10 KARAT GOLD! WHY NOT!



IS THIS GOLD NECKLACE 10K, 14K OR 18K? SHE'S NOT TELLING!



The spot price of gold is still hovering around $1,650 today but 10K gold jewelry remains a easy, viable option. I rather buy 10k instead of gold vermeil, for 1 BIG REASON. Hint:  It’s not affordability! 

THE HEARTBREAK OF TARNISH

Gold vermeil is just a hassle to keep sparkly gold looking without the mar of tarnish.

I could not resist buying a choker with 5 small rough diamond beads strung on a delicate gold vermeil chain. Or is it gold filled? In any case, I have to clean it every time I wear it because the chain seems to tarnish within hours of putting it on. 

I would have gladly paid a few bucks more for a 10K gold neck chain just to get the diamond beads.

 I even took the choker to my jeweler for a new chain. But he felt that he couldn’t safely remove and transfer the rough diamond beads without them shattering.

The choker has become a new project:  I plan to purposely blacken the entire chain.

GOLD VS. GOLD-LOOKING JEWELRY

Gold vermeil and gold filled jewelry are manufactured very differently. Gold vermeil is electroplated sterling silver.  Gold filled jewelry is created by bonding gold  onto a base metal alloy with high pressure.

These types of jewelry often come with manufacturers’ warranties against tarnishing.  But to avoid having to read fine print and to save cleaning time, I rather just save-up for 10K gold baubles.

HOW DIFFERENT IS 10K GOLD?

I don’t really feel that people are looking that closely at my 10K, say, stack ring  to easily discern that its not 14K gold.  I will grant you that any bling made with gold ranging from 18K to 24K gold is noticeably brighter than 10K.

Nowadays, I treat any jewelry purchases of 18K gold or higher as a possible financial investment and not just as a fashion statement! I keep wondering 'What if the price of gold falls?'

But whether it’s 10K or 22K gold jewelry, I always say "buy what you like"!

RUSSIAN ST. ANNE MEDAL AUCTIONED FOR RECORD PRICE




Russian ST. ANNE MEDAL    photo courtesy: KAMINSKI AUCTIONS

 

A Russian  Imperial-era  St. Anne Medal was auctioned for a record price of $70,800, earlier this month by Kaminski Auctions in New York City.

The medal is designed with red enamel on a gold cross in a diamond setting and includes an image of St. Anne.

The ornate medal is an excellent example of jewelry designs produced for the Czar.

WHERE TO FIND COLLECTIBLE RUSSIAN MEDALS

Imperial and World War II Russian and Soviet medals are highly sought after. Check upcoming auctions for availability.  Also, if you will be traveling to Russia or a former Soviet block country, keep an eye out for  medals at antique fairs.

SENATOR PELOSI CHANGES FROM SOUTH SEA PEARLS TO COLUMBIAN BEADS



Bronze bracelet with nearly clear and colored copal nuggets



Senator Nancy Pelosi (D-California) wore a stunning necklace of eyeball-sized beads at today’s presidential inauguration events. 

The Democratic House Minority Leader’s necklace was designed with round, nearly clear beads in tones of white, tan and brown, about 12-15 mm in size.   

The necklace featured a gold filigree ball clasp just as large as the beads.  She wore curvy heart earrings to complement her necklace and was attired in a red coral coatdress.

At first I couldn't identify the beads. Mrs. Pelosi’s beads didn’t seem to be Murano glass, crystal quartz, colored quartz or even plastic. Her beads seemed softer, more organic with slight markings.

I did a little research and discovered that her beads may be Columbian Copal.

 

COLUMBIAN COPAL

Copal tree resin is an organic gemstone, often dishonestly substituted for true amber. It’s a “semifossilized form of amber” according to Theresa Geary in her book The Illustrated Bead Bible. 

While both are the same resinous material, copal is not nearly as old as true amber which can be millions of years old.  In some cases, Copal may have been produced by a tree as little as 100 years ago.

Copal has a soft look, with natural colors and often completely clear. Some versions are very similar to butterscotch colored true amber. Copal  is very desirable on its own merits and not just as a substitute for more valuable, authentic amber.

ORGANIZE YOUR BEADS AND JEWELRY, FIND TREASURE

I had to rummage through some old, unfinished bead projects to find a pendant I recalled buying several years ago:

In this bag of old beads and fashion jewelry in the basement...





