ABOUT THE B. Burkett Jewelry, A One of a Kind Treasure. All items on this handcrafted jewelry website are made by B. Burkett. Most of them are one of a kind jewelry. They were created like a work of art. For that reason when a piece is sold, it's gone forever. The birthstone rings and mini-pendants are custom handmade jewelry that can be made to order.
History of Wire Wrapped Jewelry Wire wrapped jewelry dates back thousands of years B.C. Some examples from the Sumerian Dynasty, dated at approximately 2000 BC, are in the British Museum. During the Phoenician Empire, about 1000 years B.C. wire was woven into designs and attached to breast plates. That wire was made by hammering gold or silver into thin sheet, cutting it into narrow strips and filing the edges to make it smooth.
In the book of Exodus in the Bible detailed instructions were given about setting gemstones into the priestly garments. Biblical scholars have placed this event near 1446 B.C. nearly 1000 years before the Phoenicians.
The earliest known drawn wire was made in France in the 8th century and the first commercial wire operation was in 1270 A.D. For over 50 years during the 1800's the Bohemian culture made jewelry using wire to connect beads and stones. This jewelry was very popular with European aristocracy.
Early jewelry was made by manipulating wire since techniques for soldering did not exist. Even after soldering was developed wire wrapping continued because it was a quick and economical way to make jewelry. Eventually jewelry was mass produced being faster and cheaper to make but jewelry created by wire wrapping has continued, primarily done by individual crafters.
Care of Your Jewelry Under normal conditions your jewelry should last a lifetime. It is best to keep it in a cool, dry place. Store it in a bag or box of it's own to cut down on tarnish, scratches and getting tangled in other jewelry. Especially wire wrapped or wire sculpture pieces should be prevented from getting tangled with other jewelry. Clean it with a mild detergent and warm water. Dry it with a soft cloth. Use a jewelry polishing cloth to remove light tarnish on metals. But it is not intended for glass or gemstone beads and cabochons. Don't use toothpaste as it may be too abrasive, it may leave your jewelry dull from scratches. 1An ultrasonic cleaner should be used with caution because it will damage some soft gemstones and cabochons. The following gemstones should never be cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner: amber, opal, topaz or turquoise. It's risky to use it to clean citrine, coral, lapis lazuli, peridot and tourmaline. Storing sterling silver in a closed bag will help to prevent tarnish. A low abrasive cleaner, such as 3M Tarni-Shield Silver Polish may be used to remove tarnish. While the patina of copper is often desirable it can be cleaned with lemon or lime juice with a little salt in it, or vinegar.
Links www.About.com www.ebayguides.com http://www.handcrafted-jewelry.net My favorite places to buy jewelry supplies
www.riogrande.com www.artbeads.com
Clasps Three kinds of clasps are used in B. Burkett jewelry. They are all very secure. Toggle clasps have a bar on one side and a ring on the other. The bar should be turned and passed through the ring. They are sterling silver or gold filled. Hook and eye clasps have a J or S shaped hook on one side and a loop or large jump ring on the other. Some of these clasps are handmade by B. Burkett, they are either sterling silver or gold filled. Button clasps are the most popular clasp used on necklaces and bracelets created by B. Burkett. They add another element of creativity to the jewelry. Vintage buttons, Czech glass buttons, flower beads or rondelle shaped beads are use for the clasps which are secured with a loop of seed beads.
