Jewelry Stories

I still recall routing through my mom’s jewelry box when I was little. It seemed like a treasure chest of highly magical items, only reserved for her intended wear.

Well…not only. Because I happily piled her beloved pieces and topped it off with a little of her favorite red lipstick. Voila…now I was grown up and pretty, just like her!

Years later, my mother bestowed her daughters with her jewelry, shortly before she died. I chose an unusual pendant necklace made of 18k gold. The pendant itself looks something like a strange sun setting. Or an octopus. I haven’t quite figured it out.

Whenever people see it, they ask, “What is that?”

I never have an answer and ask for their interpretation.

“An insect?”

“A Greek symbol?”

“The spokes of a crooked wheel?”

It’s not my favorite piece of jewelry. But it’s my mom’s. And on days when I miss her, I wear it with pride. Because it doesn’t really matter whether I like the jewelry or not; it just matters that it was hers. 

If you believe in this kind of thing, her vibration, her “energy” is still contained within the piece. Many psychics have used jewelry as a divination method, when say, trying to locate a missing person. Because jewelry absorbs a certain essence of us and remains there for a long, long time. I don’t know about all that. I just know it feels right when I wear it.

As a “grown up” I have a jewelry box of my own now. When I open it, I harken back to that little girl. Sure she’s grown, but she still believes in magical treasures contained neatly in a box.

We love found ring stories! And this one certainly captured our hearts. It shows the power of observation, ingenuity (and social media!). But more than that, it shows the conscientiousness and care of a man who took the time to find the owner.

Remember: when deciding on a wedding or engagement ring, the way it fits is everything. Take the time to feel the fit of the ring to ensure a snug (but not overly tight) wearing experience.

I’ll tell you…what’s a guy to do? This has been the year of amazing, over-the-top, high-on-production-value wedding proposals splashed all over the Internet. Roses and dinner seem perfectly cliche next to these show-stoppers. (With that said, a heartfelt proposal means the most of all, so don’t let these intimidate you. Also choosing the best engagement ring possible kind of makes up for dance routines and skygliders and stuff.) View the Top 10 Cool YouTube Wedding Proposals here.

If you know anything about our team here in Scottsdale, it’s that we’re hopeless romantics. We like nothing more than to hear your heartfelt engagement story or the tale behind a family heirloom. So when I read this in JCK this morning, I thought it would be a great way to start the week. I’m sure you’ll agree. Lesson to be learned: love takes time. And it always comes back to you.

In the 1940s, Private David Kershaw received two rings as a token of appreciation from a Polish jeweler who had just been released from a concentration camp.

“I gave him two silver dollars and he made a ring from each,” Kershaw tells JCK. The jewelry was designed as “pre-engagement rings,” inscribed with David’s name on one, and his girlfriend Jeanne’s name on the other.

Kershaw met Jeanne Walker in New Jersey during the summer of 1943. A year later, he was drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II and served until 1946. “For a veteran, trying to get back into civilian life was difficult,” Kershaw says. “We came home and weren’t sure what the future would be.”

After his discharge, Kershaw reunited with Walker; however, the two soon split amicably. “We went our separate ways,” Kershaw says. “She went to nursing school. I went to engineering school.”

Yet Kershaw kept the rings in a safety deposit box. “I never showed them to anyone,” he says.

Kershaw and Walker went on to live separate lives and didn’t keep in touch. Kershaw earned his engineering degree in 1950, the same year he married Clara Wahl, his wife of 61 years. The two had a long, happy marriage and raised two sons. Jeanne became a registered nurse. She married twice and raised two sons (one of whom died).

Read more.

Looking for a creative way to present a beautiful piece of jewelry to your loved one? Here’s one that involves two of our favorite things: jewelry and chocolate. It’s from our prior Current Custom Projects page found here.

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

Rose Quartz - The loving stone, helps attract love, and joy.

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

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:

Tension Set Ring With A Round Moissanite And Side Diamonds - Click on for more details

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:

Custom sapphire ring

Custom Rose Gold Engagement Ring

Custom cufflinks

Joe Jewelry Custom Briolet Earrings

Custom Tourmaline Ring