Buying Birthstone Jewelry – Money Saving Tips

You have consulted birthstone charts and want to buy jewelry. Are you looking for some ways to save money? There are many factors that contribute to the cost. Some are obvious. Others may not have occurred to you.

Identity
The birthstones are gemstones. Some are obviously more expensive than others. The birthstones chart currently used in the United States contains less expensive alternates for most months.
There are many other lists:
Astrological charts use different time periods that combine months.
Old historical lists often assign the gemstones to different months and may substitute a few different stones.
Different countries have their own lists.
You can find these different birthstone charts on many websites. Look for a less expensive stone for your birth date.

Quality
The term genuine gemstone simply means that the stone has the necessary characteristics for its identity. The qualities of color and clarity affect the price. Inclusions of other materials can detract from the clarity and reduce the value. Choose a pretty stone with inclusions that are not obvious.

Color
Today many gemstones are color enhanced. Heat treating, diffusion, radiation, oiling, and dyeing are means of improving color. The gemstone industry assumes that these processes have been used, and sellers often do not volunteer the information. Ruby, sapphire, topaz, tanzanite, aquamarine, citrine, and others are routinely heated. Emerald is oiled. Beads may be dyed.
Assuming other qualities equal, natural color gemstones will be the most expensive. Dyed stones will be the least expensive.

Size
Gemstones are sold by weight. The larger the stone, the higher the price per carat. For example, one carat total weight of several small rubies will cost less than a one carat single ruby.

Beads
When rough gemstone material comes out of the mine, the highest quality is set aside for cutting into loose stones for settings. The lower quality is used for beads. Why? Because drilling a bead hole wastes valuable weight.
Beaded jewelry may cost less. The difference in quality is not always obvious.
The best quality gemstone beads are often tiny faceted rondelle shapes. The more valuable gemstones, such as ruby, emerald, and sapphire are seldom made into large beads, unless they are dyed or contain many inclusions. If you want natural color birthstones, you can probably find them as beads at an affordable price.

Lab Created or Synthetic Gemstones
They have the same characteristics as natural gemstones, but not the same inclusions. The process contains similarities to the natural creation, but time and quality are controlled by man. These high quality stones are expensive, but should cost less than the same quality mined gemstone.

Imitation Birthstones
They may be other less expensive gemstones that are dyed. Howlite is used to imitate turquoise.
Glass imitations were popular in the 1940’s and 1950’s. They were often set in 10k gold rings. You may find them in antique or vintage jewelry stores. Prices will vary and may be determined by value as a collectible.
Swarovski crystal is a popular substitute as a birthstone. The colors are named after gemstones.
Imitations should cost less than genuine gemstones.

Precious Metals
The cost of gold and silver has increased drastically. They are also sold by weight. Heavy ornate settings, clasps, or beads will increase cost.
Different kinds of metal are priced from high to low in this order: 18k, 14k, 10k gold, vermeil (gold plated sterling silver), sterling silver, gold filled, gold plated, silver plated, gold or silver tone base metals.

Beaded Jewelry
Beaded birthstone jewelry has other options for lower prices.
Tiny spacer beads reduce the number of birthstone beads needed.
Look for other less expensive beads in the design, or just a few birthstones as focal points.

Designer
This term can raise the price. Jewelry that carries the name of a well known store, name brand, famous designer, or celebrity may cost more. Endorsements are expensive.
If fashion jewelry containing imitation gemstones and base metal is sold in a well known or upscale clothing store, it can cost more than jewelry with genuine gemstones sold on a website.

Custom Made
Birthstone jewelry that requires extra time, new design, buying new or unusual materials can be expensive.
Instead use the seller’s existing design with substitution of in stock stones or beads.

Middlemen
The number between the mine and the jewelry seller is one of the biggest factors affecting price.
A hobbyist who buys materials from a retail store adds a middleman.
A seller who designs and makes jewelry and buys beads or loose stones directly from the cutter eliminates distributors.
Ask questions.
Today it is easy to buy from jewelry makers. Look for their websites. Attend craft fairs or gem shows.

Overhead
Does the seller have to pay any large business overhead costs?
Store, warehouse, office, employees, website design or hosting, advertising.
Buy from a website business that is run from a home. Look for information on the About Us page.

Shipping and Packaging
It is never free. It must either be included in a higher jewelry price or paid as added cost by the buyer.
Actual shipping costs vary. If the seller offers options, compare their costs.
If you buy directly from a country where labor costs are low, the savings may be offset by high international shipping. Returning an item would be expensive.
Handling costs also vary. Fancy boxes and packing materials can raise the jewelry price or handling cost.

Conclusion
If you do comparison shopping, be sure to consider the quality of the birthstone jewelry.
Be suspicious of low cost items that cannot be returned easily, worthless guarantees, deceiving imitations.
If the price is too low to be true, it probably is not a bargain.
Save money, but do it intelligently.

For free use of this article, you must include this statement and the Author Box with the author’s name and active website link.

