Bario-Neal provides a couple of options for engraving your rings and other jewelry - hand engraving or laser engraving.

For our hand engravings, we work with a wonderful engraver named Charlie. Charlie’s a WWII veteran who came back from the war and wanted to be a jewelry designer. At the time, there were very few jewelry schools, and the industry was even more of a family business than it is now. Charlie attended the now-defunct Philadelphia Engraving school on the GI bill, and has been doing wonderful hand engravings ever since.

Hand engravings can be done in simple print letters, block letters, monogram style, or many others. Our default engraving style is block print.

We can also do computerized laser engraving. Laser engraving can be done in a simple serif or sans serif font (think Times or Arial). We can also laser engrave an image -like your own simple line drawing- or a specialty font, including characters in other languages.

If you have any questions about engravings, just let us know.

Carat Size Chart:

Cut:

The Cut actually refers to two separate aspects of a diamond’s appearance:  shape, and the quality of workmanship.

Shape :

Popular diamond shapes include Round, Marquise, Princess, Radiant, Pear, Oval,  and Emerald.

Quality of the Cut:

If you want perfection regardless of cost — go for the Ideal Cut. 

If you want quality and beauty – go for very good to excellent make.

 If you want a larger stone for your money — go for good make. 

If you want the lowest grades – we don’t recommend fair to poor makes for engagement rings due to a noticeable lack of brilliance and fire (even when color and clarity are very high).

Color:

The color of diamonds varies from colorless (most rare and precious) to many shades of yellow (less rare). Slight tints of yellow make a diamond less rare, but some people prefer the personality it gives a stone of good make and clarity.

If you want perfection regardless of cost — go for D color. 

If you want excellent quality and beauty – go for E or F colors (still colorless to any eye)

. If you want a larger stone for your money without sacrificing appearance — go for G, H, or I colors (near colorless, especially in a gold setting). 

If you like very faint yellow tints – go for colors like J, K, L, or M (you can see the slight tint when next to a more colorless diamond or when set in a white metal like platinum).

Clarity:

Every diamond has some internal or external “flaws,” but you should decide based on how much they are visible and how much that means to you. Usually, flawless to the naked eye (SI-1 or better) is quite sufficient for anyone concerned about beauty but not wanting to pay extra for rarity you can’t see.

If you want perfection regardless of cost – go for Flawless or Internally Flawless (very rare and expensive).

If you want it to look flawless under a loupe but not pay for flawless go for VVS1 or VVS2 clarity grades (still flawless to an untrained eye with a 10x loupe).

If you want to see very little with a loupe and nothing to the naked eye — go for VS1, VS2 clarity grades (certainly flawless to the naked eye, even to a diamond grader).

If you just want it flawless to the naked eye – go for SI1 or SI2 clarity grades (some SI3 stones will also be flawless to the naked eye); remember that many people really only want this degree of flawlessness.

If you don’t mind some small inclusions that might be visible to the naked eye and want a larger stone that still sparkles — go for I1 clarity.

If you’re interested in the lowest clarity grades (I2 or I3) – we don’t recommend them for engagement rings because they lack brilliance and crack or chip more easily due to large structural flaws.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE62K1AL20100321?sp=true

By Regan Doherty

DUBAI (Reuters) - A U.N. conference rejected on Sunday trade restrictions on red and pink corals used in jewelry in what environmentalists called a new setback for endangered marine species.

Delegates at the 175-nation meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Doha failed to back a U.S. and European Union proposal to limit trade in 31 species of corals, found from the Pacific to the Mediterranean.

“Vanity has once again trumped conservation,” said David Allison of Oceana, which calls itself the world’s largest international ocean conservation group, of the decision that would have affected trade worth tens of millions of dollars.

“Today is yet another example of CITES failing to protect endangered marine species,” he said. On Friday, the March 13-25 conference also rejected a proposal to ban trade in bluefin tuna, prized as sushi in Japan.

