Elemental

Lynne sent me a picture of a necklace she had bought recently. 

“I don’t love it, but think it has some great elements,” she said.  

 

And it did: look at that rose quartz pendant at the center. What a beauty! But the design didn’t gel. The individual components seemed to be going in different directions.

 

When a customer brings in a piece of jewelry to be redesigned we start by determining his or her favorite part of the jewelry as it stands. In this case, Lynne loved both the pendant and the necklaces—just not together.

 

We examined the pendant.

What if one were to build a necklace to echo the rose quartz and bring out that wonderful silver bail?

“Nice work,” says someone. “I guess when it came to the necklaces, you could just restring them.”

Not so fast. That worked for the freshwater pearl necklace (which now has companion earrings).

But when it came to the rhodochrosite rectangle necklace, a simple restringing was out. The necklace was too short, and those rectangles were nowhere to be found on the market. 

Time to build a new necklace. Creating a balanced composition in the right length for Lynne, while staying true to the spirit of the original, was quite the challenge—but you know your Jewelry Doctor loves a challenge.

 

“Wonderful!” said Lynne, looking at her new ensemble.

 

©2023 Laynie Tzena. All Rights Reserved.

  

"Now That's More Like It!"

These earrings have a romantic feel to them—

—which was lost on CeeJay. “Not me,” she said. “What else can we do?”  

 

We looked at a number of options. Here’s the one CeeJay chose. 

Here’s another look.

And one from the top. 

Now the color of that amethyst really sings. I don’t know if CeeJay does—I’ll have to ask her—but she seems very happy with her new earrings.

 

©2023 Laynie Tzena. All Rights Reserved.   

What Have We Here?

Here’s a pretty bracelet. Don’t you love that pattern?

 

Alas, the clasp is broken. 

“Oh, well,” somebody says. “I guess there’s nothing we can do.”

 

Au contraire! In many cases we can fix that clasp or, if need be, replace it. But Lynne had something different in mind. She included a note with her bracelet. 

So we did, choosing a Rolo chain to echo one of the elements of the bracelet pattern and a complementary chain for the companion earrings. 

 

 

How about you? Is there something sitting in the jewelry box that you’d like to give a new life (or something you have been looking for)? Call us at 415/796-3969 (or text 415/596-4244).

 

San Francisco Jewelry Doctor. Making it all better (well, at least your jewelry. We’ll keep working on the rest.)

 

©2023 Laynie Tzena. All Rights Reserved.

 

"Help! I'm in the Wrong Necklace!"

“I’m not sure what to do with this,” said Lynne.

 

The strand had two great components: Leopard skin jasper—one of your Jewelry Doctor’s favorite gemstones—and Venetian glass, beloved by just about everyone. But the fact that each of these components was wonderful on its own didn’t mean they were destined to live together

“I don’t belong here!” said the Venetian glass.  

 

“Don’t blame us,” said the leopard skin jasper. “We were doing just fine before you showed up.”

 

The Jewelry Doctor listened to the conversation and put on her thinking cap. She began with the Venetian glass, which she thought looked familiar. Did she have some of its cousins on hand, from a show way back when? 

Indeed.

 

The Venetian glass—which turned out to be Ercole Moretti millefiore—is quite happy in its new home.

Lynne is also happy. “I love it!” she says.

 

“Very nice. But what happened to the round ones?” you ask. 

They became earrings. Might have a picture. We shall see.

“And what about the leopard skin jasper?” 

 

Stay tuned.

 

©2023 Laynie Tzena. All Rights Reserved. 

A Little Movement, or It's All In The Arrangement

Nothing wrong with these earrings. 

In fact, Fred said she liked them when she bought them. But they sat in the drawer.

That would be the late Fred Bloebaum, one of my all-time favorite customers. Fred had style for days, and a real sense of life about her. She was open to all kinds of things, and gave me (and probably anyone else who designed for her) enormous freedom when it came to design, probably because she was a designer herself—a fashion designer who created a line of classic patterns called “Designs by La Fred,” wrote for Threads Magazine, led sewing retreats, and taught at workshops around the country and at Stone Mountain and Daughter in Berkeley, where I think of her every time I shop for buttons for the loop-and-button fastenings I create for bracelets and other jewelry. 
(More on button jewelry soon.)

“I don’t know what it is,” she said, showing me the earrings. “They just don’t do anything for me.”

I looked at them. The components were pretty, especially that blonde wood saucer currently hiding under a brass bead. 

The round bead at the top and the pebble underneath it weren’t helping, so out they went. I decided the overall problem was the earring design was too static—especially for Fred. So I tilted the saucer and wire-wrapped it, turning it into a modified donut, added an onyx bead above it to support the amber pebble now visible. Small onyx pebbles served as cradles for the rhyolite (sometimes called “rainforest jasper”) that formed the top of the new earring. The angled wires on the original earrings were fine, but not with this design; ball posts would show the earrings to better effect.

