Buying Guide For Gorgeous Looking Pearl Jewelry

By Kheri Chawla

Akoya pearls, so called the saltwater ones were largely came from Japan ever since Mikimoto made the cultured pearls very popular all around the world but now China lately has surpassed Japan in both quantity and quality. China is the largest producer of Freshwater pearls & akoya ones.

Pearls are known for their unparalleled natural beauty and white color brilliance. Around the world, from royal princess to regular folks, everybody loves to wear gorgeous looking pearl jewelry. Since they come in wide array of attractive colors, designs and price range, it is important to know few things before you buy them.

The kind of pearls woman wears defines her persona and desire to look elegant and beautiful. Quality is the king. Better the quality higher the price but necessarily does not mean that one can not get high quality jewelry at discounted prices. The online stores now are the best source to compare and buy at very competitive prices. They have much more control on the overheads than regular jewelry boutiques or departmental stores.

1. How pearls are formed and where they come from:

Mikimoto of Japan had invented and patented the culturing techniques of producing these beautiful natural gems in the saltwater coastal area of Japan. A small mental piece or irritant is placed inside the oyster or mollusks As a result, the mollusk secretes a crystalline substance called nacre which builds up in layers upon layers, surrounding the irritant thus forming the pearl overtime. It normally takes 2 to 5 years depending upon oyster types, water and climatic conditions.

Round pearls with clean surface with no blemishes on the surface and high lustrous quality are most sought after and typically command higher prices. White color is synonymous with the pearls but they do come in other attractive colors such as black, gray, pink, cream and golden colors.

South Sea pearls come from Australia and some from Indonesian regions whereas Tahitian pearls are harvested from the pristine seawater of French Polynesian areas near Hawaii.

2. How pearls are graded:

Depending upon quality, pearls typically are graded from A to triple A by all international jewelers around the world. Highest-grade ones are those with the high luster and reflective mirror-like quality. Many jewelers often sell triple A+ or higher to command higher prices to sound having superior quality but in fact you may be paying more for the compromising quality.

How Jewellers Polish Silver and Gold Jewellery ?

By Gary Hocking

You might wonder why you can never get your old jewellery to shine like new, or you might wonder why the $15 silver item in a market has nothing like the finish that you see on a $120 item in a jewelery shop.

Well let me take you quickly through the process that I do to finish of my pieces of jewellery.

Firstly, an item comes back from the casting process and it has some pieces of metal hanging off it and the finish is all crinkly or it looks like it has been sandblasted. Here are the steps I take:

1. I use a heavy file and remove all the dags or sharp bits of metal left over from casting.

2. I next use a light metal file and I file the item as smooth as I can. I also use round files and square files and triangular files to get into those hard to get places.

3. Next I use various grades of sandpaper starting with a medium grit and sanding all over the items. Then I use a finer grade to sand all over again.

4. Now I place the items in a tumbler of metal shot. It is a mixture of small ball bearings and pointy pieces of stainless steel. It is tumbled in this with a solution of water and polish. I leave it tumbling for several hours.

5. I now use string with polish on it to get into holes and crevices where my other tools cannot reach. I run the string through the holes and polish the inside of them. This takes a lot of time and I am not fond of doing it.

6. I now use a mechanical polisher with a grease called Tripoli which actually comes from Tripoli and I use this to polish the item.

7. Now I put this into an ultrasonic machine with a solution of hot water and detergent to clean the Tripoli polish from the item.

8. Now I use another polish on the machine called Rouge. It is a red polish and now this will give my item a high gleam.

9. Back into the ultrasonic for about twenty minutes and the rouge is removed. I then dry the item carefully with a soft cloth.

10. Finally I get a polish impregnated cloth and I hand polish the item for a magnificent sparkling finish.

That’s all there is to it! I now slip the item into a jewellery box without touching it with my fingers. Sometimes I’ll wear a glove for this as I do not want my finger marks on the item.

Now if you have been wearing your wedding ring 24/7 for ten years and you take it off and try to polish it by hand you’ll know why you’ll never catch up to me.

Current Fashion Trends in Costume Jewelry and Accessories

by: Michael Gietl

Color Trends in Costume Jewelry

The fall fashion trends are ushering in another excellent season for costume jewelry and accessories. Rich colors and bold looks dominate the trend. Teal, amber and amethyst are the important colors with olivine and green used as neutrals. Topaz and peacock are also important and all indications are that rich color will continue into the spring season. Metals are seeing a return to gold, but silver is still stronger.

