When you're thinking about jewelry what is your primary consideration? Is it a particular jewelry type or form such as a pendant, ring, bracelet, or earrings? Or perhaps you're interested in the materials specific jewelry is made with like precious gemstones set in gold, platinum or silver.
If an affordable price is essential to you, you may select fashion or costume over designer jewelry? Uniqueness can determine whether you choose handmade jewelry over mass-produced. Whatever attracts you or regardless of the criteria you use to choose your favorite jewelry, rest assured there are a multitude of styles, types, materials, sizes, and costs.
Jewelry made from silver is revered almost as highly as gold jewelry and
is more popular with the recent rise in the price of gold. Silver, because
of its greater abundance, is therefore used more extensively. It has been
fashioned into many styles by numerous cultures. Native American or Indian
jewelry is well-known and coveted for its distinct and traditional design.
Mexican silver jewelry is another highly valued type of jewelry. It too has
cultural appeal that makes it a unique form of silver jewelry.
Jewelry by Hand or Mass-Produced?
Much of silver jewelry today is machine-made or mass-produced. However, handmade silver jewelry is prized by many seeking uniquely created jewelry pieces. Handmade jewelry is typically made by jewelry artisans and designers because silver jewelry is not only beautiful and lower-priced than gold and platinum but also versatile to work with.
Certainly, silver jewelry adorned with gemstones elevates its quality and allure. Sapphires, diamonds and rubies are more commonly found in silver jewelry these days as a respected substitute for the prohibitively costly gold jewelry.
Alternatives to precious gemstones such as cubic zirconia or cz silver jewelry have become trendy and desirable alternatives.
Do you prefer glistening silver necklaces to sparkling silver rings? Or,
are your bangles of choice silver bracelets covered with charms that capture
the sunlight? Do you fancy instead silver earrings that dance in the breeze
like free spirits? Perhaps, you love all types, styles and forms of gem-encrusted,
beaded, wire-wrapped, sterling or fine silver jewelry just because they're
made with wonderful gorgeous silver!
Jewelry made with the human hand has been popular for centuries and still is today. With the coming of the Industrial Age and large factory machinery, mass-produced jewelry became the norm. Despite this, handmade jewelry is widely popular .
To be officially called "handmade" jewelry must be constructed or assembled and formed with the power of the human hand. This can include certain hand guided machines such as electric drills or lathes.
Though non-uniformity and irregularities and are considered flaws in mass produced jewelry, they are prized attributes in handcrafted or handmade jewelry. They can add personality, character, uniqueness and style to each piece of jewelry.
The art and craft of making jewelry by hand can be a challenging process. Jewelry made individually is decidedly more time-consuming and more expensive than machine-made pieces. When any jewelry uses precious and semiprecious materials like gemstones or gold, the skill and price increase as well. With recent soaring price of gold and silver, handmade jewelry is more prized than ever. It can also make the cost prohibitive for artisans or designers who buy their materials in much smaller quantities than manufacturers who receive discounts for making jewelry in bulk.
In recent years, with Internet forums, social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, blogs, chat rooms or online stores like Ebay and Etsy, the interest in jewelry, especially handmade jewelry, has grown greatly. Many are intrigued and want to how to make jewelry themselves. Still, most people prefer to rely on the skill, expertise and ease of buying handmade jewelry from a skilled maker or designer.
There are particular areas of specialties that lend themselves to handmade over mass-produced jewelry such as wire wrapping. Wire, because of its malleability can be fashioned by the maker into numerous styles such as of any type including rings, earrings, necklaces and bracelets.
Some of the reasons to choose handmade over mass-produced jewelry is that it:
* Can be customized
* Is one-of-a-kind or unique jewelry
* Has designer or artisan prestige
Even though wire-wrap, or wire-wrapped jewelry is one of the more ancient types of jewelry, it is still popular today. Perhaps this is so because it can be hand-fabricated making jewelry design from wire more accessible than other methods of jewelry making. A growing number of people are searching the Internet to learn how to wrap wire into jewelry. Knowing a few basic methods and materials can help
First, wire wrap depends greatly on the right tools. It utilizes specialized tools such as round nose, flat nose, crimping pliers, vices and wire cutters to cut, shape, bind and twist wire.
There are certain basic characteristics that define wire and help determine what kind of wire wrapped jewelry will most easily be fashioned from it. Characteristics or categories can include the type of metal used, its hardness, thickness or shape. For instance:
Colored wire - color-coated copper wire (also known as Enameled Copper Wire) is available in many hues of the spectrum (i.e., as green, red an blue) adds a whole new dimension to jewelry accessorizing. Most colored wire jewelry can exactly match or contrast whatever fashion is worn
In addition to wire, wire-wrapping technique frequently uses beads, precious and semiprecious gemstones, metal findings and a mixture of wire types. That wire-wrapped jewelry has been around perhaps since wire was first fashioned by the ancient Romans is a testament to the appeal of wire wrapping as a specialized form of jewelry.
Designer jewelry is one of the more popular types of jewelry. Jewelry created
by or bearing the name of a recognizable designer can be more coveted than
non-designer pieces because the artist's name implies greater quality, prestige,
and desirability.
As a result, designer jewelry generally commands a higher price than even
similar jewelry made with more expensive materials
For instance, designer costume jewelry (i.e., rings, pendants, or earrings) from a recognized jewelry designer made of base metals like copper, nickel or brass with silver plating could conceivably cost more than similar pieces made primarily of gold or silver because of the designer name.
Jewelry designers build a reputation and particular style to garner the prestige, respect and higher price. Often, they are trained in design and/art either by apprenticing with a recognized designer or a respected art or jewelry institution.
Jewelry created and designed by trained artisans or designers can rise to a level where it is considered to be art or wearable art. Such jewelry can be found not only on the body but also in art museums and galleries.
The saying- "All that glitters is not gold." might be referring to silver or perhaps silver jewelry. Recently, the meteoric rise in the price of gold has set silver jewelry upon a new throne. Fine silver jewelry or .999 (99.9% ) grade is made almost entirely of pure silver. It has been popular through the ages along with it's sibling - sterling silver.
Sterling silver jewelry, referred to as .925 silver is 92.5% pure silver. The remaining 7.5% consists of alloys that include various base or precious metals. A sterling silver standard is used to gauge a particular silver's quality. If jewelry is stamped or marked as "sterling silver," it must consist of the proper percentage of silver.
On the hierarchy of cost and rank, gold and platinum are top-rated. Fine silver sits on the next lower rung, one above sterling silver. Jewelry made of base metals such as copper, brass, pewter and nickel, though still desirable, may have a lower value - unless made by a known jewelry designer.
"Ruby Red" Sterling Silver Wire Wrapped Swarovski Crystal
I make my jewelry with art glass, swarovski crystals, gemstones, sterling silver, gold-filled wire, fine silver, and specialize in wire-wrap techniques. Color, sparkle and uniqueness are the inspirational forces that drive my jewelry creations.
"Emerald Sun" Sterling Silver Wire Wrapped Pendant