“Great!” said Fred, and we were on to another project. 

RIP, Fred. You had such a spark.

©2019 Laynie Tzena. All Rights Reserved.

Holy Mother's Day!

“My mother’s gotten a bit more religious in the past few years. Do you have any religious jewelry?”

Why, yes, we do. We have everything from crosses to rosaries to Stars of David (often called “magen davidim”). 

https://www.stuller.com/search/results/?query=religious+jewelry

Here’s a magen david pendant we recently designed for a customer (who wanted to repurpose diamonds from her five-stone ring—the studs are very pretty, too :>). This pendant could also be made with your mother’s birthstone or, after the holiday, yours?)  

Call us at 415/796-3969 (text 415/596-4244) and let us know what kind of religious jewelry your mom prefers.

San Francisco Jewelry Doctor. Now, that’s the spirit!

©2019 Laynie Tzena. All Rights Reserved.

  

Real Estate, or The Long and Short of It

 “I don’t know if there are enough beads,” said Carolyn.  

She was right. There were a lot missing.

We talked about a couple solutions:  

a) Rebuild the necklace, keeping the design intact but making the bottom section on each side two-strand rather than four-strand; or 

b) Make the right side of Section One the center—in which case, we’d end up with two sections, not three, on each side.

We were also talking about a couple of pearl necklaces—one of which you’ve just seen—and what came out in conversation was that Carolyn didn’t really like wearing long necklaces. She prefers chokers.  

The challenge now became how to keep the spirit of the original necklace at the shorter length. We often use the expression “writ large” to describe something that has been expanded to a larger scale. In this case, the necklace needed to be writ small.

The center of the original necklace featured lapis, coral, and turquoise in a 4-2-2-4 pattern. Turquoise and coral make a winning combination (ever visit the Southwest?) and these stones are also wonderful with lapis, but there wasn’t enough turquoise or enough “real estate”—i.e., space to work with—for that to work in the new choker.

I turned my attention to the other segments. The segment after the center one had a 6-4-6 pattern, and the top of the necklace had a 5-4-5 pattern. Those color “bands,” that color balance, needed to be maintained or the choker would be missing the “feel” of the original. Carolyn also mentioned that she would like all the lapis discs (often called “lentils”) to be used in the necklace, and she wanted to use the silver beads, too, if possible.

I tested a few versions of the color bands and decided that alternating a 2-1-2 and 3-2-3 pattern would best serve our purposes.  

Drumroll, please.

And that’s the long and short of it!  

©2018 Laynie Tzena. 

Cracking the Code

“You can just restring this,” said Carolyn.

I wish.  

Look closely.  This necklace had a past.  The person who fixed it most recently was probably trying her best to get the necklace to the sixteen-inch length Carolyn prefers. Unfortunately, some of the large round (Swarovski) pearls and the smaller (freshwater) ones were missing, and she apparently thought the best solution was to leave a lot of room between the beads.

Result:  Swiss cheese.  Or, to be more precise, a whole lot of gaps in the necklace. (The actual length, once the pearls were brought together, was just over thirteen inches.) Also, the combination of several colors of Swarovski pearls and three colors of freshwater was a bit hard on the eyes.

What to do?

At first, I thought I’d just add more of the larger white freshwater pearls.  But that didn’t work.  And then the magic happened.  As I continued to look at the necklace, I saw what the original jeweler had in mind.  I was able to crack the code.

“What code?”

The rhythm the jewelry was intended to have.  In this case, it was what I call a “Morse Code” design:  dot-dash-dot-dash.  I believe that’s what the original intent was, and once I looked closely at the broken necklace, the solution was obvious.

©2018 Laynie Tzena.

Spring Comes Early, or Then and Now

“Anything we can do about this pin?  It was my grandmother’s,” said Nancy.  

And what a beauty!  Look at those flowers.  And that gorgeous Swarovski crystal—did you notice the color is amethyst, this month’s birthstone?

“Sure thing,” I said.

“Ooh!” said Nancy. “That is really pretty.”

“Especially on you,” I said.

* * *

Any amethyst-lovers on your Valentine’s Day list?  Call us at 415/796-3969.

San Francisco Jewelry Doctor.  We see beautiful things in your future.   

A Moving Experience

“I don’t know about this necklace,” said Ariane.

I looked at it. Green African Trade beads, often called “Vaseline beads.” Nothing wrong with them. But what’s that copal doing here?

Moving, it turned out.

“People move it while I’m talking to them. They don’t even ask. They just adjust it. Very annoying,” said Ariane.

Now, copal has its place (see “Expect the Unexpected”: http://myjewelrydoctor.blogspot.com/2010/05/expect-unexpected.html). But not in this necklace.  

But wait! There’s more.

