Summer


Have you ever thought about jewelry for your hair? Or, rather, jewelry in your hair? Yes! There are some fun cheap things that you can buy in any department store or other retailer. But have you rummaged through your jewelry box? Do you have some really wonderful old brooches that you don’t know what to do with? This is an “Ahhh-Ha” moment for you!

Many times there are beautiful antique combs that are put in front of me or I see them in garage sales. Ladies just don’t know what to do with them. Well, SNAP THEM UP!!! Don’t pass them by. Some are sterling too. Make sure they are in excellent to good condition.

I have old combs and wear them in my hair when the either match or clash with what I have on. Clashing just makes a cool statement. One is a big Art Deco pierced celluloid peacock tail shape with sparkly green rhinestone in it. It’s usually buried at an angle in a French twist and left to peek around the side of my head. There are SO many ways to wear it. Another way is to make a low chignon off to one side and have it peeking out the side. The ways to use it are unlimited.

Bar pins, whether real or not, are another great piece. Pin it in your hair. Real gold, platinum and real stones flip out people because it’s so unexpected. Here, again, the French twist is great for a bar pin. If you’re worried about it coming off, just add a couple of bobby pins on the pin stem and make sure to point the pin clasp end downward. It just makes your hair look fabulous! I’ve had some real ooooo’s and ahhhh’s from a platinum and diamond Art Deco bar pin in my hair. It’s really a sparkler in dark auburn hair and I’ve ALWAYS been asked where I got it.  It’s been fun to say “Out of my jewelry box.”

Got clip earrings with lots of rhinestones? Use those in your hair. Be careful about pulling them out so you don’t pull your hair out. They don’t have to match. Remember to use and odd number of items. And if you don’t use them in your hair, clip them to your plain pumps or ballet flats to dress them up. So don’t forget your toes for a little bling.

What to do with a pony tail? Set your hair how you like it, slick it back and pin a HUGE rhinestone brooch over the top of the elastic or plain bar barrette. That brings up the WOW factor in a hurry! Or clip in some clip earrings on the elastic. They don’t have to be a set, just complimentary together. I have some clip button earrings that have several strands of variegated brown beads falling that have been clipped to the top of a hair elastic. It was a great look.

For you short hair ladies, just clip the clip earrings to a small plain headband of your choice. Here again, an odd number is the best. Don’t set the earrings in the center of the headband, set them off center. Big 60’s paisley earrings are fun. You might just need only one earring if it’s really big.

A Victorian collectible is the hair twist. You see them now put out by Goody. It’s just a little thing set with rhinestones on top with a spiral of wire that’s twisted into the hair. The Victorian Gibson Girls really had something there. This is an old notion with a modern twist….ha ha on the twist. Occasionally, you can find the antique ones. They don’t look like much of anything on their own. But together, they really make an up-do. I have numerous of them. They are one of the obscure things that I collect. Quite a few of them have diamonds, amethysts, zircons and one with a signature of Mauboussin in 18kt gold

Dig into your jewelry box, your Mom’s or better yet your Grandmother’s. Look in garage sales for sweet finds. Check out the local antique mall or resale shop. There are combs, earrings and brooches that are out there just waiting to help bring a little bling to your hair and add a little more sparkle than just your eyes. Sparkles to everyone!

february-09-041wordpressTurquoise has been in style for quite a while and is currently gaining more popularity.  It comes in such a wide variety of blues and yes, greens.  It has been the valued gemstone choice of Kings and Queens of ancient times.  There’s nothing finer than Persian Turquoise for its beautiful Robin’s egg blue color.  And besides, it really looks great mounted in sterling silver and shown off by your summer tan.

American Turquoise is known by different mines, such as Sleeping Beauty, Ajax, Bisbee, Kingman, Lone Mountain, Pixie to name a few.  Each of the mines has its own defining characteristics and colors.  It comes from the U.S., India, Iran, Sinai, China, and Africa.  Some mines produce an olive green color with brown matrix, Robin’s egg blue without matrix or a deep blue with black matrix.  It just depends where it’s mined from.  The matrix is the veining that occurs in some of the gemstones.  Not all turquoise has it.

It is a very porous stone and turns color from the oils in your skin.  Natural turquoise is hardly ever found anymore.  Over time, the natural turquoise will gain a beautiful patina.  The turquoise seen in the market today is stabilized, treated and dyed.  Treatments range from soaking in tallow, epoxies, waxes, dyeing, or oiling.  Reconstituted turquoise is ground up into a powder, mixed with polymers, and then formed into the desired piece of jewelry.

When you think of turquoise, American Indian jewelry is the first to come to mind.  Each Indian tribe has it own unique style of jewelry.  The jewelry may be inlaid, natural pebbles that are bezel set, tumbled stones with drilled holes, heshi (tubes of turquoise that are strung together), small to tiny bezel set stones (needlepoint), or natural nuggets to name a few.

