Swarovski Crystal and Pearl Colors

These are the crystal and pearl colors that Swarovski offers. All my Bridal designs can be customized to any of these colors.

What is Cubic Zirconia?

Cubic Zirconia or CZ is is the cubic crystalline form of zirconium dioxide (ZrO₂). The synthesized material is hard, optically flawless and usually colorless, but may be made in a variety of different colors. It should not be confused with zircon, which is a zirconium silicate (ZrSiO₄). Because of its low cost, durability, and close visual likeness to diamond, synthetic cubic zirconia has remained the most gemologically and economically important competitor for diamonds since 1976.

Rhinestone or paste or diamante on the other hand, is a diamond simulant typically made from glass. Glass is silicon dioxide, also known as silica (from the Latin silex), is an oxide of silicon with a chemical formula of SiO₂. The availability of glass rhinestones was greatly increased when around 1775 the Alsatian jeweler Georg Friedrich Strass had the idea to imitate diamonds by coating the lower side of glass with metal powder. Hence, rhinestones are called Strass in many European languages. Crystal rhinestones are produced mainly in Austria by Swarovski and in the Czech Republic by Preciosa and a few other glassworks in northern Bohemia. In the US, these are sometimes called Austrian Crystal.

I have been using CZ and rhinestones in my Bridal jewelry for many years now. Both are very attractive and provide diamond like sparkle. The CZ I currently work with is by far one of the best stimulants that I have used, primarily due to the incredible faceting of the stones.

(References: http://en.wikipedia.org)

And the Phoenix Rises from her Ashes

I had put my jewelry store on hold for a while while focusing on my gemstones store. Wow, managing two stores on Etsy is quite a challenge, I absolutely detest switching between my two profiles. I wish there was a single profile to access both shops. Maybe I should jot that down under the Ideas section on the Etsy fora.

I have had quite a bit of success of late under the Alchemy section with some 24 odd Bridal orders so far this season. I offer high quality Boutique style bridal jewelry minus the sky-high prices. Running my own Supplies store helps, because I get purchase the materials on a wholesale basis and in turn pass on those savings to the customer. I remember studying Pricing as one of the four Ps of the marketing mix during my MBA days. In today's economic condition, it has become the primary distinguishing factor for many bridal customers. Young brides-to-be look for balance between good quality and low prices. I am lucky to have found many such customers who entrusted me with jewelry for their special day.

So, I re-vamped my erstwhile jewelry store into a Bridal Boutique geared towards offering exceptionally high quality products at a wholesale price.

I have been experimenting with a lot of rhinestone components too. I think rhinestones add glamor to even the simplest of pieces. Just a touch here...an accent there can transform and update the look dramatically.

My absolute favorite are these stunningly beautiful and exceptionally sparkly Crystal rhinestone component that is securely wire-wrapped to a long silver hair pin. This particular flower has a stacked look with two layers of smaller rhinestones embellished with a large center stone. This flower pin will add sparkle to any hair style, and add glamor to any hair color.

Bridal Customer Raves on TheKnot.com!

I created a set of 6 Bridesmaid's necklace and earrings and one more set for the maid of Honor for bridal client of mine. She was exceptionally knowledgeable about the products and had a clear sense of design. When the client knows exactly what she wants, it is essentially all down-hill from there. :)

The design incorporated Swarovski crystal flat briolettes in Crystal AB color along with Black (Jet) and Crystal AB bicone crystals. The designs were given to me by my customer. I just applied those ideas to metal and crystals.

These are the final jewelry pieces.







Imagine my utter delight when I found out that she has raved about my jewelry on the message board of TheKnot.com! Wow! What an honor! This just made my day!!

Whoo!!

Peridot Necklaces

One of my favorite color combination is Peridot Green with pale pink. So imagine my delight when Felicia approached me with a request to pair Peridot gemstones with Pale Pink Swarovski crystals along with a genuine freshwater pearl. She needed 6 sets for her Bridesmaids and was looking for a simple drop necklace. This is final result and looks so-pretty!!