Sunday’s coral proposal fell short of the needed two-thirds majority by mustering 64 votes in favor with 59 against and 10 abstentions, delegates said.

The proposed restrictions would have stopped short of a trade ban but required countries to ensure better regulations and to ensure that stocks of the slow-growing corals, in the family coralliidae, were sustainably harvested.

CATCHES DROP

Catches have dropped to about 50 metric tones a year in the main coral grounds in the Pacific and the Mediterranean from about 450 metric tones in the mid-1980s, the U.S. and EU proposal said.

In Italy, top quality beads fetch up to $50 per grime and necklaces sell for up to $25,000, it said. Main harvesting and processing centres include Italy, Japan and Taiwan. The United States is the largest market for red and pink corals.

Some nations objected it was complex to identify the red and pink corals at customs posts. But some rare corals, including black corals, are already protected by CITES.

The wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC and conservation group WWF said they were “deeply disappointed” by Sunday’s vote. Measures to protect red and pink corals were also rejected the last time CITES met, in 2007.

“Without the trade control measures this would have introduced, the current overharvesting of these precious corals will continue unabated,” said Ernie Cooper of TRAFFIC Canada.

Separately, CITES unanimously approved a proposal by Iran to ban all trade in Kaiser’s spotted newt, a type of salamander from Iran, delegates said. The newt is under threat from trade agreed over the Internet by collectors.

Thanks to Christine Dhein and Green Jewelry News for passing this along. Please call!

Above:Slate
Lake, Alaska in August 2009 after trees were cleared for trucks at the
Kensington Gold Mine to dump toxic mine tailings into the lake, allowed
because they are labeled “fill”. Take action to close this loophole!

Mines are using a loophole to dump waste into
America’s lakes and streams:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the
authority to close this loophole in the Clean Water Act,
protecting our nation’s clean water from mining pollution. Please join this
national call-in effort to stop the dumping of mining waste in America’s
waters.

Call the White House TODAY, Monday, March 15 at 202-456-1414, and ask
President Obama to restore the Clean Water Act’s prohibition on dumping mining
waste into our clean water.

The Problem: Taking advantage of a loophole that the Bush
administration created in Clean Water Act rules, mining companies are
using America’s streams and lakes as dumping grounds
for unlimited amounts of solid mining wastes. For example, the Kensington Gold Mine near Juneau is planning on destroying a
freshwater lake by calling mining waste “fill” and dumping it
untreated into the lake. This loophole is also being used to allow mountaintop
removal coal mines to dump their waste into Appalachian streams.

The Solution: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority to close
the waste loophole in the Clean Water Act, and President Obama should instruct
the agency to do so immediately.

The Action: Please call the White House at
202-456-1414 on Monday, March 15!

Together, we can demonstrate to the White House the
urgent need for action to restore the prohibition of dumping mining waste in
our water.

Talking Points:

Visit Earthworks for more info.

The jewelry industry still lacks clear certification standards for its materials and manufacturing methods; nonetheless, many terms exist which are used to describe responsibly sourced and manufactured jewelry. To consumers and those in the industry, the loose terms can be quite confusing. Below are working definitions of the labels commonly used.

Ring sizing can be confusing, so we’ve laid out some tips below to help you get the most accurate read on your ring size.

Finger size can vary depending on the season, the temperature, the time of day, and the design of the intended ring. Fingers tend to shrink a bit in the cold, so:

-Measure rings sizes when your fingers are warm towards the end of the day.

-Keep in mind that a more delicate ring will fit more loosely; a more substantial ring will fit more tightly.

-Generally, the average woman’s ring size is around 6, and the average man’s size is around 10.

The best way to find your ring size is to go to a local jewelry shop to get sized. Although jewelers’ measurements may vary slightly, this is the most accurate method. If you can’t make it to a local jeweler, we are happy to send a complimentary ring sizer; just contact us at inquiries@bario-neal.com to request one. There are several online printable paper ring sizers, but these are usually inaccurate.

