Organizing your Precious Jewelry

So you are a big fan of jewelry, you may not have anything that cost you a fortune exactly but apart from money value there is often tremendous emotional value attached to these pieces. There is your first pair of sterling silver ear hoops your mother bought you for your 13^th birthday, the exquisite vintage Mexican onyx pendant you saved up for ages to buy so you could wear it to your prom, or perhaps the handcrafted silver bracelet set with Malachite your husband gave you when you were first dating. It doesn’t matter what a broker would give for the trinkets you have. For you it’s a treasure that makes you feel richer than the Queen of England.

The question arises: how do you organize all these pieces so they don’t get damaged and to make sure you have no problem finding them when in a hurry? This is what I am going to help you out with in this article. Read on below for some great tips on how to organize your jewelry:

Tip No. 1: Put all the jewelry on a table and carefully look through it. Are there any pieces that are broken? Anything that is mismatched or belong in a museum? Get rid of it.

Tip No. 2: The pieces that can still be redeemed despite being broken or damaged, fix them!

Tip No. 3: Clean the sterling silver jewelry with a silver polish. Another amazing way of cleaning it is to rub it with toothpaste. Do it the old fashioned way using a toothbrush. Reach into all the cracks and details. When you are satisfied, rinse and dry.

Tip No. 4: If you own any gold or platinum jewelry, clean it by diluting 2 tablets of Alka-Seltzer in approximately 250 ml water (a glassful I should say). Dip the jewelry in this solution for 2 minutes.

Tip No. 5: Again, for gold or platinum jewelry, you can make a solution of warm water and dishwashing liquid and soak it. After several minutes, take out the jewelry and rinse it. Dry with a lint-free cloth.

Tip No. 6: Like items must be stored together. You can keep especially expensive or fragile items in their original packing. It is best to keep silver jewelry in jewelry pouches or in jewelry boxes that have thick felt lining.

Tip No. 7: Invest in a small but nice looking jewelry box that you can store everyday jewelry pieces in. Like your rings and small studs and hoops in. It would also make for an excellent ornament for your dresser.

Tip No. 8: To store your gold, copper, platinum or silver chains run them through a straw ensuring you fasten the clasp. This will prevent any knots from forming.

Tip No. 9: Get a mug tree for hanging your sterling silver necklaces putting the longer ones on the top-most branches.

Tip No. 10:  If you are looking for a really cheap but safe way of storing your  jewelry, specially silver jewelry, since it can be scratched easily, and it can tarnish very quickly, get ziplock bags. Buy really small ones to separate the different pieces and you’ll still be able to see what’s inside giving you easy access.

Interesting Facts About Amber

Amber is one of the world's most treasures: the transparent substance looks like a gem, but it is not completely of the earth as gems are. Amber began its existence as resin that often trapped insects, then over millions of years, the substance, with the insects still trapped inside, became fossilized. Prized for its beauty as well as its scientific interest, amber enhances its value by preserving an instant in time from millions of years ago.

 

 

Simojovel, Chiapas, is one of the world's top three sites for the most sought amber (the other two are Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, and, broadly, the coast of the Baltic sea). Chiapas is the southernmost state in Mexico and runs along the border with Guatemala. Simojovel amber is clear with colors ranging from a bright golden color to blood-red. Simojovel amber is well known for the primeval insects found locked within it. The amber and its insects date from the late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, 23 to 30 million years ago. Mayan artifacts often include amber, and in the latter days of the Mayan culture, many of these artifacts were paid to the Aztecs in tribute.

Scientists say amber is the petrified resin of trees. Resin should not be confused with sap, which is "the blood" of trees that circulates through the a tree to circulate the nutrients derived from the soil by the roots as well as the sweet products of photosynthesis from the leaves. Resin, meanwhile, serves no purpose in the distribution of nutrition through trees. It seeps out the  surfaces of certain trees like pine trees. Yet even scientists do not know what purpose these divine tears of  solar godesses serve.

