These gems have life in them: their colors speak, say what words fail of.
George Eliot
How beautifully quoted by the great writer! So true and so appropriate. Gems have their onw world of beauty, love, passion, serenity, peace and all that can be described as precious human emotion. Using these gems to convert them in to items of adornment is almost a privilige. Anoothi makes jewellery using a varieity of semiprecious stones and their by-products obtained as these stones are processed, cut and polished. I
t would be relevant to narrate a brief history of gems that we use in our creations.
The Tradition of jewels started in old capital of Jaipur- Amer, when Mirja Raja Ram Singh ji, the erstwhile ruler invited noted Jewellers from all over country to settle here and practice the art of Jaipur meenakari, kundan work & gem cutting & polishing. In 1723 AD, Sawai Jai Singh II named certain areas of the city after popular jewels and artisans, e.g. Manak Chowk, Moti Katla, Johari Bazaar etc. Cutting & Polishing is predominantly done by hand and it requires an immense degree of skill and with years of experience.
In Jaipur, industry is over 300 years old. Important gems such as Emeralds, Rubies, Sapphires & Diamonds and a whole list of semi- precious stones such as Garnet, Amethyst, Citrine, Aquamarine, Peridot, Moon-stone, Tourmaline etc. go into making the contemporary designs of modern world blending with ethnicity. Jaipur also happens to be the world’s largest centre for gemstone cutting and polishing. For example, diamond and emerald cutting are synonymous with India . Around 90% of the emeralds worldwide are cut in Jaipur, and around 95% of small diamonds are processed in Jaipur for global consumption. Most of the raw material is imported from African countries. Domestically raw comes from state like Orissa.
Below is the brief introduction of some of the semiprecious gems we use in our creations:
Amethyst
Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz used as an ornamental stone in jewellry. The name comes from the Ancient Greek a- ("not") and methustos ("intoxicated"), a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness; the ancient Greeks and Romans wore amethyst and made drinking vessels of it in the belief that it would prevent intoxication. Amethyst is composed of an irregular superposition of alternate lamellae of right-handed and left-handed quartz. It has been shown that this structure may be due to mechanical stresses. Because it has a hardness of seven on the Mohs scale, amethyst is suitable for use in jewelry.
Garnet
Garnet is a group of minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. Garnets are most often seen in red, but are available in a wide variety of colors spanning the entire spectrum. The name "garnet" comes from the Latin granatus ("grain"), possibly a reference to the Punica granatum ("pomegranate"), a plant with red seeds similar in shape, size, and color to some garnet crystals. Six common species of garnet are recognized based on their chemical composition.
Peridot
Peridot is the gem quality variety of forsteritic olivine. The chemical composition of peridot is (Mg, Fe)2SiO4, with Mg in greater quantities than Fe. The origin of the name is uncertain, the Oxford English Dictionary suggesting an alteration of Anglo-Norman pedoretés (classical Latin paederot-, paederos), a kind of opal, rather than the Arabic word faridat, meaning "gem". Peridot is one of the few gemstones that comes in only one color. The depth of green depends on how much iron is contained in the crystal structure, and varies from yellow-green to olive to brownish green. Olivine is a very abundant mineral, but gem quality peridot is rather rare. Peridot crystals have been collected from some Pallasite meteorites. Peridot olivine is the birthstone for August.
Rose Quartz
Rose quartz is a type of quartz which exhibits a pale pink to rose red hue. The color is usually considered as due to trace amounts of titanium, iron, or manganese, in the massive material. Some rose quartz contains microscopic rutile needles which produces an asterism in transmitted light. Recent X-ray diffraction studies suggest that the color is due to thin microscopic fibers of possibly dumortierite within the massive quartz. In crystal form (rarely found) it is called Pink quartz and its color is thought due to trace amounts of phosphate or aluminium. The color in crystals is apparently photosensitive and subject to fading. The first crystals were found in a pegmatite found near Rumford, Maine, USA, but most crystals on the market come from Minas Gerais, Brazil. Rose Quartz is not popular as a gem, the mineral is often found too cloudy and not clear enough to be cut into a gem. There are exceptions to this as found in very rare findings of rose quartz. Rose Quartz is more often carved into figures such as people or hearts. Hearts are commonly found because Rose Quartz is a pink and an affordable mineral.
Citrine
Citrine is a variety of quartz. It ranges in color from a pale yellow to brown. Citrine has ferric impurities, and is rarely found naturally. Most commercial citrine is in fact artificially heated amethyst or smoky quartz. Brazil is the leading producer of citrine, with much of its production coming from the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Citrine is one of three traditional birthstones for the month of November. It is nearly impossible to tell cut citrine from yellow topaz visibly.
