Category: Jewelry

Gold is tarnish-resistant, but it can get dirty or smudged. Lotions, powders, soaps, even natural skin oils that we use regularly can cover your jewelry and cut down their brilliance. Jewelry cleaning removes any such build-up or residue and restores the original sparkle and shine to make your precious jewelries last a lifetime.

Although numerous commercial products are available to clean gold jewelry, most often water and a mild detergent is sufficient to restore the radiance, and a soft brush helps to gently clean intricate filigree designs and stones. Sometimes it can be helpful to soak the gold jewelry in a solution of one part ammonia and six parts water for up to sixty seconds. It is imperative to dry and polish your gold jewelry with a chamois or soft cloth after cleaning.

Jewelry polishing cloths are an effective and inexpensive way of keeping your bits of gold glittering and radiant. These essential cotton cloths help to remove tarnish and to buff jewelry to look as good as new. Avoid wearing jewelry while in contact with household chemicals, such as chlorine bleach as this can discolor or damage your gold jewelry mountings.

Proper storage of jewelry when not in use is essential to keep your golden treasures clean and new. When storing your jewelry, be careful that pieces do not tumble against each other to avoid scratching and loss of radiance. Ideally, store your jewelry in a fabric-lined jewel case, or a box with compartments or dividers or store each piece in individual soft cloth pouches.

It is important to check the stone settings of your jewelry periodically for any damage to the gold prongs or bezels. Immersing the jewelry in rubbing alcohol for a few seconds will restore the gorgeous sparkle to cloudy stones. It is very important to dry the jewelry thoroughly after cleaning before wearing or storing. Remember that Pave set (glued in stones) jewelry should never be immersed in water while cleaning gold jewelry.

Belly button rings today for the most part are considered necessary accessory to many as the length of shirts and blouses go up and the hip line goes down. The belly for many will look bare if it does not have anything to show on it except the bare navel, and so the belly button ring found its route to popularity.

Belly button rings come in so many varieties that are fun, pleasing and attention catchers. Belly button rings could be flashing, dangling, logo and pieces of artwork that are a gem designer’s craft.

Placing belly buttons rings will require piercing. Any piercing creates wounds and wounds could get infected. If you find therefore that belly buttons are necessary accessories, you have to first, know which materials should be used to adorn that belly and the procedures to take not to be on the sorry side.

The safest materials for belly button rings are gold (at least 14K), silver, surgical steel, titanium, niobium, rhodium etc. Avoid as much as possible the gold imitation, sterling silver and silver-plated ones as they could cause irritation that might lead to infection. Avoid base metal materials that are coated and covered which could easily break. Avoid those that could easily tarnish and corrode when it gets in contact with body fluids and those that may contain allergens. For people who are sensitive to metals, a special plastic called Tygon are good replacements for belly button rings.

To prevent infections, have your piercing done only by qualified practitioners. Doing the piercing otherwise could lead to problems like infection and body poisoning even with properly sterilized instruments. Nerve damage can also be a possibility when done by an amateur.

Pregnant woman may wear their belly button rings up to the fifth month of pregnancy or when the skin in the belly starts to stretch significantly.

Belly button piercing will take a while to heal depending on the individual. The first days after your piercing have the belly button captive bead ring removed by the shop where you got your piercing. When your belly button heals, ask the shop to replace the captive bead with the new belly button rings.

When inserting the belly button ring, it is important to wash your hands with anti bacterial soap for at least four minutes. While inserting the body jewelry, massage both holes with the finger that is pinching the skin adjacent to the belly button holes. When the belly button ring is secured, clean the belly button ring once more to reduce the chance of infection.

Jewelry such as necklaces and bracelets has always been popular accessories to show off your personal style. The problems with the use of jewelry to show off your own style are the fact that the trendy stuff is expensive and only going up in value. This is alright for those of you that have the money to put into fashion but for those of us that love to be in fashion but do not want to sell our first born to pay for it we have the alternate materials to gold and diamonds.

Rubber and silicone are the most popular forms of inexpensive fashion these days. How is that you say? The bracelets and wristbands that everyone from celebrities to the normal person wears to show support for causes like cancer and aids can be custom ordered to fit your own thoughts, views and opinions. No longer do these bracelets have to be ordered in enormous amounts for thousands of dollars. Now they can be ordered by basically anyone for anything on any budget. Look into them and see how they will fit into your life and the life of the clubs and groups you belong to.

Rhinestones, put simply, are glasses with faceted top and a very thin foil at the very bottom – that way the light reflects and refracts in glass like it couldn’t – because glass is less refreactive tha diamonds – light passes it through, when in real diamonds a full inner reflection is happening.

Chaton Roses are flat-bottom rhinestones (it is pronounce “shayton”). They have Aurora Boreale effect (“Northern Lights”, which can be seen in Northern Poles when millions of ion particles enter unprotected with magnetic field atmosphere). It’s just a matter of simple physics dispersion (hmm, didn’t we all learn this at school), and the laws of the light were discovered in 10th centuries (actually rediscovered in 17th century) and it took centuries to apply it to glass to make it seem like a diamond (talking about rhinestone jewellery of course).

So what are they uses for those little sprkling things? Chaton Roses have a lot of uses, like body jewelry (some of it can even be used to swim – a special kind of glue makes it water-resistible for a week or so, and it looks really amazing – actually I was pretty stunned when I first saw this kind of body jewelry); it is also used in dance costumes, as bridal jewelry.

These stones are real jewelry-makers dream. But you’d better be persistent enough – you might need tens of thousands of stones to decorate a costume, yet you might need only tens to make a little love-heart shaped thing near your belly button. It’s really fun and think of the looks of it.

