One of the best ways to make skull beads and other jewelry findings look irresistible is by encrusting them in sparkling loose CZ stones.  In fact, now, thanks to the help of many talented jewelers and jewelry designers, those looking for the perfect blinging piece of skull jewelry can choose from many pieces in multiple CZ colors.

The sterling silver skull and crossbones CZ pendant on popular retail site Eves Addiction is a great feminine basic featuring clear pave CZ stones, 1.5’’ of cuteness, and a heart shaped nose.  The piece is a favorite among customers on the site!

For women or men who want to add a touch of pink to their bangle stack, the black plated 4 skull pink CZ Bling Disco Ball Bracelet does just the trick!  The contrast of the silver tone, pink CZ, and macramé cord put an interesting twist on skull jewels!

Those who are looking for the perfect skull piece with a bit more unisex edge should check out the selection of skull rings on badassjewelry.com.  Both The Sterling Silver Unique Skull Wave CZ Ring and the Sterling Silver Unique Death Biker Big Center CZ Stone Ring feature colorful inclusions.

When it comes to shopping for skull jewelry there is just so much to choose from, so during their search, all customers should look for the best value and material quality possible.

It can be hard to choose the perfect gift, particularly when your spouse gives you no feedback or suggestions ahead of time.  From chocolate, to clothing, to lingerie, to jewelry, to spa certificates, there is just so much to choose from.  Although jewelry has been the classic Valentine’s Day gift, knowing what piece of jewelry to surprise your Valentine with can be tough.

The truth is, in most situations, sticking with the classics never hurts!  When in doubt, go with what you know.  Items like diamond solitaire necklace to diamond stud earrings and unique pendants are all great classic gifts, but remember that you should always think about going with CZ jewels as well.

While CZ jewels look and feel just as classic as a diamond, their price points are much more reasonable.  The truth is, in most cases, you won’t want your significant other to worry that you are going to lose your house or apartment over this year’s Valentines gift.  Jewelry featuring CZ gemstones are particularly great gifts within new relationships.

If you do decide to buy jewelry for your loved one (or even for you still just “liked one”) this Valentine’s Day, make sure to go for pieces like pendants, earrings, and delicate necklaces, that is, unless of course, you’re getting more serious with a promise or engagement ring!

CZ’s reasonable price is one of its greatest selling points.  CZ Manufacturers and gem wholesalers have worked hard since CZ’s beginnings in the 1970’s, to make the gemstone the best affordable alternative to the diamond.

The properties of CZ, which is derived from zirconium dioxide, give it good durability and make it easy to work with.  It has an R.I. o 2.14 to 2.18 and a singly refractive hardness of 8 to 8.5. and according to Unruh, is even better to work with than is diamond substitute counterpart Moissanite, with which there is always a need for facet doubling.  Unruh and others who work with CZ often say that they grind nicely with little variation in hardness and dop without difficulty.

The rough slabs of CZ can be colored in just about every color, although some colors like green, which may sometimes be a little more rare to find.  Most colors can be brilliant and darker colors can be faceted in smaller, around 8mm, gems in order to be brilliant, according to Unruh.  The manmade gemstone can be made in many amazingly beautiful cuts that CZ is made in including the milestone, the great mogul, and the julianna.

If you’re a jeweler or jewelry designer or crafter that hasn’t worked with CZ stones, whether you would like to cut it yourself or choose among the many gorgeous shapes, colors, and sizes, that are already available ready-made at Pehnec, why not give it a try!

Kotomi admits she has always been drawn to historical things, images from ancient times, as well as loose stones, and beads.  After attending Kyoto City University of Art in lacquer crafts, she worked for over a decade as a contract designer to fashion/costume jewelry manufacturer before discovering her own way to combine all of her favorite elements in a way that is truly unique.

Using polymer clay dusted with metallic (gold or silver) mica powder, Kotomi creates pieces which truly resemble objects made from gold.  The technique, she explains, allows her to “explore many possibilities in design and form to create gorgeous jewellery without being ‘emperor/empress’ of the contemporary world.”

In her newest collections, the designer creates beautiful settings out of clay in which she places semi-precious stones, loose CZ stones of many shapes and size, fused glass pieces, Czech crystals, and other found objects to create beautiful centerpiece pendants that “remind you of earlier époques.”

Kotomi’s jewelry looks so authentically historic that several of her pieces were worn in the 2010 film Robin Hood starring Cate Blanchett and Russell Crowe.  You can see her work online at www.kotomicreations.com and find several of her unique pieces in galleries throughout the fashionable capitals of London and Tokyo.

Although, zirconia’s very high melting point makes it hard to control the growth of crystals, scientists were determined to find a way and, to the eventual delight of jewelry lovers everywhere, they eventually did.  Stabilized zirconia was not introduced until 1920.  Stabilized zirconia was not introduced until 1920.

In the 1960’s French scientists began attempting to grow single controlled cubic zirconia crystals.  Two scientists known as Roulin and R. Collongues were successful in this endeavor.  Their process became known as the cold crucible process.  Although it was a step in the right direction, this process only grew very small crystals.

By 1976, however soviet scientists V. Osiko at the Lebedev Physical Institute in Moscow Russia perfected the skull crucible technique, which is still used in CZ production today.  By 1980 50 million carats were produced worldwide.  Now, thanks to metal oxide dopants which can be mixed into the feed powder, CZ can be generated in large variety of colors as well!

Stabilized zirconia was not introduced until 1920.  Originally cubic zirconia was used as a refractory material in industrial machinery.  Like many materials who take their origins from industrial use, CZ has become a popular staple in the jewelry industry, one many men and women now know and love!

