Fashion Costume Jewellery

Archive for May, 2010

Remember when a strand of pearls stood for class and high society? Well the pearl is still a fashion statement indicating sophistication and taste. There are so many more designs now available in pearls that it is also now a statement for originality and femininity.

Pearls are one of the birthstones for June. They are gifts from the sea and the only birthstone or in fact gemstone that is made from a living organism. Quite unique.

Pearls are made within oysters – the type of oyster reflects the type of pearl that is produced.

There are a number of different types of pearl.

Freshwater pearls are pearls grown in a mollusc. These oysters can produce for more than one season and can generate up to 15 pearls at one time. The longer the pearls are left in the oyster the larger the pearl. The average time a pearl is left in the shell is three years making freshwater pearls a cost effective option.

About 80% of the world’s freshwater pearl output comes from a region in China known as Zhuji. Yu and Shanghai boast pearl markets that are amongst the world’s largest. Every year over 1,500 metric tons of freshwater pearls are produced! It is great fun to tour the pearl markets and see sacks of these gorgeous freshwater pearls piled one on top of another.

Cultured pearls are a little more expensive as they are deliberately grown by irritating the oyster by putting a special round shell into the oyster.The oyster produces a substance called nacre with which it coats the irritant. Layer on layer is added until such time as the oyster is harvested. Unlike the freshwater pearl, once the oyster is harvested it cannot be used again to produce an oyster, but the shell is often used for other purposes as it is the “Mother of Pearl”. The nacre coats the pearl shell too. Most freshwater pearls are harvested after two to four years and produce a single pearl.

The South Sea Pearl is considered to be one of the most expensive and beautiful of this type of pearl, with the Black Tahitian pearl being most sought after.

About 80% of all South Sea pearls are grown in Australia.

Although oyster shells are usually discarded many interesting by products come from the shell. Mabe pearls for instance. These are blisters that form in the shell where coatings of nacre have been deposited. Cut from the shell Mabe pearls can be very valuable and of an interesting shape. Also made from the shells are carved cameos particularly from the Pinctata or Black Lipped Oyster Shell. Some of our signature range use these cameos. Carving requires a shell of superior size with a depth of nacre or mother of pearl deposit. Many of the cameos we use are hand carved.

Thicker deposits on the oyster shell are often cut into beads and there is also now a process where the shell – the “mother of pearl” – is separated and crushed. The crushed shell is then reconstituted and shell-pearls are created. Because these are man made, they are usually very regular in shape and can be almost perfectly round.

Cultured and freshwater pearls are rarely round – there is no way how the oyster deposits the nacre can be controlled. Round pearls are usually more expensive than other shapes for this reason. Large round pearls can command a very high price and take many seasons to create.

Matched pearls take years to find – producers scan their yearly production for pearls that are almost identical – they usually look for almost perfect pearls of a particular shade and size. It is not unusual for a single strand to take 8-10 years to complete!

Button pearls are squashed rounds – they are generally round in shape but less thick than a round. Rice pearls are likewise elongated like a grain of rice. Baroque pearls are those of an unusual and often unique shape. Coin pearls are round but flat, pearls shaped not unlike a coin.

There are a number of legends surrounding pearls, the most common of which is that pearls are the tears of joy of mermaids.

Pearls are often crushed and included in high end cosmetics, the pearl adding to the preservative powers of the cosmetic.

Pearls are a soft gem, as such they should be handled carefully. When wearing pearls, apply your cosmetics and perfumes before you put on your pearls. Perfumes can be particularly aggressive on pearls, eating away the precious nacre.

Never place your pearls in with other jewellery without first wrapping it carefully. The other jewellery can act as an abrasive and again wear away the nacre.

Pearls should definitely be worn – the body oils that the pearl will collect while being worn will assist in it keeping its shape and not drying out. So please don’t just keep them for a special occasion! Pearls are considered to be trendy and quite sexy, so use them with your other outfits too.

Many jewellers insist that pearls should be knotted. The cord used should last at least five years and then replaced. The advantage of the knotting is that the most that could ever be lost from a broken string of pearls is one pearl. The knots also prevent the pearls from rubbing against each other often creating damage within the strand. The pearl cords are also soft and will not abrade the pearl from within the way wire can. Knotted strands are entirely hand strung so do tend to be a little more expensive.

On a last environmental note, natural and beautiful, growing pearls is not damaging to the environment and pearls are an entirely renewable resource!

Cartier the famous jeweller has a unique and somewhat different place in pearl jewellery history. Their flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York was purchased in 1917 for the paltry sum of $100 cash – but the deal did include a double strand of matched pearls that was valued in 1917 at one million US dollars!

The pearls are usually harvested after one year for akoya, 2-4 years for Tahitian and South Sea, and 2-7 years for freshwater

On the continuum of pearl values, the natural pearl is the most highly valued basically because of its rarity. Then comes the cultured salt water pearl and finally the freshwater pearl. It is also possible to purchase glass pearls that look remarkably like the real thing, but do not have the same feel or weight as the real thing. A simple test to differentiate the two is to gently rub the pearl on your teeth – a genuine pearl will feel gritty as compared to the glass pearl.

