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. 

Such a Deal--Or is It?

New posts on the way.  But in the meantime, here's something to read that never gets old, with tips you can put to use immediately.

http://myjewelrydoctor.blogspot.com/2012/11/white-turquoise-or-whats-big-deal-really.html

And remember:  when you see something that looks fabulous and want to be sure it really is, call the Jewelry Doctor at 415/796-3969.

Happy Holidays!

"White Turquoise," or What's The Big Deal, Really?

Lots of ads this year, as usual, for the Big Sales, the Big Deals. And who doesn’t love saving?

But what exactly do you get?  One of the major retailers has been under fire for selling rubies filled with glass. To the untrained eye, they look absolutely fine.

A customer loved the white gold pendant we designed for her. She thought she’d just get a chain at the mall.

“Why doesn’t it match?” she asked me.

“Do you know where it came from?” I asked.

She didn’t. We just know what’s on the tag, half the time. So I asked one of my team members why she thought white gold didn’t match white gold.

She laughed. “They’re plating everything,” she said, “to make it shinier.”

Nothing wrong with plating, often called “dipping.” I do it all the time for my customers. But here’s the problem when you buy something at that Big Sale, or from someone you don't know. How do you know what the metal is under the plate?

It’s not the fault of the person behind the counter. Those people work really hard, especially this time of year.  But they generally don’t know the details about the jewelry they sell, except what the markdowns are.

“So you’re telling me I have to pass up all those good deals?”

Not at all.  I just want to know that you’re getting a good deal.

One of my customers asked me if I could make something to go with some “white turquoise” she had bought on a trip.

"'White' turquoise? Sounds like howlite.”

Nothing wrong with howlite—I’ve used it in designs. But it’s not turquoise.

“No, no, he said it was turquoise.”

Another customer was going to Morocco. Did I want her to bring something back for me? I usually say no, since I have sources for whatever I need. But I said sure, bring back malachite, if you see it.

She put it out on the table. Fossil.

“But he said it was malachite,” she said. 

 “Why is my gold necklace turning dark on my neck?” my customer asked me. “They told me it was gold.”

Asked one of my team members. “Probably 10 karat, not 14 karat.”

It’s still gold. Nobody lied. But what exactly did you get, and how much did you really save?


©2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 Laynie Tzena.