Tourmaline
Tourmaline is a crystal silicate mineral compounded with elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium or potassium. Tourmaline gem stones come in a wide variety of colors. The name comes from the Sinhalese word "turamali" or "toramalli", which applied to different gemstones found in Sri Lanka. Brightly colored Sri Lankan gem tourmalines were brought to Europe in great quantities by the Dutch East India Company to satisfy a demand for curiosities and gems. At the time it was not realised that schorl and tourmaline were the same mineral.Its most commonly black, but can range from brown, violet, green, pink, or in a dual-colored pink and green.
Carnelian
Carnelian sometimes spelled cornelian, is a red or reddish-brown variant of chalcedony. Similar to carnelian is sard, which is generally harder and darker. Carnelian was used widely during Roman times 2,000 years before the present era to make signet or seal rings for imprinting a seal with wax on correspondence or other important documents. Hot wax does not stick to Carnelian. The word carnelian is derived from the Latin word meaning horn, in reference to the flesh color sometimes exhibited.
Aventurine
Aventurine is a form of quartz, characterised by its translucency and the presence of platy mineral inclusions that give a shimmering or glistening effect termed aventurescence. The most common colour of aventurine is green, but it may also be orange, brown, yellow, blue, or gray. Chrome-bearing fuchsite (a variety of muscovite mica) is the classic inclusion, and gives a silvery green or blue sheen. Oranges and browns are attributed to hematite or goethite. Because aventurine is a rock, its physical properties vary: its specific gravity may lie between 2.64-2.69 and its hardness is somewhat lower than single-crystal quartz at around 6.5. Aventurine feldspar or sunstone can be confused with orange and red aventurine quartzite, although the former is generally of a higher transparency. Aventurine is often banded and an overabundance of fuchsite may render it opaque, in which case it may be mistaken for malachite at first glance.
Coral
Precious coral or red coral is the common name given to Corallium rubrum and several related species of marine coral. The distinguishing characteristic of precious corals is their durable and intensely colored red or pink skeleton, which is used for making jewelry. The hard skeleton of red coral branches is naturally matte, but can be polished to a glassy shine. It exhibits a range of warm reddish pink colors from pale pink to deep red; the word coral is also used to name such colors. Owing to its intense and permanent coloration and glossiness, precious coral skeletons have been harvested since antiquity for decorative use. Coral jewelry has been found in ancient Egyptian and prehistoric European burials, and continues to be made to the present day. Precious coral has relative density of 3.86 and hardness 3.5 on the Mohs scale. Due to its softness and opacity, coral is usually cut en cabochon, or used to make beads.
Onyx
Onyx is a cryptocrystalline form of quartz. The colors of its bands range from white to almost every color (save some shades, such as purple or blue.) Commonly, specimens of onyx available contain bands of colors of white, tan, and brown. Sardonyx is a variant in which the colored bands are sard (shades of red) rather than black. Pure black Onyx is common, and perhaps the most famous variety, but not as common as Onyx with banded colors. The agate-like sardonyx (banded agate). It is usually cut as a cabochon, or into beads, and is also used for intaglios and cameos, where the bands make the image contrast with the ground. Some onyx is natural but much is produced by the staining of agate. The name has sometimes been used, incorrectly, to label other banded lapidary materials, such as banded calcite found in Mexico, Pakistan, and other places, and often carved, polished and sold. This material is much softer than true onyx, and much more readily available. The majority of carved items sold as 'Onyx' today are this carbonate material.
Rhodolite
Rhodolite is a varietal name for rose-pink to red mineral pyrope, a species in the garnet group. It is found in Cowee Valley, Macon County, North Carolina. The name is derived from the Greek for "rose-like", in common with many pink mineral types (e.g. rhodochrosite, rhodonite), but rhodolite itself is not officially recognised as a mineralogical term. This colouration, and the commonly inclusion-free nature of garnet from this locality, has led to rhodolite being used as a semi-precious gemstone. Chemically, rhodolite is an iron-magnesium-aluminium silicate, part of the pyrope-almandine solid-solution series, with an approximate garnet composition of Py70Al30.