Royal Order Jewelry

Introduction to Royal Order Jewelry

Royal Order was founded on the undeniable union of rock & roll & fashion. Designed by former model and rock singer Cheryl Rixon Davis, Royal Order is one of the most extensive jewelry lines on the market today. The line originated in response to the Hollywood celebrities & musicians who were requesting pieces Cheryl had made for herself & for loved ones. Her own unique style set the line apart from the usual silver market; it”s truly in a league of its own. Offering collections of their trademark crown & royal images, religious icons, skulls and mythical symbols; the entire line is offered in sterling silver, 18kt gold, and platinum, set with pearls, & stones ranging from natural crystal to semi-precious and precious stones, addressing a wide range of accessory needs complementary to emerging fashion trends. Keeping the integrity of design while retaining a street edge has made Royal Order both fun and sophisticated. Royal Order was instantly embraced by the voracious Japanese market 10 years ago and has since become one of the most established luxury and designer stores across Japan, Australia, the United States, and South America.
In 2007, Prmoninent gothic sterling silver jewelry designer Cheryl Rixon Davis held a opening party to celebrate the opening of her Royal Order jewelry boutique sited in Beverly Hills. Having once been an entertainer and musician, Cheryl Rixon Davis had the privilege of marketing her own sterling silver gothic jewelry pieces by just displaying her own gothic sterling silver designs & capturing the attention of her audiences with the powerful fusion of her beauty & the beauty of her gothic sterling silver jewelry pieces.

Not very long after she began her venture into gothic silver jewelry, Cheryl Rixon Davis started receiving orders for gothic silver jewelry from contemporaries and celebrities. Her previous boutique in West Hollywood relocated to a new exquisite boutique a stones throw away from Rodeo drive. Founded in 1996, Royal Order is inarguably a rock-n-roll sterling silver gothic jewelry fusion label which fuses the elements of rock n roll & gothic fashion.

Royal Order jewelry is now an personal designer catering to a large number of famous personalities, such as Steven Tyler, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons & Dave Navarro just to name a few, all of who go only to Royal Order jewelry for all their gothic sterling silver jewelry needs. For example, Usher placed a special order for a video shoot, & the gothic silver Royal Order jewelry he wore drew countless admiring glances while at the Grammy’s. Royal Order also caters to non-rock type musicians, & of great popularity amongst mainstream, non-rock musicians are the long Royal Order sterling silver necklaces, which comfortably match and accentuate elegantly styled dresses & casual open top shirts.

A co-founder of Royal Order is Justin Davis, another accomplished sterling silver gothic jewelry designer who also features royalty at the heart of his Justin Davis jewelry collection. Coincidentally, they possess the same surname Davis, and it is unclear if any other relationship exists between the duo behind this mammoth gothic silver jewelry brand.
After 6 good years at the well-known and much visited West Hollywood outlet, Royal Order relocated to the premium high traffic area just blocks from the famous Rodeo, surrounded by the districts poshest boutiques & restaurants. Royal Order jewelrys new store boasts artistic interior design with a deliberately Spartan grey concrete interior, similar to an art gallery, with exquisitely crafted gothic archways, emphasizing the insanely gorgeous dcor in which rock n roll styled gothic sterling silver jewelry captures the attention of wonderlusted fans of Royal Order jewelry.

How To Make Handmade Wire Rings For Jewelry Making Enthusiasts

All wire jewelrycrafters ought to understand how to produce handmade jump rings. Jump rings certainly are a critical element of most items of jewellery you will produce. While a person can commercially made jump rings, there are many many benefits to making do-it-yourself jump rings. When you are able produce your own jump rings, they are consistently the exact size they need to be.You are able to make them from your choice of metal. You are able to customise your jump rings in any respect that you need if you manufacture them yourself. If it becomes clear that your jump ring is just too large, you can easily help it become just a bit smaller sized. It truly is much more difficult to work with a commercial jump ring smaller on its own – though it is possible with a bit of effort.

Making handmade jump rings does take some practice. If you’d like to make handmade jump rings, it is suggested for you to practice this skill to get used to creating the rings neatly. As your skill improves you’ll see that the jump rings become better and better. If you only generate jump rings, as you need them, you probably aren’t giving yourself ample practice. A top-notch recommendation would be to sit and relax with a mug of tea and your favorite tv program and make homemade jump rings to your heart’s content! Within an hour’s time, you should have an abundance of handmade jump rings, but most importantly you’ll discover that your ability has improved and your rings are visibly improved.

There are some concerns whenever you make do-it-yourself jump rings. Lots who make homemade jump rings find that their jump rings just don’t fit together as perfectly as the commercially made jump rings do. This can be sorted with a little bit of wiggling and effort. Sometimes it is advisable to file the ends flat and smooth to help make the homemade jump rings lie flat. Take a look at jump ring closely to determine what precisely the trouble could be. With a little persistence, you can expect to realize that you can indeed coaxe your jump ring to lie flat.

Sometimes jewelry creators discover that their rings seem too malleable. Such things happen when you are using “dead soft” wire for your homemade jump rings. This is the softest temper available. There are a number of easy ways to harden wire, but If you don’t want to harden your homemade jump rings, then perhaps you want to get started with half-hard wire to create them from. Now you have an ideal way make your own jump rings that are a little more durable.

