Make Your Mark with Personalized Jewelry: Charm Necklaces

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!

I Heart Valentine’s Day Heart Pendants

Heart pendants are one of those polarizing jewelry items: people either love them or they don’t.  I think they can be wonderful–good heart design does not have to be an oxymoron.  If they are done well, hearts can be beautiful and very romantic.   You are wearing a tangible symbol: someone loves you!

There are a lot of hearts out there.  For my edited list below, I had a few criteria I looked at carefully.  Graceful design.  Quality of execution (as far as I can tell online).  Integration of the pendant with the chain.  Value. 

Find yourself (or your gift recipient) in the descriptions below and see if cupid’s arrow makes its mark.

Purist: You value good design and want something enduring. 

You can’t beat Tiffany.  Elsa Peretti created THE iconic design, and it’s a good value in sterling silver, and possibly gold.  How else can you give the little blue box (and probably get a nice smooch) for $165?

Tiffany Small Heart Pendant, $165 Retail

Another nice Tiffany design, I like the rose gold with the silver:

Tiffany Double Heart Pendant w/Rose Gold, $675 Retail

 

Classic: You like simple, tailored designs and want something brilliant, but tasteful; sparkly, but not overwhelming. 

Lovely little piece from Blue Nile, it’s definitely a nod to Tiffany, but a good value:  

Blue Nile 1/4 ct Curved Heart Pendant, $420 Retail

Very sweet piece, love the pearl, and it’s a steal at $55:

Blue Nile Heart Lariat w/ Freshwater Pearl, $55 Retail

This should lay right in the hollow of the neck, like a little kiss:

Blue Nile Infinity Heart Pendant, $420 Retail

Sporty:  You want good design, but you don’t want it to get in the way of your active lifestyle.

This is clean and simple, I like the way it floats on the snake chain:

Platinum Diamond Heart Slide, $900 Retail

I like the bezel setting for these diamonds–no prongs to catch on anything, and it’s a clean look:

C. Gonshor Diamond Heart Pendant, $2895 Retail

 

 Downtown:  You’re a little bit rock and roll, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t a romantic:

I’m a big fan of this designer.  This is kind of spendy, but I bet it’s pretty substantial, and beautifully executed.  Very organic:

Wendy Brandes "Diana" Pendant, $5500 Retail

Inspired by the Illusionist, ingenous twisting mechanism allows it to go from heart to oval (PS, I think this is the one I would buy if I had my choice, I love the mechanics plus it’s got over 1 carat in diamond weight):

Wendy Brandes 18kt Sophie Pendant, $7500 Retail

Romantic: You are inspired by vintage designs and can’t get enough of delicate scrollwork:

Very pretty estate-looking design in white gold:

14kt White Gold Diamond Heart Pendant, $610 Retail

Romantic, yet kind of contemporary at the same time:

14kt White Gold Diamond Scroll Pendant, $1850 Retail

Bold:  You don’t mind making a statement with your jewelry, and you’ve never met a diamond that is too big. 

This is one of my favorites, love the puffed shape and the way the chain slides through, and the diamonds look like they are set nice and tight:

14kt YG Diamond 1.0 ct. Pave Heart, $1361 Retail

A heart that is not really a heart, big look for the $$:

14kt White Gold and Diamond Heart Pendant, $1149 Retail

Classic, gorgeous, CANNOT GO WRONG (other carat weight sizes available):

Blue Nile Platinum 2 Carat Diamond Heart Pendant, $3400 Retail

And the ultimate heart necklace, a one-of-a-kind by the design house Tacori (sorry the image is not so impressive, if you click through you can see it in all it’s gorgeousness):

Tacori Platinum and 18kt Pink Diamond Necklace, $145,000 Retail

 

Men’s Gift Ideas: More Cool Cufflinks

My recent search for cool cuff links (see post here) revealed some interesting designers.  I was pretty focused on finding something fun and affordable, but there are some other fantastic designs out there.  Cuff links are a great gift idea for guys, especially since they probably aren’t splurging on their own. 

If you are into the idea of black diamonds, here is an amazing pair from Robin Rotenier in white gold (also available in 18k yellow gold with Champagne diamonds):

Robin Rotenier White Gold and Black Diamond Cufflinks, $5900 Retail

Here is an equally gorgeous black diamond pair from David Yurman.  One caveat about these–I appreciate workmanship as much or more than the next person, but I have some issues for charging THAT much for STERLING SILVER and black diamonds.  There is a lot of work pave setting those tiny diamonds, and I’m sure the work is near-perfect, but still!:

David Yurman Black Diamond and Sterling Silver Cufflinks, $2150 Retail

If he is a little rock and roll, you could go for these, also from Rotenier (there are TONS of other designs, all fantastic):

Robin Rotenier Skull Cufflinks, Sterling Silver, $295 Retail

I also like these for something totally different, if he’s a watch collector, even better:

Antique Watch Movement Cufflinks in Sterling Frames by Cuffart.com, $155 Retail

Happy Shopping!