By the mid 1990’s, however, designers traded in their basic magenta, bright, blue, and lime palettes for much more traditional and subdued hues, with seasonal color cues remaining very close to the beaten path.  Now, after nearly two entire decades of what some might call “drab” runways are “waking up” with neon pink dresses, orange accessories, and just about everything in between.  Fortunately, for those who aren’t quite ready to jump back into the all-over bright look, bright accessories provide a way to stay seasonally savvy with just a pop of trendy color.

For example, fashionistas can scoop up the neon Crystal Necklace by sought after celebrity costume jewelry Noir on Shopbop.com.  The piece features a stunning arrangement of loose CZ stones hanging from a neon yellow cord, creating a uniquely interesting blend of elements.  Similar looks are available on hot retailer websites like TopShop, BaubleBar, and The Outnet.  Other jewelry designers who have combined CZ stones with neons include Juicy Couture, Tom Binns, and Alyssa Norton, whose pieces retail for upwards of $1,000 at Barney’s.

If you’re a jewelry designer, you may want to play around with this look yourself!  Consider combining clear loose CZ stones with twine, fabric, leatherette or other materials that are colored hot pink, lime green, bright yellow, or even shocking sky blue.

Although the natural element named Palladium was discovered as early as the beginning of the 19^th century, it was not until recently that the metal started to become widely known to jewelry customers.  Palladium, a part of the platinum group of elements, which also includes the well known tarnish resistant jewelry plating metal, rhodium, has many unique properties.

During the mid 20^th century jewelers started using Palladium as an alternative to platinum for making white gold.  It’s popularity surged during World War II when jewelers were discouraged from using platinum which was declared a strategic government resource at the time.  After the war, however, the price of Palladium long remained much higher than platinum and palladium’s use in jewelry making became very rare due to the fact that it was very hard to cast.  For decades, palladium was usually used only in the process of creating white gold itself.

In the early 2000’s however, the price of platinum began skyrocketing as the price of palladium continued the fall.  Subsequently, new techniques were developed that allowed jewelry to be easily cast out of the once elusive metal.  Within the last 5 years, many jewelry companies have started casting entire pieces of jewelry out of solid palladium.  Now, loose gemstones like CZs and diamonds can be set in platinum to create the same traditional look that can be achieved with white gold and platinum.

Designers are creating bangles featuring tessellation like designs and bright tribal patterns by painting them, appliquéing them, wrapping them in brilliantly patterned fabric or by setting colored CZs or loose gemstones to strategically form geometric patterns. Metal cuffs, necklaces, earrings, and rings that feature well arranged cut out shapes, pyramid-like forms, and even honeycomb designs, are becoming a go-to look for fashionistas everywhere. Today’s geometrically inspired jewelry combines bright tribal colors with sometimes imprecisely drawn edges to soften up the look a bit.

Providing further evidence that geometry was a big inspiration for many 2012 jewelry collections, today’s popular “pave spheres” used in macramé style bracelets this season are reminiscent of the way geometric artists like Escher played with polyhedra, intersecting platonic solids in order to create intriguing new shapes with multiple irregularly shaped faces. To recreate the geometrically inspired look, with a new high sparkle twist, jewelers usually set hundreds of loose cut CZ gemstones carefully in a spherical setting. Today’s pieces that take a little page from the math book really do add up to high style.

The Jewelry bash takes place annually just before the Golden Globes and was held at the posh Beverly Hills Hotel this year and hosted by Dawson’s Creek star Michelle Williams who recently starred as the diamond loving legend Marilyn Monroe herself in the 2011 film My Week with Marilyn.  Appropriately, Michelle William’s stood among the many pieces of jewelry made with the world’s most well known loose cut stone as attendees looked on in awe.

The jewelry bash attracted a wide array of familiar faces all known in part, for their love their jewels as well, including Jessica Alba, Mary J. Blige, Rebecca Romijn, and Julianne Hough among others according to National Jeweler Magazine.

Designs by famous names like Fred Leighton, Kimberly McDonald, Stephen Webster, Martin Katz, Mimi So and others were featured at the star studded event.  In a special twist, attendees were informed that many of the designs on display would likely be seen gracing the bodies of thoroughly glammed-up celebs during the Golden Globes main presentation that was to come, but of course, no one was told exactly which ones would be worn on which celebs.  Of course guests were able to make their own speculations but needed to do some serious people watching during the awards night to find out which pieces made the final cut.  The pieces that make their way onto the red carpet each year often become the year’s most coveted styles!

Those who would like to get the Golden Globes style, without having to spend a Golden Globe’s price tag can do so by buying pieces featuring CZs or cubic zirconia set in the same styles seen on awards night which will look just as stunning at any bash!

Aside from gearing up by making sure they’re in stock, jewelers must also get geared up by increasing marketing efforts in an ever changing and always competitive market.  World famous retailer Tiffany and Company has come up with a creative way to do so this year by incorporating a Valentine’s Day campaign meant to appeal to real couples everywhere.

Together Sartorialist contributors and Tiffany & Company marketing professionals created a heartwarming album featuring real life couples in love.  By teaming up with the widely read fashion blog, Tiffany & Company hopes to encourage fashion savvy blog readers to remember to gift their loved ones with a tried and true classic this Valentine’s Day – diamond jewelry.

If you’re a jeweler, remember, however, that there is another way to create tried and true classic pieces for your customers to enjoy this year!  While diamonds are of course beautiful, in this economy, many couples, especially young couples are looking for Valentine’s gifts that offer excellent value without sacrificing the beauty and classicism of a diamond.

Buying wholesale CZ’s allows jewelry designers to offer their customers something they’ll be able to treasure forever at a price point that won’t ever leave their wallet empty in the mean time.  Today, even the most exclusive and acclaimed jewelers are using CZ stones in many of their pieces.  With CZ’s there are so many brilliant shapes, including the heart, to choose from, allowing jewelers to create something for everyone.