The 80’s craze for Indian jewelry is now what is generally being re-sold at the moment.  This has not held its value and you can get great bargains on it.  The much older 20’s-30’s-40’s jewelry has held value and especially so with particular jeweler signatures.  The very old jewelry and some Old Pawn (called such because it was pawned at a pawn shop) are in a class by their self.  China has gone into the Indian jewelry manufacture.  It contains some of the feel of the American Indian style of jewelry but not the heart.  This hasn’t held any value as far as re-sale value.  Currently the style is for a strong neon lime green dyed turquoise.  Any turquoise aficionado will generally not find this color attractive.

You can get some fabulous deals on American Indian jewelry at pawn shops or estate and antique dealers.  The more current the piece, the better the price will be for you.  Other retail outlets that specialize in American Indian jewelry are a good source too but you won’t get as good of a deal.  Rule of thumb: if you see something that you like, buy it.  Most of the time if you leave and come back to it later the item will have sold.

There isn’t any style worn that can’t be enhanced by turquoise.  It doesn’t mean that it has to be set in American Indian jewelry style.  You can find it in designs of Egyptian, Indian, modern jewelry to name a few. Tiffany and Cartier have used turquoise in some of their designs.  The Victorian’s were particularly fond of turquoise and set lots of it in their gold jewelry.

Turquoise has had an understated timelessness about it.  It is a good staple in your jewelry wardrobe.  You can wear it as an accent piece.  It will always get you noticed. Cool down that hot summer heat with a great deal on turquoise set in sterling silver.  It’s not just for western wear anymore!

february-09-041wordpressIt’s June in South Texas and it’s HOT!  As it usually does, the weather goes from spring to Summer swelter immediately.  But what does that have to do with jewelry?  Quite a bit, actually.  Summer is usually a dead time for jewelers and is the worst time for their business.  But that means it’s a good time for YOU!  So crank up the a/c, hop in the car and do a little shopping for you, your loved one, or who ever else is on your jewelry list. 

From now till mid September, the jewelry business as a whole suffers.  Add the current economic situation into the mix and it really creates a train wreck for the local jewelers.  For you though, that equates to some serious wheeling and dealing.  Take a peek in your local shops, see what they have, make an offer on a piece and see what the jeweler offers back.  Make a real offer and not half of the price of the piece offer.  Markup’s are not what most people believe they are.  A little bit of something is better than a whole lot of nothing as far as profit is concerned. 

August is the prime time for your wheeling and dealing.  It’s is dead in August for jewelers.  I know of one jeweler that I worked for that suggested that they bowl in the showroom it was so dead.  That’s the time for you though. 

Your best deals will still be from your Mom and Pop family owned jewelers and from estate and antique dealers.  Any of the mall owned stores or chain jewelry companies will not work to get you the best prices.  They may work with you for a tiny bit but not much because of the restrictions of their home offices.  There are others that will provide you better deals and service to go along with your piece. 

You know who to buy from.  Now you need to know what to buy.  New jewelry has new pricing attached to it and there’s not a lot of room to move.  Antique and estate are where you get your best jewelry deals.  Antique jewelry has to be 100 years old or more.  Estate jewelry can be 15 minutes old but it’s pre-owned and less than 100 years old. 

When buying antiques, go to a reputable source that knows antiques.  Look at other pieces on line from the time period for a “like-ness” or theme.  No two antique pieces will ever be alike. Your best source will be a dealer that has been in the antique business for quite some time and has a good reputation in the community. 

Estate jewelry is a little wider open for you at the moment.  You can pick up some great deals whether you are looking for a big diamond, a Rolex watch, pearls, pins or brooches, cameos, or what ever strikes your fancy.  Graduated cultured pearls are not in style but offer one of the best buys for the person with a minimal budget.  Don’t hesitate to make an offer to an antique or an estate dealer. 

Ask what’s been in the case a long time.  There’s always something that’s been there a while and the jeweler would love to get out of the inventory.  Most of these pieces may be out of style at the moment.  Maybe you’ll love the piece.  Start your own style.  Buck the trends.  You can get a fantastic deal that way. 

If you can’t pay for it all at once, ask about a lay-a-way.  Again, because of the economic climate, that tried and true old way of getting a desired piece is making its way back into common business practice.  Discuss the details with the jeweler before embarking in this area.  You may pay closer to the retail price for this because the jeweler can’t use the money as they would from an immediate cash sale.  It’s a service worth paying a little extra for and it’s a great way for you to get a new piece for yourself, a loved one or for the clever shopper, an early Christmas present. 

Even though it’s hot, hot, hot outside, you now know about the deals you can have for a piece of jewelry, where to find them, and who to buy it from.  That should make you feel cool as a cucumber with a hot deal in one hand and still keeping some of your hard earned cold cash in the other!

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