Eye agate is a grounding hence protective stone protecting oneself from evil eye, harmful magic and other misfortunes. It was believed agate brought Gods’ favor and bestowed the power to vanquish enemies and to acquire riches in addition to rendering one invisible. Eye agate also enhances the power of concentration and manifestation. Meditation with these stones will serve to return you to a true sense of self and restore a sense of divine within.

Interestingly, Islam in particular reveres the stones. According to tradition, whoever wears an agate ring is believed to be protected from various mishaps and will enjoy longevity among other benefits. In the Shia book of prayers is quoted the magical benefits associated with the agate:

Whosoever endures the night ’til sunrise wearing an agate ring on his/her right hand, before seeing or being seen by any human that morning, turns the agate ring towards the palm side of his/her hand and while looking at the gem recits the 97th chapter of the Quran followed by this prayer{specified}, then the God of the Universe shall grant him/her immunity on that day from any danger that falls from the sky or rises up to it, or which disappears into the earth, or rises out of it, and he/she shall remain protected by the power of God and the agents of God until dusk ——- Mafatih Al-janan

(a) Clarity:

• Indicates how clear the diamond is, how free from blemishes and other imperfections

(b) Color:

• Diamonds are found in a variety of colors but in general,the whiter the better

(c) Cut:

• Refer not only the shape of the stone, but its proportions, factors which determine the sparkle of the diamond

(d) Carat Size:

• The actual weight of the stone and not its dimensions.

Golden Jubilee,largest faceted diamond since 1985

The Golden Jubilee is currently the largest faceted diamond in the world. It was discovered in 1985. This large brown diamond of 755.5 carats (151 g) was cut and polished to a weight of  545.67 carats (109.13 g). It was discovered in the Premier mine in South Africa.

Cullinan I or First Star of Africa-Largest faced PEAR SHAPED DIAMOND

Previously (since 1908 until 1985), the largest faceted diamond was Cullinan I, also known as the First Star of Africa. It was discovered in the  Premier mine in South Africa; as the largest rough gem-quality diamond ever found, it weigh at 3,106.75 carats (621.35 g). It was named after the mine’s owner, Sir Thomas Cullinan. It was presented to the reigning British monarch, King Edward VII, on his 66th birthday by the Transvaal government. It is cut into the shape of a pear and was mounted at the head of England’s royal sceptre. The cutting of the Cullinan yielded nine large pieces and around 100 smaller ones. The largest of all the Cullinan weighed a hefty 530.2 carats (106.0 g).It can be removed and worn as a pin or a pendant. Todate, the Cullinan I still continue to be the largest faceted, pear-shaped diamond in the world.

Collecting of snuff bottle:

1. The Shape of the snuff bottle should be shapely and sightly. The snuff bottle’s shoulders can be compared to “Beauty’s shoulders”. So its line must be elegant, and charming.
2. As usual, the snuff bottle should have intact its caps and little spoon to make it original.
3. The Color of the snuff bottle should be bright.
4. Integrity:- The snuff bottle needs intact without shatter or fade.
5. Carve technique:-It need has a fine and aesthetic feeling.
6. Paint technique:- It need be fine and neatness, also has a certain art characteristic.
7. Bottle wall:- Its outer wall need level off and smooth, it also has high transparency, and has no sand eye and veins.

How to Identify Snuff-bottles::

Zhao Ruzhen, a connoissueur of Qing Dynasty in his book “ Appreciate The Snuff Bottle” advise the following two points on collecting curio:

• Identify its genuineness or fake
• Identify whether it is classy or plain or inferior

According to him, the normal method for curio’s appreciation is to identify its genuineness, after that only to identify whether it is classy or not.
However, for collecting snuff bottle, he advise the need to look at its classiness before identifying its genuineness. This is because for snuff bottle’s rareness, one only see its material, painting and is not able to see which period it was made and its artists name.
A superb snuff bottle is one where the material is rare and the paint technique is superb. On the contrary, if the snuff bottle material is common, and paint technique is common, even if it was made during Kangxi and Yongzheng Period, it has not much a value.

How to maintain snuff-bottle:

Experts advocates the following on the maintaining of rare snuff bottles:

1. Remember that all snuff bottles cannot stand strong sunlight hence put it into glass counter, etc
2. Note that jade snuff bottle fears sweat and alkali.
3. Do not rinse or clean the snuff bottle with any chemical detergent. You should wipe it with soft white cloth after appreciating it.
4. Do not taint it whether when spraying insecticides,etc
5. Pine stone snuff bottle should not be placed near lampblack or steam as they are quite delicate materials. Also avoid high temperature, otherwise the pine-stone snuff bottle will change its color.

• Glass
• Different types of Jade(jadeite),
• Crystals like agate, precious stones such as tourmaline, even ruby matrix, amethyst,
• Porcelain.

Snuff bottles have a variety of shapes. The Chinese snuff bottles represents the microcosm of the craftsmanship of Chinese artisans.

Snuff bottles are the Chinese equivalent of the snuff boxes that evolved in the Western World. Both were used as containers for powdered tobacco. Tobacco was originally brought to Europe from the Americas and the powdered variety became known as snuff. It was subsequently introduced to China, probably by Portuguese traders.

Later Jesuit missionaries were known to have presented the Emperor with an elaborate snuff box and a quantity of snuff. The Emperor delighted in this gift but soon found that snuff could be better preserved in the traditional Chinese medicine bottles. He had equally elegant snuff bottles made for himself and members of his family. Soon snuff bottles became a status symbol for the nobility and in time for the entire population.

{ See article on how to collect,identify and maintain snuff-bottles}

Below are some of the colors of jadeite:

Jadeite-Black color

Jadeite-Purple/Lavender color

Jadeite-Pale Green colorJadeite-Red Color

Jadeite-Yellow Color

Jadeite-Icy color

Group of multi-color jadeite