Online Review: Amazon.com Cuff Links

It was my husband’s birthday this past week, and I needed gift ideas.  For men, there just aren’t a lot of options for jewelry gifts.  I just did a blog on Women’s Jewelry Essentials, but Men’s Essentials make a much shorter list: Wedding Band, Watch, Cuff links, maybe a nice Pen.  

Where to begin…

Luckily, he maintains an Amazon.com wish list, so I had both an idea of what he liked, and a starting place for where to buy.  Perfect!  Even better, since this was a little last minute, I found a pair of cuff links that is part of their Amazon.com Collection.  Since I am an Amazon.com insider (see about me), I know that this is the collection that the Amazon.com retail team personally selects and then ships from an Amazon fulfillment center.  We are Amazon Prime members, so we get anything labeled prime (most of Amazon.com Collection is Prime) 2nd Day for free, or a flat $3.99 overnight shipping charge. 

Relatively easy to search/browse and check out for this item:

He has some cufflinks already, so I was looking for something a little different but not too crazy.  After reviewing the considerable choices, I selected this pair of sterling silver cuff links set with .25 ct tw of black diamonds.  They are simple squares with a matte/brushed finish (not too shiny), with 9 tiny black diamonds pave-set into a grid pattern in the center of the squares.  I reviewed the technical info (under “Product Specifications” just below the basic top-of-page information), clicked on the Zoom image to see the finish, then added them to my cart.  I went through the usual purchase process, selecting overnight shipping.  They do not offer gift-wrapping for this item, which is kind of a bummer if I were shipping as a gift to someone.  The purchase process was very painless, which is the usual for me for Amazon purchases.

Amazon.com Sterling and .25 ct twBlack Diamond Cufflinks

The packaging:

The package arrived exactly on time, and Amazon.com is good at communicating, confirming the order and when/how they shipped it.  It arrived in a regular Amazon.com box, which is a good thing, both for preserving the surprise (could just be a book or CD inside), and also for security if this were a valuable package (did you know that Amazon.com also sells loose diamonds and pre-set engagement rings?).  Inside the cardboard box was a square, blue presentation box, with a dark blue fabric drawstring pouch with divider.  Overall the packaging was good for a $75 purchase.  There was however, a lovely “made in China” sticker on the outside of the pouch (this applies to the pouch, not necessarily the jewelry item inside), and their own inventory tag/barcode on the bottom of the box.  If I were shipping a gift, I think that the packaging is a triple-con: no gift wrapping (only a gift message on the packing slip), not branded (granted, this is not Tiffany, but it’s still jewelry), and stickers not taken off.  If this were from even a modest physical jeweler, I would think that the sales associate would have taken care to remove any stickers and make sure the presentation was perfect. 

And the final product:

The cuff links themselves were quite nice, with a couple of caveats.  The design is great–simple, but with a little edge to it, perfect for a guy that has a definite style but is not too flashy.  The black diamonds have a subtle sparkle that plays off the matte-finish of the silver really well.  The diamonds are set evenly in straight rows with the metal beads of the prongs holding them in place securely.  The cuff links are, however, smaller overall than I envisioned.  This is one of the biggest problems with jewelry (and other products) on the Internet–SCALE.  To be fair, Amazon lists the dimensions under the product specs (11.5mm square), but I did not double check this on a ruler or something to visualize.  Wouldn’t it be great if Amazon and Blue Nile had a relative size widget on their detail page images for nearly every item that showed you size relative to an ear, hand, cuff, etc?  Turns out he thinks they are an OK size, but it’s borderline.  The other issue I had was with the finish.  In the photo, it’s pretty uniform, but in person, the brushing of the silver is a little random and wavy.  Granted, I am a finish freak.  This is my business, and as a jewelry buyer for retail stores, I have sent back a lot of items to the manufacturer that were not perfect.  My husband thought it was ok, and to most people I think it would be acceptable.  But I like for things to be above expectations, I love to be delighted.  Overall, these are handsome and a good value for $75.  Personally, I would have spent more for slightly larger, heavier, and better finishing. 

Bottom line: Amazon.com has a great selection and they make it so easy to order and get it fast, that these made the perfect choice for this occasion.  The cufflinks are nice, but a little on the small side for my expectations.