If you are trying to get your partner’s ring size without letting them know:

-Measure the inside diameter of one of their existing rings. Wikipedia has a helpful measurement and size conversion guide.

-Ask around. Your partner’s family and friends might know.

If you purchase an engagement or commitment ring from us, and it doesn’t fit, we’re happy to resize it for you within 30 days.

By Ian Cobain Published in the Guardian.co.uk, October 18th 2009

The British mining corporation Monterrico’s plan was to create Peru’s second largest copper mine at Rio Blanco, a vast site in the Huancabamba mountains in the north-west of the country.

Peru is already the world’s third-largest copper-producing nation, and the mine in the province of Piura was to have increased output by around a quarter, producing exports worth up to $1bn (£600m) a year for the next 20 years.

However, the corporation found itself in conflict with local farmers soon after its arrival in the region in 2001, and has struggled to develop the project.

At 18,858 acres (7,600 hectares), the mining concession covered a vast area, much of it covered by cloud forest that collects rainwater and feeds it into rivers flowing into the agricultural basins below. Farmers and environmentalists feared the rivers would become polluted and depleted, that the fragile eco-systems of the region would be severely damaged and that farmlands would be endangered.

In law, the corporation was required to obtain the consent of two-thirds of the local population before embarking on mining but – with the apparent encouragement of the government – it tried to press ahead without it. This resulted in a series of violent confrontations.

In August 2005, a group of protesters marched to the mine to find police waiting for them. Twenty-eight of the protesters say they were detained, hooded with hands tied behind their backs, beaten with sticks and whipped.

Hundreds of people had converged on the mine from communities scattered across the region. Some had walked for several days to reach the site. Once there, they say, they were attacked by the mine’s security guards and by contingents of the Peruvian federal police firing teargas.

Two protesters were shot in their legs, one man lost an eye to gunshot wounds and a farmer called Melanio Garcia, 41, suffered a fatal gunshot. Photographs allegedly taken by a Monterrico supervisor, which the protesters say support their allegations of abuse by the police, show Garcia lying on the ground, apparently alive but badly injured. Several other pictures taken 30 hours later, according to their time and date stamps, clearly show Garcia to be dead.

The protesters – who have launched a multimillion-pound claim for damages at the high court in London – claim Garcia was left to bleed to death at the mine site. Monterrico says Garcia was shot some distance from the mine and it vigorously denies that any of its officers or employees were in any way involved with the alleged abuses at Rio Blanco.

The corporation says a police officer was shot in the leg by the protesters, and that the protesters were detained because of this assault.

Richard Meeran, of Leigh Day, the London law firm bringing the high court case, said the evidence of torture was incontrovertible and that it was inconceivable the company could have been unaware of what was happening on its site.

“The company must have been aware of the inhuman treatment of the victims during their three-day ordeal at the Rio Blanco mine,” he said. “Yet there is no evidence of it taking any steps to prevent the harm. On the contrary, it would appear that the company was working in cahoots with the police. It is vital that multinationals are held legally accountable for human rights violations occurring at their overseas operations.”

Meeran said the claimants’ allegation was not that Monterrico was responsible for Garcia’s shooting, but that it failed to provide him with medical assistance.

According to statements by three former mine employees, the police arrived by helicopter and were taken to the dining area where they received instructions directly from the mine’s manager. This man is said to have warned them that they were at risk of being overrun and killed by the approaching protesters if they did not take “all necessary measures”.

The security staff told police where to deploy, according to statements. One adds: “The commanding officers of the police did not speak in these briefings.”

One of the former mine employees said in his statement that before the protest began the manager of the mine’s security force gave orders to the police “pointing out strategic points of the operation on a map, for instance, geographical points, the rotation of the police personnel and the dangers they could encounter in each area. He also explained that they had to report every 10 to 15 minutes via the Motorola radio to the management of the mining company.”

