An updated refresher course on materials used in manufacturing our products.

Alabastrite  Our product line name for polyresin items. Cold-cast. Clean by dusting; do not wash with water.    Alabastrite is a stone-based material that can be intricately molded and will allow paint to adhere.

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Bone China

White clay with bone ash added. Bone ash content must be at least 25% by U.S. guidelines. Fired at 1800 degrees. The translucent material is finished with a glaze or underglaze (matte). Lighter, stronger,more expensive than porcelain.

Porcelain

Fine ground white clay, molded and fired in an oven for eight hours at 1200 degrees. Finished with a glazed, underglazed, or "bisque" finish. Glazing produces a high gloss; underglaze produces a matte finish.

Bisque is a matte finish without glaze. After finishing, the item is "cooked" for six hours at 800 degrees.

Jade Porcelain  Jade porcelain is a type of porcelain made with a finer clay. Usually no glaze or only a colorless glaze will be applied at the final firing to show off the very smooth surface and to preserve the translucency.    Jade Porcelain is used for night lights because of its high degree of translucency when lit.

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Stoneware

White clay with fine ground stone. Working with stoneware demands great expertise, and is in fact becoming a lost art. Stoneware is safe to use in microwave and conventional ovens.

Patchwork Porcelain  European designer fabric is stretched over porcelain figurines, then coated with twelve layers of lacquer. Each application of lacquer is hand-polished, for a rich shine and an ultra-smooth finished texture.    The texture of the fabrics can only be seen in the final pieces, not felt, because of the twelve layers of lacquer covering them.

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Cubic Zirconia  The most successful simulated diamond. Properties such as refraction, hardness, and specific gravity are remarkably similar to diamonds.    Cubic zirconia are very hard to distinguish from diamonds; sometimes a jewelers loop will be needed to see the difference.

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Diamond

Extremely hard, highly refractive colorless or white crystalline of carbon. Diamonds, like all gemstones, are judged in terms of Carats, or weight (different from Karats, as in gold purity).

Gold

The ultimate precious metal. Virtually indestructible, amazingly malleable, doesn't rust or tarnish. Graded by purity; in the U.S. a scale of 24 is used, so 24 Karats (24K) is 100% pure. 18K is 18 parts gold and 6 parts alloy (other metals), and so on. 10K is the legal minimum for Karat-graded gold. The word "Plumb" indicates the exact purity of the piece.

Gemstones

Rubies, sapphires, emeralds, amethysts, often treasured as birthstones. Gemstones are priced and graded by Carat weight.

Pearl

Smooth, lustrous, variously colored round gemstone originally formed as a deposit around a grain of sand in the shells of certain shellfish. Pearls may be formed naturally or "Cultured" through an artificial implanting process.

Sterling Silver

To qualify as "sterling" a given piece must be composed of a least 92.5%pure silver .

Sou Mountain Stone  Items are created using a special stone known for its deep red color. It is quarried in the Sou Mountain region, Fujian Province, China. The stone is pulverized, mixed with a binding agent and molded, much like alabastrite.  Sou Mountain Stone pieces are highly polished, further bringing out the intense, deep red of the stone.

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Watches

Mechanical - requires winding by hand. Spring-driven.

Automatic - Self-winding. Weighted rotor works on gravity, and natural wrist movements keep the watch wound.

Quartz Analog - A battery activated quartz crystal vibrates 32,768 times per second, providing the energy to move the hands. Usually accurate within one minute a year.

Quartz Digital - Digital display instead of moving hands. Often features additional functions such as day/date, stop-watch, alarm, and others.

(Note: To change watch batteries locate the groove on the back of the watch case and gently pry off the back. Remove the old battery by loosening the screw that holds the metal contact, slide the battery out, and insert the new battery same side up as the old. Tighten the screw, and snap the case back on.)