Silver
A major use of silver is as a precious metal, and it has long been used for making high-value objects reflecting the wealth and status of the owner. Jewellery and silverware are traditionally made from sterling silver (standard silver), an alloy of 92.5% silver with 7.5% copper. Sterling silver is harder than pure silver, and has a lower melting point (893 °C) than either pure silver or pure copper. Britannia silver is an alternative hallmark-quality standard containing 95.8% silver, often used to make silver tableware and wrought plate. Silver is used in medals, denoting second place. Some high-end musical instruments are made from sterling silver, such as the flute.
Other Elements of Anoothi Creations
Anoothi represents what is traditional and natural. In our creations, we use elements found in Nature since ancient times and also we use what is old and has inherent values of old Indian Traditions. This is done as a tribute to what is old and traditional and also to keep a balance, minimize waste and recycle a matter as much as possible. The home furnishing articles are made of old Sarees; the traditional Indian dress worn by women. Anoothi also collaborates with several Self Help Groups operating in Rajasthan who use hand made recycled paper to make beautifully designed products. Anoothi works closely with these rural women. We also use fruits and stems of some trees such as Rudraksh , Tulsi, and Shesham to make different products including jewellery. Lakh; a kind of wax obtained from the trees grown in eastern part of India is also used to make beautiful items as such pen, pen stands, jewellery boxes, photoframes and so on. Below is a breif description of some of these elements:
Rudraksh
Rudraksh is a seed of a fruit from the trees grown in India, Nepal, Indonesia and Malaysia. The fruit of Rudraksh is covered with pulp and a thin outer skin. The skin is green when fresh but when the fruit is plucked from the tree and allowed to dry it turns blackish blue, maroon or dark brown . The diameter of the seed is up to 1 inch (2.54 cm) and is nearly round in shape. Rudraksh belongs to Eliocorpus Genetic type of herb. The terms Rudraksh literally means the "Eyes" of Shiva and is so named in His benevolence (Rudra is Shiva’s another name and “Aksh” means eyes). Shiva Purana describes origin of Rudraksh as Lord Shiva's tears. Shiva meditated for years for the welfare of mankind and then one day as he opened his eyes, drops of tears rolled down from his eyes. The Mother Earth; blessing Shiva for his kindness, converted these tears in to seeds of Rudraksh trees. The Rudraksh is known and valued with in terms of “Mukhis”. The Mukhi's are the natural divisions that the seed has and are easy to count. The seed can have 1 to 14 divisions (Mukhi's) however, Rudraksh up to 21 Mukhi's have been obtained by some collectors. Rudraksh with different number of Mukhis have different effect and many studies have been carried out for the scientific explanation of these varied effects of these divisions. Indian epics are full of varying affects of wearing Rudraksh of different Mukhis. For thousands of years Rudraksh beads have been worn by mankind for good health, religious attainment through Japa and Shakti (power) and for fearless life. Saints and sages roaming in Himalayas and other forests have lived healthy, fearless and a full life by wearing Rudraksh’ and its Necklaces. More than 95% of Rudraksh available naturally are 5 Mukhi's (Panch Mukhi's) and thus a Panch Mukhi Rudraksh is never fake. However, some times these Panch Mukhi Rudraksh are artificially converted into different Mukhis and are very difficult to identify. Anoothi uses ONLY the Panch Mukhi Rudraksh.
Lakh
Lakh is a tree extract. It is obtained from trees that are grown in West Bengal, the eastern state of India. It is a sticky gum like matter that is processed to purify and then sent to the northern states of India where it is used for making decorative items, jewellery boxes, pen, jewellery items etc. The making of items with Lakh is simple and does not require any sophisticated equipment or instruments. A lot of women are employed in the industry and contribute in raising the living standards of their families. The colours used while making these items are vegetable dyes. Thus the whole product is nature friendly and decomposable.
Hand made paper
The hand made paper is a very environment friendly industry and is gaining more and more popularity. The colours used are vegetable dyes. Women make these items at home often. They are supplied the raw material at home and while they can supervise their household activities, in the free time they make these products which are then sold in fairs and open market.
Old Sarees-An exotic and traditional fabric!
Anoothi makes wonderful home furnishing items of old Sarees; the traditional Indian dress worn by women. While this beautiful outfit still remains the most commonly worn dress by Indian women, the old Sarees are no longer used simply because the life and the life styles have changed drastically. These old Sarees are heavily and intricately embroidered with gold and silver thread along with mirrors, pearls and beads of different types. The base of these Sarees is often Silk, Satin, Velvet or fine Cotton. We make Cushion Covers, Table Runners, Wall Hangings, Wine Bottle Covers, Hand Bags, etc. with them.
Anoothi is a Women's Cooperative and Partnerhsips are invited.
