Archive for May, 2010

Is Fine Silver Jewelry As Good As Gold?

May 25th, 2010, Posted in Bracelets, Earrings, Jewelry, Jewelry Boxes, Necklaces, Rings, silver earrings, Uncategorized
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Over the centuries, there has never been a valid argument to say that silver jewelry is more valuable than gold jewelry. In fact, everyone knows that when times get tough and a recession hits the economy, many of the investment gurus tell us to buy gold? I wonder why they don’t tell us to buy silver? Not that silver is a bad metal, but it certainly is not gold. For example, if you were to walk into Tiffany’s or Cartier, they would likely carry fine silver jewelry and fine gold jewelry (as well as a whole lot of other expensive jewelry). When you look at the price tag for each piece of either silver or gold jewelry, you would find that the gold jewelry was more expensive than the silver jewelry.

There are a myriad of reasons why gold is more valuable than silver. First, gold cannot tarnish but silver will tarnish. But it should be noted that the tarnish is very minor with silver. Nevertheless, no tarnish (like gold) is better than some tarnish (like silver). Gold is useful because it has valuable properties inside. The high value of gold puts it in higher demand in relation to silver not only because of the properties but because it is much more rare then silver.

The problem is that a lot of the world’s gold jewelry ends up in the hands of the large jewelry players who are able to control prices. But before that, the gold is in the hands of a few large central banks who also manipulate the price. It should also be noted that jewelry manufacturers have to pay more to store silver because it is heavier than gold. But believe me, fine silver jewelry is not cheap when you walk into Cartier or Tiffany’s so don’t think you can get it for nothing.

Handmade Silver Jewelry Classes

May 20th, 2010, Posted in Bracelets, Earrings, Jewelry, Necklaces, Rings, silver earrings, silver jewelry, Uncategorized
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Have you ever thought about taking a class about handmade jewelry? Have you ever thought about teaching a handmade jewelry class? If you are thinking about taking a class, you can usually find them at your local community center or at a junior college. But you can also take classes online if you are so inclined. If you want to teach a class, you can either lease a classroom for a few hours, a day, or a week (depending on the depth of the class) or you can apply to be a teacher at your local community center or the local junior college. Of course, if you have a bit of experience, you can conduct online classes with WebEx or another online conferencing technology.

There are a lot of places to take classes on handmade jewelry and there are all different types of handmade jewelry classes. I am personally interested in handmade silver jewelry. Therefore, I would be interested in finding a class about handmade silver jewelry. But that is not all I am interested in. I also want to learn how to make pearl necklaces and bead bracelets. I am OK with looking on the Internet for a class, but I tend to learn better in a group setting where I can touch and feel the jewelry. I also don’t have much room in my house to watch the online presentation and then perform the task.

If you are an expert artisan, you may want to start your own handmade jewelry class. Let’s say, for example, that you wanted to teach people how to make handmade silver jewelry and you wanted to advertise your upcoming class. A great place to advertise for free is Craigslist. Once you are able to get enough people to commit, you can then look into booking the place. Of course, you need to do all of this in advance so that you have enough time to fill the class and enough time to book the place. It sounds simple, but this may be the toughest part. But once you have the place and the class in order, you can get to doing what you truly enjoy.

Buying a Fashion Jewelry Necklace

May 18th, 2010, Posted in Bracelets, Earrings, Jewelry, Necklaces, Rings, Uncategorized
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If you walk into a shopping mall and go into any discount jewelry store you are likely going to find a place to buy a fashion jewelry necklace. There are a myriad of different sizes, styles and colors to choose from. But when it comes to buying fashion jewelry, it is important that you don’t get caught up in the idea that the jewelry is going to be worth something in the future. This type of thinking should be applied to fine jewelry and genuine antique jewelry.

So your main focus when buying a jewelry necklace, for example, is to look for something that not only fits your wardrobe but also your personality. The great thing about a fashion jewelry necklace is that you can afford to buy numerous styles, colors and sizes to match your wardrobe. I am not suggesting that you go on a fashion jewelry spending spree any time soon. I am, however, suggesting that you be intentional with your purchases. Again, fine jewelry is something you buy that will last a lifetime, but fashion jewelry is more of a temporary purchase that could last a fairly long time, but will likely last as long as the latest trend is over.

Make sure that you don’t overpay for a jewelry necklace when shopping at the mall. So take this into consideration, the stores in the shopping mall or in a retail center have to pay a fairly high rent just to keep the doors open for business. That means they have to sell a lot of fashion jewelry necklaces, earrings, rings, and bracelets to cover their costs. That is why it may not be a bad idea to shop for your fashion jewelry online. There are literally thousands of small to large online stores to shop at and you can sometimes get free shipping as well.

What Else Can You Do With Rubber Wristbands?

