Look Like a Star With Your Very Own Celebrity Inspired Diamond Jewellery

October 25, 2011 – 3:27 pm

If you are like most other people out in the world, you pick up your copy of Vogue or People and basically dream. You dream of what it must be like to be able to afford a $50,000 gown with diamond studded shoes. Or maybe you dream and wonder where exactly it is that Jennifer Aniston buys her gorgeous purses. While faking a designer purse isn’t exactly easy, faking celebrity trends in diamond jewellery is.

After all, if it looks about the same, then chances are people are going to think it’s the same. While people might notice that your “Romex” just doesn’t quite sound right, they probably won’t know if you have the gold plated version of your favorite stars 24 karat gold bib style necklace! The famous saying holds true, if it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, and walks like a duck, then it probably is a duck. Since rings sit on your finger and people don’t walk around with microscopes to check out if they are genuine, you don’t have to dream about celebrity styles any more. Here are few hot items you can get relatively inexpensively that will have people thinking you are a star…..

Jennifer Lopez has long been considered an icon in fashion. Not only does she have her own clothing, she has her own fragrance lines, purses, accessories and just about anything you can think of. Needless to say, she certainly sets the bar on what’s hot in celebrity diamond jewellery. Although, it’s not just diamond rings she is famous for. She was spotted at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival wearing a spectacular pair of Chandelier earrings. While J Lo’s where probably not silver and cubic zirconia, you can find almost exact replicas for about $40 online, in silver and CZ. Trust us; nobody will know the difference (except your wallet).

Although Lindsay Lohan is the bad girl nobody wants to be associated with, let’s face it: bad press is better than no press. Needless to say, she’s been getting a lot of bad press for things she does, but the earrings she wore to the 2010 Cannes Film Festival got her some positive press! They are gorgeous little arrows, which we can’t confirm, but we are guessing might be Cupid’s! Needless to say, you probably won’t buy the designer version she had on, but you can find a pretty close version of those earrings online for about $35.

For so many reasons that this article won’t go into, many of us wish we were Samantha from Sex and the City. But since we can’t switch lives with her, we might as well look great in some look Samantha style jewelry. She was spotted wearing the hot spike bangle bracelet while filming Sex and the City 2. You can find very close variations of online for under $100.

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By ben | Posted in Celebrity Styles, Just Jewelry | Tagged | Comments (0)

Somethings You Must Know About Silver

October 24, 2011 – 7:28 pm

I’m sure you’ve all purchased something you didn’t know much about it and then later found out by surprise what you really ordered. Well the fact is we’ve all done that so today I wanted to posts somethings you must know about silver before buying any.

Although it’s pretty straight forward about what it is (a precious metal) used for CZ bracelets jewelry making purposes, I’ll go into detail today. You don’t have to worry about the nitty gritty, but let me lay out 2-3 important facts:

1) It’s very very old. Silver is not something that was “invented” to be used for jewelry. There is a limited amount of it on this earth and it has been being used for 1000s and 1000s of years for various purposes. Some purposes include currency, decorations, ornaments, computer chips, and of course my favorite jewelry.

2) It’s only found in certain places, meaning you cannot just pick it up anywhere in the world. It’s a rare metal that is very limited. We don’t have an unlimited amount because it’s not man-made, it’s natural. You can find 925 silver in places such as countries in North America (United States, Mexico, and Canada) along with Peru and Australia.

I hope you learned something new about silver today! :)

Pear Cut Silver CZ Engagement Ring

Pear Cut Silver CZ Engagement Ring

Oval Cut Blue Cubic Zirconia Cocktail Ring

Oval Cut Blue Cubic Zirconia Cocktail Ring

Marquise Cut Purple CZ Cocktail Ring

Marquise Cut Purple CZ Cocktail Ring
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By ben | Posted in Just Jewelry | Tagged | Comments (0)

How to Check the Quality of Your Handmade Gemstone Jewelry

October 24, 2011 – 3:25 pm

Handmade jewelry is continuing to growing in popularity. If you choose the right combination, you can walk away with spectacular looking pieces at relatively inexpensive prices. The issue becomes knowing if you are buying good quality handmade gemstone jewelry or not. The best way to know that is to understand how it’s made so you can understand what to look for when shopping.

If you look back at the last article, you will see that we went step by step making a great pair of handmade gemstone earrings. Once you read that article, you will understand a little bit more the points to look at, but we will highlight them for you:

1. Gemstones: Nobody is going to take your ear and put it under a microscope to check out if your gemstones are real or not, but do keep in mind that there are “real” gemstones that are very bad quality. That means that you can buy gemstone earrings that look very bad. Don’t be fooled by the word gemstone. Take a look at the quality.

