April 13, 2010

What About Jewelry For You Hair?????

Posted by Jessica Kendrick, G.G. under About Jessica, Antique and Estate Jewelry, Antique Jewelry, big diamonds, Buying Gold, Diamonds, Estate Jewelers, gold, Jessica Kendrick, Jessica Kendrick G G, Jewelry, Platinum, silver, Silver Plate, Silver Plated Flatware, Sterling, Sterling Silver, Summer | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
[2] Comments 

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!

 

March 14, 2010

What’s Up, What’s Down, What’s Stable, What’s Good To Buy?

Posted by Jessica Kendrick, G.G. under About Jessica, Antique and Estate Jewelry, Antique Jewelry, big diamonds, Cultured Pearls, Diamond Sales, Diamonds, Estate Jewelers, gold, Jessica Kendrick, Jessica Kendrick G G, Jewelry, Jewelry Sales, Pearl, silver, Sterling, Sterling Silver | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
[3] Comments 

Our economy has had some serious ups and downs. It’s also reflected within the jewelry industry too and disastrously so. Pearls are still down. Gold’s see-sawing daily but for the most part staying in a range. Diamonds are in their own league by themselves. What’s going on? The experts don’t really know either. I’m certainly not an expert.

What I can tell you is that diamonds, certain cuts, seem to have stabilized. Rounds and Princess cuts are still hot and lead the pack in desirability and price. Pear shape, Marquise, and Heart shapes are still the bottom of the desirability scale. This’s still the deal for you and I would still recommend buying one of those shapes. The primo or good stones of any shape will always sell no matter what. The middle of the road clarity and color and the not so nice stuff just is not selling. That’s where the mass majority of the retail public is. The majority isn’t buying at the moment and hasn’t for about the past year and half.

Gold prices are up, they’re down, they’re up and then they’re about the same. The prices seem to be hovering around the $1100.00 +/-. People are still selling. There’s still a wide variety of people selling too. The reasons for selling range from a little extra cash to acts of desperation trying to pay a mortgage, medical expense, or a utility. Some people selling have been bank executives that have lost everything, a young couple trying to make ends meet, or an older couple selling for medical reasons to name a very few.

As high as gold prices are, the silver prices seem attainable for the average consumer. It’s much, much less expensive. The only thing that makes silver expensive is the labor to make it into a desirable piece of jewelry. Just like putting a thermostat in your car that costs about $10-$15, the labor to put the thermostat in will be around $100. The same thing holds true here.  Silver’s cheap but the labor to work it isn’t.

Pearls are just down, down, down, and down some more. Perhaps the flood of all the cultured freshwaters has been a contributing factor. Who knows though? But pearls remain something that I simply can’t buy cheap enough. There just aren’t any buyers for them. But on the upside, if you as an individual needs, wants, has to have a strand or something pearl, now’s THE time to buy and score a deal for yourself or a loved one.

During World War II the period of Retro jewelry was “it”. Those who were anyone were wearing very large, very chunky, bold jewelry. Times were very difficult then and the jewelry made a statement. The jewels that were mostly used were large inexpensive single stones with an accent of diamonds and other smaller stones. The styles were asymmetrical and architectural in feel. Big shoulder pads were in style for the ladies. Well we’re in a similar style mode and similar difficulty economically too. Shoulder pads for ladies are coming back and large, chunky, bold jewelry is in style. See the similarity here.

Costume is was hot in the ‘40’s and it’s hot again. Even good jewelers now are bringing in good costume lines in order to just get traffic into their stores. The trends follow the Lipstick Theory. The theory is that a woman may not be able to afford shopping excursions for clothing but to augment the wardrobe a woman will go buy a lipstick. A lipstick is by far cheaper than going to purchase clothing. It is a closely watched trend. The prohibitive price of gold is what’s driving the costume trend. Older good costume jewelry was quite often made from sterling. I buy quite a bit of it and tell people that if they have costume to bring it in. It’s always a pleasure to find vintage sterling costume jewelry and tell people they will have more cash in their hand because of it. Check out your Grandmother’s and Mother’s jewelry box for a few chic and trendy items for yourself.

What’s in, what’s out, what’s up, what’s down is ultimately an individual’s expression from their purchasing power as a group. Estate and Antique dealers are still going to be the best bet to find the best deals because of negotiations abilities not available to major chain stores. So, if there’s a little bit of bling that’s a necessary item from your future, you know where and what to look for.

