Jewelry Gemstone Insiders Guide

Custom Jewelry - Should You Bother? by Guest Author Ann Elizabeth Dennis

I am always on the lookout for funky jewelry. I especially like beaded jewelry that is unique and unlike anything else I've ever seen.

The only problem is that any time I find a piece I like, it's usually at a retail store where they sell lots of others just like it.

I don't want to be at work and see someone wearing the same bracelet I'm also wearing, which is why I like to search online to find nice pieces of custom jewelry.

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• HINTS AND TIPS

Bead earrings can be custom designed for you by many crafters. Be sure that the crafter uses good quality materials, so that your bead earrings will stay looking nice and to prevent problems with allergies to certain materials.

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A woman I know owns a business where she creates custom jewelry according to whatever specifications you have in mind. I asked her to make a necklace for me using small beads, and I wanted the necklace to be red and brown. I left the design part of the necklace up to her and she came up with a gorgeous piece of custom jewelry that is the only one of its kind.

She makes the beads herself in her home, and no two are ever alike, so even if she repeated the same design for another customer, I know that another necklace would never be exactly like mine.

When my husband and I bought new wedding bands, we decided to melt down some of our other gold pieces and design our bands from the old jewelry. We designed plain bands with a small logo on the side that we came up with, and the jeweler who made it for us specializes in this kind of custom jewelry.

This is a very different process from going into a jewelry store and selecting a piece of jewelry from their current inventory.

Our rings are unique and we will probably never see another that looks like them.

We also had them inscribed inside, so even if we did, there would never be any confusion.

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• HINTS AND TIPS

You can buy or make funky earrings to express your personality, or more expensive bead earrings are available with beads, gold, and crystals coming together to form pretty designs.

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Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt did something similar when they designed their wedding rings, but unfortunately they are famous so their custom jewelry design was ripped off and now there are many people with rings similar to theirs.

I guess it's not all that unfortunate if you consider the fact that they are divorced now and their rings probably don't mean much to them anymore.

I always thought that getting tattoos together would be the closest you could get to unique custom jewelry, even though tattoos are not jewelry at all.

But now that I've discovered the world of online custom jewelry artists, there are so many more options available.

Tags: bead earrings, custom jewelry, elizabeth dennis, funky jewelry, old jewelry

marking on post-WWI jewelry Question: I have a ring passed down from my great-grandfather, which my great grandmother gave him after WWI.

Answers to Questions About Old Jewelry: Covers 1840-1950 (Answers to Questions About Old Jewelry)

Price: $16.91

The number 222 is stamped inside of the ring.

Is there some significance to this?

Read more... ...

Tags: carat gold, great grandmother, jewelry appraisals, members forum, old jewelry

Question: Dear Mr. Foard,

I'm hoping you can help me. I would like to know where I could go to find info on historical jewelry.

It's weird, but I am looking for information about a ring that I saw. The band was made of some sort of matte black stone, with some black shiny marquis cut stone set in it. The weird thing is that it wasn't set with traditional prongs, it was sort of tied to the band with a gold wire.

I would appreciate if you could point me in the right direction.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Answer: G'day and many thanks for your query

Firstly - please don't call me Mr Foard - That was my Father! My name is David ;o)

Many of these black gemstone designed rings are what they call Mourning Rings, and were made to literally commemorate someone who had passed away. They were often seen as black enamel or (as in this case) if you are sure it was made from a matt black stone - Black Onyx or Hematite.

Occasionally these rings also had a special compartment where a lock of hair was placed and this makes me believe (although I haven't seen it) that it could have once had something underneath the gemstone.

Over time the item may have become worn or broken so someone has simply used a wire to hold the gem in place.

There are several good site with information on antique jewelry and you can always do a search on eBay for Mourning Jewelry (try Google or your Favorite search engine).

One of my frequent sites is Antique Jewelry of the 20th Century ( http://www.jewellery-antiques.com/ ) where there is a ton of articles, or you might like to try the Antique Jewelry Fair ( http://www.antique-jewelry-fair.com ) as they occasionally have old jewelry like this for sale.

Hope this helps...

Tags: antique jewelry, black onyx, ebay, mourning jewelry, old jewelry

I recently received an email from a client with regard valuing an Antique 18ct Watch Chain, and it made me realize that people don't understand the difference between NEW jewelry and OLD jewelry when it comes to an Appraisal.

At the Valuations Online Database there is a built in formula to calculate these differences, but the basics remain that ALL Valuation Appraisals stem from a single MASTER price based on the REPLACEMENT FOR INSURANCE price.

An Antique, Secondhand, Vintage or Estate item is simply a proportion of this original MASTER valuation. No more - no less.

A visit to the only online appraisal system in the world not only explains this difference, but allows anyone to do their own Valuation Appraisal and Print their Certificate right there on the Desktop at Home or Work.

Can't be any easier than that...

Tags: appraisal problem, insurance price, new jewelry, old jewelry, watch chain