On rare occasion, resin falls into a place in nature deep in the earth. High pressure and temperatures modify the resin molecularly so they form long chains or polymers—in other words fossilized amber becomes a substance much like a hard and enduring plastic.

It's important to remember that although amber is a fossil, it doesn't have the durability of stone fossils. Amber will dissolve in in alcohol, ether and chloroform, and heated above 200 degrees C., it will produce an oil of amber and a black residue called amber pitch. It can also be dissolved in turpentine or linseed oil to produce amber varnish.

The oldest amber dates from the Upper Carboniferous period, 320 million years ago, and the more common forms date from the Cretaceous period, 150 million years ago. This latter form often contains insects and preserves soft parts that would not be preserved by ordinary fossilization. In terms of market value, scientific interest, intellectual curiosity, and simple adornment purposes, amber with insects has the greatest value.

For the past 13,000 years—since cave man days—amber has been used as jewelry. Polished stones made from amber are often mounted in sterling silver to produce beautiful pieces. Those with insects visible in the amber have especially good financial as well as conversation-starting value, so they have settings of corresponding value as well.

The ancient Greeks concocted a delightful but sad myth to explain amber. Phaeton was the son of Helios, the Sun. One day ambitious Phaeton persuades doting Helios to allow him to drive the chariot of the sun across the sky. But Phaeton is too young to control the solar chariot, and he loses control of the powerful horses pulling the chariot, and before he can crash into the earth and cause great damage, Zeus zaps him with a thunderbolt. The mourning of Phaeton's sisters transforms them into poplar trees, and their tears become the precious substance electrum, meaning "beaming sun," which was the Greek phrase for what we call amber—the joy of sunlight wrought, through tears of pain, as a precious substance.

 
Yet beyond its scientific, social, and adornment value, amber might well have a spiritual value as well. You might not believe in Helios, spoiled Phaeton, and the tears that Phaeton's sisters cried, but that beautiful piece of jewelry around your neck links you to over a hundred million years of the history of life on earth. Or perhaps you will simply take great pleasure in owning a piece of beautiful and valuable amber.

If you'd like to see some samples of this amazing fossils, visit Mexico Sterling where Taxco silver and Simojovel amber jewelry is displayed with the most unique and artistic artisan designs.

Why Jewelry From Historic Taxco, Mexico is So Unique

High-quality, unique silver jewelry from Mexico

Taxco is a small but thriving city that has made huge historical contributions to the country of Mexico. Taxco is known for their jewelry, and this is why.

Early Center of Industry

In the 1800’s, Taxco was a center of mining. Stones were mined and used for decorative and ritual purposes, leading to an early importance of art and jewelry that is still seen today.

Silver Smithing

Taxco’s current economy is built around silver, mined just outside the city. This high quality silver is seen in locally-made jewelry that lasts over time.

Rich Artistic History

Since many important designers made their home in Taxco, including Hector Aguilar and Margot de Taxco, these beautiful design elements still find influence in jewelry from the area. For the highest quality, most unique jewelry from the Taxco area, Mexico Sterling offers handmade jewelry no matter where in the world you are.

Necklace - A Must Have Jewelry Accessory



 

Looking to accessorize your evening wear for a cocktail party, or shirt and trousers for a fun afternoon with friends? Putting on just the right sort of necklace can complete your look. Necklaces were in existence even 40,000 years back during the Stone Age. At that time, there was no weaving and even the string was not invented, so early man used to create necklaces from natural resources like sturdy wines. The wines were tied together and decked with corals, colorful feathers, stones, teeth, bones, shells and any other naturally available elements.