May 13th, 2010, Posted in Bracelets, Jewelry, Uncategorized
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One of the biggest fashion trends of the past decade is found in the rubber wristband. Ever since the bicyclist Lance Armstrong decided to beat cancer, win the tour de france, and then win the tour de France again while wearing a red rubber wristband people and companies across the board have gotten in on the action. The “Live Strong” slogan that ran across his wristband supported his cancer research charity and turned everyone’s attention to the power of tiny rubber billboards.

Rubber wristbands make excellent marketing tools because they create miniature wrist-sized banners that people will pay to wear around wherever they go. But now that the trend is coming to and end and people are starting to grow tired of hipstir kids wearing fifty different wristbands on one arm, what should you do with all of those old wristbands you bought but don’t wear anymore? You might think that the best option is to simply throw them away but you would be wrong. There’s tons of stuff you can do with your old rubber wristbands.

Start Wearing Them Again

Rubber wristbands are meant to be worn and fashion-sense be damned, you can still wear them! If you got tired of the fad a while ago but still own a bunch of them you can start wearing them as ankle bracelets instead of just shift them over to the opposite arm. You might not be progressive with this choice but at least the wristbands won’t be going to waste.

Recycle Them

There are tons of recycling plants out there that would love to get their hands on all of those used and worn out rubber wristbands. They can chew up all that old rubber and turn it into something much better like soft surfaces for playgrounds and filling for futon mattresses. As long as you are giving up one trend you might as well pick up another and go “green.”

Okay, so maybe there really isn’t a whole lot of stuff you can do with your personalized rubber wristbands but at least you aren’t willing to just let them rot at the bottom of your canvas sports bag. Don’t just throw them away! People all over the world are discovering clever ways to use their old stuff and you should find a way to make use of those old rubber circlets you treasured for all of six months.

Silver Earrings at the Movies

May 7th, 2010, Posted in Earrings, Jewelry, silver earrings, Uncategorized
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Have you ever been to see a movie and notice the jewelry worn by the actors and actresses? There are so many facets of making a movie but one of the underrated duties is the internal promotion. Yes we have all seen the scenes where they show the Apple logo or the Cheerios box. And most of us notice the Starbucks coffee and the corner bookstore known as Borders. But how many of us have looked at the jewelry worn and noticed who supplied the goods? Is it Tiffany’s or Cartier or Saks? The truth of the matter is that nobody knows unless the executive producer is able to be creative. The way the producer can be creative is by having a scene that shows the name of a jewelry store or department store. Although the silver earrings worn by the actress does not have a label, the store that the actress walked through does.

Another place that the executive producer can give credit to the jeweler is in the ending credits. If you wait long enough to see all the credits (something most people don’t do), you will often see credit given to the provider of the jewelry. Believe it or not, all the jewelry worn during the filming of the movie is borrowed or donated for publicity. Again, it is almost impossible to identify which jeweler provided the silver earrings just by looking at the ears of the actress. But if the jeweler is paying for promotional space in the movie, you better believe that they want their products and name to be visible.

So next time you go see a movie with your friends or family, take a look to see if you can spot all the companies promoting their products. And make no mistake, every major brand you see is there on purpose and not my accident.

Significance of Jewelry Kiosks

May 6th, 2010, Posted in Armoires, Jewelry, Uncategorized
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If you have been to a mall in a major city lately you would have noticed one or two jewelry kiosks throughout the corridor areas. There is a reason behind vendors setting up kiosks as opposed to leasing a storefront. The first reason is obviously cost. There are so many start-up costs that go into leasing a storefront in a mall or a strip retail shopping center. The second reason is committment. A typical lease will require you to committ to a timeframe of three to five years. It is possible to sign a short term lease, but the landlord may not consider it worth the time and money if you are not willing to commit for longer.

Kiosks can provide a short term home for the business owner. Moreover, you are able to get excellent traffic from people walking around the mall. Most importantly, the start-up costs for a kiosk are much less than a typical storefront. One of the detriments of a kiosk, however, is that shoplifting is more prevalent because you generally do not have an alarm system or security cameras.

Most jewelry kiosks sell costume jewelry instead of fine jewelry due in large part to the shoplifting factor. But you can still find very fashionable costume gold jewelry, silver jewelry, ruby necklaces, and pearl necklaces. Unlike the ordinary store in the mall, you can often negotiate the price with the vendor.

Other places you might find a jewelry kiosk is Costco. At Costco, these kiosks are known as jewelry “road shows” in which the vendor will come for a 10-day period and sell jewelry. Instead of paying rent for the space during the 10-day period, Costco simply requires a commission from the sales of the jewelry. Similar to the shopping mall, you can find gold jewelry, silver jewelry, necklaces, and bracelets to name a few.

