Shamballa beads are the latest fashion craze, sweeping across the UK and America and have been worn by the likes of Jay-Z, Boris Becker, Demi Moore and Gwyneth Paltrow, to name a few. But where do these beads come from and why are they so sought after!? Although most people see the Shamballa bead as just another fad, they do share a deeper significant meaning and history than you might expect.


The Spiritual History Of Shamballa
Shamballa beads originally come from a Tibetan Buddhist tradition Shamballa (also spelled Shambhala or Shambala, Shambhala or Shangri-la). This is a mythical kingdom that is suppose to be hidden somewhere in the Middle of Asia. Many people speculate where this Kingdom is, some say North India, but it is often placed in central Asia, north or west of Tibet. Over the years Shamballa became an epitome of the Pure Land in Buddhism. It is a fabulous kingdom which took more spiritual meaning rather than just physical or geographic. The Shamballa myth later reached Western cultures as the place of pure spiritual being. The beads have a holistic spirit and a look that could be described as discretely chic and expensive. Each piece is handmade and a privilege to wear.


Stand out from the Crowd
There is a story that tells of a doorman who let a man enter one of New York’s finer establishments because he spotted that he was wearing a Shamballa bracelet. He thought he must be someone worthy to enter. As a fashion piece any kind of jewellery made from Shamballa does make a powerful statement with its uniqueness and bohemian and vibe. The trend has even gone further that just women’s jewellery and is one of the few accessories popular with men.

The beads are usually woven, braided, and knotted into a bracelet or other piece of jewellery while incorporating specialized designs, stones, gems, and metals. There are many different colours that can be used, but most Shamballa pieces are seen in black and white with onyx being the most common material.


Shamballa – The most versatile piece you could own
The beads make a no-nonsense piece of jewellery, due to being non-flashy and can be worn with pretty much anything you desire. This makes them a brilliant item to own. Whether you want Shamballa beads to help you on a spiritual path with healing and meditation, or if you are just after a stylish piece of jewellery, then the beads are sure to satisfy your needs.

Nowadays, Gold is one of the most popular metal used in jewellery making. The purity of gold is measured in karat, pure gold made up with 24 karat.This type of gold is too soft and ductile so this is not used for jewellery. High purity gold which is about 22K – 24K is much more popular in Asia than Europe and USA.

People commonly think that gold only comes in yellow color but there are different colors of gold.

• Yellow: It is the only color that found in nature and is by far the most common type of gold used in jewellery making. Pure gold is too soft for everyday wear, so it is usually made by combining copper, silver, zinc and nickel.
• White : White gold is an alloy of gold and at least one white metal. It's the popular choice to yellow gold, silver and platinum. Rhodium metal is used in white gold without it white gold might be gray, dull brown.
• Red : Red Gold is the mixture of 50% gold and 50% copper. If more copper is added to gold, it produces a redder change. It is normally used in jewellery as well as high-end musical instrument, such as the flute.
• Rose : Rose Gold has 25% Gold and 75% copper. The rose gold which is 22Karat is known as crown gold. For 18 karat rose gold, generally 4%silver is added to 75%gold and 21%copper to give a rose color. Its jewellery pieces are looking classic and smart.
• Green : When gold and silver are mixed, a greenish-yellow color is the result and it is known as Green Gold. This type of Gold can be used when floral designs ans adding leaves to a piece of gold jewellery.
• Blue and Purple : Blue Gold is alloyed of 75% Gold and 25% Iron and Purple Gold are a combination of 80 % Gold and 20% aluminum. These types of gold are not usually used to construct whole pieces of jewellery because of their propensity to cause skin discoloration. Due to their poor corrosion resistance blue and purple Golds are often used as a precious stone or accents on a piece of jewelry.

Source by : http://www.postalgold.com/gold-infographic

The highest amount of gold comes from America and about half of the world’s gold comes from Asia and Africa. Other leading producers of Gold are Europe and Oceania.

It is estimated that 120000 140000 tonnes of gold have been mined so far. Half of this amount is used for jewellery and the rest is used for investment and technology. The nation with the most privately held Gold in India. About 18000 tonnes of Gold are owned by Indians. And most of this gold jewellery are used for weddings.