2. Silver. Beware on the word silver. Unfortunately, many times we’ve seen people using the word silver to describe color not the actual type of metal. So it’s possible that you think you are buying silver, but are buying a silver colored metal. It’s important to carefully read product descriptions.

3. If you recall, one of the steps to making your handmade gemstone jewelry was to file off the ends of your wire. If you are shopping in a store, you should run your fingers along the edges of the wire and make sure it’s well filed so that it’s not sharp and doesn’t catch on any of your clothes.

4. Take a look at the loops on the bottom of the earring wire. Make sure they are closed well. If not, chances are that your earrings will come apart. You would be amazed at what little force or movement it takes for the head pin to come off of the earring wire.

5. Check the head pin. The head pin holds the gemstones onto the wire with a little flat part on the end. If the “head” part of the head pin is thin or worn, then you run the chance of having the gemstones slide off. You should run your finger nail against the flat part of the head pin. If you see that it bends or cracks off then do not purchase them. If they are already weak or brittle, then you can only imagine what will happen

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By ben | Posted in Just Jewelry | Tagged | Comments (0)

Handmade Jewelry Designs – How to Create Spectacular Ones on Your Own!

October 23, 2011 – 3:24 pm

Handmade jewelry designs can be easy if you follow a few simple steps. Making your own jewelry is not only easy, but relaxing. In fact, I consider it to be almost therapeutic! Here we’ll explore how to make your very own Tin Cup style Necklace.

You will need the following supplies:
Cotton Cord
Clasp
6 to 10 pearls
Scissors

The fist step is to cut your cotton cord to approximately 24 inches in length. Thread the lobster clasp side of the closure and tie an overhand knot. With the scissors, cut the thread leaving a short tail. Your goal is to just make sure it doesn’t come undone. Just to be on the safe side, you can add a dab of glue, but you don’t have to.

Lay the cord down on a ruler and decide how often you want a pearl. You might want to mark the cord so that you can keep track of where they go. Make an overhand knot at the first mark on your cord, string on a pearl and then do another overhand knot. You can use special tools to make sure the knots stay nice and tight against the pearl, but again, it’s not necessary. You will need to continue the pattern just described with the total number of pearls you have chosen.

You can vary the length of the necklace by including more or less pearls but here are a few words of caution. Since you need to tie knots in front of and behind each pearl, you will need to make sure that you add a few extra inches for each pearl. Otherwise, you will end up with a bracelet or a necklace so short that it won’t fit. Also, keep symmetry in mind. Make sure you space them apart evenly, otherwise, your handmade jewelry designs will not look very nice. Finally, when you have the amount of pearls and the length you want, attach the other half of your clasp. Now it’s important to look over the necklace and check the quality.

A great variation on this design is to replace the cotton cord with any type of link chain. What you will do is put wire through each pearl. Then you will make loops at the ends, attaching the chain to the loop you make. This is a classic and beautiful design. You can also choose to put more than one bead at each station. For example, you can place a crystal, pearl, and then another crystal to spice up the look.

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By ben | Posted in Just Jewelry | Tagged | Comments (0)

Handmade Jewelry – A Brief Exploration of What it Constitutes

October 22, 2011 – 6:40 pm

Fashion jewelry is always surrounded by a lot of hype. People throw terminology around that make it confusing to even understand what is being discussed. From diamond stimulant to synthetic diamond to whatever else you can imagine. The same thing goes for handmade jewelry. Vendors love to throw the word handmade in the mix. We will explore why and what handmade really means.

So what exactly is handmade jewelry? It is jewelry that has been either assembled or made by hand. Great, but what exactly does that mean? By assembly, does that mean that somebody can buy a chain and a pendant, put them together and call them handmade? Not really.

The Federal Trade Commission stipulates that in order for an article to be considered hand made, it must be made by hand power or hand guidance. That leaves a lot of room for interpretation, although they do preclude some processes such as casting, pressing, etc. If those processes are used to make jewelry, then it is not considered handmade. So if you are thinking of purchasing handmade jewelry, make sure you look at it and consider if it’s really hand made.

The next question would be, why would you want to purchase handmade jewelry anyway? A lot of people like the idea of handmade, especially handmade in the USA. Being handmade usually means that there is true artistry behind your piece of jewelry. For those that are patriotic, it makes them feel good to get something truly one of a kind, made in the US.

Especially because there is so much mass produced jewelry being made all over the world and the news is constantly showing children being exploited in factories working from sun up to sun down making a penny per day.

The idea of purchasing a piece of that kind of jewelry is horrifying to most people. The idea of handmade makes it even more precious, knowing that it was made in an environment that does not support child labor and terrible work conditions. Although many items that were formerly handmade are being pushed to being mass produced by machine, jewelry made by hand will be around for a long time to come due to the reasons described above.