A Pearl Necklace Decision

May 3rd, 2010, Posted in Jewelry, Necklaces, Pearl Necklaces, Uncategorized
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Many women enjoy fine jewelry as well as fashion jewelry. The majority of us tend to relate our net worth to the style of jewelry we wear. However, it can be a wise decision to consider fashion jewelry instead of fine jewelry in certain situations.  Take a pearl necklace for example. Many women would love to be able to spend $5,000 on a white saltwater Akoya pearl necklace. But how many of us could afford to buy one?  On the other hand, a fabricated pearl necklace may cost you $30 and you could wear it for a casual occasion and not feel guilty about spending so much money.  I am not against spending thousands of dollars on a beautiful pearl necklace. But depending on your lifestyle, you may not have that many opportunities to get the maximum use for your dollar.

But you don’t have to settle for a fabricated pearl necklace just to save a buck. There are thousands of sizes, styles, and colors you can choose from either in the store or online. You can choose from very small seed or baby pearls (1 mm) to large pearls (14 mm). Pearl shapes include round pearls, button pearls, drop pearls, marble pearls, or even baroque pearls to name a few.

If you are looking for a particular color you could consider natural white, gold, pink, chocolate or brown. However, if you would like to customize the color, most jewelers can have them processed within a few weeks or less. You can also choose drilled pearls or undrilled pearls. If you want to take it a step further, you can even choose double drilled, center drilled, or half drilled.

Regardless of whether you choose a pearl necklace with baby pearls or just a costume pearl necklace, your decision should be based on your lifestyle, budget, and wardrobe. And like all jewelry purchases, do your homework, be patient, and shop from a place you trust.

Ruby Earrings And Advantages Of Buying Online

May 2nd, 2010, Posted in Earrings, Jewelry, Ruby Earrings, Uncategorized
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Ruby earrings are the perfect addition to any jewelry collection for their simplistic style and complimentary red coloring. The ruby is the red stone of passion and crimson fire, that has been impressed in all forms of jewelry for many years, and is continued to be made into rings, necklaces, and earrings of the like for the desired effect it brings to the wearer.

Ruby earrings are not as expensive as other forms of ruby jeweler, but like with all forms of jewelry the cut of the stone, and the quality of the piece are the determining factors into the price. A good base price for a simple pair of earrings impressed with the buy can range anywhere from twenty dollars to the more simple style, to up in the hundreds for the more ornate custom made pieces. The price of the earrings is also determined by the purchasing method utilized to attain the pieces of jewelry. Ruby earrings are available in nearly every local jewelry store and thrift market, but if you are looking to get the best deal for a pair, the internet is the marketplace to utilize.

When buying a pair of earrings online you have two basic methods to go about making the purchase, a specialty store that mass produces the pieces of jewelry, or an auctioneer site that withholds cut back deals for the masses to bid upon and achieve. Both methods are great ways to find a quality pair of earrings, but when making the purchase from either of them it is key to assure quality. This can best be done by checking out the legitimacy of the seller and website, as well as assuring that a return policy is offered with ample time to check the quality of the piece.

Overall if you are looking for a complimentary red stone piece of jewelry that brings together any outfit, see how a pair of ruby earrings will look on you.

Man Made Sapphire

May 1st, 2010, Posted in Jewelry, Uncategorized
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Article Source: The Man Made Diamonds

Sapphire and ruby come from a mineral known as corundum. Mostly blue in color, the sapphire can also be found in several other colors like grey, orange and even black. The value of sapphire depends on the features it possesses like color, size and lucidity but still, mined sapphires are quite expensive.

Auguste Verneuil is believed to be the first person to grow synthetic sapphires by preparing a boule from fine aluminum oxide by using an inverted oxyhydrogen torch. This method has been improved through modern science but producers still employ the basic principles.

These man made sapphires are created using some meticulous method which has not only increased sapphire production by a reasonable margin but has made the stones cheaply available as well. To create stones resembling the natural ones, the labs have to emulate the geological conditions.

As much as lab sapphire producers try to maintain natural sapphire characteristics, they also attempt to grow new varieties. Apart from an expert’s eye, it is quite hard to differentiate between the two. Before the diamonds, these were the first synthetically created gemstones. Some of the lab sapphire producers in the world include the United States and Japan.

When shopping for jewelry with one or more lab sapphires, you can also check the internet, where you will find a variety of online stores with marvelous jewelry. You can also get a glimpse of jewelry made with the rare orange sapphire, so rare that the price could be higher than the price of natural diamonds! Jewelry made with synthetic sapphires is normally as good as those created using natural sapphire.

Designers select different types of lab sapphire to use in designing their jewelry pieces, with the most popular being the star shaped one, which manufacturers try as much as possible to reproduce from natural sapphires. Man made sapphires is not only used for jewelry, they are also utilized in other fields like the watch companies.

Upon your decision to buy a sapphire for yourself or a friend, you can check online gemstone stores, which offer huge catalogs from where you can pick the stone of your choice.