With invent of twines, strings, metal working and cloth working, more intricate and durable necklaces came into existence. Beads, gemstones and other precious stones were strung together to form beautiful necklaces. Moving into the Bronze Age when man learnt to melt metal into various shapes and sizes, metals like gold, silver, bronze, copper and platinum were used to create solid metal chains and necklaces to be worn by both men and women. Today in modern times, with inventions like electroplating and blowtorches, new metals like titanium and stainless steel have been used to create jewelry. With the help of electroplating, nowadays we can have gold and silver plated jewelry.

Taxco, a Mexican city is widely famous for producing brilliant Mexican silver necklaces and other pieces of stunning jewelry like earrings, bracelets and rings, all in 925 sterling silver. One can browse through different designs and patterns of necklaces online to pick the one of their liking. There are necklaces available in traditional vintage look with pre-Columbian style with stones as well as in breathtaking modern designs.

Usually necklaces are categorized based on their length and adornment type. As per adornment type, necklaces can be further divided into:

1.      Pearl necklace: It is made up pearls and is adorned by women. It is of two types, a bib pearl necklace that has stepped sizes of pearls with multiple strands and other type is uniform pearl necklace with similar size of pearls.

2.      Diamond necklace: One of the most expensive necklaces is the one with diamonds in it. Diamonds in a necklace are usually set in gold or platinum. There are usually ‘Y’ shapes or ‘V’ shape diamond necklaces available.

3.      Tooth pendant necklace: Such necklaces are usually common for people living in tribal areas. It is basically a shark tooth in place of the pendant strung with a leather string.

As per length type, the necklaces are divided as:

1.      Princess necklace: It is 18in (45 cm) to 20in (50 cm) long.

2.      Opera necklace: The length ranges between 30in (75 cm) to 35in (90 cm).

3.      Choker: This type of necklace sits high on the neck and varies between 14in (35 cm) to 16in (41 cm).

4.      Matinee necklace: It is basically a single strand that rests on top of the cleavage and varies between 22in (56 cm) to 23in (58 cm).

5.      Rope necklace: It is longer than opera necklace.

6.       Lariat necklace: This necklace is longer than rope necklace and usually does not have a clasp. It is worn by draping it multiple times around the neck into a knot or a loop.

By Geseell Grant - mexicosterlingsilver@gmail.com

 

The Importance Cufflinks Today, many men overlook the importance of owning a nice pair of cufflinks. A pair of stunning cufflinks can become the focal point of any formal look and they allow you to differentiate yourself from the masses. Unique cufflinks can be used to show some personality and creativity. Generally, nice cufflinks are considered prestigious, much like an expensive watch, but the difference is that cufflinks are more reasonably priced. An Extraordinary pair of cufflinks will not go unnoticed! If you are interested in purchasing sterling silver cufflinks or other sterling silver accessories for men and women visit http://mexicosterling.com/

By Geseell Grant - mexicosterlingsilver@gmail.com

Rings – An Everlasting Expression for Love!

It is often said that love has no language, but it sure can be expressed with words, emotions, chocolates, flowers and promising jewelry such as rings. Rings have been in existence for thousands of years now. The circular band around one’s finger can be a symbol of an eternal love. Rings can be made of gold, platinum, silver and gemstones.

Mexico is famous for its unique and artistic sterling silver jewelry and some of the exquisite products are 925 sterling silver rings, silver earrings and necklaces. Rings go way back in the history with different significance in various cultures.

During the excavations of Hittite civilization from ancient east, rings along with signet rings were discovered. Many rings designs from ancient Egypt have also been found, most popular being the scarab design. It is believed that rings were used as New Year exchange gifts and also as parting gifts to the dead. The rings and other ornaments were buried with the dead, and were believed to be used by the dead in the afterlife. Then over the period of time there were different ring designs from Roman and Greek fashion. While these cultures observed rings as something pure and eternal, around 18th century, an English writer, Samuel Johnson described ring as a circular object put on women’s finger and hogs noses to subject and restrain them.

It was also believed that rings reserved good and bad spirits. Till today there are rings with different gemstones that are believed to have protective and curative power. The stones are placed in the bands made from gold, silver and bronze. There are various other kinds of rings that signify different occasions. Let us take a quick look at different rings and their significance.

