ArticlesOnline Catalogue > ArticlesArticles written by The Crystal Cove
Here at The Crystal Cove we are passionate about jewellery and we hope that we can inspire you too
Here are some of our published articles that we hope you will find interesting and informative. As always, any questions or comments can be sent to: info@thecrystalcove.co.uk
Have you considered bespoke handmade jewellery?
Firstly, bespoke simply means something that is individual to you and tailored to your requirements. This often means that you are getting a unique item.
We often see celebrities at fashion shows and premiers who have designers like Swarovski design pieces just for them for that event. Okay so the piece may be out of this world but there is no reason why you need to be a celebrity to have something bespoke handmade just for you, exactly how you want it and the beauty of it is you can even have input into the design or simply leave it to the designer.
When jewellery is handmade it is often possible to have more flexibility regarding the actual finished product, for example, you can incorporate elements of different designs or have something that is entirely new in order to get the piece you want.
When something is created just for you, you know that time and care has been taken over making your piece of jewellery just with you in mind rather than having a mass produced piece from the high street.
Particularly with Swarovski crystal, there is such a huge variety of sizes, colours and shapes that even if you have found a particular shaped crystal that you like to incorporate into your jewellery there are still a multitude of options regarding colours and sizes in order to make your perfect new jewellery.
Perhaps you are putting off enquiring about a bespoke piece of jewellery as you don't know where to begin? Most stores that design and hand-make their pieces have a passion for what they do and would enjoy helping you to make a start. Simply think about a few aspects to begin such as:
Is the piece for a particular occasion?
If so, are there any special colours you may need, for example to match an outfit?
You may already have some jewellery that you want to create matching pieces for and bespoke handmade jewellery can give you the opportunity to match pieces that you may no longer be able to find
If you simply want jewellery to wear daily then you can think about aspects such as whether you like more delicate jewellery or something more substantial in size, what your budget would be and what colours you like to wear.
The same ideas can be applied if you are looking to get a piece designed as a gift. Pay attention to these aspects with the person in mind and you could end up with a very meaningful and well appreciated gift that will be treasured
To put it simply, bespoke handmade jewellery gives you flexibility and control to get just the jewellery you want
The popularity of charm beads
Charm bracelets have been around for centuries, they held great significance as far back as the Egyptian Pharaohs. Although traditional charm style bracelets may be less popular than they once were, charm beads have gained an enormous following today with various brands such as Pandora and Chamilia showing no sign of a slow-down in popularity.
We see trends come and go, especially in the jewellery and fashion industry, so why is the charm bead still so popular after several years of popularity growth?
There could be numerous explanations but possibly one of the more likely is the way it gives people a channel through which they can express themselves and change the look of their jewellery when the mood takes them. You can mix and match different colour beads to reflect your current mood or simply use colour to match your outfit or the current season and this versatility is key to the enduring popularity of the charm bead.
One of the beauties of the charm bead is that they go further than simply giving you the option to match your jewellery to your mood or outfit, the jewellery companies such as Pandora and Chamilia have recognised that people want to wear beads that reflect their interests as well as their personalities and mood. For example, animal lovers and pet owners can reflect their passion for their animals through different animal beads and those of us who have grown up with the magic of the Disney feature films can display their favourite and memorable characters on their jewellery.
Charm beads also give a great opportunity to represent a special occasion or achievement such as a special birthday or graduation or simply for birthdays and anniversaries and what is ideal about charm beads is that you can choose from designs which directly relate to the occasion, such as graduation cap, or simply choose an unrelated design which you know the recipient will love.
So we can see that charm beads and jewellery are about more than making us look good, they are about how they make us feel and can evoke some powerful feelings and memories
Vermeil jewellery as an alternative to gold jewellery
Times are tough for everyone right now but we still want to be able to buy things plus people still have special occasions for which they want to buy gifts. Jewellery is an incredibly popular and wonderful choice to buy for ourselves and other people. During these tough economic times you may have overlooked a great way to buy a gorgeous and quality piece of jewellery without paying huge prices.
You may or may not have heard of vermeil jewellery...
The metal involved with vermeil jewellery is sterling silver and not a cheaper alloy base metal and so the quality is much higher. The sterling silver is coated with a minimum of 10k gold and to be true vermeil, the layer of gold has to be 1.5 micrometres thick.
The use of vermeil ranges massively depending on the piece of jewellery with some pieces ranging from consisting of a small piece of gold to give a slight colour contrast to being completely coated to give the look of the jewellery being made entirely of gold (without the very high price!)
The versatility of vermeil jewellery greatly adds to its appeal. Not only do you get the quality of sterling silver but you can get such great effects
Vermeil is especially great if you like the look of two tone jewellery which is very popular right now. Vermeil is available in both yellow gold and rose gold, which in recent months has really boomed in popularity and is even more expensive than yellow gold
Don't get gold plated jewellery confused with vermeil jewellery...
Gold plated (or silver plated for that matter) is usually plated onto an alloy or base metal such as copper or zinc. This is great as it usually means cost effective costume jewellery that you can replace when you get fed up with it or to match the current trends but of course if you are looking for something a bit more special and long lasting then vermeil is a perfect choice.
Do you belong to a club/organisation?
Perhaps your club/organisation has colours and you want to show your support?
You may have bought the car stickers, the shirts or some of the multitude of other items your club or organisation offers or maybe your club/organisation does not offer any of its own merchandise. We have noticed that much of the merchandise offered is quite the same and so you may be looking for a new way to promote your club/organisation. Whatever the case, jewellery is a great way of offering a more individual form of support and allegiance
Here at The Crystal Cove we handmake Swarovski crystal jewellery which can be tailor made to suit your needs whether you are an individual or a group
Some of our regular customers have recently shown their support for their local football club by requesting Swarovski crystal bracelets in the club colours which they can wear to all the games and also as a gorgeous everyday item of jewellery
Swarovski create crystals in a huge array of colours, shapes and sizes which, as well as being the best quality, makes their crystals a great option to tailor make jewellery especially for you.
You may be worried that this sounds like a more expensive option but we think that you will feel differently when you see the exceptional value that we offer our customers
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