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By ben | Posted in Just Jewelry | Tagged | Comments (0)

How to Create Your Own Handmade Silver Jewelry

October 20, 2011 – 2:38 pm

Handmade silver jewelry keeps on growing in popularity. There are many reasons for this. First of all, sterling silver jewelry is long lasting and beautiful. Also, many styles you find in gold or platinum are cost prohibitive, but in sterling silver, they become relatively inexpensive. It’s important to make sure though that you are buying good quality pieces regardless of the price.

In order to understand that, it’s important to know how silver jewelry is made, so that you know what quality to look for. So in this article we will explore how to make your handmade silver jewelry and in the next one, we will explore how to check the quality.

The most difficult part of making your jewelry is actually deciding the design and getting together your tools. First of all, decide what you want to make. In this example we will do a simple pair of gemstone earrings. Get together the following items:

2 Sterling Silver Head Pins
6 Gemstone beads (center drilled)
4 Sterling Silver beads (center drilled)
2 Sterling Silver Ear wires
Round Nosed Pliers
File
Wire Cutters (nail clippers will do in a pinch)

The first step is to string your gemstone bead, then a silver bead, and then again a gemstone bead onto your head pin. Next, take your round nosed pliers and put one of the arms on top of the last bead. Take your wire and wrap it over the arm and wrap it around the head pin. Make sure you leave a little bit of room on top of the bead. Then, remove the pliers and wrap the wire around the straight part of the head pin. You should wrap around going downwards at least three times. Cut off the extra wire that is sticking out with your wire cutters or nail clippers. If you run your finger over the wire that you just cut, you will see that the end of the wire is probably very rough. If it is, then take your file and file away the roughness. You can keep running your finger over the end until you think it feels smooth enough.

Next, take your ear wires and loop them together with the loop you made at the top of the beads with your head pins. Take your pliers and close the loop on the ear wires so that the gemstone part doesn’t fall off.

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By ben | Posted in Just Jewelry | Tagged | Comments (0)

Factors to Consider When Choosing Your Wedding Ring

October 16, 2011 – 7:26 pm

Buying any type of bridal jewelry can be an overwhelming endeavor. Choosing wedding rings jewelry can be an especially daunting task. After all, the wedding ring is the everlasting symbol of your eternal love and will be worn prominently on your finger for many years to come. So many people devote endless hours searching for the perfect engagement ring and don’t even give a thought to their wedding band until the last minute.

When thinking of a wedding band, the first thing to keep in mind is what a wedding ring symbolizes for you. Traditionally, a wedding band is worn closer to the heart, on the same finger as the engagement ring. The wedding ring is a symbol of eternal love; a circle which has no beginning or end, much like the love that is openly acknowledged and celebrated by the lucky couple on their wedding day.

Choosing wedding rings jewelry that compliments your engagement ring and symbolizes your love and life is not easy. There are a few main factors to consider when making this decision:

* Perfect Match: Some rings are designed to fit together. You will commonly hear these referred to as bridal sets. The concept of the perfect fit is a beautiful analogy that can be used to describe the lucky couple as well.

* Distinctive Combinations: The theory that opposites attract is not limited to just people. If you like eclectic mixes or simply do not like traditional matches, then choosing a wedding band that is not an exact match to your engagement ring is the way to go.

* Happy Medium: The majority of people are in between the Perfect Match and Distinctive Combinations. The way that they are able to achieve this look is simple. They choose a contour wedding band which is not an exact match to their engagement ring, but compliments its design.

So when buying your wedding rings jewelry you’ll need to decide what style represents you the best and what you will feel comfortable wearing for the rest of your life. At the end of the day, the wedding ring should be something that compliments your engagement ring as well as your personality.

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By ben | Posted in Just Jewelry | Tagged | Comments (0)

Rings Fine Jewelry – Using Marking to Value Your Precious Piece

October 15, 2011 – 7:24 pm

Rings fine jewelry markings are used to identify the composition of the metal used to make your piece of jewelry. Identifying the type of metal goes a long way in knowing how to value your precious piece of jewelry.

How to Identify Markings on Gold Jewelry

In order to easily determine what your piece of jewelry is made of, you can look at the markings.

24 Karat: Pure gold is stamped 24K or 999 indicating it is 99.9% pure gold. Beware when purchasing 24 karat gold jewelry. In its purest form, gold is too soft and malleable. It is not a good choice for most jewelry.