... I found this antique Ethiopian prayer box

 

Recently, I viewed a religious pendant while on  an antiques website.    It was described as a Yemeni Hebrew prayer box.

 I recalled that I had purchased something very similar many years ago. So I started rifling through my basement storage area. I found the pendant in a bag holding a mishmash of old beads, fashion jewelry and gold findings.

When I bought this prayer box many years ago, I didn't even know what it was, I just liked the particular tint of the red glass beads.  I planned to use the beads in another project that  I never got around to starting. 

ETHIOPIAN PRAYER BOX

I determined that my prayer box is from Ethiopia based on the yarns holding the box. The bezel to the right is not empty, it appears to contain a small, possibly shrunken gemstone, maybe an opal.

Now... back to organizing my old beads and jewelry findings. Maybe I'll discover more treasure.



CROSSES AT ETHIOPIA'S TIMKAT FESTIVAL



MOTHER AND DAUGHTER WEARING ETHIOPIAN CROSSES AT TIMKAT

The Timkat Festival of  the Coptic Orthodox Church will be held on January 19, 2013 in the city of Gondar, Ethiopia in the African Rift Valley. The religious festival is distinguised by priests and other believers parading large, ornate, finely wrought gold Coptic crosses which have become highly collectible worldwide. In the photo above, the mother and daughter wear their Coptic faith jewelry: silver personal crosses which are equally collectible.

JANUARY IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS MONTH




Jada Smith and her "3Strands" bracelet,  photo: 3Strands

 

Somewhere very near to your home, there might be a women being held as a sexual slave.   3Strands Global, a new fashion brand, is committed to stopping this cruelty with handmade bracelets of all things.

The bracelets are made by young women in Cambodia who have been rescued from a life of sexual slavery. These women now have education, counseling, vocational training and health care in missions supported in part by 3Strands Global. The rescued women make the bracelets as part of the healing process and their vocation training.

Sadly, slavery still exists and human trafficking is occurring in small towns and mega cities worldwide.

January is “Human Trafficking Awareness Month” and 3Strands Global is donating 100% of its profits this month to the Cambodian mission.  If you would like to help women who have escaped a life of sexual slavery by buying a bracelet, contact 3Strands Global at http://www.3strandsglobal.com/

LOSING IT…JEWELRY THAT IS

“My jewelry was much more valuable than I thought.” 

 That was what ALL of my clients would tell me after I sent them reminders to obtain a jewelry insurance rider on their homeowner’s policies for coverage. 

Many clients would also tell me “I had many more pieces of jewelry than I remembered.”

On two horrifying occasions, friends have told me that ALL of their jewelry was stolen after I casually mentioned that they looked different. I no longer work in the insurance field, but I still love looking at people who wear fabulous jewelry.

Here’s why you need to get your  jewelry covered under your insurance policy, and updated annually, whether you are an homeowner or renter:

1. Prices for gold, diamonds and gemstones have radically increased over the last five years. You know this yourself by just browsing at your jewelry store or looking online at jewelers' websites. Thieves know this too.
2. Today, there are many more “no questions asked” outlets that buy stolen gold unlike pawn shops which at least have to perform minimal recordkeeping.
3. Updating your jewelry insurance rider each year is a great incentive to keep your precious baubles organized to avoid "losing it" over searching for misplaced items. You can also review your stash to determine which sentimental or extremely valuable items you many want to keep in a bank lock box.
4. I also use this opportunity to get items professionally cleaned, have routine maintenance performed like tightening of prong settings, or to get broken items repaired or restyled. Think twice before leaving large diamonds for cleaning and maintenance, make an appointment to wait while your gem is being serviced.

Check with your insurance agent today about the benefits of insurance coverage on your jewelry. Make sure you understand the types of claims that are not covered. Theft and loss are a sad fact of life when it comes to having great jewelry style.

GOLDEN GLOBES 2013 RED CARPET | WINNING JEWELRY LOOKS ON STAR ARRIVALS!

