Welcome to Stone Mania’s blog

Studying for SEP

SEP (safety equipment and procedures) are recurrent exams both written and practical which have to be completed every twelve months for all airline flying staff.  The standard and quality of the exams naturally vary from airline to airline but at Virgin Atlantic, they are thorough, in depth and certainly not a breeze.   

The purpose of annual SEP is to ensure that cabin crew are completely familiar with ALL aspects of safety procedures and equipment on each aircraft on which they fly.  Exams change from one year to the next as do procedures and pieces of equipment so although we are required to retain our standard of knowledge throughout the year and are tested on it prior to every flight that we operate, SEP is an opportunity for the airline to ensure their crew are completely up to standard and it takes place over a three or four day period. 

Exams are tough and include questions on all aspects of safety routines, procedures and equipment and the passmark is a high 88%.  Fail an exam and you get the opportunity to resit it, fail it a second time and you’re faced with a verbal examination instead of a written one and fail that and you’re grounded it’s as simple as that!

Even though I’ve been flying for many years and have done annual SEP recurrents during that time, I dread it as do the majority of crew irrespective of rank!  I spend hour after hour going through my manuals, refreshing my memory and trying to absorb every word, you can be tested on absolutely anything at all, so you gotta know your stuff!  Thankfully I have never failed an exam and I’m not going to start now, but with the rapid approach of my SEP, I have to give 100% of my time to studying, so work on our website will grind to a halt during this coming week!

As well as studying SEP, we also have our refresher exams on first aid which are also very throrough.  Remember when you fly, airlines don’t carry Dr’s on-board so in the event of someone being ill, we’re the ones who have to deal with it and trust me, plenty of medical situations arise during long haul flights some of which can be extremely serious!  But don’t worry, at Virgin Atlantic, you’re in very good hands!

Tiffany Stone pendant

Also known as Opalized Fluorite, the Tiffany gemstone is very rare and we are not always able to find pieces especially of this grade

The reason for the Tiffany gemstone (Opalized Fluorite) being so rare is because firstly it is only found in one place in the world and secondly the vast majority of stones which are mined, are crushed up for Beryllium extraction (a chemical used in industry) hence finding pieces to use for any other purpose is extremely difficult

Generally the colours of the Tiffany gemstone tend to be lilacs and purples, however we do have some pieces in our collection which even the most talented gemmologist would find challenging to identify!

The soft blend of colour in this Tiffany gemstone really is quite captivating and it is incredibly silky smooth to the touch

The Tiffany gemstone was so named as some pieces are believed to resemble Tiffany glass

A wonderfully attractive Tiffany gemstone which is mounted in timeless sterling silver

Weight (grams): 30.3
Measurements (cms): 5 x 3.7

Read about the Tiffany gemstone in our gemstone directory

Transforming magnificent gemstones into breathtaking pieces of jewellery

Orthoceras fossil pendant

 

Orthoceras fossils date back to the Silurian Age (400+ million years ago) and were among the earliest forms of life.  Good quality pieces are extremely difficult to find and are highly sought after

This dramatic Orthoceras pendant is quite long at 17 cms so will probably need to be worn on quite a short chain or cord.  It’s an amazing piece and one of only two Orthoceras pendants that we currently have left in stock

This fascinating Orthoceras fossil is beautifully mounted in fine sterling silver

Weight (grams): 45.9
Measurements (cms): 17 x 2.6

Read about Orthoceras in our gemstone directory

Transforming magnificent gemstones into breathtaking pieces of jewellery

Dendritic Agate pendant

This is a magnificent piece of Dendritic Agate with strong distinctive colour and fascinating markings.  Pieces of this size and quality are rare!

The black and white areas in this Dendritic Agate stone are opaque whilst the greyish patch on the lower left side is translucent.  The black markings are dendrites (branching forms) which are crystal formations similar to those which appear on glass windows during icy weather

This is the last piece of Dendritic Agate that we currently have in stock

Dendritic Agate is believed to be a stone of plentitude providing abundance and fullness in ones life .  It was used in ancient Greece to produce plentiful crops and is conducive to generous yields in both business and agricultural pursuits!

A really beautiful Dendritic Agate stone mounted in timeless sterling silver

Weight (grams): 43.1
Measurements (cms): 5 x 4.7

Read about Dendritic Agate in our gemstone directory

Transforming magnificent gemstones into breathtaking pieces of jewellery

Charoite pendant

The colour of this Charoite stone is absolutely magnificent and furthermore it is polished to perfection

The beauty of choosing our gemstones loose before they are mounted means that we get to find and use pieces as beautiful as this piece of Charoite!

The colour of Charoite is completely unique in the gemstone world and even though many pieces do have wonderful colour, this piece is just exceptional

A really unique piece of Charoite which has been mounted in finest sterling silver

Weight (grams): 25.3
Measurements (cms): 4.1 x 3.2

Read about Charoite in our gemstone directory

Transforming magnificent gemstones into breathtaking pieces of jewellery

Botswana Agate pendant

Botswana Agate can vary quite dramatically however the one thing which all pieces of this gemstone variety have in common is their concentrical bands

This is a magnificent piece Botswana Agate, it is semi translucent, it has a vitreous lustre (glassy finish)  and the softest grey blue colour

Botswana Agate is just one of the many Agate varieties which are available

Mounted in fine sterling silver, this Botswana Agate is another spectacular gemstone from our exclusive collection

Weight (grams): 33.6
Measurements (cms): 5.8 x 3.2

Read about Agate in our gemstone directory

Transforming magnificent gemstones into breathtaking pieces of jewellery

Addition of new stock

As pieces of jewellery from our website have sold over the past few months, we have not replaced them hence the amount of stock available online has reduced quite significantly.  The purpose of this was to prepare for the arrival of our new gemstones which are now here and we are getting ready to upload them in the next couple of weeks.  By the end of March, you’ll certainly notice how our catalogue has grown and furthermore, due to the fact that we have now purchased a top of the range camera and are even having professional training in how to use it, the photos on our website are going to be absolutely spectacular!

Watch this space and we’ll keep you updated as to how things are progressing!

Updating link pages

Having just changed the company with whom we host our website, we are now working on updating all the links in the gemstone directory.  This will take some time but will be advantageous for the website.

We are also going to start photographing some of our new stock shortly to upload over the next few weeks, so watch out for many more beautiful pieces which will be available very soon. 

As always, if you want to ask us anything, come across any broken links or find a detail which is not completely accurate, then please do get in touch, we’d love to hear from you

With kind regards,

Laurence

Transforming magnificent gemstones into breathtaking pieces of jewellery

Amethyst pendant

This piece of Amethyst has the most incredible deep purple colour and is beautifully polished. When held up to the light, the crystal formations within the stone can also be seen

Amethyst is a variety of Quartz which occurs throughout the world. Its name means “not drunken” (in Greek) and it has in the past been believed to prevent one from becoming drunk!

As a result of its stunning purple colour, Amethyst has been a popular gemstone amongst royalty throughout the ages

This really is a captivating piece of Amethyst perfectly mounted in fine sterling silver
Weight (grams): 15.6
Measurements (cms): 3.7 x 2.5

Read about Amethyst in our gemstone directory

Transforming magnificent gemstones into breathtaking pieces of jewellery