Following the pattern set by nature herself, an irritant in the form of a mother-of-pearl bead is slipped within the folds of a live oyster. The oyster is then returned to the water and in time covers the bead with layers of nacre, the pearl substance. At the end of the prescribed period, the oysters are taken out and the pearls removed. 

Gold is both versatile and very easy to keep looking beautiful for years to come. Its worst enemy, however, is chlorine. Repeated exposure can weaken gold's structure, eventually leading to breakage. Try to keep your gold jewelry away from chlorinated cleaning products, swimming pools and Jacuzzis. To clean, use your jeweler's recommended solution

The word "Carat" comes from the Greek name of a seed, which was first used in ancient times as a measure of weight. A carat weighs seven-thousandths of an ounce, and about 142 of them are needed to make a single ounce. The carat is divided into 100 points, so that when a woman says her diamond is a quarter of a carat, for example, she means it is 2