The Art of Keeping the Peace

Dear San Francisco Jewelry Doctor: 

My wife passed away a couple years ago, and Valentine’s Day still breaks my heart. But I want to get something for my little girls. 

Here’s the challenge: they’re so competitive! Whenever I give them gifts I have to make sure that neither daughter thinks the other one got something better than she did.  

 

What to do?

 

Daughters and Drama

 

Dear DAD:

How little is “little”?  If they’re five or six years old, this necklace might be a great choice. https://www.stuller.com/products/19643/?groupId=60567&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

 

But say they object to dressing alike in any way. In that case, I’d suggest focusing on the important parts of each daughter’s world.  

 

Maybe one likes to ride horses (or just read stories about them). She would probably love this pendant.  

https://www.stuller.com/products/85110/3194317/?groupId=109787&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

 

Her sister’s a beachcomber? Try this for her. 

https://www.stuller.com/products/87641/?groupId=207465&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

 

If one likes white gold and the other, yellow gold, these hoops would make great gifts for the two of them.  

https://www.stuller.com/products/19100/?groupId=9605&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

 

And there are lots of other great choices. So call us at 415/796-3969 (text 415/596-4244), and let’s put our heads together about what they would most enjoy.

 

San Francisco Jewelry Doctor. Consider us Harmony Headquarters.

 

©2021 Laynie Tzena.  All Rights Reserved.

   

Circles And More Circles, or What Goes With Hoops?

Marian said, “My sister’s very ‘matchy-matchy.’  That’s not me at all.”

Some of our customers are like Marian’s sister. They love the idea of having everything go together. They think of it as having “a set.”  

And some are like Marian herself. We call their approach to choosing accessories to go with a given outfit or piece of jewelry “counterpoint.”

Omega chains qualify. They form a circle, echoing the hoop earring, but they don’t exactly duplicate it.  

Here’s a sterling Omega chain. 

https://www.stuller.com/products/ch275/?groupId=45761&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

There are also some pretty reversible ones. The 14K Yellow & White Two-Tone reversible Omega— 

https://www.stuller.com/products/ch747/?groupId=46231&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

—has a coordinating 7-inch bracelet (if that’s not too matchy-matchy 

for you): https://www.stuller.com/products/ch747/1696539/?groupId=46231&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

There’s also a sterling and 14 karat gold reversible omega Chain:

https://www.stuller.com/products/ch878/?groupId=89111&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

For those narrow hoops, here’s a 2.6mm sterling reversible Omega:

https://www.stuller.com/products/ch997/?groupId=107948&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

And a 2.3mm one, also reversible, this time with a matte and polished look:

https://www.stuller.com/products/ch992/?groupId=107942&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

Do you love matching jewelry, or do you, like Marian, prefer counterpoint? Both have their charms. The main thing is to choose jewelry that looks like you.

©2019 Laynie Tzena. All Rights Reserved.

What's Your Dangle?

We’re used to thinking of hoops as solo performers, but they’re sometimes found with supporting actors, commonly known as 

hoop dangles.

Here’s a lovely diamond hoop with a pearl dangle.  

https://www.stuller.com/products/85900/9985188/?groupId=120344&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

A religious dangle: https://www.stuller.com/products/87187/?groupId=203308&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

A dangle with a halo:

https://www.stuller.com/products/68661/?groupId=109664&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

A hoop with a dangle that looks like a little suitcase.  https://www.stuller.com/products/85679/?groupId=116781&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

Of course, where there’s a dangle, you’ll often find a hooplet.  https://www.stuller.com/products/67259/?groupId=97733&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

More hooplets may be found here

https://www.stuller.com/products/68661/?groupId=109664&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

and here.

https://www.stuller.com/search/results/?query=hooplets

Actually, many a dangle earring can be redesigned as a hooplet. Just call your friendly neighborhood* Jewelry Doctor at 415/796-3969 (text 415/596-4244), and we’ll make it happen.

Are you a dangler? What do you envision dangling from your hoops?

*If you can read this, we’re in the neighborhood.

©2019 Laynie Tzena.  All Rights Reserved.

