You Say Potato, I Say Applesauce

—and just like that, it’s Chanukah again. While we put the finishing touches on another holiday gift and nosh on one more latke, here’s a touching story from Chanukah past. Enjoy.
http://myjewelrydoctor.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-perfect-gift-times-eight-or-hark.html

And call us, already (415/796-3969; texts go to 415/596-4244). We are always happy to help, but honey, eight is a finite number*, and a bearded guy and a couple reindeer** just called in the window that another holiday is right around the corner. You want your loved ones to talk to you, right?

San Francisco Jewelry Doctor. We help you shine.

*Math refresher, no charge. Chanukah has eight nights, which those who read the attached story already know. No, we are not pointing fingers. Just encouraging the art of reading.

**Yes, of course reindeer like to talk. Especially this time of year. Listen closer.

Small Business Saturday is So Romantic

“Oh, goodness, George, here it is Small Business Saturday, and I don’t have my list yet. What should I do?”

George takes out his earbuds. “What did you say, Brenda?”

“You never listen. I said it’s Small Business Saturday, and I don’t have my holiday list yet."

“Oh, that.” George smiles. “Why don’t you just give the money to me?”

He dodges the pillow sent in his direction.  “I don’t understand. You know I’m going to say, ‘Call Laynie at San Francisco Jewelry Doctor.’ You know they have great gifts. You got everything from her last year, and she’ll help you figure out the best choices this year. Need I add you always say I am clueless when it comes to making any kind of decision whatsoever?  So why are you asking me?”

Brenda is humming a pretty melody as she makes the call. She puts a hand over the phone and says, “Just a formality, dear, just a formality. You can go back to learning Italian.  Oh, and honey?  Love you!  Graci.”

After a slight pause, we hear what sounds like “Prego.”

* * *

That Brenda always has great ideas, and this might be the best of all (aside from that trip to Italy in the spring*). Have you called your friendly neighborhood** jewelry doctor yet?  415/796-3969 (or text 415/596-4244).

San Francisco Jewelry Doctor.  Holiday shopping, simplified.

*“How did you know they were going to Italy?”

Honey, as we have previously established, I am a doctor.  We know everything.

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

Color and Line

Two important elements of jewelry design are color and line. Let's start with color.

Part One. What About Value?

People sometimes ask, when we’re discussing redesigning a piece of jewelry, “Does it make sense to invest in a really nice setting for such an inexpensive stone?”

A perfectly reasonable question, right? 

Sure. But let’s dig a little deeper.  

First, did you think, “This is an inexpensive stone” when you bought the original piece of jewelry, or when it was given to you?  

Probably not. If the jewelry was a gift, it’s likely that you thought what a lovely gesture it was. If you selected the jewelry yourself, you might have just loved the look of the piece, and enjoyed wearing it.  

But perhaps over time your style has changed, and you’re ready to have a piece of jewelry designed that reflects who you are now.

Say it with me: jewelry is personal. Which means it’s not about what someone else thinks of the stone, or how much it cost. It’s about your connection to it. Related story here.

http://myjewelrydoctor.blogspot.com/2011/04/do-you-see-what-i-see.html)

But there’s more to the story. Many of us have a dynamic friend, someone who is the “life of the party,” really funny, fun to be around. And we love that friend. But we probably don’t want to spend all our time with that friend and, chances are, we don’t want to have a party consisting of lots and lots of people like that friend. It would wear us out. Instead, we like to spend time with (and balance gatherings with) lots of different kinds of people, some outgoing and some a little quieter.

In the world of food, the seafoods of choice when a chef wants to show off an elaborate sauce are often cod, flounder, and sole; halibut is also a great choice. Tuna or another strongly flavored fish, however delicious, would steal the show.

With these things in mind, let’s look again at those lighter colored stones. Salmon coral, Swiss Blue topaz, rose quartz—the color here is not as saturated as these gemstones’ sisters, oxblood and London Blue, or cousins, rhodonite and rhodochrosite. But they are every bit as lovely. 

Remember, when it comes to color, the word "value" just refers to shading. http://char.txa.cornell.edu/language/element/color/color.htm A lighter stone may have a lower price tag (though not always). It will always have its own winning qualities.

