Fall Weddings!

Hi all,

One of the biggest trends we've noticed here lately at Saori C. Jewelry Designs is that more and more brides are choosing to have their special day in the fall. Spring is still big, of course, but weather that is often just as good, more availability, and frequently lower venue prices have made autumn weddings a common thing. Just think, beautiful autumn foliage as a backdrop, or even a beach wedding on a beautiful Indian Summer day... you can't go wrong!

Fall weddings also provide the opportunity to use color themes that are maybe a bit non-traditional. Browns, rusts, and other autumn colors look great as wedding theme colors. And why stop with flowers and tablecloths? Your bridal jewelry can also be done in those same colors. Unlike many other designers, Saori C. Jewelry Designs offers pieces to complement a wedding color theme for any season, and can also do completely custom pieces to suit any design, idea, or whim. Interested? Drop us a line at info@saoric.com!

One of our favorite pieces for the fall - the Ceres Necklace in brown and pink pearls. Check it out at http://www.saoric.com/necklaces_1/ceres_pearl_necklace.htm

What we like about February

Hi all,

It's almost February, and that means two of our favorite things here at Saori C. Jewelry Designs - Valentine's Day, and amethyst, February's birthstone.

First off, I wanted to remind all the guys out there (as if you need reminding, right?) that Valentine's Day is only a bit over two weeks away. Now I know that you've planned out everything already, and in fact, have had it done for weeks, but just in case, now's the time to get on it if you're slow to start. Need a last-minute gift? Drop us a line, and we'll see what we can do.

Now a bit about amethyst, from our own Magnificent Amethyst Jewelry guide:

"Many cultures considered purple to be the color of royalty and therefore this beautiful purple stone was used by many ancient cultures in treasures and ornaments. Amethyst was also featured in the jewelry of many medieval Catholic bishops and popes, as well as kings and queens.

Amethysts are rumored to calm the dispositions of those who wear them and some believe that placing an amethyst under the pillow when sleeping will encourage pleasant dreams and improve memory."

Pretty cool, right? In addition to being a memory-improving, sleep-helping, fount of purple awesomeness, amethysts are also really hip right now. If you haven't yet got on the amethyst bandwagon, now's a good time to jump on up and ride! We've got lots of great amethyst pieces, just hit up the link above and check them out!

And what comes after Valentine's Day? Why, Spring, of course! And what does Spring mean? Weddings! Stay tuned!
 

Oppi Untracht and the Jeweler's Bible

We keep lots of great books in the studio library at Saori C. Fine Jewelry but we refer back to the books of metalsmith Oppi Untracht far more than those of any other author. Oppi was (he passed away in 2008) a New York master metalsmith, who wrote what is probably the best all-around jewelry making and metalsmithing guide ever. That book, Jewelry Concepts and Technology (which will run you close to a C-note, but it worth every penny), is the go-to reference and all-around bible for jewelry designers, craftsmen, and manufacturers the world over. It's chock full of the four t's (tools, tips, tricks, and techniques) and no serious jeweler or jewelry designer should be without it. We refer to it at least weekly, and it's certainly the most dog-eared book in our studio.

Oppi also wrote several other great books about specific metalsmithing techniques (Metal Techniques for Craftsmen, Enameling On Metal), and his magnum opus, an amazing book on the techniques, designs, and history of Indian jewelry and jewelry making, Traditional Jewelry of India, which is out in paperback and well worth acquiring.

So if you're looking for some great additions to your jewelry library, or are just getting started and trying to decide in what references to invest your hard-earned money, give the works of Oppi Untracht a look. He won't steer you wrong.

 

 

 

(Pictures from Amazon.)

Gold Jewelry Guide

Gold, gold plate, gold-filled, and vermeil. What’s the dilly-o?

While we’re on the topic of materials, another common question we get here is “What’s the difference between solid gold, gold plate, gold-filled, and vermeil? Are they all the same? Which is better?” First, they are not all the same. As to which is better, well, that depends on what you’re looking for and what you want to spend on it.

Solid gold is the most obvious, as the name describes exactly what it is. All gold, no fillers. All gold jewelry pieces we make at Saori C. Jewelry Designs employ only solid gold. Because, by nature, solid gold pieces contain more gold than any of the other three varieties, they tend to be the most expensive.

Of the remaining three, gold plate is the most common and usually the least expensive, as it has the least amount of gold in it. In gold-plated jewelry, an extremely thin layer of gold is deposited on a base metal (often copper or nickel) using electricity (hence the term “electroplating”). Because the layer of gold is so thin, it can easily wear off with heavy polishing. As well, the base metal tends to gradually bleed through the gold layer, and so people with copper or nickel allergies should beware of gold plate.

Gold-filled is the next step up. Gold-filled jewelry is made of a layer of gold pressure-bonded to a base metal. The thickness of the gold layer in gold-filled pieces is regulated by the US government, and can be hundreds to tens of thousands of times the size of those in pieces that are plated. A common mark you would see on a gold-filled piece might be “1/20 14k GF,” which means that the layer of gold is 14 karat and the gold makes up 1/20th of the total piece by weight (the minimum allowed by law). Because gold-filled jewelry contains much more gold that gold-plated jewelry, it can be quite a bit more expensive.

Last, and least common these days, is vermeil. Vermeil is also regulated by the US government, and consists of sterling silver plated in at least 10 karat gold of a specified minimum thickness (2.5 microns, in case you were wondering). There is less gold in vermeil than in many gold-filled pieces, but since the base metal is higher quality (sterling silver), prices can be comparable. However, very few jewelers make vermeil pieces anymore, so if you come across some, you’re most likely antiquing.