The most known brand to produce such crystals is (of course) Swarovski crystals. You should easily find those in Internet.

The diamond necklace in the movie was held in high regard, valued and worn by only the upper-class passengers of the Titanic. Does the entertainment industry then suggest that diamonds are worn only by the privileged and wealthy? Well, possessing real diamond jewelry is not just some frequent commodity for the average person. Diamonds are rare and beautiful jewels, and for that reason they are exclusive.

In fancy jewelry, diamonds are showcased in a collection of necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings. For special occasions, these diamond accessories complement any formal wear you would display at such places like a fancy ball, a dinner party or a milestone affair like on your wedding day. For women, wearing a strapless gown complemented by a diamond necklace will put all emphasis on the beautiful jewel. Imagine the sparkle you could exhibit by wearing diamond jewelry!

If you are interested in buying a necklace for yourself or for a gift, be aware that a diamond necklace is a pricey, yet worthwhile investment. Such gifts as a diamond necklace should be given to a special loved one or bought with the intention of wearing to formal affairs.

The various styles of diamond necklaces gives one a personalized preference to accompany their formal outfit. For example, actresses observed at an award show are seen wearing distinctive diamond necklaces. For an extravagant look, one movie star was seen wearing a necklace with sparkling diamonds all around the neck. For a simpler look, another actress was seen wearing a thin chain, emphasizing all attention to the solo diamond. Moreover, finding a diamond necklace that suits your preference can well be accomplished with the huge variety of styles to choose from.

One of the first rules of keeping your silver jewelry shining, is to store it properly in acid-free paper, or cloth especially for that purpose. Put them in a drawer or other safe place, that is away from exposure to wood or other types of smoke.

It is best to keep jewelry polished, instead of trying to play “catch up” when it has become heavily tarnished. But there are a number of ways to deal with the darkening color.

There are many home solutions, such as using white toothpaste and a soft brush. However, some jewelers point out that silver is not tooth enamel, and can’t withstand the abrasive content. Although on things like chains, it’s unlikely you would see any resulting scratches.

Commercial solutions do work, but depending on the nature of your jewelry (e.g. whether it contains gemstones or pearls), you may not be able to submerge it completely, and the cleaning will be uneven.

One basis of both commercial and home cleaning solutions, is the creation of an electrochemical cell, where there is a metal ingredient that is anodic to silver. This means that it will help turn the silver in the sulphide tarnish, back to silver.

A favorite home treatment is to line a pot with aluminum foil, one of the metals anodic to silver, put your jewelry in, and cover it with water, then add several tablespoons of baking soda. Boil gently until you see that the discoloration is gone. Your jewelry may be completely clean, or may have a white powder on its surface from the oxidization. This can be removed easily with a baking soda paste. Remember to exercise caution in cleaning silver jewelry. If it is not purely silver, like a chain or bracelet, the treatment you use can damage soft stone or pearls.

A handcrafted bracelet is when an artisan personally picks out the beads and colors him/herself. And then decides on a design, stringing material, and what kind of impression this piece of jewelry should make. There really is a lot that goes into the thought process.

I can tell you that I personally create all of my bracelets…. I take a whole evening, or even days to create a special piece. In my jewelry box–you can expect to see that not one design is exactly the same. I get so many compliments on my work that they ask me–where did you buy that?…. (of course the ones who know me well know that I have made it myself, and compliment me on my artwork)–but for those who don’t know me, they will just sigh in amazement that it seems almost impossible to create..

So when I say a handcrafted bracelet is something to cherish–I truly mean it. There is so much work from the heart that goes into it-thats why its so hard for a true jewelry artisan to part with his/her jewelry–It becomes a part of us.

–The next time you receive a handcrafted bracelet or any other piece of jewelry–take it as a compliment. It means that you are special to that person and they wanted to find something original and unique to give you…

Over the centuries artisans have inspired us with beautiful jewelry and metalworks created from Mokume Gane’s metal laminates. Prized metals such as gold, platinum, silver, and others have been artfully united by her craftsmen. The captivating results speak for themselves. Mokume Gane’s “wood grain metals” tell stories of timeless beauty.

But now, and only through modern man’s amazing achievements in science, the powerful king of metals – Titanium – has arrived. Finally refined to its pure elemental state in 1910, Titanium has already transformed many aspects of human life. As you may know, it is a key metal used in our explorations of space, and it is also the preeminent material used in surgical implants. Titanium is 42% lighter than steel – yet stronger, possessing the highest strength to weight ratio of any known element. It will not corrode in salt water. Titanium is even hypoallergenic and extremely bio-compatible. Yes, having demonstrated its superior position among metals, and thus earning its noble status, Titanium is now dignified as a component of jewelry collections and mingles easily with our precious metals and gemstones.

The heralded Japanese art form Mokume Gane waited centuries, but she has finally met her match. The Titan among metals has found himself wrapped up in the art of Mokume Gane. Their union is rich in history and in power. They will do well together…

You can experience the beauty and power of Titanium Mokume by visiting Titanium-Jewelry.com, an online showcase of fine jewelry. Unlike many others utilizing undesirable industrial alloys, their Titanium rings are made from 99+% commercially pure Titanium, the only choice for use in jewelry.

Titanium-Jewelry.com offers the acclaimed Edward Mirell line of Black Titanium Mokume rings, an achievement dubbed “Timoku”, featuring gray and black titanium folded together using techniques echoing the ancient Japanese methods. Coupled with the natural gray tone of Titanium, in classic Mokume Gane fashion, is the trademarked Black Ti, a revolutionary alloy even within the Titanium world.