Ever Try Stainless Steel Jewelry?

One of the hottest trends today is stainless steel jewelry. Worn by men and women alike, it's inexpensive, looks sleek and fashionable, and ages beautifully with nearly no change. It's surprising no one picked up on the fashion potential of this high-tech material until just recently.

Stainless steel is a relatively recent alloy invention, only about a hundred years old or so. It was used extensively in art deco construction, so you'll see it in many buildings constructed during that time period. Check these out. Do you see any aging problems? Probably not. That's because stainless steel wears incredibly well over time. Your stainless steel bracelet or ring will look almost exactly the same in fifty years.

In appearance, stainless steel is very similar to titanium, but costs a fraction of the price, making it an excellent substitute. It has a very modern appearance when used just for itself, too, and it is very masculine. In many cases, it's being used as a wedding ring, while in others it is simply used as either a base or for its own intrinsic decorative beauty.

Though stainless steel has been used for medical prosthetics and in body piercings for decades, only recently did someone figure out that it's also a pretty material, and its hypoallergenic properties make it ideal for many different types of jewelry. You do have to be careful about what kind of stainless steel you purchase, though. When you're looking for real quality stainless steel, you want 316L or 316LVM.

Stainless steel is iron-carbon, like all steels, but with significant chromium content, which makes it extremely resistant to corrosion, rust, and staining. Because of its resistance, it's also unlikely to cause allergic reactions when it comes in contact with you, which is why it is used in earring posts and surgical instruments. 18/10 stainless steel uses 18% chromium and 10% nickel, and is one of the highest quality types of stainless steel. There are several other types of stainless steel, mostly used for industrial purposes. The finish on stainless steel varies, and can be anything from a satin to a brilliant mirror sheen.

The best stainless steel jewelry is polished to a sheen and has no rough edges or pitting anywhere. The inside of rings or bracelets may not be quite as well polished as the outside, as it's harder for polishing tools to reach these areas, but even these spots should be free of roughness.

You can clean your stainless steel jewelry with soapy water; rinse and dry with a soft lint-free cloth. Never use anything abrasive, and don't use chemicals harsher than soapy water. If it's something you love, just wear it into the shower and dry it off afterward, polishing if necessary.

Janeo Jewels offers several different types of stainless steel jewelry, primarily bangles and bracelets for both men and women, but we just introduced pendants as well. Over the next month or so, we'll introduce stainless steel rings, which we think you'll love. Check out all our stainless steel products.

All About Swarovski Lead Crystal

There is nothing that rivals the spark and brilliance of real Swarovski crystal, not even diamond. Swarovski crystal sculptures, beads, and pendants are mesmerizing in sunlight and jewelry store light, the way they refract and dance colors on the walls and your hands. How do they do it? What makes Swarovski crystal so utterly beautiful in the store and against your skin?

Perhaps most startling about Swarovski is that these crystals aren't pure glass. They are instead lead crystal, 32% lead by weight. Lead, however, makes glass harder to crystalize, so other things are done during processing to encourage the molten lead-glass mixture to solidify in the right way. Swarovski's foundation is the 1891 invention by its founder, Daniel Swarovski, of an automatic cutting machine that could handle lead crystal without shattering it.

Swarovski crystals may also be coated with metallic chemicals on one, several, or all sides to maximize rainbow refraction. This is a new technique, but then, Swarovski has always been known for innovation.

History of Lead Crystal

Swarovski did not invent lead crystal. Instead, it was created in 1676, by an Englishman named George Ravenscroft. He'd learned glassmaking in Italy, where the masters added less lime, a strengthener, to glass to create crystallo, a markedly clearer glass than others manufactured at the time. But crystallo was already showing its weakness: glass disease, a condition where overly-low carbon content led to glass cracking and clouding over time.

Ravenscroft experimented with dozens of different methods, and finally hit upon adding lead, rather than lime, as the perfect solution for strong crystal-clear glass. At first lead crystal was only blown glass, but he soon found that allowing it to crystalize and then cutting it instead led to better results, and also showed off the true beauty of lead crystal.

For centuries, lead crystal has been used to make decanters and goblets for alcohol – you've seen those cut-crystal decanters in old movies. Don't do it yourself, though. The lead is harmless in your necklaces and bracelets, but when it's used to hold alcohol, lead leaches out of the glass and into your drink.

Cutting techniques for lead crystal glass have been refined over years, with Swarovski mastering the most advanced ones before anyone else. This makes older Swarovski sculptures surprisingly valuable. You can always identify real Swarovski by the logo cut into the bottom; it was an edelweiss flower until just recently, when the flower was traded in for a swan.

Janeo Jewels and Swarovski Crystal

Janeo only uses genuine Swarovski crystal, purchased from the source and then put together into beautiful works of art by our staff. We love this material, and so much is sold we can tell that you love it too. You'll see more selection in Swarovski crystal in the near future in our store, and you can also expect to see more transparent semiprecious stones as well.

In Celebration: International Women's Day

Let's talk about women.

They're amazing.

The first person you ever knew was a woman. The first person who kissed you, who fed you, who cleaned and dressed you: a woman. You learned at an early age to go to women when you feel bad, when you get hurt, when you need comforting and love.

That's because women have so much to give. They are the nurturers, the ones who always seem to have time. Mothers, sisters, aunts, lovers, women are special to each of us.

Women do the work of bearing and raising babies. They are miracle workers, bringing forth civilized human beings out of nothing. Women maintain homes, transforming them from dwellings to places of joy and comfort. And often, women use their gifts of harmony and beauty to create other things: jewelry, clothes, fragrant gardens.

That's why Janeo loves making jewelry. The soft skin of a woman is the perfect complement to sparkling jewelry; only a woman is strong enough to not be overpowered by brilliant Swarovsky crystal.

We love to see sparkling silver and gemstones sharing the same light as the gleam from a beautiful woman's eyes, lips, and hair.

We are honored when a woman chooses one of our creations to adorn her body with. She is the expert in beauty, after all; when she wears something we made, it is the most genuine compliment possible.

And because it takes a woman to understand what other women really, truly love, Janeo purchases beautiful original creations from women around the world, women who work to keep their homes welcoming and beautiful, who work to raise honorable and loving children, women who must work to keep their families together.

It is an honor to contribute in some small fashion to the success of women throughout the world.

We want to share that honor with our customers. Janeo is creating a fair trade product section, a product range including items hand-crafted by women all over the world, women like you who need nothing but a chance. Your purchases from that collection will support small women-owned business in the poorest countries, places where women work just as hard as you do and sometimes harder but do not have the good fortune of living in a wealthy country.

Please, share your love just one more time, this time by helping another woman. We are strong individually. But when women work together, the foundations of the world can change.

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In celebration of women everywhere, Janeo Jewels is offering a £5 discount on all purchases on our site of at least £25. Come together with me, and adorn yourself in celebration of who and what you are!