A Better Number

The telephone is a wonderful thing.  Especially when it's you calling.  But sometimes former phone numbers, like those people we used to date, continue to hope we'll come back.

Now, nobody is more romantic than the Jewelry Doctor.  She still remembers that old phone number fondly.  But some things really are in the past.

So feel free to wave to the old number, if you'd like--it was a perfectly fine number, and chances are it has gone to a fine new home.  But remember that when you want to reach Laynie Tzena Design, home of San Francisco Jewelry Doctor, the number to call is 415/796-3969. (And yes, you can also send an email.  Head to www.facebook/myjewelrydoctor, and say hello.)

Hark! Is that the phone ringing now?  Maybe it's you.

San Francisco Jewelry Doctor.  When you call, beautiful things happen.

A New Life in the Making

Once upon a time there was a box of broken jewelry.  A bracelet cried, "She doesn't love us anymore!"  Some stray earrings slumped in a corner of the box.

"Nonsense," said a nearby necklace.  "She's just been busy.  I heard her say she was going to call the Jewelry Doctor." 

"That's right," said a ring, waiting patiently for its stone. 

At this news, the other jewelry perked up, but it was still broken.

Then one day the phone rang at 415/796-3969.

"San Francisco Jewelry Doctor," said the voice on the telephone.

And the jewelry rejoiced, because it saw the promise of a new life.

San Francisco Jewelry Doctor.  Because everybody loves happy endings.


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©2014 Laynie Tzena.

About Your Mother (No, No Freud. There's No Time For That.)

“Oh, no!  Mother’s Day is tomorrow, and here it is almost the last minute.  My mother will kill me!”

Honey, please calm down.

a.  Reality check:  Good news and bad news.

First, the bad news:  It isn't almost the last minute.  It is the last minute.

Now for some good news:  Our handcrafted jewelry gets rave reviews, and we have lots of wonderful gifts on hand.

"How can I see it?  It's not here!"

Oh, but it is.  Just send us an email, and we'll send you some pictures.  Even better, call us at 415/796-3969.

b.  More good news:  The time you were really in danger of your mother even wanting to kill you?  That time when you were little, or maybe that night when you were 15--

"How do you know about that?"

Honey, I'm a doctor.  We know everything.

San Francisco Jewelry Doctor.  Building happy families, one gift at a time.

©2014 Laynie Tzena.

A Word from Our Sponsor, or Remember Those Cookies and Coloring Books?

Your friendly neighborhood Jewelry Doctor would like to remind you that you are only reading this because someone brought you here, and there is a day devoted to that very person.

"Do you mean Mother's Day?  I already got her a couple of cards and some flowers."

What a wonderful beginning.  A bit like what would have happened if your Mom, say, had given you a nice breakfast but decided you didn't really need lunch and dinner.

"Are you saying I have to buy a gift to show her I love her?"

Absolutely not.  And she didn't have to take you to the doctor with that ear infection, either.  Chances are, it would have healed perfectly fine on its own.

"Ah.  I understand.  Well, does San Francisco Jewelry Doctor have any Mother's Day gifts?"

As a matter of fact, we do. 

"We both hate hearts."

No problem.  We have lots of other gorgeous jewelry.  But how nice that you have that in common.

"Also, I'm in Pennsylvania."

Well, that's wonderful.  Philadelphia and everything.  I understand UPS and FedEx both serve Pennsylvania, and of course you have post offices.  Just don't leave it to the last minute.

"What's your phone number?  I'm calling you now."

415/796-3969.  Oh, there's the phone.  That must be you.  Hello!

San Francisco Jewelry Doctor.  Helping you with great jewelry for every occasion, so you don't spend the next year hearing about how it's not really that big a deal, it just would have been nice.

©2014 Laynie Tzena.

Hard to Shop For? Not Anymore!

“My wife never wears the gifts I give her,” say some men.  

Your Jewelry Doctor creates a lot of gifts (and provides others from her sources). They always get rave reviews.  Now yours can, too.  

What’s the secret?  Well, remember the “reconnaissance mission”? 

“If you’ll excuse me, Doctor, that operation is used in war.  We’re talking about love.”

True.  But “gaining intelligence”—here, about your special someone’s taste in jewelry—makes the difference in both worlds.

Here’s how it works:  on a date, or across the breakfast table, notice what kinds of things your sweetheart loves to wear.  

Color

Earth tones or jewel tones?   Warm colors or cool colors?  Pastels or true colors?  Does she wear a lot of black?  Does she like colors that blend, sharp contrast, or a bit of both?

Shape

Now let's consider the outline of the kinds of jewelry she loves.  What kinds of shapes does she choose?  Round?  Oval?  Pear-shaped?  Triangular?  (We call those "trillion.")  Rectangular? (We call the long ones "emerald," and the square, "princess.")  Does she prefer soft lines, or crisper ones--more "Art Nouveau," or more Deco?

Environment (and Personal Style)

Let's think about how she likes to wear the jewelry.  Does her style tend toward suits, or a more casual look?  Does she wear necklaces with a lot of texture or a mix of shapes, or something simple and elegant, like a solitaire pendant or a strand of pearls?  Are her earrings flush against the ear—we call that a “button post” or a “stud”—or a dangle?  How long a dangle does she like? 

