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How To Make Your Jewelry Work For You

Color Range Examples  |  Jewelry: Looking Good in the Right Color Metal

Jewelry - Earrings, The Most Important Piece of Jewelry 

Wonderful Rings - Love Them, Enjoy and Show Them Off

How To Make Your Jewelry Work For You

This is a guide for those of us who love to buy jewelry.  It may be Sterling Silver, gold, white gold, genuine diamonds, pearls, or semi-precious gems. We are very fortunate these days to be able to buy gorgeous jewelry of good quality that does not break the budget and is not so expensive that we are afraid of wearing and enjoying it.

First – go through the jewelry that you already have.  (Chances are that it is in a box in one tangled mess.)  Lay each piece out and inspect them.  If they have silver or gold coatings over a base metal (ie not over a precious metal like 925 sterling silver) they will not keep their lustre for very long.  These are fine for a few special occasions but then they need to leave your jewelry box.  Good only for youngsters to play dress-ups with. If the base is Sterling Silver, under normal circumstances it will stay beautiful for years.

Earrings – Are your your most important jewelry item. They give that extra compliment to your complexion that no other piece of jewelry can give.  The right earrings can make the difference between dreary and sensational.  The truth is we would all like to look sensational whether we are in casual, business or evening mode.

In front of a mirror put on one earring.  Look at your self from the side without an earring and then turn to the earring side.  If the earring side does not give your face that extra sparkle and light, put it out of your box into the kids dress-up box or have a lucky dip at your next party. Or you could donate to the school or church fete, some one will love the jewelry that is not helping you.   It may look nice in the box but if it doesn't do that ‘extra something’ for you, you don’t need it.  Repeat this procedure with all of your earrings.

Your earrings need to work for you and earn their keep. You do not want people to look at you and say ‘beautiful earrings’.  The earrings are to compliment you.  When someone looks at you and they say ‘you look fantastic’ then they notice your complimentary jewelry, you will then know that you have got a winning combination.

Now put your jewelry into groups.  This will depend on your life style and employment type.  Roughly it will be casual, work and evening wear.   I find the best way to store jewelry  for easy access and to prevent them from scratching each other is in small clear plastic zip lock bags. When buying jewelry keep these groups in mind and buy specifically for your needs. Just a quick note on the 'work' group. Generally speaking, although it depends on our employment, the best earrings are stud or non dangle. Necklaces and bangles are best not to be too dangly from a safety point of view. 

Having done the above mirror test if you have been honest with yourself you should now have a very good idea about what factors give your face that ‘extra’ sparkle.  This will now make it easy to buy your earrings online where the price/quality ratio should be much better than you can buy elsewhere. I absolutely love the jewelry in my store, I recently changed manufacturers and I have been so excited with the range and quality of the jewelry in my store, I keep buying it for myself and family.  It is just great for gifts. Jewelry is the feel good gift for any occasion    Come and visit our exciting Sterling Silver Plus store http://www.luvitjewelry.com

Sterling Silver Fashion Costume Jewelry Catalog http://www.luvitjewelry.com/catalog/index.php

Sterling Silver Fashion Jewelry Information http://luvitjewelry.com/_private/jewelry%20information%20a.htm

Color Ranges

Range 1 Includes: Navy, black, white, red, shocking Pink, grey.

Range 2 Includes: Soft Blues, rose-brown, navy, rose pink, lavender, plum.

Range 3 Includes: Dark brown, camel, beige, orange, gold, moss green.

Range 4 Includes: Golden brown, camel, peachy pink, peach, soft blues, golden yellow.

Jewelry: Looking Good in the Right Color Metal

Wearing the wrong color metal in your jewelry or other accessories can cause you to look very blah or worse make you look so much older and duller than you could be. None of us like that not even teenagers, well they don't like the blah dull bit. We all have a complexion that looks better with some colors than others. Basically we fall into four different color ranges and it is quite amazing the difference that it makes by putting the right metal color with the right color group.

You can check out these four groups of color (above), you should recognise the group that you fit into the best. Groups 1 and 2 are the cooler shades while groups 3 & 4 are the warmer ones. For a more precise study on which group you belong to there are helpful books on the subject. There are also some very expensive seminars around. Or go through your wardrobe and hold different colored items up near your face while checking your appearance in front of the mirror. You will see which ones give you a lift and which ones don't. Alternatively if you have an honest friend ask them for their opinion. Just be careful that they do not choose their own favorite colors, they must be able to evaluate what is best for you.