Bold Designs Dominate Fashion Jewelry

Fashion jewelry thrives when bold designs are in vogue and that is very much the case this season. The high fashion look is popular in necklaces, earrings, and bracelets with natural components contributing to the designs. Wood is continuing its second season of popularity with shell important even in the fall line. But the rising star in natural materials is gemstone, which provides the beauty of natural semiprecious stones to the costume jewelry designs. This will definitely continue and accelerate in the spring line. Also popular in neckwear are 48 inch and 60 inch ropes that are worn extended or doubled. Jet is strong in holiday jewelry and estate looks (antique designs) are becoming fashionable in bridal jewelry.

Traditional Costume Jewelry and Accessories

While costume jewelry in bold designs and rich colors forge the way for leading fashion, there is a larger market that shouldn’t be ignored in more traditional and classic looks. Theme jewelry in pendants, earrings, and charm bracelets has an appeal that goes beyond fashion alone because it identifies with what the wearer cares about. In addition, traditional rhinestone, bridal jewelry, evening bags, and formal gloves have a classic look with timeless appeal. There is a major market for these items that will always be present even as fashion changes.

Accessory Trends

Sequins and buttons are very big in all accessories, especially in handbags and evening bags. Beyond these, the looks of the larger bags introduced by leading designers are the trendy styles of the season. These are the bags the stars are carrying, which goes a long ways towards popularizing the styles. In evening bags, large sequins and buttons are very much in vogue, but traditional looks seem to be carrying the day.

Sunglasses are definitely big and bold with aviators the runaway favorite. Retro looks are also excellent and colored frames with matching lenses are very popular.

Hats and Headwear

In millinery, dress hats are an important part of the market, with ladies hats the dominant player. The looks are very traditional with a new element of pre-made bands allowing for the versatility of custom designs. Casual hats, however, account for the major share of the market and no design in 2005 is more important than the rollup cowboy hat. While the design is not popular in every region of the country, the sheer number of sales makes it the number one hat of the year. This rugged look that is typically American has risen to such popularity that it becomes an important fashion statement. After cowboy hats, the three most fashionable designs are wide brim floppy hats, ladies fedoras, and newsboys. The entertainment field has played a major roll in popularizing these designs and the fashion looks continue into the fall season with felt, leather, wool, and leatherette used as the material for the fall versions.

Keeping Good Care for Your Silver Bracelet

by: Kaitlin Carruth

A silver bracelet is an elegant piece of jewelry that can be worn with almost anything at any occasion. However, silver is exposed to elements everyday that cause it to tarnish or to oxidize. The catalysts for tarnish include many elements such as oxygen, sulfur, or even the salt residue from your hands. There is some proper care and cleaning that one must know to keep silver looking its best. Here are some helpful tips to keep your silver bracelet looking beautiful.

Preventing Tarnish

There are certain chemicals and products that can cause your silver bracelet to tarnish that should be avoided. Do not apply any sort of sun tan oil, hair spray, hair color, perfume, rubber, and body lotions while wearing your silver jewelry. These all contain chemicals that can potentially cause your jewelry to tarnish. Always remove any silver jewelry when working with chemicals such as bleach, ammonia, alcohol, finger nail polish removers with acetone, and turpentine. Also the acids in tape, cardboard, and newspaper can be harmful to your silver bracelet. Avoid contact with wool and felt (these materials contain sulfur that can cause the silver to oxidize) and do not shower with your silver bracelet on. Keep away from these things to also avoid potential tarnish of your sliver bracelet.

Cleaning

You should clean your silver bracelet regularly to remove tarnish. When cleaning, do not use any materials that are too abrasive and that will scratch the material. Never use a toothbrush, no matter how soft the bristles are suppose to be. Instead, clean your silver bracelet with a soft, cotton, lint-free cloth. Also, wear plastic gloves instead of rubber gloves since the rubber can possibly cause the silver to tarnish.

With your soft cloth and plastic gloves you are ready to begin cleaning your silver bracelet. To begin, remove any dust or debris that could possibly scratch the item. Next, rinse the bracelet with warm water and mild soap (avoid scented soaps) and pat dry. The bracelet is now ready to be polished. Many polishes are available in different forms (i.e. pastes, liquids, and foams). My recommendation would be to use a polish that gives a wax-like finish; this creates a barrier for future tarnish. No matter what you use, be sure to remove all the polish from your jewelry. To finish, rinse in warm water (do not soak) and pat dry.

General Care and Storage

When you are not wearing your silver bracelet, you should always store it in a place that is airtight to avoid oxidization. Do not store jewelry in cardboard boxes or tissue paper. The chemicals from these materials will cause more harm than good. The best way to store your silver bracelet is by placing it in an airtight cabinet or drawer along with anti-tarnishing strips. There are also special silver cloths that can be purchased to wrap your jewelry in for storage. It is best to keep them jewelry pieces separate in order to avoid possible scratching. Remember, one of the best ways to keep you silver bracelet looking good is to wear it! Your body oils act as a shield for many of the catalysts for tarnish.

