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
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 may 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 may 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. It is just great for gifts. Jewelry is the feel
good gift for any occasion.
Sterling Silver Fashion Jewelry Information
Back to Top
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.
Back to Top
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 2nd
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 4th 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 17th century that the
earrings started to make a real comeback, again they often contained
pearls.
By the middle of the 17th century
earrings were an essential item and they became more complex and
interesting. They used ruby, pearls, emeralds and enamel in floral
motifs.
18th and 19th centuries saw
some beautiful and elaborate designs, often using semi-precious stones.
Also diamonds and pearls and very intricate goldsmith techniques.
Early in the 20th 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, emeralds, sapphire or any
other stone. Enjoy your earrings and look fabulous.
Back to Top
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
---------------------------------
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.
Rings are
for wearing, giving, cherishing and enjoying, one can never have too
many.
Back to Top
|