I am sure that most have experienced something similar to this.  I found a gorgeous top in a lovely shade of blue with a V neckline delicately decorated with beads. Being in a hurry I did not try it on until I was home. I stood in front of the mirror and it was just plain blah. I took it back to the store and the attendant commented on what a beautiful top it was. I said that I loved it but when I pay that much for a top it has to do something for me and unfortunately this top did nothing for me. Simple, I had not taken the time to see that although I can wear some blues this one was not in my color range.

So that brings us back to jewelry. From very young I was led to believe that gold is the only way to go. As I was buying gold earrings my friend suggested that I try silver ones. The effect was dramatic, my whole face took on a brighter more alive look. It was quite exciting.

Looking at the four color groups. Groups 1 and 2 are for the ones who are enhanced by wearing Silver, Platinum or White Gold. These are wonderful metals that will bring out the best in you. Besides the white metals these 2 groups look just wonderful in diamonds and white pearls. For everyday use you probably don't wear diamonds so go for the clear diamond like cubic zirconia's.

Sterling silver makes brilliant jewelry, if you get a bit tired of cleaning it, you can get Sterling silver with 18K white gold filled or plated jewelry which will not need cleaning so often it looks so good, and will last a long time.

Groups 3 and 4 you get to shine and look your best in Gold. Group three in particular can also wear brass and copper shades.

All groups can wear a mixture of white and gold metals in the one piece of jewelry. This is a really attractive mix.  With the color of other gems, beads and jewelry decorations be guided by the colors that are in your group of colors.

You will get used to looking for the right colors and it becomes much easier with practice, then you will start to notice those around you or even television presenters that have made a bad choice of what to wear 'today', you just know that they could be looking a whole lot better.

Choose to wear the right metal color for that extra sparkle and advantage. Enjoy the compliments coming your way.

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Jewelry – Earrings, The Most Important Piece of Jewelry

Why are earrings the most important piece of jewelry?  By important I mean the piece that will do the most for your appearance.  As with all jewelry it should blend with your overall fabulous look.  You don’t want people to first comment on your great jewelry and then you.  Your overall look is what needs to be attractive, then after the comments of how fabulous you look, they can notice your cool jewelry.

Earrings are what frames your face, if the colour and style are right they will be like two spotlights adding a glow to your face, making it brighter and more alive.  On the whole an earring with a decoration on the front of the post covering the pierced hole gets the reflected light starting from the right point. Earrings with a shepherd hook usually start from a lower aspect and if they are a heavy earring it also shows up the drag on the lobe, these are more suited for casual wear. 

Looking at the Oscars 2007, on the Red Carpet almost all of the earrings worn were decorated from the front of the post, very few wore shepherd hook earrings.  Most earrings at the Oscars were quite elaborate but not overly so.  Some like Nicole Kidman only wore tiny studs.  The choice is yours, try all styles and see which does the best for you.

The history of earrings seems to date back to the earliest of times. The examples found in the ancient countries were nearly all a variation of the hoop earring, a style that is still popular today.  In Cyprus, from the middle of the 2^nd Millennium BC the popular earrings were painted terracotta in the form of stylised nude females.  Earlobes were pierced 2 or 3 times and large terracotta hoops suspended from them.

In Ancient Egypt jewels were an important part of the costume, worn by men, women and children.  Jewelry was also used to adorn statues.  The earrings were in various hoop styles.  Earlobe piercing was evident and earlobes were often extremely elongated and deformed by the use of very heavy ear ornaments from early childhood.

From the late 4^th Century BC earrings were becoming more elaborate in design. The earrings often had suspended pendants and chains. Filigree, granulation, leaf, rosettes and doves were all used to decorate the boat or lower half of the hoop.

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance it was a lean time for earrings due to the fashion of high collars and a headdress that often covered the ears.  It took centuries up to about the 1530s for the earring to emerge again as hair and headdress styles changed.  The new earrings were in the form of plain gold hoops with a pearl drop.  It was not until the 17^th century that the earrings started to make a real comeback, again they often contained pearls.

By the middle of the 17^th century earrings were an essential item and they became more complex and interesting.  They used ruby, pearls, emeralds and enamel in floral motifs.