Fine Bridal Jewelry

It’s All In The Ingredients


A huge factor in the price of any piece of jewelry is obviously what materials have gone into it. This is especially true in bridal jewelry, where recent trends have tended to favor showier pieces that, to keep them in the average bride’s price range, are being made with less expensive ingredients.

Two of these ingredients you see the most of recently are crystals (frequently transparent) and faux (i.e., fake) pearls. Marketers and such for companies who sell these products will tell brides that they will give them the sparkle of diamonds and the shine of pearls for a fraction of the cost of the real things. This is true, to a point. Cut crystals are definitely sparkly, and faux pearls are white and round, but that’s about where the similarities end. Real, natural pearls have a depth and a luster that faux pearls can’t match. Plus, true pearls are not stark white like many faux pearls are – they have a much softer color. Same is true for crystals – they might look good by themselves, but compared to the real thing (be it diamonds or any kind of genuine gemstones) there’s no contest.

Jewelry like this tends to remind me of actors on stage. They look great from a distance, but get up close and they look a bit unnatural from all the makeup. And that, to me, is the worst part of the whole thing: You shouldn’t have to put your bridal jewelry away after the wedding because it doesn’t look good with anything but your gown and that only while brightly lit. You should be able to enjoy your pieces all the time, however you happen to be dressed and for whatever the occasion. Sure, the real thing is more expensive. But trust me, you’ll be glad you did.

Next up: Gold plate vs. gold-filled vs. vermeil. What the heck do they all mean?

Handmade Earring Guide

Handmade vs. Hand-Assembled: Let’s Talk Ear Wires

What are usually called “French wires” or “French ear wires” are one of the most common accessories to a pair of dangle earrings. They are also almost never made by hand. The vast majority of jewelers will buy these in bulk from a finding manufacturer. Why? Because good ear wires are a hassle to make – expensive and time-consuming. Think about it: you have to cut a piece of wire (silver, gold, whatever) to the correct length, bend the curves in it just so, and then somehow either attach a ring to the end or ball up the metal with a torch so that your dangle won’t slip off. Make a mistake with the torch? Then you either cut off the end and try again, which means the final wire will be shorter than you wanted, or you add the wire to your scrap pile and get another one. Lots of bother.

So why make them by hand? Well, even though it’s a pain, there are a lot of benefits to the customer in a good pair of handmade French wires. The first one is that the size of the wires can be customized exactly to the size of the earrings. If the earring pendant is very small, the last thing you want is a huge ear wire – the back of the wire will hang lower than the earring pendant itself. Same is true conversely – you don’t want a really short wire with a long or heavy earring; it just doesn’t look right, and won’t be comfortable.

Another reason is that making wires by hand allows the jeweler to adjust the stiffness of the wire, most frequently by annealing the metal to the desired strength with a torch after shaping. The ideal wire should be able to flex a bit, but should always spring back exactly into place. If the metal is too hard the wire could snap, if it’s too soft it will easily bend, neither of which are good, and neither of which can be controlled very well with prefab wires.

Next is comfort. Since many pre-made French wires are cut by machine, the end of the wire (the bit you put through your earlobe) can often be rough, or in cases of cheaper wires, even sharp. When making wires by hand, however, the jeweler will take the time to file the tip end of the wire smooth and round, so that there’s no risk of it causing pain when going through the ear.

Now of course, all the extra labor and knowledge that goes into making French wires by hand will tend to increase the cost of the final pair of earrings, and it is the customer’s decision ultimately whether or not it’s worth it. But hopefully now, at least, they’ll know what they’re paying for.

Next time: This series continues as we talk about differences in metal and gem quality and how that affects price. Stay tuned!

How to Recognize Handmade Jewelry

Or, Why can similar looking pieces have widely different costs?

Part 1

To kick off our occasional series of posts about jewelry and the jewelry business, I wanted to talk about a question we hear quite a bit at Saori C. Jewelry Designs – “I see lots of earrings and necklaces on different sites that look very similar. How come some of them are much more expensive than others?”

The short answer is, in all honesty, “you get what you pay for.”

The long answer, and what I want to start talking about today, is that there are a lot of factors, including the labor involved in the piece, the quality and scarcity of the materials, the difficulty of the design, and the brand itself.

Let's talk about labor first, as how much (or how little) labor goes into a piece is one of the easiest things for a jeweler to control, and in many cases, one of the hardest things for customers to notice. A good example of this is the difference between “handmade” and what I like to call “hand-assembled.”

“Handmade” means exactly what the word implies – made by hand. If you tell me that your necklace is handmade, then I expect that everything, from the chain to the clasp, was made (forged, hammered, soldered, whatever) by you. “Hand-assembled” is different. If you went out and bought the clasp, the chain, the bangles, etc., mass-produced from a store somewhere, and then just put them together to make a necklace, that’s “hand-assembled,” and that’s quite different. To be fair, very few pieces of jewelry are entirely “handmade,” as most of us aren’t out mining and cutting our own gemstones or refining our own gold and silver, but the degree of “handmade-ness” greatly impacts both the time it takes to make a piece, and the skill and resources (i.e., cost) required to do it. That, as you might imagine, can have a large influence on the final price.

As some jewelers these days use “handmade” when they really should say “hand-assembled,” it’s important for customers to be able to recognize the differences between the two. We’ll look at some of those differences in our next post. Stay tuned!