Of the 17 different colors of Rub 'n Buff currently available, there are 4 jewel tones. These differ greatly from the metallic shades both in their color and in their finish. Rather than being opaque with a metallic luster, the jewel tones are translucent with a glossier sheen. It doesn't come through on the wooden blocks as well, but these colors are every bit as unique and brilliant as the metallics. Sooner or later, I will get around to testing all of the colors out on plastic and metal, and then the jewel tones will really shine. Until then, use your imagination and check out the wooden block samples below.
Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz - making is a rare and precious variety of a relatively common material. The Amethyst variety of Rub 'n Buff is a beautiful shade of lavender that is much more purple and much less red than the picture above. When the light hits it just right (as in the photo), you can see a lot of red. Little known fact: the ancient Greeks and Romans believed that Amethyst protected a person from the effects of alcohol. So it was used to make drinking vessels and amulets to wear while drinking to keep themselves sober. I guarantee that Amethyst Rub 'n Buff will work just as well as ancient Roman amethyst amulets.
The term jade actually refers to two different minerals, Nephrite and Jadite. They were thought to be the same material until the 19th century when mineralogists determined the difference. Nephrite is softer then jadite, but both can be shaped easily. They look essentially the same, and the Rub 'n Buff version isn't modeled after one or the other. It has a very nice slightly olive-green color with a good luster. The color is slightly more yellow then in the picture above. Little known fact: the word jade comes from the Spanish piedra de ijada meaning 'loin stone'. Jade was once thought to cure diseases of the kidneys and the loins. Rub 'n Buff does not have any such healing properties to my knowledge.
Rubies are considered as precious as diamonds, emeralds, and sapphires. Their value is determined by their clarity and by the brilliance of their red color. In that case, Rub 'n Buff rubies would not be all that valuable. While the finished product is very shiny and slightly more red than the picture above, there is still plenty of brown in the mix. It could possibly be the brown of the wood block coming through - I'm interested to see what it looks like on a white plastic bead. Little known fact: Rubies were held in high esteem throughout East Asian countries in the past. They were laid in foundations of buildings to bring good fortune.
Sapphires are actually identical to Rubies in chemical formula for the most part. The only difference is trace elements which give sapphires a different color range. Sapphires come in a wide variety of colors, but most of us think of them as a rich blue, and that is exactly the color of Sapphire Rub 'n Buff. In my tests, there was less shine on the wood block treated with the Sapphire then on the other jewel-toned samples, but I think there will be plenty of shine on plastic. Little known fact: there are multiple varieties of "color change sapphires". One is blue in daylight and purple under fluorescent light, another is pink in daylight and green under fluorescent light.
So if you are looking for an alternative to metallic Rub 'n Buff, remember that there are several jewel tones out there to mix things up.
No comments:
Post a Comment