part would be easy since I ask this question every month... OK, three things: I have a dog named Patton, he is part of the Anato Dog Pack and is spoiled with treats by Wendy every day. I have a large and growing collection of photography books. I love cheesy Americana, things like ghost towns, buildings shaped like shoes, museums dedicated to Big Foot, all that good stuff.
Anatometal: Ninjas or Pirates?
Heather: Pirates.
Thanks for letting us get to know you a bit Heather! Who will be featured next month? Be sure to check back to find out!
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Diamonds - Part One
| Here at Anatometal, we often get inquiries about diamonds. Customers want to know about pricing, cut, clarity, where we buy from, etc. All of these points are important so we decided to explain this stone to you all. This article will be broken up into two pieces, turns out there is a lot to know about this gemstone!
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is renowned as a material with unparallelled physical qualities, most of which originate from the strong covalent bonding between its atoms. Most notable are its extreme hardness and thermal conductivity, as well its wide bandgap and high optical dispersion. Specifically, diamond has the highest hardness and thermal conductivity of any bulk material.
Most natural diamonds are formed at high-pressure, high-temperature conditions that exist at depths of 87 to 120 miles in the Earth's mantle. Carbon-containing minerals provide the carbon source, and the growth occurs over periods from 1 billion to 3.3 billion years. Diamonds are then brought close to the Earth's surface through deep volcanic eruptions by a magma, which cools into igneous rocks known as kimberlites and lamproites.
The name Diamond is derived from the ancient Greek word adámas which means proper, unalterable, unbreakable and untamed. They are thought to have been first recognized and mined in India, where significant alluvial deposits of the stone could be found many centuries ago along the rivers Penner, Krishna and Godavari. Diamonds have been treasured as gemstones since their use with religious icons in ancient India but they have also been used as engraving tools dating back to early human history. Today, the most familiar use of diamonds is as gemstones for adornment.
The diamo nd industry can be separated into two distinct categories: one dealing with gem-grade diamonds and another for industrial-grade diamonds. Both markets value diamonds differently. When looking at gem grade diamonds, there are a handful of factors that determine the stones value. One of these is cut, this is an objective measure of a diamond's light performance, or, what we generally think of as sparkle. When a diamond is cut with the proper proportions, light is returned out of the top of the diamond. If it is cut too shallow, light leaks out of the bottom; too deep and it escapes out of the side. The grades of diamonds cuts are:
Ideal cut: Represents roughly the top 3% of diamond quality based on cut. Reflects nearly all light that enters the diamond. An exquisite and rare cut.
Very good cut: Represents roughly the top 15% of diamond quality based on cut. Reflects nearly as much light as the ideal cut, but for a lower price.
Good cut: Represents roughly the top 25% of diamond quality based on cut. Reflects most light that enters. Much less expensive than a very good cut
Fair cut: Represents roughly the top 35% of diamond quality based on cut. Still a quality diamond, but a fair cut will not be as brilliant as a good cut.
Poor cut: Diamonds that are generally so deep and narrow or shallow and wide that they lose most of the light out the sides and bottom.
Color is also important when grading a diamond and actually refers to a diamond's lack of color; grading the whiteness of a stone. A color grade of D is the highest possible, while Z is the lowest.Color manifests itself in a diamond as a pale yellow which is why a diamond's color grade is based on its lack thereof. The less color a diamond has, the higher its color grade. After cut, color is generally considered the second most important characteristic when selecting a diamond. The diamond color chart is as follows:
Z - N: Noticeable color
M - K: Noticeable Color
J - I: Near Colorless, slightly detectable warmth or tone
H - G: Color difficult to detect unless compared side by side with diamonds of a higher grade
F - E: Colorless
D: Absolutely colorless, very rare
Next comes clarity which is a measure of the number and size of the tiny imperfections that occur in almost all diamonds. Many of these imperfections are microscopic, and do not affect a diamond's beauty in any discernible way. Clarity simply refers to the tiny, natural imperfections that occur in all but the finest diamonds. Gemologists refer to these imperfections by a variety of technical names, including blemishes and inclusions.
Flawless and Internally Flawless: No internal or external imperfections. Internally Flawless: No internal imperfections. Very rare.
Very Very Slightly Included: Very difficult to see imperfections under 10x magnification. An excellent quality diamond.
Very Slightly Included: Imperfections are not typically visible to the unaided eye.
Slightly Included: Imperfections are visible under 10x magnification, and may be visible with the unaided eye.
Included: Heavily included imperfections.
Finally, there is carat weight. As the name suggests, carat weight specifically refers to a diamond's weight. However, much as a person's weight does not necessarily correlate with height, carat weight, by itself, may not accurately reflect a diamond's size.
So the next time you are in the market for a diamond or two, remember to keep the 4 C's in mind; they will all affect the value of a stone greatly. In the second part of this look at diamonds, we will address issues such as where we buy diamonds, how to make sure stones you purchase are not blood diamonds, industrial use, mining, and all the rest . Tune in next month!
   
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Fan photo of the month
| We get so many great pictures every week of our fans wearing their Anatometal, we thought this would be a great place to show em' off! If you would like our Anatoworld to see your bling, post your pictures to our Facebook page, submit them to our Tumblr page or email them to heather.anatometal@gmail.com. We can't wait to see them!
- Threaded Flower in ASTM F-136 titanium, anodized gold with synthetic Opal #6 and synthetic Opal #5 - Threaded Bezel-set gem Ends in ASTM F-136 titanium, anodized gold with synthetic Opal #6 |
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Thank you guys for joining us once again and participating in all the fun we have here with the newsletter, on Facebook, Tumblr, and all over the web! 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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