If you keep good care of your silver bracelet in its cleaning, storage and general care of it, you will be able to wear it for years to come. Just remember to keep it away from harmful chemicals, keep up with cleaning it, and to store it properly. It is important to take care of your jewelry so that it may remain beautiful every time you wear it.

Creating Your Own Jewelry

by: Sintilia Miecevole

Do you have a better way to accessorize yourself than with a nice piece of jewelry? The problem is that sometimes costume jewelry can also be extremely expensive. Nevertheless, you have another alternative to buying them you can make them. It is easy to learn how to create your own jewelry. And sometimes it is even better than buying them because you can make them to match your outfits and your personality. This way you are not only going to save money, you are also going to have fun.

Are you interested in making necklaces? The simplest way to do this is using beads. You will see that you can create a variety of beautiful necklaces just using some heavy string and a various beads of different colors. In the case you are going to cover the whole circumference with beads you may even substitute the heavy string by a dental floss. You should always bear in mind what are you going to wear the necklace with. This way you can compliment the color of the necklace with the color of the dress you are wearing. Once you know the colors, you should start thinking about the pattern, which can be achieved by alternating colors or shapes, or making all of the beads the same size and color.

The most important thing at the moment of making your necklace is to be creative. But you should not forget to keep the theme in mind when you start making it. When you go to buy beads you can buy the ones you always use plus some focal point beads that are bigger that the rest. These bigger beads can be use when you choose to employ wire instead of string for your necklace, just one or two beads for the whole piece are enough and the wire show through. Usually you can choose from a great variety of attractive beads, such as wooden, ceramic and glass pieces.

If you are thinking of making beads, you have a lot to do. You only need beads and wire to make a great variety of rings. What you have to do is to twist various strands of wire together making a circle that fits your finger. You have to remember to maintain the ends long in order to string beads on the edges. Just make a ball of wire to maintain the final bead on each strand in its place and then keep the beaded strands as individuals strands or twist them into a ball. And use it with whatever you want!

Another option is to make earrings. It is not difficult because the majority of craft stores sell earring components that can be used right away; the only thing you have to do is add the decorations that you choose. You can buy almost twenty pairs of earrings for no more than three dollars. You can also include some ribbons or a strand of beads. Just be creative and you will be able to attend any party.

Similar techniques can be used to create bracelets and anklets. You have just to twist together bare wire and beaded wire to make a nice combination or create attractive wire shapes with just a pair of needle-nosed pliers. You only need to include a nice object that fits and make some loops in the wire and create your own charm bracelet.

It does not matter whether you are a teenager or an adult, you can have a lot of fun making jewelry. It is also a great activity for whole families and a creative way to entertain girls at a birthday party. It is a nice way to create the pieces of jewelry that go with the things you wear. What is more important in creating your own jewelry is that it is a real expression of your creative side.

Tips For Buying Estate Jewelry For Your Mother

by: Sher Matsen

Estate Jewelry is the perfect gift for your Mom whether it’s for Mother’s Day, her birthday, or Christmas. Mother’s will always enjoy a lovely piece of jewelry. But there are some things you should know before heading out to buy that jewelry to make sure you don’t pay too much or don’t land up with a fake piece of jewelry. Estate jewelry is always an excellent choice because your Mom may have personal attachments to a certain piece or style. Follow these tips for buying jewelry for your Mother.

Check around!
Quality jewelry isn’t cheap so before you even start shopping check around with co-workers, friends, and family and see which stores or web sites they recommend for purchasing fine jewelry from. Also take note of the ones they tell you to stay away from. Other peoples experiences are a great method of finding the best jewelry store available.

Get it Written Down
If you’ve been talking with a sales rep then have them write down all the information they’ve given you including the stores policy on refunds and returns. If you are buying online then print out all the detailed information supplied on the web site including contact information, return policies, and refund policies.

Watch The Markings
Gold plated is not 14 karat gold. Some might try to lead you to believe this but its just not so. 14K jewelry is made of 14 parts of gold combined with 10 parts of a base metal. Gold plated means that the cheaper base metal has simply had a layer of 10K gold bonded to it. Eventually the gold will wear away and leave you with the ugly base metal. How long it takes to wear away will depend on how well it is plated, how often you wear it, and how your skin reacts to it.

Watches
There are two different watch styles, the battery operated and the winding style. You’ll have to decide which type is best for your Mom. You’ll also want to find out how long the warranty is and what it covers. A personal experience with a higher end watch maker left me rather amazed. I had managed to wear the gold plating off the band which was listed in the life time warranty as covered. However upon sending it in for replacement I found out I had neglected to read the fine print that had a list of exclusions on the life time warranty. So the moral of the story is read and read it all. Don’t have a big surprise later on. That replacement band cost me half the value of the original purchase price. Ouch!