When the protesters arrived, he added: “The police shot teargas immediately. I saw the community members who wanted to talk but this was immediately denied and they were teargassed. After this clash the community members, who were about 500 or 600, retreated and stopped at about 15 metres from the police. It could be observed that among the protesters there were some children, young ladies, and elderly people. The community members raised the national flag, and sang the national anthem.”

Both sides spent the night there, he added, and the next day around 30 of the protesters were detained.

Doctors from Physicians for Human Rights, a Massachusetts-based NGO, examined eight of the protesters, and found physical and psychological signs of the mistreatment they described.

In the aftermath, however, local authorities prosecuted several demonstrators in a manner that Peruvian human rights groups denounced as an attempt to criminalise legitimate protest. Some people, including a number of mayors, faced charges of terrorism and corruption. Many of those charges were later dropped.

Richard Ralph, the British ambassador in Lima at the time of the incident, later resigned from the diplomatic service and joined Monterrico as executive chairman. He expressed the firm’s deep regret for what had happened, and has since resigned. The company was bought by a Chinese consortium in 2007, but is still incorporated in London. It has yet to extract any copper from the mine.

A spokesman for the company declined to comment on detailed questions ahead of the case, but said: “Monterrico vigorously denies any of its officers or employees were in any way involved with the alleged abuses at the Rio Blanco mine in 2005 and it considers allegations to the contrary made by the claimants to be wholly without merit.”Last March Peruvian prosecutors accused the police of torture, but cleared Monterrico and its security guards of wrongdoing. In Lima, the National Coordinating Committee for Human Rights denounced that finding, and with the emergence of the photographs, human rights activists are pinning their hopes on a victory in the English courts.

Calling all jewelers. The Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) and the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation (FLO) have been working together for the past three years to develop fair trade gold. In advance of their plans to launch fair trade gold in 2010, the organizations are asking those in the industry to help provide some information to make the launch as successful as possible, and to maximize the adoption and sales of fair trade gold.

ARM and FLO are looking for jewelers, goldsmiths, designer-makers, large and small retailers, manufacturers, refiners, bullion dealers and gold traders to take the survey.  You can take the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=rPcDXz0aFnxTa3N21y2mVQ_3d_3d and it only takes about 10 minutes.

Greg Valerio, on behalf of the Fairtrade Foundation UK, writes of the fair trade gold efforts:

‘The adoption of fairtrade gold by the industry will hail significant developmental impact for the millions of small-scale miners around the world and will play a foundational role in addressing the negative environmental impact of mining as a whole. The fairtrade gold standard has been 3 years in the creation through an extensive international multi-stakeholder consultation process. The final standard is now out for public review at www.fairtrade.net/setting_the_standards.html or www.communitymining.org/ so in addition to contributing to the market survey you can also review and comment on the standards behind the fairtrade gold offer.’

What is Palladium?

Palladium is a rare and lustrous silvery-white grey metal. Palladium, along with platinum, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium form a group of elements referred to as the platinum group metals (PGMs).

Palladium is similar to color in platinum, but is a bit more gray.  If we use the CIE lab system to refer to “whiteness” in  metals, where zero is black and one hundred is white, pure silver rates 93, platinum alloys are about 87, palladium alloys are around 84 or 85, and most white golds range from 78 to 83. Like platinum, palladium will develop a hazy patina over time. Palladium is much more affordable than platinum. It isn’t as dense as platinum, though it is about 12% harder.

We encourage customers to opt for palladium over white gold because it is a pure metal with  naturally white properties, giving it no need for rhodium plating. White Gold by itself is an alloy of gold and at least one white metal, usually nickel or palladium. Like yellow gold, the purity of white gold is given in carats. White gold’s properties vary depending on the metals and proportions used. As a result, white gold alloys can be used for different purposes; while a nickel alloy is hard and strong, and therefore good for rings and pins, gold-palladium alloys are soft, pliable and good for white gold gemstone settings, sometimes with other metals like copper, silver, and platinum for weight and durability.