Newbies to making wire jewelry should take jump ring making as a quest to achieve. Wire simply needs to be properly understood and grasping how to make jump rings is an additional way to further your journey to mastering wire. As your skill set gets better so you tame the wire, you’ll realize that you can actually control your wire. Creating these handmade jump rings will also give you more self-confidence as a wire work jewelry maker. Imagine what other wire jewelry projects you’ll want to accomplish next!

Jewelry Maintenance Tips

So you have bought that beautiful necklace perfect for everyday life. Being a star, the Christmas tree, it is expected to shine of your friends to appreciate. You expect to beautify you and your fashion sense to describe all forms of situations. Soon it’s going to be like having a individual friend of you, who in the peaks and valleys that you simply go through.

But have you ever wondered how long would this necklace? Like all other material things, you are able to expect to die or simply lose its beauty, sooner or later. While that is a fact, there are nonetheless plenty of issues you can do to make your jewelry last longer. Simply maintaining the jewelry simple.

First, you make your jewelry a favor after he retires before taking a bath, or hops from the sauna. precious stones, in particular, are really sensitive to exposure to moisture. Remember how the humidity inside your jewelry serves being a trap for dust and dirt to collect.

Avoid wearing your jewelry in therapeutic baths, get rid of it just before heading for the sauna, specifically if your jewelry is created of precious stones. This material is incredibly sensitive to high temperatures. Pearl Jewelry doesn’t react well to situations is very humid.

Cleaning jewelry is a thing that numerous persons do to prolong the lives of their valuables. If your jewelry has stones in it, then a mixture of traditional cleaning powder and water can do wonders in removing favorite stains and spots. However, please note that your soft stone, one of the most delicate of your soap. You are able to very easily brush the dirt harder diamonds and sapphires with a excellent item of distilled water as well as the cleaning powder. Should you have much more soft opals and moonstones, try utilizing additional delicate soaps.

This product of soap and water can also be utilized for gold and silver. Be careful cleaning powder with out utilizing chemical bleaches, due to the fact they affect the color of gold in particular. Examine if the substance is all of the chlorine in it, simply because the prejudice in fine silver jewelry too.

Another rule of jewelry cleaning, is to proceed with caution. If you are unsure with the chemical composition of soap you use, try to apply it to a tiny portion of one’s jewelry first. Often, chemical reactions arrive at once, so you should see if detergent has no effect on metals, which consists of jewelry.

Proceed with caution also means you don’t want to go ahead and start to rub literal. If you can simply remove dirt in the jewelry, we retain clean. Once you have finished cleaning your jewelry, ensure it’s dry just before storing. Jewelry Hold containers dry and closed. Exposure to heat and sun can damage your jewelry significantly.

How to Clean Turquoise Silver Jewelry

Turquoise is a naturally occurring stone, and because of this wonderful factor, cleaning your turquoise silver jewelry with caution is a must. If you take proper care of this gemstone, it could last for generations to come, but if you neglect it, discoloration and disintegration are great possibilities. For those of you who are very busy and wear your turquoise jewelry every day, take a look at this simple list of “dos” and “donts,” but first lets take a look at some of the physical characteristics of this beautiful stone.

Physical Properties of Turquoise
On the Mohs Scale of mineral hardness (the highest are diamonds at 10) turquoise ranks right under 6. If your turquoise gemstone is at the maximum state of hardness, it may only be about as tough as a pane of glass. The porous nature of turquoise causes the stone to have cavities, making it more susceptible to decay and vulnerable to damage. You definitely need to follow these cleaning instructions to ensure your turquoise silver jewelry lasts for many years.

The Dos of Cleaning Turquoise Silver Jewelry
Only use clean water to clean your stone
Dampen a soft cloth or toothpaste (with soft bristles)
Slowly and gently apply and rub the stone
Completely dry the stone The Donts of Cleaning Turquoise Silver Jewelry
Ensure that a jewelry polish never comes into contact with your stone
Dont use hard, dirty bristled toothbrushes or clothes that cause scratches
Never soak or place this water absorbing stone in any liquid, as this may cause erosion
Dont leave your stone damp Additional Turquoise Care
Take off your turquoise jewelry prior to bed, exercise, bathing or sunbathing
Place this opaque mineral in a soft, fabric-lined jewelry box or jewelry bag
Avoid allowing perfume, lotion, cosmetics, or hair spray to come into contact
Never let your children play dress-up with your jewelry Selecting Turquoise Silver Jewelry
If you are excited to get started on cleaning and caring for your turquoise silver jewelry, but dont have any, youre in the right place. Please take a look at our diverse selection of this December birthstone which includes necklaces, earrings, watches, and bracelets. This collection has a wide variety of many lovely shades of blue. For turquoise silver jewelry, please browse through our silver jewelry blog and read our guide for cleaning sterling silver jewelry. You may even find the perfect silver gift for that special occasion, or something to wear to that special occasion!