Jewellery masterpieces. Tutankhamun's earrings

Cloisonne earring from tomb of Tutankhamun The central feauture is described as a falcon with a duck's head its wings creating a sweeping circle around its head and its talons clutching shen rings, beneath the tail feathers is a bar decorated with circles from which hang five strings of gold and glass beads ending in pendant uraei. | Located in: Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

Earrings with blue birds - calcite , cloisonné-enamel , earthenware , glass paste , quartz. Reign of Tutankhamun 1336-1327 BC. DISCOVERY SITE: Tutankhamun's tomb. | Photo (C) CULTNAT, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Ayman Khoury.

Birthday Party Invitation (download for free!)

I have written of Victoria Antolini's art in 2013 in my virtual wish list here. I was fascinated with her art and particularly with her boats and ocean related prints. Since then I got to know her better and asked her to paint me a banner that would reflect my jewellery art. She offered the deer idea and it was  absolutely perfect for me!

Then just recently I realized that I would like to see that deer as a birthday party invitation. Victoria kindly helped me with that too. I am so delighted with the result! It looked as if it was freshly painted with pastel water colors when I printed it out. Absolutely lovely! (The link is just below)

Victoria still has her successful etsy shop. However she just has gotten even busier! She is working on a wonderful project! I am not allowed to tell you what it is just yet, but you can watch the progress in her Facebook page. It is all about boats and ocean. You will see a birth of a fairy-tale! (Stay updated by liking her page)

There will be more surprises from Victoria in my blog, so stay tuned!

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Look at the preview of the card and download it fo

r free if you like it! (Click on the link. Then it is a right button click on the picture with your mouse to save the pdf file)

Preview of the card:

Inside the card:

Giveaway

Congratulations, Janice! Please, contact me with your mailing address!

(leta55555@hotmail.com)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday Inspirational Quote

What a wonderful idea!

Squirrel necklace, silver, copper

Bead Day. Beaded car

This is a Vochol, a cross between the Spanish word for the Beetle car ("voch") and the word "Huichol." It took seven months to create this car's look. This 1990 Volkswagen Beetle received over 2 million glass beads along with beeswax to cover every inch of the car’s exterior and the dashboard. This was all done by hand. The resulting car represents various aspects of its Mexican homeland, including landscapes, religion, and flowers.

Sold ooak jewellery

Pendant with a smokey quartz (silver, copper, brass)

Jewellery masterpieces. Paraiba tourmaline necklace by Giampiero Bodino

Necklace by Giampiero Bodino.  The magnificent cascades of sea green and blue African Paraiba tourmalines were directly inspired by Bodino's summer swims in Sardinia. "I was brought a box of blue and green precious stones and fell in love with them all," says Bodino of the birth of this necklace. "I just wanted to dive into these stones like the sea. So I mixed the different hues and tones of blue and green, as well as a range of sizes along with rough, cabochon and facetted stones. The result could have been chaotic, but I laid out the stones to create a harmony - an overall balance"

Virtual Wish List. Pierced leather corset Andrei Kanunov

If you looked through my virtual Wish list collection, you probably had a chance to notice my love for everything pierced :) I've found something else that is pierced and I love it too (of cause!) My wish list is full of unrealistic wishes, so a corset like this fits just well.

There is a link to the author's website under the picture. His website is in Russian, so you will need to use an online translator, or just go ahead and click on all the links in the menu. Enjoy!

Leather corset by Andrei Kanunov

Jewellery masterpieces. Diamond rose brooch by Theodore Fester

Created by Theodore Fester in 1855, the gold-and-silver-setting rose has about 250 carats of diamonds and was created for Princess Mathilde Bonaparte, Napoleon’s niece. She owned one of Paris’ most distinguished literary and artistic salons. When she died in 1904, the piece was auctioned and eventually sold by Cartier to Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt III

What you should know when buying no-name jewellery

We all go to a usual jewellery store and buy no-name jewellery (I used to do that too before I've become a jeweller). Often the things are of decent quality and we are happy with what we are getting. However, there are some problems that you might come across. I've learned of them only when I started doing repairs! 

When I have a piece in my hands and I approach it with a saw, the pliers or a torch... this is when all the problems are starting to come up onto the surface. If a piece of jewellery is made well, there is no problem to fix or change it. However, a poor quality will be revealed during repair. There is going to be extra work involved to fix it if it is possible at all.

Let me show you what problems you might come across and what you can do with this knowledge :)

1) When you are buying a ring ask the seller if it can be sized even if it fits you.

If you bought a ring that the seller did not want to size in the first place... do not ever give it away for the sizing. There are designs that cannot be modified. That ring might just break during sizing. Experienced jeweller won't take it for the sizing anyway, but do not count on that. It is not always easy to see that something should not be touched.

Sterling silver ring. This ring made in my studio is a sample of a ring that cannot be sized.

2) If a store offers free claw check up every 6 months, use this opportunity.

No-name jewellery is mass-produced. What does it mean and why should you care?

It means that all the stone settings were cast for the standard sizes of the stones (3mm, 3,5mm, 4mm etc). However, the stones do not always have the standard sizes. 1/10 of a millimeter might not sound like a big difference to you, but in the world of precious stones it means a lot! It means, that a stone  can get loose enough from the setting to get lost overtime. 

3) If a store offers free ring sizing, use this opportunity. I mean, actually get a ring that needs sizing.

Well, this advice you won't hear too often! However, think of what I've written at the beginning... if there are any problems, they will show up during sizing or repair. For example, let's say you are buying a ring with the channel-set stones (even diamonds!)  No-name ring has been mass-produced and the  channel setting might not be perfect for the stones. 

Here is the inside information from the jeweller who has done some repairs (that would be me). The diamonds might be secured with transparent glue! I am not kidding. The seller won't even know this. Who will? The jeweller who will try to size this ring. Size up or down... and the diamonds will just fall out. 

The sizing won't 100% guarantee that the problem will be fixed for you, though. If they are careful and use laser, they might save the stones in the place without having to repair it. 

What to do? Well... keep your ring in a box and wear it carefully, just in case. You won't know how your stones are being secured for sure. You will not see the glue even with good magnification. 

4) When you are buying no-name silver jewellery you can never be sure if it is sterling silver or silver at all. 

If you wear it carefully and do not try to modify it or size it, you might never find out. It always comes up during the repair only. Whenever I was approaching silver jewellery with a torch, I never knew what to expect. It was a 50/50 shot!

Only actual silver jewellery can be sized / repaired / modified. Silver is a white metal that needs to be soldered under a very high temperature. Other white metals (besides the precious ones) either cannot tolerate such temperature or lose their white color. If a piece is just silver plated then the plating will come off. 

5) Size a silver ring only if it has a great sentimental value for you, so you do not care how much it is.  

Sometimes you might come across a great deal and buy sterling silver jewellery at a cheap price (possibly abroad or on sale at a craft fair). That's cool. Just make sure that you really like it and it fits. Buying a cheap ring that does not fit is not a great idea. Ring sizing most likely will cost more than the ring itself in that case. A jeweller who does repairs will want to be paid for the actual spent time, at least an hour. 

If your ring was $10-$20 and the sizing $30-$60... Is it still worth it? 

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in your comments!