18^th and 19^th centuries saw some beautiful and elaborate designs, often using semi-precious stones. Also diamonds and pearls and very intricate goldsmith techniques.

Early in the 20^th century around 1910 to 1930 Art Deco style was popular. Around this time ear piercing began to be thought of as barbaric, and clamping earrings to the lobe with a screw fitting became popular.

1947 saw the feminine new look by Dior.  This set the scene for earring design to come to the fore in a creative new way.

1970s saw earring design become larger and more varied. The ever popular hoops were back in demand, many of these hoops were decorated with precious stones.

Then in the late 1970s ear piercing started to become popular again. This trend has continued up until today when almost every woman, a large number of men and children have their earlobes pierced.

Today the styles are very diverse from studs to shoulder dusters.  The very elaborate and expensive to the economical.  Fortunately the economical earrings can look as good as some of the expensive ones. This is due in part to the technology and quality of man- made gemstones that are very beautiful.  For example the cubic zirconia which is made from minerals and resembles the much more expensive diamonds.  Cubic zirconia is not quite as hard as a diamond but it can be cut and faceted in the same designs as a diamond can be cut.  They can be colored to resemble ruby, emerals, sapphire or any other stone.  Enjoy your earrings and look fabulous.

More earrings from the Oscars 2007

Cate Blanchett – black stone on lobe with a larger one dropped from the first

Emily Blunt – Stud earrings

Gwyneth Paltrow – Stone on the lobe with a large elaborate diamond shape drop

Helen Mirren – large button style

Jennifer Hudson – Long drop earring with the piercing covered

Jennifer Lopez – Long drop earring with the piercing covered

Nicole Kidman – Tiny stud

Penelope Cruz – Large flower shaped button style

Portia de Rossi – A short drop from a smaller stone on the lobe

Jada Pinkett Smith – Large diamond shaped drop from a covered piercing

Maggie Gyllenhaal – A medium retro hoop with a boat at the bottom of the hoop – piercing was exposed.

Rachel Weisz – Stud earring

Kate Winslett – an elaborate button style

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Wonderful Rings - Love Them, Enjoy and Show Them Off

Jewelry has a very long and diverse history going back as far as history takes us.  Every culture has embraced the use of jewelry for adornment in some form or other.  The history of wearing rings goes back a long time also.  We think of great rulers who used their signet rings to imprint a wax seal to put their authority on documents.

Today we love rings as much as they were ever loved.  In western cultures they are worn by male or female of any age, on any finger, thumb or toe.  Rings are often made out of precious metals, like gold and sterling silver. Many popular styles of rings are made out of stainless steel or other base metals, wood, bone or shells.  Rings speak of love and friendship or are worn just for beauty and fashion.

Rings are decorated by etching, using contrasting metals, plating, adding precious and semi-precious gems, pearls, enamel or oxidised finishes.  The list of decoration is as endless as the many shapes and sizes of rings.

The Spinner Rings can be used to annoy everyone around you or be used as a way of stress relief for the wearer.

The Class Ring or school graduation ring is often engraved with the year of graduation and a stone of one of the school colors.

Stack Rings are two or more rings designed to fit on the same finger at the same time.

Cocktail Rings are usually large and set with oversized gems, rather showy but elegant.

Rings, especially sterling silver rings, make wonderful gifts because they look wonderful and are not too expensive.  The beautiful glow of the silver sets off the sparkle of any gems that may be used to create the ring.  The majority of peoples skin tone is more suited to silver or a mixture of silver and gold than it is to plain gold.

Rings are widely used as a symbol of love and marriage.  The continuous circular band is said to be symbolic of continuous love and commitment between the partners in the marriage.  Some engagement rings and eternity rings feature three main stones symbolising the past, present and future of the continuing relationship. Most eternity rings have a continuous line of gem stones.

The claddagh ring was first crafted in 1689. Claddagh rings have two hands clasping a heart, symbolizing love, surmounted by a crown, symbolizing loyalty. The ring worn on the right hand with the heart turned outward indicates that your heart is yet unoccupied. Worn on the right hand with the heart turned inward indicates that love is being considered. Worn on the left hand the with the heart turned inward shows everyone that your heart is truly spoken for.

The rich and famous may measure their worth by the size and price of the gems in their rings but the rest of us are content to wear rings for their own beauty and style.   We are fortunate these days to be able to take advantage of the man made gems that look stunning yet are very cost effective.