I got a real thrill watching the luxury jewelry looks worn by celebrity nominees walking the Red Carpet at the 2013 Golden Globes Awards Ceremony. Here are the Best of the Best couture designer and luxury jewelry styles that I saw:

1. Kerri Washington star of Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” sported the best vintage JEWELRY with a diamond and platinum Art Deco Movado wristwatch.  The luxury watch firm has won contemporary fame for producing the ubiquitous "Museum Watch" but don’t forget that Movado’s history goes way back-well over 100 years.
2. Jessica Chastain of “Zero Dark Thirty” fame flashed the MOST SHOW STOPPING DIAMOND EARRINGS: a pair of rectangular cut diamond drops by luxury jeweler Harry Winston which displayed an incredible light-emitting luminescence clearly visible on the E! Channel’s broadcast of the Red Carpet event. This was not a momentary flash but a constant, highly visible, light-emitting fluorescence from both earrings.
3. Julianna Hough from “Rock of Ages” sported the ULTIMATE WHIMSICAL JEWELRY LOOK with a crawling beetle and praying mantis on her ear lobes. The handcrafted ear cuffs are truly art jewelry.
4. Olivia Munn of “The Newsroom” wore the BEST BEADED BEJEWELED GOWN with her strapless Armani design embellished with huge turquoise cabochons.  The gems were horizontally placed to give the effect of a blue-green Native American hair pipe breastplate atop a black skirt.
5. Taylor Swift gets the NO. 1 SEXY LOOK TROPHY for her amethyst shoulder drop earrings that accessorized her eggplant backless, almost to the crack, gown by designer Donna Karan.
6. Denzel Washington’s daughter Olivia Washington wins BEST DADDY’S GIRL ACCOLADES. Olivia wore small dark gemstone chandelier earrings to top-off her safe, demure flower print gown that I’m sure daddy approved of.
7. Zooey Deschanel of “New Girl” gets the ULTIMATE I COULDN’T BE BOTHERED AWARD for matching her stunning red Oscar De La Renta couture designer gown with a boring strand of white South Sea pearls, matching pearl earrings and pearl bracelet.
8. Sofia Vergara from “Modern Family” gets the YOU KNOW YOU LOVE MY JEWELRY AWARD for her diamond flower earrings and matching diamond floral statement ring by luxury jewelry designer Lorraine Schwartz.  The floral design jewelry was the perfect touch for Vergara’s black sequin, strapless barely there, gown by couture designer Cinco.
9. Amanda Seyfried wins HAD TO GO BACK TO GET SOME JEWELRY PROPS for wearing a simple gold bar pin with her beige sequined “Old Hollywood Glamour” gown designed with a keyhole neckline.

Congratulations to all the 2013 Golden Globe Red Carpet stars for arriving in  awesome luxury jewelry style!!

LIFETIME'S DOUBLE DIVAS SERIES PREMIERE REVIEW

Have you seen Double Divas and their huge, humongous...JEWELRY!!! I just got through watching the premier. It's fun spicy sexy stuff about 2 authentic women:  Molly and Cynthia who are custom lingerie designers.


I just love the jewelry styles worn on the show. Take a peek:

Lifetime's Double Divas reality show seems to be a refreshing change of pace with its reality-sized women instead of the bony types with faux body parts.


Confidence is the best accessory to match big statement jewelry  and these Atlanta ladies have been blessed to overflowing!

ALL-AMERICAN GOLD NUGGET JEWELRY



Gold miner and 1 in a billion size gold nugget



  

Flashy mens gold nugget style jewelry seems to have gone into hiding because of the high spot price for gold.  I rarely see gold nugget jewelry for sale anymore. Instead, there is a preponderance of  gold vermeil or gold-filled baubles  for sale which are crafted more artfully than ever.

You many not see gold nugget styles on display at your jewelry store. 

Here’s where to find nugget jewelry:

• Ask your jeweler if they have any gold nugget jewelry in stock, either designed with actual nuggets or the look of gold nuggets.
• A reputable jeweler will be able to order authentic gold nugget jewelry for you, that's been tested for the gold content and gram weight.
• Check the websites of online jewelers who specialize in nugget jewelry styles like tie tacs and cuff links.
• Look at the vintage jewelry styles at your local pawn broker.
• Have gold nugget jewelry personally designed for you by an artisan jeweler.

Gold Nugget Jewelry Style



Mens gold nugget style bracelet

 Gold nugget jewelry bespeaks masculinity to me. 

Mens' ring and bracelet designs with gold nuggets can bespeak Alaskan “Gold Rush” ruggedness, seem as Western as cowboy boots, look as high-rolling as Las Vegas or as gaudy as the local pimp.

Whatever your personal jewelry style, there’s gold nugget jewelry for sale to complement your look.  Earrings and pendants for women are also available.