 

1.      Birthstone rings: This ring is set with the owner’s birthstone in is made out of gold, silver or bronze. It is usually simple in design.
2.      Sports rings: Usually such rings are presented to the members of the winning team as a mark of victory. World Series ring and Super Bowl ring are the most famous ones in this category.
3.      Cocktail rings: It is usually a ladies ring with a huge stone set in the center with smaller stones surrounding the larger one. It is also known as dinner ring.
4.      Engagement rings: It is worn by a woman and symbolizes that she is engaged to be married.
5.      Eternity rings: This ring signifies eternal love for the partner. It is usually a band with small stones set around the band.
6.      Five Metal rings: It is made up of five metals lead, gold, copper, silver and tin. It was considered as a source of good luck by the Talmud.
7.      Friendship ring: It can be exchanged as a symbol of friendship both platonic and romantic.
8.      Mother’s ring: Such rings are worn by the mother with birthstones of her children as well as her husband and her own.
9.      Mourning ring: This ring is worn to honor someone’s death during funerals.
10.     Wedding rings: These rings are exchanged between the partners as a symbol of their undying love for each other on the wedding day. With so many options and occasions to wear the pretty and wonderful rings, who wouldn’t want to buy one. Mexico is famous for 925 sterling silver jewelry. You can find all sorts exquisite and unique silver rings online that are available at discounted price. Online you can avail all the offers that are worth every single penny.

With so many options and occasions to wear the pretty and wonderful rings, who wouldn’t want to buy one. Mexico is famous for 925 sterling silver jewelry. You can find all sorts exquisite and unique silver rings online that are available at discounted price. Online you can avail all the offers that are worth every single penny.

By Geseell Grant - mexicosterlingsilver@gmail.com

Solid Taxco Silver Bangle with Texture

Fine Mexican sterling silver bracelets are manufactured in Taxco, Mexico with high silver content and striking design. This particular piece of jewelry is a contemporary silver bracelet or bangle. A bangle bracelet is usually rigid and ring-shaped made without a clasp to just slip over your hand. At times there may be a hinged opening and a clasp, but this is somewhat unusual in a bangle style. You can wear a bangle bracelet high on your upper arm or if you want, around your ankle.

This particular piece is very simply designed and features a bit of a concave shape. As you look at this bracelet you will see a nice sense of depth with the borders standing out just a bit. The metal surface of the bangle is highly textured in a thread like pattern that makes you feel as if threads of silver form the bracelet. However when you touch the surface of the bangle you find the surface itself is smooth.

The bracelet is solid and substantial with a weight of 65 grams or 2.2 ounces. You will know it is on your wrist or arm or ankle and the feeling will make you feel rich. The bangle itself is three quarters of an inch wide and has an inside circumference of seven and three quarter inches. The inside is highly polished to a smooth texture to make the feel on your arm soft and comfortable.

Handcrafted and guaranteed to be unique, this bangle is highly affordable and is a piece that will go well with any other item of silver jewelry and compliment any type of ensemble. You can order the solid Taxco sterling silver bangle with texture and it will be delivered securely via FEDEX or UPS to anywhere in the world.

There is no better gift for the person who is highly discriminating and loves fine contemporary and elegant sterling silver jewelry. You will find that the artists mark is always on the inside of the bracelet and this is your assurance that it is real Taxco silver and made by hand.

Trivia of Spratling Taxco Silver

William Spratling revitalized the silver and tourist industry in Taxco, Mexico and his success and fame prompted the U.S. Department of the Interior to approach Spratling to include Alaskan students in his apprentice models. Students from Alaska joined Mexican students in Taxco and silver Alaskan native motifs combined with pre-Columbian artwork to flavor Spratling’s designs.
Geseell Grant -  Geseell@avilasterling.com