Tips for Designing your Own Jewelry

One unique and fun aspect of shopping on Shangby.com is that you can design your OWN jewelry. If you have a picture of a piece of jewelry that caught your eye in the latest issue of vogue or US magazine, you can email that picture to us at Shangby and we can work with our designers to recreate it at a fraction of the cost. You can also create your very own unique piece! For today's post, I am going to give you some tips for creating your own jewelry so that you may create your very own special piece.

Step One: Define your Style

Decide whether or not the piece will be for you or a friend/loved one. If it's for someone else, think about that person's style. Does the person usually wear delicate, understated jewelry, or does he or she go for larger, more prominent pieces? What are your/their favorite colors?

Step Two: Decide what type of piece you want to create.

Are you looking to create a necklace, bracelet, earrings, set, etc...

Step Three: Choose the type of material you want to work with.

Do you want to create a gold piece? a pearl necklace? mixed pearls and stones such as agate, coral jade, etc...?

Step Four: Make some rough sketches so that when you put your idea into words, you have a picture reference as a reminder.

BE VERY DETAILED in your description. The more detailed you are, the less room there is for interpretation by the jeweler.

Step Five: Email or call us with your description and we will have it created for you!

If You're Going to Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk!

Necklaces come in all different shapes sizes and lengths. When you are talking pearl necklaces, however, each different length has its very own name! Below are the different names for each necklace length so that you can update your pearl shoppin' lingo!

Collar or Dog Collar - This type of necklace consists of several strands of pearls worn snugly around the neck.


Choker - A choker is 14 to 16 inches long and lies at the collarbone.

Princess - A princess length necklace is 18 inches long and rests below the neck.


Torsade - These necklaces are made up of several strands of pearls twisted together.

Bib - Bib necklaces consist of several strands of pearls lying below the neck. They are similar to collars, but longer.

Matinee - Matinee length necklaces are in the range of 20 to 24 inches.


Opera - This length of necklace is in the 30 to 36 inch range. An opera length necklace is generally worn for formal occasions but can be worn doubled for a less formal look.

Rope - Dramatic rope necklaces are the longest length, longer than 36 inches. They can be worn full length, knotted, doubled, or with a shortener.

Pearls- Quality over Quantity

In addition to knowing all the different types of pearl that exist, it is crucial, when shopping for pearls, that you understand all the different factors that contribute to the value of the pearls.

There are six different factors that contribute to the value of a pearl: Luster, Nacre Thickness, Shape, Surface Texture, Size and Color.

LUSTER

Luster is one of the easiest things to look for while shopping for pearls. It is defined as the state or quality of shining by reflecting light; glitter, sparkle, sheen, or gloss. Pearls are unique and beautiful because of their reflective quality. When you see a high quality pearl, it has a glow that seems to come from within. What gives the pearl its radiance is the transparency of the nacre. The more transparent the nacre, the more brilliant and reflective the pearl. Higher quality pearls will have a deep luster. Lower quality ones will have a more dull sheen.

High quality Akoya pearls have the highest luster of all the different types of pearls.

COLOR

Color is the second factor that contributes to the quality of a pearl. Although the dominant color of the pearl comes from what is reflected on its surface, the deeper reflected light draws the inner color from the pearl. This color is called the overtone.

White pearls with pink or silver overtones are generally the most valuable, making them the most expensive. .

The most desirable dark colored pearls are black with green or blue overtones

When shopping for a strand of pearls, the most important element to look out for when it comes to color is that each pearl matches perfectly or nearly perfectly. Pearls matched closely in color and size make them more valuable.

SURFACE TEXTURE

The highest quality of pearls are perfectly round with a smooth surface, very few surface imperfections, such as wrinkles or large pits, and pretty coloration.

SIZE


The unit of measurement in the world of pearls is the millimeter. Pearls range in size from 1mm to 20mm. The average pearl size ranges from about 6mm to 12 or 13mm. The bigger, rounder and more brilliant the pearl, the higher the value.

SHAPE

Pearls come in all different shapes and sizes. The most common shapes include ringed, baroque, drop, off-round and round. The rounder the Pearl, the more valuable and expensive the pearl will be.

THE GRADING SYSTEM

Pearl value are graded on a scale of AAA- A, with AAA being the highest quality and A being the lowest. All of the above factors contribute to the grade of the pearl. According to "The Worlds Largest Pearl Information Source," Pearl-Guide.com, this is some of the criteria on which the grading is based:

"AAA: The highest-quality pearl, virtually flawless. The surface will have a very high luster, and at least 95% of the surface will be free from any type of defect.

AA: The surface will have a very high luster, and at least 75% of the surface will be free from any type of defect.

A: This is the lowest jewelry-grade pearl, with a lower luster and/or more than 25% of the surface showing defects. In many cases, if the pearl is being mounted into a piece of jewelry, it can be mounted so that the defects are hidden -- thus providing a lovely jewelry piece at a lesser price. "