Hoops With Staying Power

Dear San Francisco Jewelry Doctor:

Please don’t talk to me about hoops. I tried them, but they are too much trouble! Half the time you can’t get them to close. The little wire can get bent and stop working. One time it actually snapped off in my hand—of course it was on a day when I had no time to spare. After that I said, “Forget it.” 

No Hoops for Me

Dear NHM:

How frustrating! The good news is there are lots of other fish in the sea, when it comes to earrings.  You certainly don’t have to wear hoops.  

But say you still like the look of hoops. Then what? 

First, look a little closer at the construction before buying them. Does the wire (or the whole hoop) seem flimsy? Move on.  

Next, take a look at different kinds of fastenings. The ones with latches are much easier to close, and stay closed. (You may need to have the latches tightened every so often.) 

You might also like “huggie hoops” (also known as hinged earrings).  

https://www.stuller.com/search/results/?query=huggie+hoop

Last, but not least, consider post hoops—no, that is not the time after the existence of hoops :>. The back of the hoop is actually a post earring.  https://www.stuller.com/search/results/?query=hoop+earrings+with+posts

Whatever you do, enjoy your earrings!

©2019 Laynie Tzena. All Rights Reserved.

Forward-Facing Hoops

Today let’s talk about the cousin to the hoop earring: the circle earring. Circles are among our most ancient designs. More on circles here. https://hyperallergic.com/266126/an-eccentric-visual-history-of-our-most-basic-shapes/

And here. https://www.fastcompany.com/90120049/why-humans-are-obsessed-with-circles-according-to-science.

Of course, you could say a hoop is a circle, and who could argue with that? But circle earrings are a bit like forward-facing hoops.  And they come in a whole host of pretty designs.

Last time we started with a basic hoop. Here’s a forward-facing one.  https://www.stuller.com/products/651817/11686611/?groupId=123896&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

Here’s another simple circle. 

https://www.stuller.com/products/651817/11686611/?groupId=123896&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

And another version of that design, with a jump ring at the bottom to support a dangle. What stone would you choose?  

https://www.stuller.com/products/2000364/16635412/?groupId=203189&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

Here’s a “circle and square” design, with a princess setting near the top https://www.stuller.com/products/86688/?groupId=197335&recommendationSource=SiteSearch,

and some circle rope earrings. 

https://www.stuller.com/products/86821/14383214/?groupId=199340&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

Which, you could say, almost brings us full circle, since we talked about rope hoops yesterday.  

Another kind of circle tomorrow. In the meantime, if you’ve seen something you’d enjoy wearing, just jot down the item number and call us at 415/796-3969 (text 415/596-4244) for pricing and availability.

San Francisco Jewelry Doctor. Where you are always part of the circle.

©2019 Laynie Tzena. All Rights Reserved.

How About Hoops?

Yesterday at a local café Sally said, in response to my compliment about her earrings, that they were big this year. (The style, not the earrings.)  She’s right.  I counted six different kinds of hoop earrings at the grocery store last night.

Hoop earrings have been fashionable for a long time.  In recent times people have been reminding others of their history. https://i d.vice.com/en_us/article/j5mqyy/who-owns-hoop-earrings

While the debate about hoops goes on, let’s talk about the range of designs in hoop earrings these days. When most people think about hoops, something like this comes to mind.

https://www.stuller.com/products/20826/?groupId=11186&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

And those are great. But there’s so much more! Hoops come in all shapes and sizes. There are double (oval) hoops,

https://www.stuller.com/products/86059/?groupId=120001&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

two-tone diamond hoops,

https://www.stuller.com/products/86473/?groupId=193657&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

geometric hoops,

https://www.stuller.com/products/86792/?groupId=198643&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

flower hinged hoops,

https://www.stuller.com/products/83681/?groupId=42774&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

and rope hoops, 

https://www.stuller.com/products/86450/12368134/?groupId=193512&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

which would be rather pretty with this bracelet:

https://www.stuller.com/products/652763/?groupId=196543&fromRAC=true&recommendationSource=SiteSearchRAC

Your hoops don’t even have to be round! Try these triangular ones.

https://www.stuller.com/products/86988/?groupId=201780&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

We could also talk about hooplets, but we’ll save those for another day.

So which are your favorite hoops?  Call San Francisco Jewelry Doctor at 415/796-3969 (text 415/596-4244), and you’ll be wearing them in no time.