Almost all white gold jewelry is rhodium-plated since gold alloyed with palladium or nickel never comes out true white, but tinted brown, therefore requiring a thin layer of rhodium to mask the tinted shade and make it true white. About one person in eight has a mild allergic reaction to the nickel in some white gold alloys when worn over long periods of time. White gold alloys made without nickel are less likely to be allergenic.

The rhodium is very white and very hard, but it does wear away eventually. To keep a white gold ring looking its best it should be re-rhodium plated approximately each 12 to 18 months.

COOL TOOLS
Chemical Responsibility - Disposal solutions for the studio
By Helen I. Driggs, Managing Editor

Excerpt from the Jewelry Artist

One of the simplest things you can do to lessen negative environmental impact is to reduce chemical use in the studio and select less-toxic alternatives for those that can’t be avoided.

The most commonly used studio chemical is pickle, and many jewelers are making the switch to citric acid pickle, a less-toxic alternative that is now available from major suppliers. When handling acids, employ proper safety precautions, and mix according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Citric pickle should be used warm, with proper ventilation, to reduce required cleaning time. It takes a bit longer than other types of pickle, but citric pickle is still quite effective, and many jewelers prefer it.

To reduce the amount of pickle you need, use a small potpourri size warming pot to replace larger crockpots. Jewelry items are small, so this little pot will serve most jewelers’ needs, reduce chemical use, and save money. When it comes time to change spent pickle, you will have less to dispose of, which will make it easier to follow proper disposal procedures.

When used properly, a pickle solution will work effectively for many months, or even up to a year before it needs to be changed.

To keep your pickle strong, avoid introducing baking soda into the solution. Be sure to rinse tongs, baskets, and jewelry from your neutralizing bath before returning them to the pickle. As water evaporates from the solution, simply add more water. If the pickle is weak, add more acid. Steel adds an electrical charge that turns pickle into a copper-plating bath. However, as soon as the steel is removed, the pickle can be used again as normal. On the rare occasion that the solution contains small steel particles that can’t be removed, it will need to be changed.

At some point, every jeweler has at least one chemical, such as pickle, which requires disposal. To preserve the integrity of our environment, it is important to follow proper disposal procedures for all studio chemicals. Each region is governed by different federal, state, and local requirements for hazardous waste disposal. The guidelines offered here are approved by the State of California, which has some of the most stringent regulations. Following them will ensure your safety and the health of the environment.

Citric acid by itself is not classified as a hazardous material. However, after it has been used as a pickling solution, it contains copper, which is a heavy metal. Therefore, used pickle is a contaminated solution, which is hazardous, and must be disposed of properly. Commercial sodium bisulfate pickle is a stronger acid that also becomes contaminated with use. Neutralizing pickle will not remove the copper.

Therefore, even neutralized pickle is considered a hazardous material. All oxidizers, including liver of sulfur and other proprietary oxidizing solutions, are also hazardous materials. Collect hazardous materials in clearly labeled plastic containers with tight lids for storage in the studio and during transportation to an appropriate disposal facility, preferably with their original labels.

In San Francisco, residents who are hobbyist jewelers can drop off hazardous materials at the county hazardous waste facility free of charge during business hours. Small businesses can drop off small quantities of hazardous waste, up to 27 gallons at time, to the VSQG (Very Small Quantity Generator) disposal program. Disposal fees are $5 per gallon for acids, $6 per gallon for oxidizers. Collect spent pickle after most of the water has evaporated, without adding baking soda, to reduce volume.

Check with your local agencies to find out how to dispose of studio chemicals properly in your area. The proper agency can be found with a Google search using the key words �ghousehold hazardous waste collection program�h along with the name of your city or state. Often household hazardous waste collection agencies also handle hazardous waste collection for businesses or can refer you to the proper authority.

Each day, the choices we make are a part of the cycle of life. We all live together, sharing one earth. The choice is yours: to pollute, or to preserve and protect. Take steps now to implement safer and more environmentally friendly practices - at your bench, and in all aspects of your life.