When Lights Are Low

You’d be amazed how much information you can pick up over breakfast.  And if you want to step up your game, go out for a romantic dinner.  Does her jewelry change?  Obviously, it’ll be dressier.  But does she also choose different colors and/or shapes for special times?

What She Chooses for Herself

Next time you’re home alone, take a look at her jewelry box.  Notice any patterns?  Just as men often buy the same kinds of ties with slight variation, women often favor, say, a simple gold pendant on a chain.  You might see three or four of these, each with a different gemstone.  Look to see if there are coordinating earrings.  Does she prefer matching jewelry, or what we could call “counterpoint”—i.e., jewelry that coordinates, but doesn’t repeat the same exact pattern?

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Make some notes.  And take a picture of your special someone, if you don’t have a recent one.  It not only feels great to have that with you, it makes a big difference when you shop.  I’ve helped people choose gifts for loved ones across the country, using the clothes they’re wearing in a snapshot to determine their style.  (And those clothes are usually in the colors they prefer, too.)

Putting It Into Practice

So don’t be afraid to shop.  You’re no longer groping around in the dark.  Now when you go looking for gifts, you’re halfway there:  you already know what she likes!

What’s your next special occasion?  Anniversary on the horizon?  Is her birthday coming up soon?  Or is the woman in your life a mother?  Mother’s Day is just two weeks away.  Call your friendly neighborhood* Jewelry Doctor at 415/796-3969, and let’s put our heads together. 

San Francisco Jewelry Doctor.  We make gift-shopping fun.

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

©2014 Laynie Tzena.

Building Your Jewelry Wardrobe, Part One: T.L.C.

I love helping people build their jewelry wardrobe.  As you might imagine, “building a jewelry wardrobe” doesn’t mean buying everything in sight, anymore than most people would take that approach when it comes to clothing or furniture.  We buy things we love that complement things we already have, fill in gaps, and sometimes we decide we want to expand a bit, too.  Nothing wrong with that. 

Let’s talk about taking care of the jewelry you already own and love.

Part One:  Taking Care of Your Jewelry:  A Little Maintenance
Goes a Long Way.

When you have things you love, you take care of them.  In the case of clothing, that means a regular trip to the dry cleaner and shoe repair.  Furniture doesn’t ask much—a shine now and then, perhaps a little T.LC. (“tender loving care”) to repair a nick on the surface.

Jewelry not only attracts attention when you wear it—especially you :>; it also needs attention at home.  Let’s take a look at jewelry set with prongs.  Well, you can take a look at it—the light shines clear through it.  That’s the magic.

But where a diamond or other gemstone with a bezel setting is protected on all sides (or, with the half-bezel, the stone is partially protected) from the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, those prongs we were just talking about don’t cover all that much of the stone.

At the beginning, that’s not a problem, assuming you bought your jewelry from a reputable source:  the prongs in the setting hug the stone.  If the prong jewelry in question is a pendant, you’ll be fine for the foreseeable future. 

But think about a ring.  Some people sleep with their rings on.  Most people wear them at work.  So you turn in bed and the prong catches on the sheet, just a little, and you gently pull it back and maybe in the morning look, and it seems fine.  Or you’re talking with John or Kim about that project and your hand bumps against the phone as you’re checking something. 

A fly on the wall would tell you that both times the tip of the prong was bent, and in one case part of it broke off.  Tiny.  Easy to miss.

Another night tossing and turning, more projects at work, games with the kids, presentations, camping—so many opportunities for the tip of the prong to snap off and the prong itself to get yanked (just a bit each time), and then “Where did the stone go?”

Tip:  Write the date you bought your prong jewelry (or the date you received it) on your calendar.  Put it in the media you use for keeping track of appointments.  Now add a reminder every three to six months (depending on how active you are) to have the prongs checked to make sure they’re intact and see if they might need to be tightened or the tips or whole prongs might need to be replaced.  (You don’t want to overdo the tightening—remember, the prongs put pressure on the stone—but you want to be sure the prongs are strong and secure.)

Enjoy!  Prong jewelry does require attention, but seeing the light through the stone—doesn’t that make it worth a little effort?

©2014 Laynie Tzena.

Crowds Not So Pleasing, or Time to Call the (Jewelry) Doctor

“Oh, no! I'm toast! Why didn't I call Laynie at San Francisco Jewelry Doctor in time? I'll have to sit in traffic and stand in line--and maybe lose one of my toes, the way Sammy did!”

Not to worry, honey. Our handcrafted jewelry (you know, the pendants and necklaces and bracelets and earrings everybody raves about) is available until tomorrow afternoon. And if your loved ones are, shall we say, ever so slightly challenging to shop for, we have gift certificates.

As for Sammy, someone substantial did step on a toe or two at that big box store. But you know, he has that dramatic side to him. We saw him dancing later that night.

San Francisco Jewelry Doctor. We make people happy.

Okay, it's true, we can't make you happy. But we can help. 415/796-3969.

©2013 Laynie Tzena.