How to Choose a Piece of Handmade Jewelry
- by Kristie Leong M.D. -

When you choose a piece of handmade artisan jewelry, you are purchasing a piece of work directly from the artist’s hands. This gives it special meaning and value. Much thought and design knowledge has gone into creating your special handmade jewelry piece. Here are some guidelines to help you make the best selection:

1. Are you buying handmade jewelry for yourself or as a gift?

Handmade jewelry makes a very special gift. It shows you’ve taken the time to find a piece of jewelry not found in a department store or produced on the mass market. This will be reflected in the beautiful craftsmanship that the individual artist adds to the piece. There’s also the option of having a custom design created by the artisan for a special, one-of-a-kind gift.. When you buy handmade jewelry, you’re getting the highest quality components and design because the artist has complete control over each phase of the process. You’ll have a unique design that you can wear with pride knowing that it won’t be seen on everyone else in town.

2. Do you like a classical look or do you lean more towards a funky, eclectic style?

If you prefer the classics, you may want to consider purchasing a simple, single stranded necklace with matching bracelet and earrings, possibly in a solid color. This kind of look never goes out of style and looks elegant with almost everything you wear. If you lean towards the funky, eclectic look, consider wearing a larger, chunkier necklace or layering several smaller necklaces for a unique and offbeat look. Who says the earrings have to match the necklace? You can choose necklace and earring combination that suits your own unique personality. The sky’s the limit!

3. What is your basic body build? Are you tall or short, petite or big boned?

If you have a petite build you may find more delicate pieces are appropriate so that you aren’t overpowered by your jewelry. A petite woman can look quite dramatic in a large necklace if it’s worn with a solid colored outfit and is the focal point of her look. In a case like this, you might want to choose a smaller, more delicate pair of earrings to avoid looking overdone. If you’re tall or larger boned, the sky’s the limit! You’ll find big and dramatic pieces to be quite flattering and you can easily pull off the layered look. Although the above is a general guideline, there are no hard and fast rules. Jewelry is all about expressing yourself the way YOU see fit!

4. What is your basic skin tone and hair color?

Again, there are no hard and fast rules here at all. Sterling silver can be particularly flattering if you have dark hair or grey undertones. Blondes tend to look stunning in gold, goldtone, and brass shades. Copper shades are just made for the rare redheads of the world, although copper looks great with almost any hair color!

Jewelry is fantastic for drawing the eye to your most flattering features and pulling the eyes away from your less desirable ones. If you have an overly round shape, a round earring shape will only accent it. Why not try an interesting drop style to draw the eye downward. If you have a long, narrow face, you might want to avoid the drop style earring and go for a shorter button type. Do you love your hands? Accent them with a beautiful handmade bracelet! Likewise a nice manicured hand can be accented with a handful of artisan rings.

As you can see, handmade jewelry can change the way you look and feel. Use these guidelines to help you select pieces that are right for you. The result will be a stunning collection of artisan jewelry that you’ll treasure for many years to come.

Pearls: Classic and Stylish
- by Linda Blatchford -

Pearls are June Birthstones: along with Pearl, Moonstone (Traditional: Alexandrite).

There is so much history about pearls that five (5) months claim them as their birthstone: February, April, June (traditional), July and November.

Pearls are an astral stone for the signs Gemini and Cancer are linked to the moon. Pearls have been called the “teardrops of the moon”. Some believe that pearls were formed by the passage of angels through the clouds of heaven.

Spiritual Benefits of wearing pearls:

* Stimulates spiritual transformation
* Promotes prosperity and success
* Encloses you with an aura of calm and beauty
* Helps with stomach, digestion and emotional stress
* Amplifies focus, meditation skills and wisdom
* Helps balance the solar plexus chakra

Over time, the pearl has become the symbol of purity and innocence and it is often sewn into bridal gowns, or worn as jewelry by the bride.

Pearls are classic, elegant and may be expensive. They are very popular at the Gem Shows.

Queen Alexandra’s Pearls*

Most fine jewellery in the 1900s was white and made from either diamonds or pearls. Queen Alexandra initially wore dog collar chokers, called a ‘collier de chien’ to cover a small scar on her neck.

For state occasions and formal events she plastered herself in arrangements of pearl necklaces.  The rarity value of real pearls then was such that an American skyscraper exchanged hands for the price of a pearl necklace . This is not as ridiculous as it seems, since fine south sea pearls still command a high price.

Pearls were very fashionable, but still very, very costly.  After the 1890s, Kokichi Mikimoto of Japan, produced highly acceptable cultured pearls by placing a small bead into an oyster shell. The bead coated itself with nacre (mother of pearl) and so good looking pearl jewels became more affordable.

Various combinations of pearl necklaces come in and out of fashion with regularity so pearls too are a must.  Both fake and real freshwater or cultured pearls are very affordable today. The price of pearls has dropped by about a fifth in the past 10 years and the Chinese are making waves in the pearl world with their cheaper prices. The Japanese have suffered disease in their pearl beds as well as facing competition and are finding it hard to compete with China’s prices.

Value of Pearls

In the early 1900′s, the financier Morton F. Plant exchanged the building for a Cartier two-strand Oriental pearl necklace much coveted by a woman he admired.

A pearl is judged by its luster, size and markings. Although baroque, or unevenly formed, pearls have often been popular, it is the perfectly round ones that are now most desired. The best have a creamy, slightly pinkish glow. Black pearls (actually, a sort of silver-gray shade) are also coveted. Pearls are measured in millimeters, with 7 to 7.5 considered respectably modest while something larger than 10 millimeters becomes pretty important. For the last 70 years, they have been ”farmed,” which means the deformities have been given a helping hand. These pearls are called cultured, and today natural pearls are extremely rare.

Most of the cultured pearls, Mr. Mondschein says, come from Japan, while the largest ones come from the South Seas, Burma, Tahiti and Australia. Pearls should always be kept in a soft pouch; they can be professionally cleaned with soap and water. ”But spray perfume is the killer,” says Mr. Mondschein. ”I’ve seen people ruin pearls that way. And once the bloom is off the pearl, it can never come back.”