Pat Thomas for Jewelrystash

THREE’S A CHARM FOR SERENA WILLIAMS

Above, Sloane Stephens is dismayed by Serena Williams winning style

It seems like 3 hearts is a good luck charm for tennis champion Serena Williams.  She won Wimbledon in 2012 wearing the triple heart necklace. Next she won the 2012 Olympics Tennis Singles Championship. Then she proceeded to win the US Open Championship  in August 2012 wearing the same necklace. 

Serena is still in the draw for the 2013 Australian Open.  Will Serena still wear the 3 heart necklace “Down Under”??? Or are her winning attitude and superior skills all she really needs?

Get this:  Serena does not appear to wear the 3 heart necklace in casual photos off the tennis court or at Red Carpet events!

CREATE THE LOOK OF SERENA'S NECKLACE

There's a close-up of Serena’s 3 heart necklace in an interview from last year in the sidebar to the right of this post.  Look at the video for a close-up view of the necklace Serena wears in her matches.

To create the jewelry look of Serena Williams' 3 heart necklace, shop for small hearts, one each in pink gold, white gold and yellow gold.  Place all three hearts together on a gold neck chain.  Finding pink gold and white gold is tricky, but they're more available at online jewelers and major department stores.

  

Which of your jewelry baubles has been an extremely effective good luck charm for you?  Please comment and let me know.

TOP 5 SHOCKING MOVIE JEWELRY SCENES

In the some movies jewelry crosses the nexus from prop to storyline and gets top billing. Here are my top 5 favorite jewelry and timepiece movie scenes:

No. 1 FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE

In the final shoot-out scene, the manhunter with the moniker 'Man With No Name' (Clint Eastwood) reveals exactly what he did for a living before he found bounty  hunting much more profitable.

No. 2  NIGHT AFTER NIGHT

A sparkling Maudie (Mae West) tells the coat check gal, in so many words, that she’s ‘no good’.

No. 3 GOLDFINGER

007 James Bond (Sean Connery) stumbles awake after being knocked unconscious only to find that the blond he's just bedded really is a golden girl--she's dead, painted to death with gold body paint.

No 4 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

The evil Nazi Gestapo henchman gets branded with a Hebrew symbol from the gold and bejeweled Staff of Ra headpiece in the midst of a firefight with archaeologist Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford),  and Miriam (Karen Allen). Miriam had been wearing the staff piece as a medallion.

No. 5 TITANIC

An elderly Rose (Kate Winslet) has had a full and enriching life after surviving the Titanic’s sinking.  She now knows that she doesn’t need anymore jewelry.  So with a triumphant “Hmph…” she tosses the mega-carat heart shaped blue diamond “Heart of the Ocean” into the depths of the sea.

Pat Thomas for Jewelrystash

SHOW STOPPING RICH RED GARNET, JANUARY’S BIRTHSTONE




Fancy Faceted  Garnet Bead Necklace

 

Rich-colored red garnets brighten-up my skin on winter days in January just like raspberry red lipstick.  Wear a multi-strand torsade of burgundy garnet nuggets to liven-up or enhance your skin tone, even if garnet isn’t your birthstone.

When shopping online, in stores or at craft fairs, keep an eye out for the beauty of garnet.

 DISTINCTIVE GARNET DESIGN LOOKS:

• Antique “bohemian” garnet jewelry finds like earrings are commonly available set en masse with multiple small stones.
• Modern ring designs showcasing one large, fancy cut solitaire of a high grade colored garnet are rare but can be found with determination. Larger carats are real showstoppers. They are also easy to wear without fear because garnet has a Mohs hardness scale rating of about 7.5.
• Small gems set in artisan crafted sterling silver jewelry are very common.
• Garnet necklaces strung with unusually faceted beads are very distinctive.

Seed pearls or small opals set together with garnets seem to be traditional companions, especially in vintage jewelry.

MORE TO LEARN ABOUT GARNET

I once passed by a little jewelry store on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue that sold beautiful berry red garnet and pearl jewelry designs.  In fact, vibrant red garnet jewelry in various settings was virtually the ONLY jewelry sold in the store!



Garnet Gemstone Rough



Garnet is very common.

This gem is mined on all continents and has been a mainstay of jewelry since ancient times.

And if garnet is your birthstone, but red is not your color, this gem also comes in yellow, green, basic brown and BLUE!

 And if you just CANNOT decide which color you would like to wear, garnet is also available in two varieties of color-change gemstone.

Pat Thomas for Jewelrystash