Jewelry Education and Advice

It’s happened to all jewelry lovers. Though we’re often not quite sure how. You packed your jewelry neatly only to unpack a mass of metal when you arrived at your destination. What the heck happened? Did your jewelry get in a catfight while you weren’t looking? 

The next thing you know, the start of your vacation is spent untangling your jewelry with a surgeon’s precision. Nobody wants that!

Here are some quick and easy tips for packing jewelry so you can get back to enjoying your vacation:

Sure you understand metals when it comes to jewelry and custom design…but what about the metals residing in your change purse? [Crickets chirping.]

Don’t worry! We’re ready to help.

So what is a quarter made of? What about the quaint dime? The humble penny? Do they still make copper pennies? Did they ever make copper pennies?

According to AZO Materials:

Coins available from the United States mint are made from a variety of metals. Exotic metals such as silver and gold were used by the United States mint for making coins.

However, due to the increasing price of these metals, they are only used now for making bullion coins or collectors’ coins. Other metals such as copper, nickel and zinc are used to make ordinary coins. Initially, pennies were made from copper.

Coins that have a silver color should not be mistaken for silver. These silver-colored coins are the quarter, nickel and dime coins, made using copper-nickel combination. In the past, only the faces of the coins were plated, which caused the coins to rust.

How could something so beautiful be such a pain when it comes to spelling it? Well, first of all: because there are a few different ways to spell the word, depending on where you live. Secondly, there are a lot of misspellings!

According to Ginger, here’s a look at just how much “jewelry” is misspelled:

The simpler spelling (and the one we prefer: jewelry) was made popular by early-19th-century educator and lexicographer Noah Webster.

Jewellery is still used and considered British and Australian English. (So if you’re in London or Brisbane or many other portions of the world, you may be purchasing jewellery instead of jewelry). In Canada, you may witness both spellings.

So two different types of spellings still exist…and a whole lot of misspellings!

Sure, it’s an exotic sounding word but what does it mean exactly? Is it a Japanese snack food? A small breed dog? Or (pick this one) a type of earrings worn at traditional Indian events?

Jhumkis are gold earrings that are loosely shaped like a bell. Women in Indian villages wear jhumkis on a daily basis, not only for their captivating beauty but to show the public how much they can afford to provide as dowries for their daughters’ weddings.

Jhumkis are also worn by many a Bollywood star for its glamorous and historical appeal.

The amazing part with jewelry history? There’s so much of it! Even earrings have an extensive global history of styles and societal implications.

Traditional bridal jhumkis

Before investing in a custom engagement ring, we encourage all of our customers to truly understand the terminology first. This provides a more informed decision…and a happier customer.

So what is a facet? 

Facets are flat planes seen on most transparent gemstones. These geometrical arrangements contribute to the reflection of light both internally and externally, maximizing the fire and brilliance of the stone.

Interestingly, gem faceting is a fairly new process. Simple facets first appeared in European jewelry in the late 13th and early 14th century. Prior to that, gemstones were used as cabochons (or “cab” for short). Cabs are stones that are highly polished, generally rounded (or convex on the top) with a flat base.

Tip: When examining a faceted gem, take some time to look at the junctions (the meeting point of two facets). A well-cut stone will exhibit junctions that are clean, crisp and come together at a single point. These junctions can affect the gem’s overall brilliance.

Most women don’t consider the shape of their face when they choose earrings. And this is to their detriment! Earrings can lengthen the overall look of a face (not good for longer faces) or widen (definitely not good for round faces).

Here’s a quick tutorial we found on YouTube that details how you can choose the right earrings for your face shape/

Ear piercings. For most women, we remember that time-honored experience. Sure, it hurt a bit. But what often hurt more? The infection that many of us had afterwards. Ouch. 

Here are simple pointers so your next ear piercing heals quickly and completely.

One piece of advice we often give to our customers and customers-to-be: if you’re unsure about a certain type of jewelry, try its costume jewelry equivalent first. The investment is minimal and it can give you a sense of whether you’d like the piece on a daily basis as well as the variety of outfits that will go with it.

Where better than to find costume jewelry scores? Thrift stores of course! Help your community and try out fun, inexpensive jewelry.

This woman shares her recent finds.

I love hitting second hand stores and thrift shops for costume jewelry. And every once in a while, I think to self, “Wow. This looks expensive. I bet its a score.” Well, unfortunately, much of the time I’m wrong.

So I found this tutorial to help me identify the good from the bad (and the just plain worthless).

If you’re like me, you have a jewelry box packed with goodies…but you tend to where the same items every day. In my case, its gold hoop earrings (two sizes: one smaller pair and the other my oversized “disco” pair for dressing up and going out).

But what about all of the other beauties in my jewelry box? What about new pieces I wouldn’t dare to wear except for that “one occasion”?

With Spring on its way, I decided it was time to break the chains!

First, I cleaned out my jewelry box. I donated several items that had seen its day (goodbye mood ring) and arranged the items neatly in the box. This way, the appearance of my collection became more inviting and less…well, messy.

Second, I decided within one week I would wear one of those “only for the special occasions” pieces. I chose a statement necklace with layers of brightly colored baubles on it. That special occasion? Going shopping with my friends. The takeaway? Don’t wait for that special occasion: today is that special occasion.

Third, I added to the collection with a spring item. (Nothing breaks the rut like buying something new, right?) My green and yellow hoop earrings are a fun and bold replacement for my traditional hoops. They also help me usher in a new season with a more updated look.

So there you go: simple steps to break out of your jewelry wearing rut. All it requires is a little spring cleaning, risk-taking and chain breaking.