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Archive for the ‘Jewelry Stories’ Category

Jewelry has Gone to the Dogs!

September 19, 2011

Most don’t think of the ways in which jewelry stores give back to the community. This store has a smart plan that makes it easy for the customer to give and get in return:

While it’s experiencing some changes—relocating, closing and opening stores—one thing remains the same, Cartersville Jewelry Exchange continues to raise money for its favorite charity, Canine Assistants.

With its Batteries For Charity program, which began in 2009, the local business introduced a new concept in the jewelry industry—free watch batteries in exchange for charitable donations.

“It’s just something we wanted to do, it’s who we are,” Owner David Harrison said in a press release. “Here’s how it works: Your watch shoots craps, you need a battery, you bring it to us and we put you in a new one no charge, we ask you to contribute to our favorite charity, Canine Assistants. If its within your means dig deep, if not that’s cool, too, the battery is still on us.”

Cartersville Jewelry Exchange recently wrote a check for the $15,500 it raised through the program, and Harrison said it’s not stopping now. “Our goal is specific to raise another $15,500 to sponsor a second dog to donate to a child in need,” he added.

This year, the outlet has made several moves—closing its Jasper store and relocating it to Canton, moving the Cartersville store to another shopping center in town and opening a new location in Rome, while continuing its ongoing operation in Calhoun.

This article is part of Dispatches: The Changing American Dream, our ongoing series about how people in Cartersville are adapting to the challenges of life in the 21st Century. Source: Carterville Patch

Crazy Marriage Proposal!

August 17, 2011

Jewelry and its Folklore

August 2, 2011

It’s interesting; even the non-spiritual types usually feel a connection to particular stones. Some believe that each gemstone carries with it it’s own particular powers. And while we’re not making any claims here, you might want to consider the spiritual background of your gem before deciding on an engagement ring or necklace or earrings:

• Aventurine – . A healing stone, gives emotional well being, stimulates creativity.
  
• Agate – The gardening stone, gives protection and self confidence.
  
• Alexandrite – .Gives luck, and love, brings renewal and regeneration.- The thinking stone, stimulates mind
  
• Amber – The energy stone, protects and heals
  
• Amethyst – Brings calmness, uplifts, gives a sense of peace
  
• Apatite – Calms, relieves guilt
  
• Aquamarine – The sight stone, improves senses, calms
  
• Aragonite – The truth stone
  
• Azurite – The meditation stone, relieves joint pain
  
• Bloodstone – The courage and healing stone.
  
• Carnelian – The stone of energy, restorative to mind and spirit.
  
• Chalcedony – Increases vitality, stamina, helps eyes, fevers
  
• Chrysocolla – Calming, soothing, stress reliever
  
• Chrysoprase – Gives peace and well being, helps with depression
  
• Citrine – Brings energy, healing
  
• Coral – Protection against evil
  
• Diamond – Brings succcess, removes evilness
  
• Emerald – Helps with memory, enhances mental clarity
  
• Flourite - Brings balance, peace, harmony
  
• Garnet – Truth stone, brings peace, sexual desire
  
• Gaspeite - Healing stone, reduces stress, brings spirituality
  
• Goldstone – Stress reliever, brings peace of mind, calming
  
• Hematite – Reduces stress, brings balance, soothing
  
• Howlite – Calming, soothing, brings balance
  
• Jade - The dream stone, protects from nightmares and evil
  
• Jasper – Brings peace and well being to mind, calming
  
• Red Jasper – Helps with poise, and gracefulness
  
• Leopard Skin Jasper – Positive energy stone
  
• Picture Jasper – Brings balance and peace, good stone for meditation
  
• Labradorite – Brings inner peace, calms conflicts of the mind
  
• Lapis Lazuli – Brings peace and clarity to mind
  
• Malachite – Brings protection from evil, guards against negativity
• Meteorite – Brings purity, increases iron, endurance
  
• Moonstone - The love stone, promotes love and well being
  
• Morganite – The stone of compassion, brings calm and well being
  
• Onyx - Protects against negativity, promotes peace
  
• Opal – The stone of the mystic, helps with intuitive powers
  
• Pearls - Brings wisdom, safety, love to wearer
• Peridot – The balancing stone, helps with digestive problems
  
• Quartz – The healing stone, helps with emotional, physical, and mental ills.
  
• Rose Quartz – The loving stone, helps attract love, and joy.
  
• Smoky Quartz – Relieves sadness – Brings mental clarity and peace from emotional problems
  
• Rhodonite - Promotes emotional well being and self love
  
• Ruby - Protects against negativity, helps relieve physical ailments.
  
• Sapphire – The purity stone, brings sense of accomplishment, reduces negative thoughts.
• Sardonyx – Relieves anxiety, calms the nerves
  
• Snowflake Obsidian – The protection stone, brings emotional peace.
  
• Sodalite – Protects from negativity in your immediate space.
• Tanzanite – Brings power to intuitiveness, clarity stone
  
• Tiger’s Eye – The stone of confidence
  
• Topaz – The soothing stone, promotes self confidence
  
• Tourmaline – Brings self assurance, calm, protects against negative people.
  
• Turquoise - The friendship stone, relieves guilt, brings peace of mind..
  
• Unakite – Brings emotional well being, calms, protects against negativity

Source: Street Directory

An Animated Wedding Proposal

November 9, 2010

We’ve thought we heard them all until I stumbled across this video yesterday.  Jeff assembled a team of 20 animators to create his very own 5 minute animation as a way of proposing to his girlfriend Natasha. When it was finished, he brought her to the Parkway Movie Theatre in Oakland, where they played the animation on the big screen in front of over 100 of their friends and family.

