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.

Humpty Dumpty

"I think it was four strands.  I think I have all the beads," said Cindia.

"Great," I said.

I explained that much of jewelry restoration involves finding the rhythm in the piece to be restored.  Not much to go on, in this case.  But spotting a partial strand, I told her, "We'll start here."

So far, so good.  There were enough "little guys" to determine how one of the strands looked.  But what about the rest?

It turned out quite a few beads were missing.  I used the ones we had to create the patterns that would work in counterpoint for two of the strands (#2 and #4), and found some wonderful seed beads that complemented the others to make the fourth strand (which became Strand #3).

Et voila!  Who doesn't love a happy ending?

 
©2016 Laynie Tzena. 

Sure, We Can Do That

"Can you make an I. D. bracelet with part of my favorite song on it?"

But of course.

What's on your wish list?  Call us at 415/796-3969, and we'll make it happen.

San Francisco Jewelry Doctor, where dreams come true every day.

Perfect Timing

As our story opens, Donald Smith, a smart, savvy, perfectly competent individual in many respects, needs a little advice, and turns—not for the first time—to his friend Bill.  There’s the phone in Bill’s kitchen, ringing as he looks at two packages, trying to decide which one to microwave.  Let’s listen. 

“What’s up, Donald?”

“I am such an idiot.”

Bill laughs. “Tell me something I don’t know. Look, buddy, I’m in the middle of something. What is it this time?”

“Very funny. Listen: Richard proposed to Miranda on the eighth night of Chanukah. Get it, the eighth night? Significant. Brian popped the question on Christmas Eve—just outside the church. And to kick off the new year, Sean stopped a cable car yesterday (you know how they hate it when you pull that cord, but when they saw what he was doing they rang the bell over and over and cheered).”

“Great. What’s your point?”

“It’s January 2^nd. We don’t have another holiday till Valentine’s Day.”

“And?”

“It needs to be at a special time.”

“Buddy, guys have been popping the question for centuries, and most of them didn't have a calendar when they did. And since you’re the one who does strategy for a living, have you considered why now might be the absolute perfect time?” 

“Oh, come on.”

“I’m serious. She’s not expecting it, you dodo!  Let’s move on. Did you get the ring?”

“No. There’s so many places, and I hear they just want to sell you the biggest diamond. I’m not Zuckerberg.”

“Okay, let’s do this: get off the phone with me and call Laynie Tzena at San Francisco Jewelry Doctor, 415/796-3969.” 

“I thought they just did restoration.”

“No. It’s a full-scale jewelry design business. Remember the ring Chris showed us? She designed it. Do a search for Laynie Tzena Design and San Francisco Jewelry Doctor, and you’ll see what other people have said about the rings and other jewelry she’s helped them with. I’m sending you an example. And Donald?”
http://www.tupalo.co/san-francisco-california/tzena-laynie-design 

“What?”

“Do not overthink this.”

“Who, me?” 

“Hi. I know you. So listen, just call Laynie, tell her what kind of ring you have in mind, and she’ll take good care of you. Text me once you have the ring, and we’ll go get a beer. Do not call or text me until you have done this.”

“Okay. I’m calling her now.”

“Good man.”

As the light fades outside Bill’s window, we wonder (well, perhaps you wonder; the Jewelry Doctor, being a doctor, knows everything):  Will Donald make that call? Will Bill choose the right meal to microwave? What will Donald’s sweetheart say?

Stay tuned.

©2016 Laynie Tzena.

"You Shouldn't Have!"

It’s that time again. You open the box—

“Oh, honey! You shouldn’t have!”

Because even though you love him—really, you do—you do not love that jewelry. 

And you know he meant well. Some store clerk said all the women were wearing it this year and he thought, “Great!”

Not long ago a woman on the bus, upon hearing I’d just written an article to help men make better gift choices (right here: http://myjewelrydoctor.blogspot.com/2014/04/hard-to-shop-for-not-any-more_27.html), said, “I’m giving that to my husband,” who had, with the best of intentions, bought her diamond hoop earrings. Not little, delicate earrings, which is her style. J. Lo hoops.

“What was he thinking?” she asked.

Poor guy. He was in a store, nervous, wanting to do the right thing, and the clerk sold him the earrings.   

And she didn’t mean any harm, either. She just didn’t know your style. He went along with what she said the trend was, and she forgot how women view trends: We view them. We think about them. We think about what part of the trend looks like something we would actually wear. At least, most of us do.