Mary Ann Scherr
I took an etching class with Mary Ann and learned her method for neutralizing nitric acid etchant. Remember, nitric acid is a very aggressive acid, and baking soda is a weak base. Acids and bases will become neutral when mixed, but you’ll need more baking soda by volume than nitric acid to get to neutral because of the different strengths.

When it comes to disposal, here’s what Mary Ann does: �gI drop baking soda into the acid bath until it forms a small mountain. The baking soda will continue to bubble like Alka-Seltzer. A dry mountain of soda usually indicates enough - there’s no need to test [the ph]. The bath is then neutral. I flush the container with water and flow it over the grass or flowers, since it is now capable of making the grass and flowers grow happy!”

Although I haven’t tried this myself, I guess the nitric in the neutralized acid is a lot like commercial nitrogen fertilizer, and the dissolved copper in the bath will keep the slugs at bay!

Pickle, Rinse, Dry - Why?
How many times do we use that sequence in our project directions? If you are new to jewelry making, you may not know what it means or why we do it.

Basically, pickle is a solution used to soak or steep in. With food, it’s usually salt, vinegar, and water - which will also work somewhat on some metals as well. Trust me - next time you finish a jar of baby dills, save and strain the juice and drop a piece of cooled, torched copper or an old penny in there for a few days at room temperature. It will come out shiny and bright and smelling really good! If you’re in a hurry, put that pickle juice in a crockpot and heat it up. The cleaning will happen faster with a hot pickle solution.

Cooking aside, metal pickling typically means acid dipping to chemically remove surface oxides from metals subjected to heat during annealing, soldering, or casting. Pickling also removes other crud - like fired-on flux, carbon, or investment. For the faint-hearted or eco-minded, the commercial safety pickles that are typically used in the studio are a very weak acid concentration that is easily neutralized if you don’t want to hold them unneutralized for longterm storage. Just add baking soda to a room temperature batch of spent pickling solution. You’ll know it’s spent when it’s bright, electric blue - like Paraiba tourmaline. Stir gently with a plastic utensil. It will foam and bubble a bit. Let the mix sit for a few hours to neutralize the batch. Then, pour the neutralized pickle into a clean plastic jug, label it, and take it to your recycling center on hazardous waste day if your locality requires it.

The most important thing to remember is not to toss a hot piece into pickle to quench it. The steam that rises from doing so will be acidic and attack the lining of your lungs as well as the surfaces in your studio. Quench in water instead, then pickle.

There are also organic, but slightly less aggressive pickle solutions you can mix up at home, like cider vinegar and salt mixed into a paste, or food-grade citric acid. Remember Tang? That juice mix makes a great cleaning solution. If you don’t believe me, try running a quarter-cup in an empty, stained dishwasher - no more brown, hard water stains when you’re done! A thick slurry of Tang mixed with water makes a great soaking solution for dirty, oxidized metal.

Patinas
Some patinas are so fantastic you want to cry when you see them. But the chemistry involved in creating them might also make you cry if you think too hard about it. The most non-toxic patina out there is time. Sadly, most of us don’t have that, so we settle for chemicals. I have a stringent set of rules in my studio for chemical patinas, based on common sense:

1. Don’t mix more than you need.
2. Dispose of them properly.
3. Try other alternatives when possible.

I like the non-corrosive, commercially prepared patinas because I can pour out a scant quarter-teaspoon and paint them on with a brush. I work in white plastic photography trays when I patina, and soak up any excess with a paper towel. Then, I let the fluid evaporate from the paper towel and put that in the trash. I rinse the tray in the sink and let the water run into it to clean my patina brush.

If I have more time, I’ll fabricate a silver piece completely, and seal the piece in a Ziploc bag with half of a hot, hard boiled egg. The fumes from the egg will oxidize the silver gently after a day or so. Throw out the egg when you’re done, and give the piece a scrub with some dish liquid and a soft toothbrush.