Making your own jewelry is a fun and profitable way to make extra money. Many stores sell beads, clasps, and kits for designing your own jewelry. Older pieces can also be found at yard sales and taken apart to make stunning new pieces. This article will give you some ideas for designing your own pieces of jewelry.
Keep your fragile stone jewelry stored in separate boxes, away from your other pieces, to prolong the life of these stones. You don’t want them getting scuffed or broken, by being in direct contact with stronger and harder jewelry pieces. Try wrapping these fragile stones in velvet or silk, before placing them in the boxes. It’s best if you keep the boxes that they originally came in, for this purpose.
Try adding a special personal touch to your pieces by getting them professionally engraved. You can add just about anything and it makes it a more special and memorable piece to you or somebody you care about. You can get names, initials, small messages, symbols, etc. finely carved into your pieces to truly make them one-of-a-kind.
Always be aware of the type of stone you’re buying when dealing with gems. Gemstones come in three different varieties: natural, imitation and synthetic. Natural stones and synthetic gems are both real, but imitation gems are probably just colored glass or plastic. Natural comes from the ground, while synthetic ones are created in a lab.
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.
Clean your turquoise jewelry with warm water and a soft toothbrush. Never use chemicals on turquoise, as it is very susceptible to damage. Simply lightly scrubbing it and drying it with a soft dry cloth can keep your turquoise clean and undamaged, allowing it to last much longer than if you were to use any solutions.
Never use solutions or chemicals on emeralds. Chemicals, especially ammonia, will degrade emeralds to the point that they are unrecognizable. Emeralds are especially porous gemstones, so make sure to take great care when cleaning and storing these precious stones. If you are not careful with these, they will quickly lose their worth.
Be very careful with the types of beauty products that you wear near your fine jewelry. Some types of perfumes and even many lotions include ingredients that can damage your jewelry over time. Try to wear perfume in locations that won’t make contact with whatever you are wearing and you will be able to avoid this problem.
When it comes to choosing the perfect wedding or engagement ring, it is important to be able to pay for it with cash. Sure, nothing says love like a great ring, but you do not want to put yourself in debt or end up paying overwhelming amounts of interest for it. It is the thought that counts for most.
If you are buying a piece of jewelry for a woman, be sure to take the time to make note of the style of jewelry she wears on a daily basis. Once you have a better idea of what her jewelry style is, you will be able to narrow down the styles and types of jewelry items and find one that will be sure to wow her.
As stated at the beginning of the article, making your own jewelry can be a fun and profitable past time. Finding pieces to design your jewelry with, can be just as fun as making the jewelry its self. Hopefully this article has given you some great ideas, and you will be on your way to designing unique, one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry in no time.
