Most people who make jewelry, as well as several other diferent types of hobbiest and/or professionals, eventually find themselves searching for the beautifully colored/patterned "rocks" that we call gemstones. Although most races or ethnicities teach their children the value of these sometimes rare stones, I tend to think that we all have a somewhat instinctual admiration for these naturally occurring works of art. Aside from their apparent beauty, most of these stones have healing properties attributed to them, and most are said to influence, encourage, or inspire specific virtues which are associated with the stones themselves. For instance, I made the set above with UNAKITE and fiber optic beads. The picture on the right is a closer view of the bracelet- see the Unakite? It is said to bring unconditional love of humanity, connection, and reunion. It is supposed to help with abandonment and seperation issues.  **you'll see this set for sale soon at http://stores.ebay.com/Creative-Expressions-Jewelry**

You don't have to experiance very many different kinds of gemstones before you are in love with all of them! I for one believe that they truely do have a profound effect on the people in which they come in contact. After all, we humans have in our bodies many of the trace elements these rocks are composed of.

As I began to order different gemstones from different places, I really had to learn from ZERO prior knowledge, and some places will take full advantage of that. Here are some VERY BASIC facts with which you need to arm yourself before some unscrupulous salesman sticks you with some shabby stones;

> As I finally make it back to the name of this guide, keep in mind that if it's a real gemstone it will be cold to the touch- you'll be able to tell the difference between cold glass and "stone cold".

> At first I'd buy gemstones from big retailers, and they seemed really good to me. Then I realized two things: 1) Compared to "A" Grade stones from reputable companies, they were barely recognizable as the same thing, and 2) that was sometimes because they weren't the same thing! I was so proud to have Moonstone and showed it to everyone, but never could quite compare my moonstone to that in the catalogs I'd ordered...Until one day when I was flipping through and saw "Opalite". Now opalite is a man-made stone, but it really is pretty especially in jewelry with certain other gems. But I can tell you one thing it definitely is not- and that's Moonstone.