Sleeping Beauty, Star Ruby & Zircon Sterling Silver Ring

All of our turquoise is stabilised unless otherwise stated in the main listing. Stones that are naturally very soft or porous tend to be stabilised for jewellery. Modern methods of stabilisation involve injecting epoxy resin into the stone in a high pressure oven, which seals all the cracks and pores. It also stops the gem from changing over time - people who wear non-stabilised Turquoise often complain about their stone darkening and going green over time (this is due to natural body oils reacting with the minerals, causing the colour to change.) Some stabilised stones are chemically dyed at the same time, however colour enhancements are never made by Two Skies, which is in line with gem industry standards - you can be assured the colours displayed in our stones are 100% natural. 

Star Rubies are a very rare variety of ruby – these gems display a six pointed star which dances across the gem when it is moved! This optical phenomenon you witness is known as 'asterism', which is a term derived from the Greek word 'aster, which means star. The star is best visible when the star ruby is seen in a single light source, such as sunlight.  For every 100 rough rubies mined, only three will display stars – even then only one of these three will have both good colouring and good star visibility. Although rubies are generally red in colour, the best star rubies are a pinkish red.

Zircon is one of the oldest minerals on earth.  This natural gem has an intense fire which gives it real sparkle, rivalling that of diamond!  A September birthstone, Zircon is said to have an intense spiritual energy.  Zircon can come in many natural colours, and should not be confused with Cubic Zirconia - which is in fact a lab-formed (synthetic) gemstone. 

Why do silversmiths use 925%? Measured in parts per thousand, pure silver (999%) is too soft so silversmiths mix it with other metals to make it it harder. The purer the metal, the higher the polish, but it is a lot softer (thus less durable). The harder the metal is, the more hard wearing the jewellery is, but it will also tarnish easier as it has less silver content. Therefore, the silver industry set a standard percentage content for fine silver (925); what we know as "sterling silver". At Two Skies our silversmiths use 925 (sterling) silver for ring shafts and moving parts, and a very high 950% on our stones settings, which enables us to get a strong jewellery item with a beautiful and secure stone setting, without any gluing. Each piece of our jewellery is hand stamped with our Two Skies Hallmark alongside the recognised industry 925 Hallmark.

Relax - you can shop with confidence at Two Skies.  If you change your mind, simply get in touch to let us know you want to return one or all of your items within 7 days of receiving your order, and we'll get a replacement/refund arranged - no quibbles!