Understand Gems
You need to understand the different between a natural gem that comes from mother earth and a synthetic or laboratory created gem that is man made. To look at them side by side you cannot visually see any differences. But the biggest difference is in the price. Natural gems cost a great deal more. So if you really want a natural gemstone then you’ll have to pay more. When buying a natural gem make sure that you understand what you are getting. Natural gems can have treatments that enhance their beauty. Enhanced natural gems are not worth the same money as a natural natural gem and they may also require special treatment so that they don’t become damaged or loose their luster.

Pearls
You can buy beautiful real pearls and imitation pearls. Real pearls come from oysters or mollusks where imitation pearls are man made. Cultured pearls come from oysters or mollusks but man intervenes by adding an irritant to cause a pearl to grow within the shell. Pearls that are natural and not cultured are rare and very expensive and there really isn’t any difference except for mans little bit of intervention.

Diamonds
Diamonds are forever is deep in meaning. One being that a diamond will quite literally last forever. You need to consider cut, color, clarity, and weight when choosing a diamond. Each of these factors will affect the price of the diamond. Color can be graded on a scale but the scales are not consistent as there is no industry standard scale so make sure you understand the scale for the specific diamond you are looking at.

Chains
A chain is always a wonderful choice for a jewelry gift for your mother. Either gold or silver are excellent choices. Chains are available in many lengths so you can choose a length that is appropriate for your Mom. You can also boy many different styles from the very dainty to bold and noticeable. Add a pendant if you like.

Follow these tips for buying jewelry for your Mother and you’ll have purchased the perfect gift. So whether you purchase a new jewelry piece or a beautiful estate jewelry piece it will be treasured by your Mom for years to come.

Estate Jewelry is Ready For Teen Fashions

by: Sher Matsen

If you’ve ever gone shopping with a teenage girl you know that teenagers can be a very picky bunch! Their physical and mental growth has them experimenting with all kinds of fashion items to improve their image and their look. Teenage girls have a fashion statement to make too! And estate jewelry is ready for teen fashions!

A teen’s fashion statement which includes both clothing and jewelry plays a role in their identity, how they fit, how they feel, how they blend. It has a big role on their self esteem during those developmental years. And moms and dads they don’t want your input! This is a time of discovery and you can be guaranteed if you like it they’ll toss the idea out the door in ten seconds or less. But that doesn’t mean you can’t subtly steer them. Estate jewelry and fashion jewelry are affordable choices that can work well for teens. So just gently lead them in the right direction and let them make their own discoveries.

Teen girls are busy picking up clues and tips from their favorite celebrities. The celebrities that teenagers watch in their favorite music videos, movies or television show greatly influence what a teen girl will see as fashion and trendy jewelry. And these days more and more of the celebrities are choosing estate jewelry because it is unique and does make a statement of individuality. So don’t be surprised if you teen finds estate jewelry attractive.

These days we hear allot about hip hop jewelry trends and we see plenty of bling bling replicas on the market. Manufacturers have replaced the real diamonds and gems worn by the celebrities with cheaper stones and metals so that teen girls can have jewelry that looks much like their favorite stars but at a much more affordable price.

Pierced and non pierced body jewelry has also grown in popularity. Teen girls are using it to make their fashion statement. The good news is that there’s a great selection available at an affordable price so mom and dad won’t go broke.

Friendship bracelets hit the streets about 10 years ago and they continue to grow in popularity being one of the hottest jewelry fads for teens. Friends exchange these friendship bracelets and wear them all the time. There style can be of the most basic twist or more elaborate with beads and sparkling faux gems.

Beaded jewelry is also very popular. Teens love the big and bold look of large beads and love to mix them up adding color and flare to their wardrobe. Estate jewelry is perfect for picking up a terrific mix of beaded jewelry for a very low price. And the girls love it because it is different and unique unlike the modern stuff found on the shelves. And because their favorite Celebs are choosing it, it becomes an option for them as well.

Another teen fad between friends is a necklace that’s similar worn by all members of the group. This identifies them as their own little clique. Their necklaces may have pendants or rings attached or just be plain.

Fashion rings are also very big with teens. Good news is you can buy estate jewelry rings and fashion rings for as little as $5.00. Your teenager will love them, wear them, break them, and forget about them and you’ll know they got their moneys worth.

The teen years are a time of growth and becoming independent so let your teen girls wings open and let her experiment with her fashion style. Remember you did it too many years ago. And remember to let your teenager know there are many options when it comes to jewelry. Estate jewelry is one of the most sought after jewelry by celebrities and if your teen is like most teens what the stars wear they want to wear.