Just because Pearls are the birthstone for June certainly does not mean that those of us not born in June should not wear them. We can all celebrate their rich colours and beautiful textures.

Shop by Retailer, pearl jewellery can be viewed in these online stores:

Rayclif pearl jewellery accessories

Jewellery Web

Nordstrom

Earrings are back, conspicuous, obvious and framing your face. In the past few years status bags and towering heels have taken all our attention, but in this world of recovering economic turmoil, earrings are the ultimate accessory that gives the most versatility and freedom.

Don’t make apologies for wearing outrageous earrings, accept and applaud yourself for being so “out there”. Draw back your hair or even have it cut off and allow your earrings to be on show not hiding behind loose tendrils of hair. Really long shoulder dusters can of course, look great appearing from behind your hair line.

If you are wearing big, exotic earrings leave attention on your face and avoid wearing an equally outrageous fashion necklace. In fact, leave off the necklace entirely! Wasn’t it Coco Chanel who suggested that before you exit your house, take off one piece of jewellery? If you need more jewellery (and who doesn’t?) consider dress rings or bracelets.

Colour? Choose carefully and wear the colour that suits your complexion. Light from the earrings will shine back into your face. You might match the earrings to the colour of your outfit or choose something with extreme contrast just to shock. It is great fun to change your habits just for a day here and there – enjoy!

Price? Fashion Costume Jewellery varies so much but remember it is fashion and trends pass frequently, so look for reasonably priced but limited edition earrings. Best if everyone isn’t wearing them! Above all, celebrate who you are and show the world that you are magnificent.

What do you think of when you hear the word “jewels”? My first thought is to the Crown Jewels held in the Tower of London. I love to go through the exhibition every time I am in London. I especially love the travellator section where everyone pushs to gain the best vantage point! Everyone loves viewing such exotic and amazing creations.

One step down from the Crown Jewels must be the great jewellery houses of the world – think Harry Winstone, Tiffanies and Freds. High quality, highly creative and highly priced beautiful jewels.

Now picture a young girl luxuriously pulling our beaded necklaces from an old jewellery box. That feeling of ownership and mastery over such valuables is priceless.

The majority of grown-up people, of course, just don’t have either any chance of owning the Crown Jewels or of shopping at Freds every week! So what does the word “Jewels” mean for us? For me, colourful jewellery like the larger and glamourous cubic zirconia come to mind. Diamond like iin their appearance, the cubic zirconia sparkle and shine and when deep, rich jewel tones (like Ruby and Amythst) are added – well, wearing a piece like this just feels like a million dollars.

Do let’s be honest, it is not what you spend on your jewellery that matters, it is how you feel when you wear it.

For me, buying a well made but not expensive cubic zirconia item (like the bracelet above) means that I don’t have to feel guilty when I have worn it once too often. The quality finishes (like rhodium and gold plate) mean my inexpensive jewellery will last quite a number of seasons.

What does the word “jewels” mean to you?

The cameo is starting to be seen in fashion magazines and on fashionistas again. For some time, the Cameo went out of vogue, consigned to Granny’s jewellery drawer. Now, Cameos are seeing a re-birth with a vast array of different styles being produced in jewellery pieces as diverse as rings, brooches and pendants.

Cameos are traditionally an oval or round background with a raised design often of a woman but possibly an insect, bird or animal that are in a contrasting colour to the background. Cameos that are carved into a background are technically known as intaglio, but are often described as cameos too.

A Cameo can be made of a huge variety of materials from acrylic to shell, gemstone to resin. Shell cameos usually have the same foreground as background as they are carved from a single piece of shell and rarely mounted on another surface.

Shell cameos usually have the same foreground as background as they are carved from a single piece of shell and rarely mounted on another surface. It was shell cameos where the whole trend started. Italian shell cameos in particular, are prized for their workmanship and artistry. It has been said that Cameos originated in the Naples region with  craftsmen hand carving the local shells.

Cameos are traditionally a design often of a woman but possibly an insect, bird or animal that are often in a contrasting colour to the background.

Shell cameos are all hand carved because of the uneven nature of the shell surface, it is just not possible to design a machine that can create this type of work on an uneven background.

At Rayclif we stock handmade jewellery made from a variety of cameo types including hand carved shell cameos, hand carved opals, glass and resin. Our crafts people create the glass cameos with the hand carved shell and opal cameos being imported. This raw material is then lovingly transformed into beautiful contemporary jewellery in alloy, sterling silver or 14K Gold filled finishes.

One of our specialities in our Cameo Creations are mother and child cameos depicting a mother and her baby – ideal gifts for your Mum perhaps for Mothers’ Day and a fantastic gift for new Mothers.

Check out our current range of cameos right here at rayclif.com.

This is a really cool idea – get double the value from your pins and brooches by using this nifty device to change them into a pendant.

There are two devices, a horizontal and a vertical brooch converter. Simply pass the pin through the hole in the converter. Close the pin over the converter and you have a pendant. The converter has a bail through which a necklace can be passed quite easily.

The brooch converters come in silver or gold plate.

What a great idea! For more information on the brooch converters check out our website.