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Customized Jewelry Designs: Make it Your Own!

January 20, 2011 By

Customized Jewelry DesignsWhile there are plenty of designs out there on the market that range from conservative to avant-garde and traditional to contemporary, sometimes it’s nice to have a piece of jewelry that is specially made to commemorate a unique relationship, a special day, or a milestone occasion.

Here’s a look at some of the most popular customized jewelry designs on the market today:

1) The Name Pendant:

The Name PendantThe Name Pendant has always been a popular necklace design. You may be surprised, but it wasn’t Carrie from “Sex and the City” who started the name necklace craze. The name necklace dates back centuries, having evolved from the rice name necklaces that are traditional Eastern adornments. Today, you can choose to have your name written on rice, fashioned from 14k gold, or even encrusted in diamonds.

2) The Dog Tag Bracelet:

The Dog Tag BraceletThe dog tag bracelet is frequently personalized with a special engraving, a gemstone or anniversary stone, or a diamond. While it is traditionally engraved with one’s personal information such as name, date of birth, id number, etc, today it can be engraved with any number of things including romantic quotes, unique designs or simple lucky numbers.

3) Birthstone Jewelry:

Birthstone JewelryAll birthstone jewelry is in some way personalized for the recipient. By setting the ring, bracelet, necklace, earrings or pendant with one’s specific birthstone, the jewelry is customized to commemorate the birth of the wearer. Any jewelry item can be set with a unique birthstone, no matter what!

4) The Charm Bracelet:

The Charm BraceletThe charm bracelet is probably the most classic and easily customizable jewelry item. Mix and match your charms, choose charms that resemble places you want to memorialize, occasions you want to celebrate and moments you never want to forget. Locket charms might be considered the most personal, being easy to engrave and made to hold a special photograph, lock of hair or handwritten note.

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Heirloom Wedding Rings: Reuse or Recycle?

January 20, 2011 By

Heirloom wedding rings that have been in the family from generations always seem to carry more meaning than new, store bought rings. Jewelry is meant to tell a story, and when your wedding ring tells the story of your parents, grandparents and maybe even great grandparents as well, it will truly warm your heart. But what do you do if your grandmother’s heirloom wedding ring is in poor condition, or, worse, is outdated in style?

Many brides to be face the daunting task of dealing with family politics regarding heirloom jewelry. However, it may be easier than you think to turn an old or outdated heirloom piece into a new beautiful creation.

Gold Heirloom Wedding Rings

Gold Heirloom Wedding RingsIf the heirloom wedding ring that you have in hand is made from gold, you’re in luck. Gold is extremely malleable and relatively easy to melt down for resizing, reshaping and complete remodeling.

While you may decided to keep your grandmother’s ring the way it is, if you do have reservations about the style or condition of your ring, consider taking it to your local jewelers for a consultation. Your local jeweler (not your local jewelry retailer) should be able to tell you the quality of gold in the gold ring, its general condition and your options regarding melting it down and starting anew. Women who are particular about having a wedding ring that fits snugly beneath their engagement ring might find alterations such as resizings or slight redesigns particularly rewarding.

Diamond Heirloom Wedding Rings

Diamond Heirloom Wedding RingsMany heirloom wedding rings, especially Victorian, Edwardian Wedding and Art Deco wedding rings incorporate diamonds. Over the years, diamonds can crack, or chip. Moreover, with today’s diamond cutting technology, it’s much easier to find high quality diamond with high light reflection and superb brilliance.

If you find that the diamonds in your grandmother’s heirloom diamond wedding ring aren’t up to par, consider having them removed and set as diamond studs, or in a pretty diamond pendant, and replace them with high quality stones.

You may, conversely, decide to keep them, but change the setting. This can be done as well. A skilled jeweler can change a five stone diamond ring into a three stone diamond ring and can remove a prong setting and replace it with a bezel setting. Keep in mind, however, that this is difficult and time consuming work, and may be quite expensive.

Summary

Heirloom rings can be extremely meaningful and significant to a newly wed couple, but its important that they fit the overall needs of the wearer(s). The wedding ring is meant to be worn forever. If you are in doubt about the quality or design of your ring, take it to your jewelers for a consultation. You might be able to make small adjustments that make it even more special.

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The Top Five Jewelry Musts for the Bride

January 13, 2011 By
Wedding Sets

Wedding Sets - Courtesy of Zoara.com

Brides today have more on their plates as they plan their weddings than ever before. There is so much planning that goes on before the big day, most brides keep a notebook or calendar close at hand to keep dates for appointments and a running list of what needs to be done and what has already been accomplished.

The date is set, invitations printed and mailed, the venue booked, decorations bought, food ordered and the Bride has the important dress. Amongst all of the hustle and bustle and planning, many brides don’t make time for a very important part of the wedding process; the choosing and purchasing of the jewelry they will wear on her big day, as a sparkling addition to their engagement rings.

To our minds there are really five pieces of jewelry that a bride should consider as must haves. These pieces will put the finishing touches on the bride’s appearance and help you to feel extra special when the wedding day arrives.

A necklace is essential for a wedding. It is important though, that the neckline of your wedding dress is considered as your choosing the necklace for you. If you happen to have a high neckline, that goes up to the neck, you may be able to get away without one, but most wedding dresses are off of the shoulder and your neck will look really bare if you neglect the necklace. But again, keep the dress in mind as you shop.

When choosing earrings, you don’t want to go big and bold if the dress is already super fancy. The shape of the earring should match the shape of your face. Button style earrings work well for a round face; dangly, long earrings are a great compliment for a thin face; an earring with a squared of feel will look best on a face that is long. If you have fallen into the category with your dress where a necklace is not needed, then you can go big with the earrings. It’s all about balance.

This is the day you marry your prince charming, so it is only right for you to feel like a real princess. A tiara can be very elegant and dressy while giving that princess charm to the dress. Tiaras are available in all kinds of sizes and styles, so it won’t be hard to find one that is you. A bracelet is also important, though it is often overlooked. A bracelet really enhances the beauty of the gown as well as bring some focus to the bride’s hands. Since most brides will have a newly manicured hand, this is a good thing to draw attention to. The ring will be given to the bride at the ceremony and the wedding band and engagement ring are enough. They are the symbols of the union you’ve just created and should be showcased on their own.

How real or expensive the jewelry is does not matter at all. The important thing is for you to feel special, beautiful and choose the best engagement ring settings for you.

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