Hope he had a great engagement ring to go with his creative idea. We’d suggest this one. It goes perfectly with animated proposals and movie theaters:

The Personal Side of Custom Made Jewelry

November 3, 2010

While people love jewelry as a gift, over the years of custom designing jewelry for customers, I can’t help but notice the deeper connection that occurs when someone co-creates a piece with us. In a day where everything is pre-made, custom design allows you to create your own personal “thumbprint” on a piece of jewelry, making it forever yours.

So what is it about custom design that makes it so special?

1. It’s from the heart. Most people who decide on custom design do so for a reason. A couple may have a very particular idea in mind for an engagement ring, for instance. It’s a collaborative idea that empowers the customer and makes them genuinely feel part of their piece. When the piece is completed, it feels like a manifestation of the love they feel – one of a kind.

2. You call the shots. There’s a sense of control a customer feels when they create their own piece. No one is telling them what to wear – no magazine or seasonal trend – he or she is deciding.

3. The sky is the limit. When you custom design a piece of jewelry, you decide on the materials. It could be moissanite or natural diamonds, platinum or white gold, sapphire or rubies – whatever you envision is possible. This includes cost. If you’re looking for something that seems out of your price range, we can design a piece made from matierals that do fit your budget. Again, the possibilities are endless!

So if you’re looking for something special, remember: custom design jewelry has special built right in!

Here are some custom design pieces from our store:

Dan and Diane’s Proposal at the Basilica!

November 1, 2010

Best regards, Dan

I LOVE the necklace!!! Better yet, Catherine LOVES it!!

July 27, 2010

Here’s a custom jewelry project with a long history. Christine and I have been friends since grade school. We attended Tavan Elementary, Ingleside Middle and Arcadia High schools together. Christine’s parents were customers of my father’s and for Christine’s high school graduation, her parents had a gold and diamond initial pendant made. Now, a “few” years later it’s Christine’s daughter Catherine who is graduating.

So Christine contacted me several weeks before the big day to talk about carrying on the tradition. Her idea was to do something a little more updated; have the piece made in white gold rather than yellow gold and to update the type style somewhat. In addition, she wanted to make it even more personal and special by incorporating diamonds from her collection along with diamonds from her sister, Daphne’s collection (Daphne also received a diamond initial for her high school graduation). The results are below. Click on the images to see larger versions.

Divorce Rings – The New Next Fashion?

June 7, 2010

Sure, it sounds a little macabre but really, why not? For some, a divorce ring represents a renewed sense of freedom or rebirth or simply, a symbol of healing. For others, it means that their marriage and its ending have been part of their life – a part for which they are proud. A transitional ring, if you will.

According to a piece in the New York Times:

When her divorce was nearly final three years ago, Wanda Dibben, 41, who lives outside Kansas City, Mo., asked a jeweler, George Rousis, to transform her wedding ring into a divorce ring. Ms. Dibben, who had been married 13 years, said she had been “very attached” to her wedding ring and hoped that reconfiguring it could “be kind of a buffer into my independence again and help facilitate healing.”

Her jeweler severed the gold band and refashioned it into a ring with a gap, across which strands of silver are stitched. For Ms. Dibben, those strands represent her son, Trevor, now 14, “because although the bonds have been broken, the stitches still keep that unity together,” she said.

Remember, rings are for everyone, not just the happily married. YOU choose what they symbolize for you and let us design it for you. Every detail can remind you or who you are and who you want to be.

Steve and Gina’s Fabulous Proposal!

May 17, 2010

Being in the engagement ring business, we get to hear about a lot of marriage proposals. This one is tops in our book! As one of the couple’s friends put it, “Dear god, I’m speechless. What a great story!” We couldn’t agree more.

Of course, along with a fabulous description of the magical trip is a nice little blurb about the custom engagement that we were lucky enough to help with, along with some really great photos. So, we have to boast a little bit here and showcase not only a fab proposal but some of our handy work. Thanks for the pics of the finished piece, Steve and Gina, they turned out way better than anything we could ever have come up with in our little studio! Have a look at this magical experience for yourself here.

An excerpt from the post:
<<A few details about the ring since I know some of you are curious… Gina really wanted a split shank so that was a must. We looked at many rings over the past year and ended up with a few specific settings that were her favorites. In the end, I decided to take those designs and have her ring custom made to incorporate all the elements she liked best. She absolutely loves how it turned out and I do too, so hats off to the jeweler!>>

Ok, so we have to throw in a few pics of the custom process, just to help anyone out there thinking of doing this themselves. As Steve put it, they combined features of several pieces to make something truly unique and special to them.

Thanks again for the opportunity to help you with your ring, Steve and Gina, it was a lot of fun for us as well! And congratulations to you both!

Francesca’s New/Old 50th Anniversary Custom Wedding Ring

April 3, 2010

Our long time friend Francesca came to us to make a custom 18kt yellow gold wedding band for her and her husband Leo’s 50th wedding anniversary. She wanted an old world feel, something that looks used and worn, something heavy that feels nice to the touch and smooth to wear. Fran liked the way a pair of her earrings looked and thought they could be the inspiration for the piece that would signify their special day.

The wedding band in the image with the earrings was the original wedding ring that Fran’s father gave to her mother. This piece, of course, is extremely sentimental to Fran and her family. We can only hope that the ring we made for Fran will someday have a similar meaning to her family.

Have you thought of a family heirloom that you would like to create? If so, we would be honored to help you with this!