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| JEWELRY Materials Used Metals Only quality materials are used in jewelry created by B. Burkett. You'll find only sterling silver and gold filled with an occasional vermeil or copper bead or copper wire. No cheap alloy metal beads or components are used. Gold Filled Means that there is a ayer of 14K or 12K gold heat and pressure bonded to a brass core. The value of gold-filled is greater than gold-plated or gold-washed because gold-filled has an actual layer of karat gold, not just a microscopic film. When there is a choice she uses 14 karat gold filled. Sterling Silver jewelry in the United States must be at least 92.5% pure silver in order for it to be sold as sterling silver. The silver is mixed with other metals, most commonly copper to make it harder and more durable. Copper was the first metal discovered by Prehistoric Man and is the oldest mined mineral. Copper beads dating to 9000 B.C. have been discovered in parts of modern day Iraq. The earliest copper items found in the Americas were beads and earrings. Vermeil is sterling silver heavily electroplated with 22K gold. Base metal is any combination of alloys of non-precious metals. There are no base metals used in B. Burkett jewelry Glass Beads2 are a favorite of B. Burkett because they are so versatile. "Each bead seems to have a story to tell and its own special character, much like the people on a family tree. The method for making them was often guarded, being passed only through family lines. Members of some Italian glass making families who knew the "secrets" of glassmaking methods were not allowed to leave the family business. Those ancient methods are still being used today to handcraft glass beads, still one at a time. Even if a bead is made in a factory the same method is used except that some enterprising person has found how to mass produce them." Dichroic glass is a modern glass invention. It was originally developed by NASA to use in satellite optics and spacesuit visors. It has a fiery iridescence depending on the angle from which it is viewed. a variety of metallic oxides are deposited on the surface of the glass in a high temperature vacuum furnace. The kind metal oxide (gold, silver, aluminum, etc.) used determines the color it will become.
Czech Pressed Glass Beads are made by heating thick glass rods and feeding them into a mould that stamps the glass and a needle pierces a hole. The beads are then rolled in hot sand to remove flashing and soften seam lines. Sometimes the glass rods are striped or patterned making a more elaborate bead. Murano and Venetian Glass Beads3 The Venetian glass industry began in 1204 when some glass artists, fleeing Constantinople, set up their foundries in Venice. They were masters of creating decorative techniques with transparent and highly colored glass. The Venetian Republic feared that the foundries would cause a fire that would burn the city, made mostly of wooden building. They were ordered destroyed, so in 1291 the foundries were moved to the island of Murano, one of 120 islands that make up Venice. Murano glass work is world renowned and still thrives on the island today. Following are some beads that were developed or refined by the glass makers of Murano that are still made today in Murano and other parts of the world. Lamp Worked Glass Beads are handmade using glass canes and tubes to form the piece over a flame. Lamp work was invented in Murano, Italy in the 1700's. Wedding Cake beads are decorated with an overlay of flowers, swirls and dots on the outside of the glass beads, causing them to be raised. Adventurine glass beads have threads of gold. Foil beads - colorful glass that is fused over gold or silver foil. Millefiori which means thousand flowers is formed from canes made of layers of glass that are sliced an fused together to form a bead. Chevron or rosetta beads are made of layers of colored glass applied to a tube that is then ground into a star shape. The cane is chopped into individual beads. Chevron beads are usually red white and blue.
Genuine or Natural Gemstones are mined from the earth, then cut and polished to create beads and cabochons. Jewelry made of natural gemstones by B. Burkett will be identified if known. If you want a special piece of jewelry custom made of precious faceted gemstones Contact Us.
Manmade Faceted Gemstones is a very cost-effective way to have beautiful unique jewelry. Listed below are some manmade gemstones used in B. Burkett jewelry. Gemstones will be identified as they were by the supplier. Synthetic or lab-created gemstones are essentially the same optical, physical and chemical properties as the naturally occurring gemstone. Synthetic gemstones can be difficult to distinguish from natural stones. Because their growth is controlled in a laboratory, they usually do not have inclusions that natural gemstones do. Some synthetic gemstones used by B. Burkett include rubies and topaz.
Imitation gemstones are made from materials that make them look like a particular gemstone but they do not have the same characteristics as the natural gemstone. Natural rubies are a variety of corundum that has a trace of chromic oxide in it. Some imitation gemstones are made of lab-grown corundum; such as garnet, sapphire, alexandrite, pink tourmaline and topaz. Lab grown spinel is used to make amethyst, emerald, peridot, aquamarine and blue zircon. In some gemstones two pieces of spinel are glued together with a colored glue creating a doublet. It is almost impossible to tell that only the girdle zone of a doublet is colored. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush; do not apply heat to the gemstones. Cubic zirconia is a very hard lab created imitation gemstone that resembles a diamond but also comes in many colors. 1 Cabochon Stability. In Rio Grande Gems and Findings. p.252 www.riogrande.com 2 Glass beadmaking. (2008, September 23). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 02:20, October 6, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Glass_beadmaking&oldid=240457268 3 "Murano beads." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 12 Aug 2008, 18:00 UTC. 6 Oct 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murano_beads&oldid=231496143>.
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