The question isn’t, in the end, about the grade of gemstone (many pieces of jewelry are set with "A" stones, some with "AA," and some with "AAA"), but what you do with that stone. For the customer, it’s all about finding a stone that’s just right for you (related story here http://myjewelrydoctor.blogspot.com/2015/07/just-right-ruby.html) or working with your jewelry designer to make the most creative, beautiful use of the stone you have.

Thinking again about cooking, some designers might say the “lighter tones” offer a certain freedom in design. More about that next time.

©2018 Laynie Tzena. All Rights Reserved.

A Delicate Matter

Filigree is one of the most beautiful words in the language, if you ask us.  You could consider it a cousin to lace, as Wikipedia suggests. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filigree

But it is delicate, and that wonderful openwork, like that of lace and those lovely crocheted sweaters, can get caught on something and—oh, no!

Don’t panic.  Call your friendly neighborhood* Jewelry Doctor at 415/796-3969, and we’ll restore your filigree jewelry for you—and give you tips on how to maintain it.  

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

Shine a Little Light, or New Life for Those Swarovski Brooches

Many customers come to the Jewelry Doctor with beautiful vintage Swarovski crystal pins (or brooches) in need of a little TLC. When they do, we create a “treatment plan.”

Sometimes the pin back has broken off (more on that soon), and sometimes a crystal or two has flown the coop.  Of all the nerve!  

But one might actually ask, “How did the crystal get there in the first place?” Answer:  the crystal is held in place by jewelers’ cement, which dries out over time—and not all at the same time.  When the cement dries out the metal can no longer hold the crystal, and out it tumbles. 

Some customers find the wayward crystal when it drops. But if it is gone, gone, gone, I check my sources and try to locate Swarovski crystal in the same size, shape, and color.  Given that these are vintage pieces, the dimensions and colors we need are not always available.  

If the crystal in the brooch is all the same color (and that color is available), no problem.  We can just replace it.  But what if the crystal is many-colored, like the gemstones in the ring you may have read about here?  https://www.kudzu.com/m/Laynie-Tzena-Design-7716176  And say one or more of the colors is not available? Then we have a decision to make.  Which colors should we choose so the brooch will have a harmonious look?

When replacing a crystal, I always check the “seaworthiness” of the others in the brooch. But since the cement doesn’t dry out under every crystal at the same time, it can happen that a month later a crystal drops out and the customer wonders, “Why is this falling out when it was just replaced?” Answer: it wasn’t the same crystal!

So if you love those Swarovski brooches—and who doesn’t?—know that they require maintenance.  Just as you have the prongs checked in your diamond jewelry (which you’ve been doing since you read this, right?  http://myjewelrydoctor.blogspot.com/2014/04/building-your-jewelry-wardrobe-lets.html), your brooches will require a “look-see” every so often to make sure each crystal is safely in its bed.

Did you also know your Swarovski brooches can do double-duty as pendants?  Just ask us how.  

San Francisco Jewelry Doctor, 415/796-3969. We make things sparkle.  

Cleopatra Says, "Go Green!"

Is it “pehr-ee-dow?” “Pehr-ih-dot?”  However you say it, this month’s birthstone is a beauty, with that bright olive color (and it is olivine), sometimes a bit lighter than that—so stunning on blondes, brunettes, redheads, and those whose hair shines in silver and gray.  People have loved this gemstone forever—Cleopatra’s famous emeralds may actually have been peridot.

Here’s some more information from the Gemological Institute of America (“GIA,” for short).  https://www.gia.edu/peridot-history-lore 

So—what’s on your wishlist? Call us at 415/796-3969, and you’ll be feeling like a queen in no time. 

Did Somebody Say Ruby?

Wait till you see what we’ve been designing!  (Well, you don't have to wait; just call your friendly neighborhood* Jewelry Doctor at 415/796-3969 to see the collection--and, of course, to tell us what’s on your wishlist.)

In the meantime, here is a favorite from our archives with vital information about a very special stone, which, as many of you know, is this month’s birthstone.  http://myjewelrydoctor.blogspot.com/2015/07/just-right-ruby.html

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