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So you’re a Queen, right? And you have to ball to attend. Your personal dresser peeks her head past the golden archways of your cavernous bedroom and whispers, “My lady, what will it be tonight? Your tiara or your diadem?” You breath becomes shallow (but this could be because of your overly tightened corset). “Um…” you respond. “You pick.”

It’s an awkward moment. One you could have avoided. If you had only known the difference between a tiara and a diadem. If  you had checked our blog (or the Tiaras and Trianon website), you could have known the following:

So in the end, as always, it comes down to etymology. In the beginning there were only diadems.

diadem: from the Greek diadein meaning “to bind around” and thus begins the journey from ancient verb to divine headress!

Long story short, all other terms for royal headgear, tiara, coronet, chaplet, the whole shmear, are simply subcategories or more specific descriptions of a diadem.

So there you go! You fire your dresser for not knowing better (you choose not to behead her because that’s a little gauche) and wear your favorite diadem in pride to the ball that evening, looking resplendent and utterly royal.

Elizabeth wearing the Coronation Earrings and matching necklace at the opening of the New Zealand parliament in 1963. She also wore the Kokoshnik Tiara.

Before you go through the trying ordeal of having a ring cut off of your finger, think of bringing down the swelling in a finger first (obvious, right?).

First, don’t panic. Most stuck ring situations are remedied fairly easily. This means: stop pulling and yanking. Instead, take a deep breath and try these solutions first:

Try an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication, especially if your swollen finger was caused by an injury. This helps reduce pain and inflammation.

OR:

Fill a small tub or basin with a mixture of water and ice and set it somewhere higher than head level (like the top of a fridge, for instance) .

Raise your arm above your head for five minutes. This will naturally aid the fluid and blood drainage out of your hand.

Place your hand into the ice water for ten minutes. Your hand should still be elevated considerably above the level of your heart while it rests in the ice water.

How does this work: the cold constricts blood vessels,  which further reduces swelling and makes it easier to remove any rings stuck on your finger.

Still struggling with it? 

A little oil rubbed on and around the ring will help!

Valentine’s Day is maybe only second to Christmas when it comes to emotional expectations. Whether you have a significant other or not, it still can be challenging. So how can you bring it down a notch this year, without sacrificing its potential.

Keep it simple! This might be the year to forego crowded restaurants, expensive chocolates and flowers that wither and die after a few days. Maybe, just maybe, we could honor love in any of its form on Valentine’s Day.

First start with self-love. Regardless of whether you’re attached or not, self-love is the only real way to start Valentine’s Day. Dare to take a bath first-thing in the morning. Make a delicious breakfast–the kind that’s a little more time-consuming (think Eggs Benedict, for instance). Dress in red or pink which will naturally increase your appreciation and participation.

Love is free, remember. Think outside the box! Instead of buying a prerequisite gift, how about a poem (bad ones are good too!) or a call to a long-lost friend or relative? How about a smile generated to every person you see that day, regardless of whether its returned. Think of yourself as a love radiating machine–nothing can stop your heart from overflowing toward those around you.

Be sad if you choose, because that’s romantic too. If you’re nursing a heartache or feel lonely, remember: most love songs are written about the very same thing! Heartbreak hurts sure…but no one could deny its romance. Express your heart pain creatively. Draw, write, sing, cry–its all for the sake of love anyway.

Isn’t that what Valentine’s Day is about after all?

Celebrate love in all its amazing and wondrous and challenging capacities. 

“Many jewelers can do more to find out if their gold or diamonds are tainted by child labor or other human-rights abuses,” said Juliane Kippenberg, associate child-rights director at Human Rights Watch. “When someone buys a piece of jewelry for their loved one this Valentine’s Day, they should ask their jeweler what they have done to find out about its origin.”    [Diamonds.net]

We couldn’t agree more. Every day we witness firsthand a change in the diamond market as more people move toward diamond alternatives, especially moissanite.

Moissanite is an amazing stone that resembles a diamond in nearly every sense. To the naked eye it appears just as, if not even more, brilliant than it’s expensive natural counterpart. In a simple traditional thermal probe, this stone even shows up as a diamond. When it comes to the moissanite vs. diamond battle, test yourself and you will see it is nearly impossible to tell the difference.

Take a moment to learn more about moissanite. The days of yellowish, breakable diamond simulants are behind us (thank goodness). Dare to care by making your next custom design jewelry the perfect home for moissanite. Making a jewelry purchase that supports our fragile global ecology has never mattered more.

A hotly debated topic for some: necklaces that really work for men. Some might say, “No necklaces work for men. Period.” Others have realized that fashion should never be that restrictive. (Come on, men look better with a little touch of bling too!)

This video details the types of necklaces that more commonly work on most men, without pushing the envelope too far.

2017 was quite a successful year for the big auction houses. Both Sotheby’s and Christie’s focused aggressively on fine jewelry sales…and the year-end numbers highlight how the dedicated work paid off.

According to Forbes:

The two auction houses combined for more than $1.1 billion in sales, with Christie’s achieving $556.7 million and Sotheby’s $551.3 million.

Both auction houses expanded its jewelry offerings with an increased eCommerce presence and with special sales held throughout the year.

And while Sotheby’s fell behind Christie’s in total jewelry auction sales, it did spearhead the sale of the world auction record for any gem or jewel: the CTF Pink Star. 

The CTF Pink Star is a 59.60-carat internally flawless fancy vivid pink diamond which sold for more than $71.1 million ($1.19 million per carat) at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on April 4, 2017.

Let’s see what surprises lie ahead for 2018!

Just when you thought Black Friday was the biggest pill you had to swallow when it comes to holiday shopping, out pops Cyber Monday to add to your consumer stress.

The nice part? The second one is only online, from the comfort of your own home. Stay in your robe! Drink your coffee. Experience the freedom of elbows NOT in your face.

So where did Cyber Monday come from?

The term “Cyber Monday” was dreamt up in 2005 by a marketing team at Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation. The idea was to provide online retailers with a catchy hook to match the brick-and-mortar shopping frenzy fueled by mention of Black Friday savings.  [Source: HowStuffWorks]

We’d be remiss if we didn’t share with your our sales section, ripe with great Cyber Monday deals. Check out our home page and go to the “sale” tab midpage!

From Lang Antiques. An exquisite mid-nineteenth century jewel. The graceful undulating design is packed with three concentric rows of bright-white old mine-cut, and a few scattered rose-cut, diamonds glittering around a central antique cushion-cut diamond, all of which are set in silver supported by a yellow gold ring shank. A Georgian/early-Victorian delicacy, not for everyday wear.

The history of jewelry never ceases to amaze. Why? Because every time period had its share of beauty and majesty.

The Georgian period is no exception.

The Georgian period encompasses the reigns of 5 English kings (four were named George, hence the Georgian period). Georgian art refers to the English art and culture created during this time.

And though this period refers to England obviously, jewelry design displayed influences from historical events in France, Germany and Italy as well.

Characteristics of Georgian jewelry include, most notably, intricate metal work. Metals frequently used during the period include: silver for gemstone settings, 18k or higher yellow gold, iron, steel and pinchbeck (83% copper and 17% zinc).

Locating jewelry from this period is very difficult. Georgian jewelers often melted down what was considered “out of date” pieces to make trendier pieces.

You also won’t find authentic Georgian jewelry with stamps since these marks weren’t enforced until the 1900’s.