Jewelry is not only beautiful but a wise investment. When buying jewelry there are many things you must consider to ensure you are getting the right piece, as well as the best quality and value. The following tips can help you to make wise choices when it comes to the purchase and care of jewelry.
Try not put any of your jewelry on before applying your makeup. By putting your pieces on before doing this, you risk getting them covered in things like powders and deposits from your makeup. This then collects around gem settings and on metal causing them to turn and look cheap and old.
Many people see jewelry labeled as sterling silver plated and oftentimes think they’ve hit the jackpot when they purchase it at a very low price. In this case unfortunately, you do get what you pay for. This type of jewelry only contains a very thin coating of sterling silver on top of a cheap metal which can usually be identified as copper. The jewelry will eventually tarnish and cause the copper to show through underneath with enough wear.
Personalized jewelry will never fail as a gift, especially for Mother’s Day. A ring with the birthstones of all her children will make a Mom beam with delight. You could also get a bangle bracelet with her childrens’ names engraved on the inside. My favourite is a ring with “I Love You” engraved on the inside.
Know what you are looking for, when you first get to the store. If you are well-prepared for your visit to the jeweler, you will be less likely to make impulse purchases should the opportunity arise. Have a plan and stick to it, to make sure you stay in budget and on track.
When making jewelry and you want to turn a bead into a linked piece, take an eye pin and thread it through the bead’s hole. Let the bead slide to the bottom of the eye pin. Directly above the bead, use your pliers to bend the eye pin approximately 45 degrees. Using wire cutters, trim this to about half an inch in length. Using small round pliers, grasp the tip of the wire and start looping it around the pliers tip. Don’t give up if your eye pin loop is not directly round – practice makes perfect!
If you’re making your own earrings, go to a welding supply store to purchase aluminum wire. You can purchase the wire there in a spool, which is far less expensive than buying it in smaller quantities. Some aluminum wire is also hypoallergenic, making it the perfect choice for individuals with sensitive ears.
When you are working with any kind of silver there is one word that you should always keep in mind – polish! If you polish your silver regularly it will keep it shiny and beautiful for much longer. This helps to extend the life of the piece as well as look newer for longer.
If your jewelry is causing skin irritation, there are certain steps you can take to minimize it. You can use a small amount of powder on the skin in the area the jewelry will be touching. This helps absorb moisture, which will then lessen the chances of allergies or irritation.
Understanding the different cuts of a diamond will make your jewelry purchase much easier. The cut of a diamond refers to the actual cut of the diamond, not the shape of the diamond. The cut is extremely important when making a diamond jewelry purchase because it determines the brilliance and the overall sparkle factor associated with the item.
When buying turquoise jewelry, make sure you’re getting the real thing. Some of the things you can check for are that the color is uniform throughout and that the stone tends more toward opaque than clear. Also, the presence of veins or splotches, ranging from white to black, are a good indication of a real turquoise rather than a fake one. Most important, buy from a reputable dealer and ask for written authentication of the value. Unfortunately, with all the enhancements done to fake turquoise stones, sometimes it’s hard to tell the real thing from an imitation.
When buying jewelry, stay away from well-known name brands. Without any difference in quality, just adding the name of a particular business to an item, could increase the price by as much as 80 percent. Try browsing styles that you like at these locations and then comparison shop at stores that are more likely to have sales.
Avoid spraying your perfume or hairspray after putting your pearls on. Instead, spray first and then put your jewelry on. Pearls are extremely porous and absorb chemicals found in things like hairspray and perfume very easily. Minimize the contact between your pearls and such chemicals to keep them beautiful.
When storing your jewelry, follow any specific advice which is provided by the manufacturer. Different gem stones have different sets of rules for safe storage. Try to keep your pieces of jewelry from touching each other while being stored, since this can lead to scratching each other. If a piece of jewelry has its own box or pouch, use it for better protection of your valuable assets.
Gold is too soft and needs to be mixed with other metals so that it can be hard and last longer. When you see the carat weight of gold that signifies how much gold is actually in the piece as opposed to other substances. Ten karat is the lowest that is available legally, and that is just 42% gold.
In the end, a jewelry purchase is a matter of personal style combined with an adherence to sensible advice. You can put the facts in this article to good use and still find (and maintain) a piece that fits in with your taste. Hopefully whatever you buy will also turn out to be a good investment.
