New Designs for my Bridal Store

I have been so busy making jewelry for my Bridal store!
These are some of my new designs.

1) Oval and Teardrop Cubic Zirconia Sterling Silver Chandelier Earrings Studs - Bianca E11


2) Dandelion Round Cubic Zirconia Sterling Silver Dangle Earrings - Selena E6


3) Oval Faceted Cubic Zirconia and Genuine Freshwater Pearl Sterling Silver Earrings - Greta E2

I also worked on some simpler jewelry which would be great for gifts to bridesmaids.

1) Swarovski Crystal Faceted Champagne Golden Shadow Briolette Wire Wrapped Sterling Silver Dangle Earrings - Bella E11


2) Coin Pearl Wire Wrapped Sterling Silver Dangle Earrings - GemE5


3) AAA Amethyst Gemstone Faceted Onion Briolette Sterling Silver Dangle Earrings - GemE4


4) Tanzanite Purple Cubic Zirconia Sterling Silver Dangle Earrings - Edlyn E1


5) Tanzanite Purple Cubic Zirconia Sterling Silver Necklace - Edlyn N1


All of these designs are currently in Sterling Silver, but can also be customized to Gold filled.

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)

SNEAK PEEK

I know that I have been gone for a while and for good reason too! I have been working around the clock on my new Bridal line of jewelry. This is a sneak peek to what is to come soon.








All of these have been made using very high quality Cubic Zirconia components and Swarovski pearls in pale Ivory and White. All hardware are solid sterling silver.

More pictures can be found here.

BRIDAL PORTFOLIO - GLADYS

I received some professional pictures from my beautiful bridal customer Gladys! Doesn't she look lovely?

Gladys wanted an ivory pearl and rhinestone bracelet and earrings set for her romantic gown. She also requested the set to be made using gold metal. I made her jewelry using Freshwater pearls, Cubic Zirconia components and gold filled and gold plated parts.

I had a great time interacting with the bride and making this jewelry! I hope that you like them too! A million thanks to the generous bride for sending me these pictures! Thank you Gladys!


Please check out my other Bridal pictures here.

BRIDAL PORTFOLIO - JESSICA

I love receiving pictures from real brides. Its such a great feeling to see what I have lovingly created being worn by someone on their special day! So I was thrilled to receive these lovely pictures from another Bridal Customer of mine: Jessica. I made her necklace, bracelet and earrings using Swarovski pearls, rhinestone components and .925 Sterling Silver. Enjoy!

Check out my other Bridal pictures here.

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.

Rush Bridal order and my very first Rhinestone Brooch

A bride's rush requirement of a Hair pin turned into my first attempt of this rhinestone brooch. I was so delighted to find that this item was also featured on the "Recent custom creations" strip on Alchemy.

I would like to explore these rhinestone components further over the weekend. Lets see where that leads me :)