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Murano is Small Island in Italy. It is located 1 mile north of Venice. What makes this island famous is its contribution in making crafted glass, jewellery and glass beads. Murano glass-masters have mastered the art of crafting crystalline glass, enameled glass, glass with threads of gold, multicolored glass, milk glass and imitation gemstones.

For centuries Murano is known for its craftsmanship in manufacturing glass. Murano glass is made from silica which is first liquefied first and then color is added to it. The glass master then gives it the required shape and size. He may also do gold engraving or enamel painting to make it look more beautiful. Vases or sculptor can me made by adding layers of contrasting colors. Such form of artistic Murano glass is known as Sommerso (means sunken glass).

Venetian glass gets its name from Venice where it was originally developed in thirteenth century. The glass was primarily manufactured in Murano. Today the art of Venetian glass making is not limited to Venice but has spread to other European cities as well. Venetian glass like Murano glass is made from silica which is liquefied first and then converted to required shape and size. Gold, Aquamarine, Silver, Ruby Red are some of the popular colors that are then added to make it look more attractive.

Murano is known for its glass beads as well. Manufacturing beads is a delicate and intricate process. To manufacture Murano Glass Beads you first make color canes to which color is added with great precision. Examples of Murano Glass Beards are Seed Beads (Conterie), Chevron beads (Rosetta), Lace Beads (Millefiori) and Blown Beads (Venetian Blown Beads).

Italian Glass crafted in Murano is known for its unbelievable lightness, delicacy and intricate workmanship. For seven centuries Italian glass crafted at Murano is considered to be the finest in the world. It is only now that the people have come to value its craftsmanship. Up till 1970's the art was considered to be old fashioned. Later the designs were modernized and people began to appreciated the change. This brought about huge demand for Italian glass.

The contemporary and modern looking Murano Glass Jewelry has cast a definite niche for itself. The jewelry is much sort after because of its intricate mix of color, the design and the workmanship. The pendants, ear-rings, necklaces and bracelets are made by combining, either individually or in combination, Sterling silver, Oxidized silver, 14 carat gold, cultured pearls, cubic zirconia and other precious gems. The jewelry so create is extremely beautiful and wearable.

Gold body jewelry and gold belly button rings are increasingly popular women's jewelry accessories. Gold body jewelry in particular is highly desirable, symbolizing abundance and prosperity. Before you purchase gold body jewerly or gold belly button rings, make sure you know how to choose and what to look for.

How do you know your gold body jewelry is really gold? It's worth spending a little time to understand how you can make sure your gold body jewelry is pure, and not a substandard piece.

With body jewelry, you should look for 18 karat gold. The reason 18 karat is recommended for new piercings is there's a higher chance the jewelry will be accepted by the body. When body jewelry isn't true gold or the karat level advertised, allergies may result and you'll need to remove the body jewelry.

Usually this occurs because the gold used for body jewelry is an alloy that contains other metals in addition to gold. Often, gold body jewelry is only plated with gold; such jewelry should never be used in piercings even if the piercing is healed.

After the polish goes away, the allergic risk is high, especially if the other metal used is nickel. Nickel is the most common metal used for body jewelry, particularly for white gold belly button rings. The cheaper the body jewelry, the more unlikely it has a high level of gold purity.

It's important to check what other metals are present in your gold body jewelry. The lower the karat level in your body jewelry, the higher the content of metals like copper, zinc, and nickel. In fact, other metals are almost always used to formulate body jewelry because gold itself is so soft and needs other metals to form jewelry.

To avoid potential body jewelry allergic reaction, always choose 18 karat gold body jewelry. Most body jewelry you'll see on the market is 14 karat gold, but 18k gold is also readily available. The less gold content, the less expensive. The downside, of course, is the high chance you'll have to return or even discard the body jewelry.

Consider these factors when buying gold body jewelry:

1. Buy jewelry from a store with a quality assurance and testing program. These stores test their own jewelry for purity.

2. Look for a license stamped on the body jewelry if a trademark or logo is present, i.e. the trademark for a large company. If a trademark or logo is on your body jewelry but there is no license stamped on the back, your body jewelry is suspect in quality.

3. Have your body jewelry tested for purity at an independent lab or dealer if the quality is in question.

4. Under a jewelers scope, take a good look at the craftmanship. Are there rough edges? Frays? Imperfections?

Lastly, you should understand gold terminology before you invest in body jewelry, especially belly button rings. 24k gold is pure gold, 18k gold is 75% pure, 14k gold is 58.3% pure. 10k gold is the lowest purity allowed to be labeled gold, at 41.7% purity.