People have always loved to declare their devotion with jewelry. Engraved lockets have been around forever, and people have figured out ways to include initials on rings since Renaissance times. I’ve noticed some interesting personalized jewelry lately, and thought it would be fun to show a few designers (thanks, Lauren, for suggesting this topic!). Any of these would be great to call out someone special in your life, as subtly or obviously as you want!
One of the best known personalized jewelry designers is
Heather Moore. She has a collection of discs in silver and every color of gold, hand-stamped with initials, names or anything you want. The whole collection can be highly personalized, there are little dangly jewels you can add, and keep collecting more to make it very much your own. You can see the collection and start building your own set by clicking
here.
Heather Moore Personalized Charm Necklace
My first thought was that her stuff is pretty spendy. For instance, I built a necklace on the site with 2 small engraved 14kt discs plus a few jewels on a fine 14kt 16″ chain, and it was over $1500. But after spending some time on the site and seeing some other designers, I am really loving her style and her company. She’s truly an artist (there’s some info about her bio here), and I can see that in her designs. It’s important to note that her designs are crafted in recycled precious metals. If this is to commemorate your family, kids, or significant other, those things are forever, and so is her jewelry. I recommend splurging, you won’t regret it! You can also start small and build slowly, which can help.
A note about sterling silver: this can be a less expensive option. But think carefully about this. Sterling tarnishes, so if you are not going to enjoy pulling out the silver polish occasionally to get into the grooved lines of the engraving, or you won’t appreciate the natural patina that happens over the years without the polish, I don’t recommend it. If you’re talking about a sweet gift for your favorite girl friend, and you’ve got a limited budget, then go for it!
If Heather Moore’s style isn’t quite what you’re looking for, there are some other great options. At the online retailer Max and Chloe, you can find several designers. Here is Christie Martin’s 14kt disc engravable with up to 8 characters. Not a bad value for $230, including the 16″ chain:
Christie Martin Charm Necklace, $230 Retail
You could also build a little collection of disks by Zoe Chicco in gold and/or sterling silver. Not quite as customizable as Heather Moore’s selection, but nice. For less than a $1000, you could have some gold and silver charms of various sizes on a 16″ chain. Here’s an example of an oval shape that can be engraved with up to 5 letters:
Zoe Chicco Oval Charm Necklace, $435 Retail with Chain
If money is no object, there are plenty of diamond options as well. Here’s a lovely little monogram in 14kt white gold and diamonds:
Kacey K Medium Monogram Personalized Necklace, $2035 retail
I also really like little initials, they could be worn singly or combined with engraved discs for a sentimental little touch. I love this little lower-case font from Ariel Gordon:
Ariel Gordon Initial Personalized Necklace Charm, $300 Retail
On Etsy.com there are a few artists making personalized necklaces. I really had to wade through a lot of listings, but I found this person making initials,and a seller called PeaceofMind is doing some sweet things here. Jeneri Jewelry is doing custom sterling silver and gold-filled stamped disks for reasonable prices:
Jeneri Jewelry Silver Charm Necklace, $43 Retail
Speaking of reasonable prices, I found this designer of simple stamped discs. If you just want something sweet and affordable, I think these are nice, especially the “Edison” font (for $28!!):
Mountain Girl Silver Charm Necklace, $28 Retail
Please comment if you have other designers to recommend!
