What are gifts are made of.....
Alabastrite
Alabastrite is SMC's product line name
for Polyresin items. Alabastrite is a stone-based material which can be
intricately moulded producing great detail, and will allow paint to adhere. These
items may be cleaned by dusting, however, they should not be washed with water
as they are painted with water soluble paints.
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 under glaze
(matte). Lighter, stronger, more expensive than porcelain.
Porcelain
Fine ground white clay, moulded and
fired in an oven for eight hours at 1200 degrees. Finished with a glazed, under
glazed, or "bisque" finish. Glazing produces a high gloss; under glaze 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. Example: 27112. Jade Porcelain is used for night lights
because of its high degree of translucency when lit.
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 Items
Unique fabric or paper prints are
applied to the surface of porcelain, dolomite or Polyresin items. After
application, 12 layers of lacquer are added and the item is hand polished to a
high gloss between each layer.
Cubic Zircon
The most successful simulated diamond.
Properties such as refraction, hardness, and specific gravity are remarkably
similar to diamonds. Example: 27432. Cubic zirconia's are very hard to
distinguish from diamonds; sometimes a jewellers loop will be needed to see the
difference.
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 and
amethysts, often treasured as birthstones, fall under the category of gemstones.
(Birthstones are listed in the back of your WOP catalogue.) Gemstones are priced
and graded by Carat weight
Pearl
A smooth, lustrous, variously-coloured
deposit formed around a grain of sand in the shell of a certain mollusk. 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.
Hong Tze
To closely emulate a special stone
found in China which is known for its deep red color, these items are created
using an Alabastrite Polyresin. Hong Tzu pieces are highly polished, further
bringing out the intense, deep red color.
Frosted Acrylic
Acrylic items are given the French
Lilac process, (used on glass), to achieve the distinctive frosted look.
Example: 27205. The drama of frosted glass without the weight.
Gypsum
Gypsum is a white mineral which is
usually used to make Plaster of Paris.
Dolomite
A magnesia-rich, sedimentary rock
resembling limestone, dolomite is either grey, pink or white in color.