“This necklace is too heavy,” said Ariane.  

And it was rather heavy.

What to do? I thought of other jewelry Ariane had shown me. She liked neutral tones, and one piece in particular came to mind—a multistrand black and white necklace.  

“Kukui!” I thought.  

“Kukui?”

A seed from Hawaii (a nut, actually)—you often see a bunch of them on strands. But I think they’re more interesting when you isolate them. I’ve often made kukui pendants, with just a simple accent.

Drumroll, please.

And one of the kukui had a different pattern on each side. Presto! A reversible necklace.

But take a look at the silver in that wood necklace. Once it was cleaned up it was rather beautiful and became a focal point.

Ariane was very happy, and there has been no report of people trying to adjust her jewelry for her. 

“What about the copal and wood beads in the original necklaces?”

Not her colors, it turned out, but they may show up in a gift for someone. Stay tuned.

The Heart of the Matter

Many a “patient” that comes to visit the Jewelry Doctor isn’t broken. Well, this bracelet was a little stretched-out, that’s true.

But it could have been restrung on elastic and sent out into the world. This was not an appealing idea, since the bracelet seemed to suffer from an identity crisis. If you look closely, the design goes in several directions at once—which has its own charm, you could say, but is not, for some of us, all that appealing. It was also missing some pieces.

Time for a redesign. But where to begin?

“Ask your customer,” you might say. 

Good idea. But this was an unusual situation. You see, the bracelet wasn’t brought in by a customer, but was a yard sale find from long ago. 

Jewelry often has “a name on it”—it reminds you of someone. It seems in keeping with that person’s style. I had looked at the bracelet a few times over the years, but didn’t have any immediate design ideas, and nobody in particular came to mind. But a while back I was preparing to meet with one of my favorite customers, for whom I had designed and redesigned many a treasure, when I came across the bracelet.

“I have to show this to Marguerite!”, I thought.

I brought it to our next meeting. 

“Intriguing,” she said.

“I think it would make a great festoon!” I said.

“What’s a festoon?” you might ask. Marguerite asked that very question—one that your Jewelry Doctor might have asked a couple years ago, but by now I had designed a few of them.

A festoon, simply put, is a centerpiece. It may be a design in gold, silver, or perhaps copper, or, as in this case, it may be a beaded design. Unlike its cousin, the pendant, which has a bail or jump ring at the top, a festoon has jump rings on each side, and is often joined to the body of the necklace via open jump rings, which are then soldered for a seamless look. A more fun way to go, if you ask me, is to attach spring rings* to the body of the necklace. When you use spring rings, you can play “mix and match,” changing the look of your necklace by using different necklaces (or chains) for the top.

When Marguerite saw the festoon, she said, “Wow. I really like that.”

Here’s the necklace we chose to go with it. Note that the loops, which now extend just below the silver and wire mesh balls, are echoed in the pattern of the chain.

And what a gorgeous chain! Since it connects to the festoon by spring rings, we were able to add an extender chain to those and presto! A chain necklace. Well, to be exact, I made three, which could be worn singly, as a dynamic duo, or all together for a dramatic look. 

That done, we still had some chain left over. I didn't have any immediate ideas as to what else we might do with it. Then one day I was looking at some bracelet designs.

“That chain would make a great multi-strand bracelet,” I thought.  

“Okay, fine,” somebody says. “But what happened to the heart and key charms in the original bracelet?”

This.

“So that’s it, right?”

Almost. I just loved the look of that flat oval chain. We had some left over from the multi-strand bracelet. One morning I woke up and, in my mind’s eye, saw the chain as a pendant—a multi-dangle pendant. (Which led, inevitably, to earrings.) Is it a tassel? Is it fringe? You tell me.

Speaking of earrings, here are those key earrings once again, and a pair of hearts that bring everything full circle.

*Spring rings are clasps that look like little circles with a notch; they are often found on gold and silver chains.

©2018 Laynie Tzena. All Rights Reserved.

You Love Your Jewelry? We Understand.

Once upon a time the Jewelry Doctor heard someone say she had been told people should just toss their broken jewelry. Not worth fixing*, it was said. 

The Jewelry Doctor couldn’t believe her ears. Did the person who said that know how people feel about their jewelry?

One day someone arrived with a tale of woe.

“I love this chain, but it broke!” said Allison, referring to a beautiful 14 karat gold rope chain she held in her hand. “Anything we can do? It was already a little short.”

“Of course,” said the Jewelry Doctor.

Solution: A new chain for Allison (in the right length, this time**). 

“What happened to the broken chain?”

This.

Are there “patients for the Jewelry Doctor” on your mind? Call us at 415/796-3969, and you'll be wearing them in no time. 

*Now, there are times when something cannot be fixed, or the cost to do so exceeds the value of the jewelry to the customer. (See “Is This Worth Fixing?”) But this was not one of those times.