So there’s the box, destined for your drawer. Not to worry. Take it out. Bring it to the Jewelry Doctor. Those big diamond hoops?  No reason the diamonds can’t be repurposed in other earrings, or a pendant, or maybe a ring. And the hoops themselves? They can be set with other gemstones. Garnet, for example, or citrine, or amethyst.

“But I wouldn’t wear them.”

Right. But that friend of yours that loves big everything? Honey, you now have her birthday gift.

Or say he gave you a gold pendant. You think the sapphire in it is wonderful. But you haven’t worn gold in years. You like platinum. (Or white gold. Or sterling silver.)

Fine. The sapphire goes in a platinum pendant mounting for you, and the gold pendant mounting is set with lapis, or blue topaz, or smoky quartz. Another gift.

Maybe somebody gave you a choker, and you don’t wear chokers. Fine. We can make the choker into a longer necklace. Or the necklace is too long, and you end up wrapping it around and around and around. We can make that into two or three separate necklaces that you can wear separately or together. 

Perhaps you like some of the elements in the necklace, but it doesn’t work for you as a whole. We can take it apart and redo it. Or the pendant he gave you is tiny, but you’re not, and it’s lost on you. We can put a frame around it. (See how we solved that challenge here: 

http://myjewelrydoctor.blogspot.com/2009/04/music-for-josie.html).

 

And then there are the things you bought when you were out with the girls after the champagne brunch, or bought when you were much younger and your style was—well, you're not sure what it was, but it sure isn’t your style these days.

So gather everything you have no intention of ever wearing (or wearing again), call Laynie at San Francisco Jewelry Doctor, 415/796-3969, and we’ll make it all better.

“Promise?”

Promise. Oh, and you know the best part? It’ll be our little secret. Just tell him he’s the greatest. Well, he is, isn’t he? Of course he is. He’s with you.

©2015 Laynie Tzena.

"A Little Something" Is A Very Good Thing

“We're going away for the holidays, so I don't really need a gift.”

How lovely! And when your beloved hands you your gift, you just smile and say, “Well, the trip is my gift.” 

Fade to sunset.

Does that ever work? Sure. It works really, really well--if you also use an "under-the-pillow" gift. 

“What’s an ‘under-the-pillow’ gift, pray tell?”

I thought you'd never ask. An under-the-pillow gift is a surprise gift. You've already said you're not exchanging gifts, or the trip is a gift, or just being together is a gift.

All fine. And people still like to receive gifts--especially surprise gifts. 

So just before bed, you place a little box under the pillow. (If it's still there when you're ready to leave the next day, then just say something like, “Oh, drat. I can't find my favorite pen. I was writing something in bed. Could you see if you can find it?” Then wait for the “Wow!”)

“Okay, I get it. What goes in the box?”

It could be a pair of pretty earrings--a lot of folks like martini earrings. Gemstone earrings are also perfect. Or maybe she'd like a solitaire pendant, or a tennis bracelet?  

Stuller is a great source for all of the above--plus we have handcrafted jewelry in porcelain, Venetian glass, Swarovski crystal, and gemstones. To see Stuller jewelry, just key in the name (plus “.com”), using your favorite search engine. Jot down the item numbers of your favorites, and call us so we can check on pricing and availability.

To see our handcrafted jewelry, just send an email (and call us at 415/796-3969, so we know the email's coming--there is that holiday in two days); we'll send you pictures on the double. 

Just one thing: minutes ago, we received a message from Santa saying “Don’t delay” (he’s got the reindeer just about ready to go), so call us at 415/796-3969, and we'll put our heads together about the perfect "under-the-pillow" gift for you. 

©2015 Laynie Tzena.

Saddle Up the White Horse

“Nooooooo!”

“Janet, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, Bob, I was just getting my jewelry organized for the weekend—you know, it’s not just Christmas, but all the parties over the weekend—and my favorite necklace got caught on something, and now it’s broken!”

“Now, Janet, don't worry. We’ve been through this before. This would only be a problem if we didn’t have a jewelry doctor. But we do. So just call Laynie at San Francisco Jewelry Doctor. And I'd call her now, because it’s the busiest week of the year. Honey, I bet she can fix it in time. And if for some reason it can’t be fixed, she’ll take one look at it and recommend something just as pretty, or even prettier.”

“Hooray! I just found the number. Write this down, would you? 415/796-3969. Oh, Bob, I’m so glad I married you!”

"And I’m sure glad I found out about San Francisco Jewelry Doctor,” Bob thinks. "Wonder if this makes up for forgetting our anniversary that time." But he just says, “Oh, honey, me, too.”

San Francisco Jewelry Doctor. Creating happy endings (and beginnings—ask us about engagement rings), one day at a time. 

©2015 Laynie Tzena.