 

September 6, 2009

Jewelry: Can’t Afford the Real Thing?…..Go Faux-ward!

Posted by Jessica Kendrick, G.G. under Antique and Estate Jewelry, Antique Jewelry, Buying Gold, Diamond Sales, Diamonds, Estate Jewelers, Jessica Kendrick, Jessica Kendrick G G, Jewelry, Jewelry Sales, silver, Sterling, Sterling Silver | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |
[2] Comments 

february-09-041wordpressWe’ve all felt the pinch of everything in our economy from housing, gas, groceries, loss of jobs to mention a few. The jewelry industry has been hit exceptionally HARD. It’s been a question of do you want to pay for a mortgage, car payment, trade-in your car for cash for clunkers program or buy a piece of jewelry? Let’s see?….hmm…bet it’s not the jewelry that high on the list!

My sympathies, empathies and heart are with those who have lost their jobs. My hope for those out of a job is that things will be better with a new position that pays well and has benefits in short order. I was out of work for over 3 months due to a well known individual that embezzled billions of dollars. The ripple effect of his scheme is huge and stretches too far. Three months out of a job is nothing in comparison to some but it was very difficult.

With everything in the economy, gold and platinum at current levels, how can anyone afford any jewelry? Well, yes you can. There are options: Estate and Costume.

Look into buying estate jewelry. Estate is where it’s at. My blogs keep harping about this but it’s simply the best way. Estate is cheaper than buying something brand new. A piece of jewelry isn’t worth going into hock over in this economy.

Ebay or Craig’s List wouldn’t be on my top spots to look  for purchasing because there’s too much to go wrong there. There’s a lot of expertise that an individual would need in order to score a deal. Appraisals and Certificates can be faked. That’s where the experts come in to help you. But that adds to the price of the item and we’re trying to keep the price down for you. Ebay and Craig’s List ARE a great place to check pricing of SIMILAR items. You won’t find exactly the same thing but close is good.

You say you can’t afford the real thing either but want a little bling. Well, go Faux or Costume jewelry. I wear it mixed with my real stuff and everyone thinks, since I am a Graduate Gemologist, everything MUST be real. NOT!!! My choices in costume are fun. If you want to pull the mix off to appear real, your choices must “look like” they’re real.

As I write this article, I have a very large Anne Klein rose gold and white gold tone automatic skeleton watch that I changed out the white rubber band for a black men’s fake croc band from Wal-Mart, a rolled yellow gold bangle from early 1900’s and a pair of Middle-Eastern 22kt gold loop earrings. The watch gets so many ooh’s and ah’s and then I clue the individual in to the fact that they too can go Sam’s and buy one for $29.99 and Wal-Mart for the $7 cheap-o band. That gets some serious eyebrows raised sprinkled in with some strong “Really’s?”. The earrings, though, are real.

Rhinestones NEVER look real. They are fun though and have their place in costume jewelry. It’s great to add a little glitz and bling to your wardrobe. Rhinestones constantly cross my hands…some great and most not so great. The “not so great” can’t usually be refurbished or re-vamped.  When buying estate and antique just make sure to look and see if these items are set in sterling. Sterling can be sold for scrap. Look carefully. Don’t hesitate to snap up sterling at a garage sales either! And, don’t be afraid to bling up your pumps or flats with a big pair of clip earrings from your garage sale adventures.  Check the antique dealers, they sometimes have really great antique and vintage costume or faux pieces of jewelry.

When picking your new faux or paste pieces look for things that really look like the real thing. If it looks worn or the base metal is coming through, you might want to re-think the option and toss it in the garbage. Costume doesn’t need to be perfect but it does need to look good and be in good repair. If it turns a person green where it’s worn, get rid of it and find something new. It’s disposable anyway.

Last thought, if it’s a piece of costume jewelry that you really, really, really like and it’s worn through, out or just can’t go any farther, you can consider having a jeweler re-create the piece as a real piece of  jewelry. I have had quite a few things “knocked off” and made into the real thing from costume. There are limitations though and they’re too lengthy to get into in this blog. Your jeweler will be the best asset for you here, IF, it can be done.

Luckily there are options in this tight economy. Estate can always be a good deal and provide you with good real jewelry buys. Don’t be afraid to experiment with faux jewelry or costume jewelry. This can be a great way to expand your jewelry wardrobe without breaking your piggy-bank. So, faux-ward on!

 

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.