**Standard lengths are 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24 inches.  But people aren’t always offered all those options—the store may just carry 16 and 24, for example, so the customer buys a 16-inch and it’s too short, or a 24-inch that is too long.  Because we work with private customers and order finished jewelry, such as chain, according to the customer’s preference, we can provide more selection.

New Beginnings

"My husband came to me after all these years together and told me he was gay.  I want him to be happy--I love the guy--so we ended the marriage. I know it was the right thing to do. But now every time I look at the ring, I start to cry. What can we do?"

This.

"Thank you," read the note that arrived a few days later, "for taking something painful and turning it into something beautiful."

Anytime, honey. As my mother always says, 'Wear it in good health!"

©2016 Laynie Tzena.

What Now, My Love: Time to Update That Ring?

She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah. But the ring, after all these years? Not so much.

“But she never said anything.”

And she may not. To you. But here’s what she told a dozen of her closest friends, including the Jewelry Doctor.

“It’s a beautiful stone, and the ring was perfect—for then. But I’d like something a little more up-to-date. And I’m afraid to bring it up, because I don't want to hurt his feelings.”

Okay, fellas, you heard it here: if you’ve been married more than a few years, ask your wife. But how?

Here’s an idea. Try your own version of this: “Honey, I saw a really pretty pair of earrings the other day. They were in the same style as your ring. And I almost bought them for you. But then I thought I’d better ask you first. It’s such a beautiful ring. And I love the way it looks on you. But somebody told me sometimes women like to update their wedding rings after a while. What do you think?”

You will probably receive one of two responses—either “No, honey, I love this ring. I don’t want to touch a hair on its head,” or “Well, now that you mention it, I’ve been thinking about that myself. Would you be okay with changing the ring to a different style?”

If the answer is “a” (leave the ring as is), take a picture of it, if you can, or just make a quick sketch, and we’ll choose a pair of earrings that echo the design. And if it turns out your wife has been dreaming of updating the ring, just say, “What a coincidence. I just met Laynie Tzena, who’s known as the ‘Jewelry Doctor.’ I bet she can help us create a jazzy new ring for you. How does that sound?”

Hark! I believe I hear music.

©2013 Laynie Tzena.

Darling, I Love You, But Give Me Park Avenue

In the theme song from the television series Green Acres, of blessed memory, we learn that Lisa Douglas (played by Eva Gabor) loves her husband Oliver (played by Eddie Albert, first name pronounced by his better half as "Aw-lee-vuh!" [last syllable rhymes with the "oo" in "good"]). Loves him dearly, but she is a city girl and feels out of place in the country.

This has been known to happen in the world of jewelry, too.

Here’s a nice necklace.

Nothing wrong with it. In fact, the center portion is jazzy and that foxtail chain above it is straight up gorgeous, if you ask me.

But the fact that the center is pretty and so is the chain doesn’t mean they belong in that necklace. In fact, the chain certainly didn’t belong on that necklace. Because it was Nancy’s necklace, and that chain didn’t sit right when she wore it but rolled around and drove her bananas. Plus, she thought the chain didn’t really go with the rest of the necklace—which, if you look closely, has a different, more contemporary feel to it.

Now, where’d I put my magic wand? Oh, there it is.

We also had enough chain for two—count ’em, two—necklaces, one for Nancy and one for a friend of hers, plus more chain that will be transformed into earrings and other goodies.

This necklace wasn’t bad, either.

Pretty amethyst. But it’s hidden by those (also fine) sterling silver spacers. The necklace just didn’t have much oomph.

Drumroll, please.


What’s that? You say that chain looks familiar? You are so right. It was the top of that other necklace we were talking about. But doesn’t it look happier here, surrounded by its new family?

We think so.

©2011 Laynie Tzena.

Geometry After All

As a little girl, I was smitten with algebra. X and Y go to the store.
(a + b) + c = a + (b + c). Coordinates. Axes. Happiness.

Geometry was another story. Didn’t interest me one iota.

So of course today I love geometric shapes, work with them all the time, think geometry is absolutely the bee’s knees. Life does that. (And I still love algebra, too. Go figure.)

But nobody loves everything, everywhere, at all times. This necklace has plenty of interesting shapes. Some would say it has a lot of movement.


But it bugged Nancy no end. Sure, the intersection of the shapes was great, but the piece also felt "busy." You know how sometimes at a crowded party there might be a dozen conversations going on at once, all interesting, but it gets so you can't really decipher or take part in any one of them after a while? Like that. Plus, it always got twisted. So it ended up sleeping in the jewelry box.

Fine. I waved my magic wand. And looky-here: Two for the price
of one.



Well, three, if you count the earrings, which don’t photograph well.

And now you can see the shapes even better. This time around, less really is more.

©2011, 2013, 2014 Laynie Tzena.