Pictures Are A Wonderful Thing, or All Is Not Lost

Few writers love the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” But pictures can be oh, so helpful when it comes to jewelry. I always take pictures of jewelry before I work on it, not only so we have a

“before” and “after” to enjoy, but so my customer has a record of what the jewelry looked like in case it is ever lost. (Helps for insurance purposes, too.)

It's always great if you can have someone take a picture of you wearing some of your “greatest hits”—i.e., your favorite jewelry to wear—as well as a picture of the jewelry by itself. But in a pinch just take a picture of the jewelry on a clean surface (black, gray, or white are usually best). Then, whether we need to put Humpty-Dumpty back together again
http://myjewelrydoctor.blogspot.com/2016/07/humpty-dumpty.html
or recreate Humpty-Dumpty from scratch or fill in missing pieces, we'll know what we're aiming for.

Make sure the jewelry is centered in the picture, with the whole necklace (or earrings, or bracelet) visible. That's important when it comes to reconstructing it.

“But I don't have a picture!”

Not to worry, honey: the Jewelry Doctor understands, and is still happy to help. (She is a doctor!)  But if you have one, that's even better.

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.

Just For You

New year, new jewelry? Well, that’s a fine idea—especially if you found yourself, this holiday season, in the situation the Jewelry Doctor heard described just the other day. 

“I didn’t get any gifts.  I’m the one who does all the giving!” said a LPDHOT (“Lovely Person who Deserves Her Own Treasures”), sadly.

If that’s you, not to worry! We’ve got all kinds of pretty things for you—and you don’t have to give them away (we can help with that birthday coming up, of course, but you come first, honey).

So call us at 415/796-3969, or text that very same area code, followed by five-nine-six, four-two, four-four. And take a look on this very page for tips on shopping for jewelry, jewelry care, and all kinds of other great things. 

Welcome aboard, and Happy New Year!

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

Gulp. "Gee, thanks!"

It’s the thought that counts—but that doesn’t mean you want to wear your holiday gift.

What to do? 

Say “Thanks a million!”, read the story below for some great ideas, and then call your friendly neighborhood Jewelry Doctor* at 415/796-3969 (or text that very same area code, followed by five-nine-six, four-two-four-four). http://myjewelrydoctor.blogspot.com/2015/12/you-shouldnt-have.html

San Francisco Jewelry Doctor. We not only find silver linings—we make them!

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

The Perfect Gift, Times Eight, or Hark! Could That Be Latkes?

“Hooray! It’s almost Chanukah!” says Joan.

Teresa looks puzzled. “I thought it was after Christmas.”

“No, silly, it changes every year.” Should I try that new sweet potato latke recipe? she wonders.

“What do you mean?” Teresa puts down her latte. “I mean, Christmas is always the same day. Always has been.”

“Are you sure?” asks Joan. “Yes, it’s been December 25 for a long time, but some people say that date was actually chosen much later. Anyway, some people follow a lunar calendar, instead of the Roman one we do in the west. So the dates of the holidays are different each year.”

“Hmn,” says Teresa. She doesn’t like to admit when she doesn’t know something. Sometimes she just says, “Well, people say different things.” But she knows she’s out of her element here. Ask me about Catechism, she thinks, and we’re all set. She doesn’t say that, though. Instead she says, “Well, did you get your gifts yet?”

“Are you kidding?” asks Joan. “With my schedule and those kids?”

“So what are you going to do?” asks Teresa.

“Simple. I’m going to call San Francisco Jewelry Doctor. They’ve been helping me with great gifts for years.”

“Do they also do Christmas gifts?”

“No. Only Chanukah.” Joan laughs, seeing Teresa thinks she’s serious. “Come on. Of course. But lucky you. You just have to choose one gift for each person. We have to come up with eight—one for each night.”

“Oh, right,” says Teresa. "That’s because they only had enough oil in the temple to last one night, but it lasted eight, right?” At least I remember something from school, she thinks.

“Well, actually, that story was added later,” says Joan, “but I’ll tell you about that tomorrow.”

Teresa takes another sip of her latte. She’ll probably forget. I thought I understood at least part of this. “I liked the oil story,” she says. “I thought it was cool.”

“I know,” says Joan, pouring tea into her cup. “Supposedly, it was added so the Romans wouldn’t feel threatened by the real story, which is about a military victory. But I love the idea of the oil lasting eight days and eight nights, so I’m keeping it. Besides, otherwise how do you explain the latkes?”

“I think after a while they become our own holidays,” says Teresa, thinking I will never understand this. “I still like Santa Claus, too.” She eats the head off the gingerbread man. “Okay, enough religious history for today. What are you getting the girls?”

“Charm bracelets. The first night they get one charm, the second, another, and so on until the seventh night. The next morning I give the charms to the Jewelry Doctor and she puts them on the bracelet I selected. When we light the candles on the eighth night, the girls open their packages and—voila!—the finished bracelet. Cool, huh?”

“Not bad,” says Teresa. I should do something like that with my girls, she thinks. Twelve days of Christmas, and all. “What’s that number again?”

“415-796-3969. Ask for Laynie.” 

San Francisco Jewelry Doctor. Miraculous gifts, every time.