18 Karat: 18 Karat gold is stamped either 18K or 750 to indicate it is 75% gold.

14 Karat: 14 Karat gold is stamped either 14K or 585 to indicate 58.5% gold.

10 Karat: 10 Karat gold is stamped 10K. It may also be marked 417, but is less common.

KP: KP means Karat Plumb. This means that your item is exactly as marked. If it is stamped 585, then it is exactly 58.5% gold. If it is stamped 583, then it is exactly 58.3% gold. In order to be stamped 14 karat, the item must contain a minimum of 58.3% gold. If it contains 58.5%, then it is still considered 14 karat. Stamping the item KP means that if it is stamped 585, then its composition is exactly 58.5% gold.

The Importance of Gold Jewelry Markings

Value

Gold jewelry markings are very important for several reasons. First of all, it allows you to easily identify what an item is made of. This is very important to help you determine if the price of that item is fair or if the seller is asking too much.

Identification

Most people do not live in the same place for their entire life. If you purchase your rings fine jewelry from your local jeweler and then decide to move away, the markings on the inside of your ring tell their own story. They tell your new jeweler what materials to use if they need to do any sizing or any other type of repair to your piece and they also tell him the manufacturer if their stamp is there. Sometimes they can send your item back to manufacturer for repair for minimal shipping and handling fee. Several designers offer lifetime warranties on their rings, so having that stamp on the inside of the ring identifies it as their own.

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By ben | Posted in Just Jewelry | Tagged | Comments (0)

ART CARVED RINGS

October 14, 2011 – 7:17 pm

Art Carved wedding rings and class rings jewelry are amongst the most sought after on the market. Purchasing wedding rings and class rings is considered one of the most important purchases a couple will make throughout their lifetime, so it’s important to do a lot of research and soul searching before making any decision. Part of the decision making process should include getting to know the leading bridal and ring designers and their product.

Art Carved Rings: A Legacy
It was formed in New York in 1850 as a high-end manufacturer of wedding rings and engagement rings. They developed the first seamless wedding ring, offering the bride and groom the most comfortable and well made wedding rings possible. They have expanded and grown over the past 150 years, adding a few new divisions to their repertoire, including Class Rings jewelry and Birthstone Jewelry divisions. Their rings section is of course, what made them so well-known and respected in the jewelry industry.

Selecting a Wedding Ring
Their rings can be purchased either with diamonds or as plain engraved bands, all available in Platinum, Palladium, Gold, Tungsten, Titanium and some more exotic options like Green Gold. The majority of Art Carved rings are made with Comfort Fit technology. Comfort Fit technology means that the inside of the shank is curved outward. This manufacturing technique gives the wearer ultimate comfort, making it easy for somebody to get used to the feeling of it on their finger.

Finding Rings
Their rings are available at many jewelry stores through the United States through authorized representatives. To easily find one of these authorized representatives, a convenient store list is available on their official website.

Art Carved Wedding and class rings jewelry are some of the best made in the bridal market. Their selection of styles is very elaborate, and varies from classic and plain to ornate and unique.

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By ben | Posted in Just Jewelry | Tagged | Comments (0)

But Why Cubic Zirconia In The First Place?

October 13, 2011 – 7:20 pm

You maybe thinking to yourself why anybody would want to buy cubic zirconia jewelry in the first place? Well that’s exactly what I am going to discuss in the blog post today! So get ready to hear some interesting ideas on why you should go with CZ over Diamonds! The fact is there are many people who do choose it and have very valid reasons.

One interesting story comes to mind that you all may find fascinating. A couple got married, the husband had bought a diamond ring valued at $4,000+. Not bad! Well here comes the bad part of the good story. They went on vacation for their honeymoon and the wife ended up losing the ring on the beach along with a cubic zirconia bracelet. They filed a report and everything but never heard back, four grand down the drain!

So the first reason is the price difference. Would you rather lost a $4,000 ring or a $40 ring? Most people answer that they would rather lose nothing – but if you had to pick one, we all know which one hurts less! Instead of buying that ring they could’ve paid their mortgage for a couple of months, which is sad in this economic times. We’ve heard many stories like this, where people lose rings in: robberies, restrooms, sinks, showers, parties, and the list goes on & on.

So next time you purchase something, be sure to think about the alternatives as for 10% of the price you can get a piece of fine jewelry that looks just as good and saves you time, effort, energy, and most importantly money in the long run!

Pear Cut Blue Cubic Zirconia Cocktail Ring

Pear Cut Blue Cubic Zirconia Cocktail Ring

Sterling Silver Rhodium Finish Heart Pave Anniversary Ring

Sterling Silver Rhodium Finish Heart Pave Anniversary Ring

Rhodium Silver Cubic Zirconia Wedding Band

Rhodium Silver Cubic Zirconia Wedding Band
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