Making your own jewelry is a fun and profitable way to make extra money. Many stores sell beads, clasps, and kits for designing your own jewelry. Older pieces can also be found at yard sales and taken apart to make stunning new pieces. This article will give you some ideas for designing your own pieces of jewelry.
Jewelry consignment stores are a great place to sell your jewelry. Consignment stores will sell your jewelry for whatever you think is a fair price, and they take a certain percentage of the sales when the item sells. They will usually display it for about 3 months and then you have the option of either picking it up or selling it to the store. Occasionally the store will keep it on display for longer if you ask.
Don’t discard your antique broach from Grandma, re-purpose it. If you put a chain through it, the broach instantly becomes a fashionable necklace. Vintage jewelry is extremely popular these days and finding a way to make it wearable makes it fashionable. Re-using is also a popular concept in our “green” society. That broach can serve you well with just a slight alteration to its use.
If you don’t know the ring size of the person you’re buying jewelry for, just get the size they have in stock – DON’T resize it based on your guess! You don’t want to be messing with a ring over and over again or you could affect it’s hardiness. When you give the ring to the recipient, let them know you will pay to have it resized.
Know the jewelry terms. Understanding what cut, carat, color, and clarity mean can help you to make a quality purchase for the best price. A salesperson will be much more able to explain the differences in the stones you are interested in if you have a clear understanding of the terms.
Before buying jewelry or a fine stone, find out if it was treated in any way. If it was, find out how. The way to care for a stone differs greatly depending on how it was treated. If you have a treated gem you should avoid any solution that could damage the gem by stripping the treatment.
If you can’t afford to pay consignment fees for your handmade jewelry, consider partnering with other small and local business owners or jewelers to hold a trunk sale, mini-bazaar, or retail showcase night to generate interest in the community. Small jewelers and crafters can benefit by bonding with one another instead of viewing each other as competitors. If you are very worried about this, only approach jewelers with dissimilar styles and fashions.
If your pierced ears are sensitive to metal posts, try painting them with clear nail polish. Sensitive ears can be itchy, painful and red. By applying a thin coating of clear nail polish, the metal is covered and no longer presents a problem. You may wear your favorite earrings in comfort!
Use jewelry in a bold, unexpected color to pick up an accent color in your outfit. If you are wearing a skirt with a floral, plaid or striped print, match your necklace, earrings or bracelets to a color used in the design. This is a great way to add more color to an otherwise subdued outfit, and it can pull your look together nicely.
Try storing your silver and other metallic jewelry in plastic air tight bags. These bags keep air from contacting your precious jewelry, which, in turn, allows the jewelry to last longer. If you do this simple and cheap process of storing your metallic jewelry, they will last longer and look better.
Always store your pearls flat, and in a silk pouch. Pearls scratch very easily and so, soft silk is the safest material to store them in. Hanging pearls is a bad option because it can stretch the knotted string over time and ruin your precious investment.
Have your jewelry be the last thing you put on and the first thing you take off, when undressing and bathing. This helps limit potential damage to your jewelry from everyday activities, and also helps remind you to put it away so that it doesn’t get misplaced. The less time you wear your jewelry, the less chance it has of becoming damaged.
When selling jewelry online, you must take full advantage of all the opportunities you have for free advertising, if you want to be successful. When an online shop hosting site offers free advertising, take it. Take advantage of social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter. If you do not have the proper amount of advertising, no one will know about you. As a result, you will fail.
When shopping for a ring, necklace, or bracelet, consult all available sources before making a purchase for your wife or girlfriend. Do not hesitate to consult her mother, sister, or best friend. They may be able to provide more detailed insight into her preferences regarding metal, gems, and details.
Store your earrings on a long piece of ribbon. Tie the ends of the ribbon to each end of your mirror and then tack the earrings to the ribbon, using the backs to keep them in place. This gives you easy access to your favorite pairs, and is also a decorative feature in your bedroom or bathroom.
When selecting gemstone rings, think about how often you plan to wear them. Certain stones may not be strong enough for every day wear. Even if you don’t think you’re tough on your jewelry, little bumps and bangs over a period of time can lead to a crack. For something you want to wear all day everyday, diamonds are a girl’s best friend.
As stated at the beginning of the article, making your own jewelry can be a fun and profitable past time. Finding pieces to design your jewelry with, can be just as fun as making the jewelry its self. Hopefully this article has given you some great ideas, and you will be on your way to designing unique, one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry in no time.
