Unique, One-of-a-Kind Settings for Unique, One-of-a-Kind Stones
Jewelry FAQ's
Frequently Asked Questions About The Jewelry
Also see Policies & General Information for other frequently asked questions.
This is just a random list of questions. You can scroll through the information, or use one of the following links to go to a specific item. Simply page back up if you wish to return to the top of this page.
Durability
Fragility
Cleaning
Chain Included?
Gold Filled vs Gold
Comparing Prices
Promotional Codes
Findings
Inclusions
Black Marks
White Residue
Repairs
Durability
My Mother’s original wedding band was platinum. She always wore it. She never took it off. After about 25 years of wearing it, the inside of the shank was all but gone. What is left is about as thick as a thread.
Any ring that is worn every day, regardless of circumstances, will wear over time. If my Mother’s wedding band had been solid gold, it would have done the same thing, it would have just taken a different length of time.
If the band had been made of gold filled, as it wore away, the gold would disappear, showing the base metal. Because 14K/10 has a thicker layer of gold than 14K/20, it would take longer for the 14K/10 gold to wear away. If it had been gold plate, the gold would not have lasted the first year.
The 4 wire bangle that I started wearing 24/7 in January 2003, as a strength test for the clasp, is made in 14K/20 and has shown no sign of wear to date. I did stop wearing it 24/7 in early 2009 because I started working out every day and it kept catching on one of the machines. It gets worn irregularly now, but still looks like it did when I started wearing it.
Most jewelry is not worn everyday, under all circumstances. And even if it is worn everyday, it normally does not receive the beating that rings take. 14K/20 is considered a lifetime product under normal wear. For pendants, earrings, pins, and bracelets it is a great choice. For rings, consider a wrapped shank, that can be re-wrapped if wear should take the layer of gold off the shank. For heavy wear, consider a custom order in 14K/10 or solid gold.
Fragility
Even though wire jewelry can look delicate, I do not believe it requires any more care than any other fine jewelry. The care required is really dictated more by the stone than by the fact the jewelry is made of wire. Soft stones such as opal and ammolite require more thought than super hard stones like diamonds.
Should you apply pressure and try hard enough, you can bend the wires. Basically you just want to keep wire jewelry away from things that will snag and pull hard on the wires. For the most part, this just means storing them in their box, where they will not be snagged by any hooks on other pieces of jewelry. Storing them in their boxes when traveling will prevent heavy items in your suitcase from resting on them and causing them any damage.
Designs with loose wires that are not locked down into the frame of the piece are more prone to getting caught on things such as loose chains in jewelry boxes and frayed threads inside the placket of a shirt. I use hard wire in my pieces, which reduces this risk, but, if pulled hard when something is catching it, the loose wires can be pulled out of place. I do not take any special care with mine and I have not had any problems - but do please be aware.
Cleaning
14K gold filled jewelry may be cleaned the same way that you would clean 14K solid gold jewelry. Again, the concern is not the wire, but the stone. Look for jewelry cleaners that say they are safe for opals and you should be ok with most stones. Do not allow your jewelry to be cleaned in ultrasonic cleaners, which can crack stones. Ionic cleaners are ok - I clean all of my jewelry except azurite peacock ore and other stones with metal inclusions in my ionic cleaner before selling it. Do not let your jewelry sit and soak in any cleaners however!! Soaking stones like ammolite for prolonged time periods can ruin their surfaces.
The warnings to keep your jewelry away from chlorine, bromine, cleaning products that contain these chemicals, and pools and spas that use chlorine given for solid gold also apply to gold filled jewelry.
A great way to keep your wire jewelry clean and to keep silver jewelry from tarnishing is to just take a little bit of tooth paste on a toothbrush and give it a light cleaning. Get the toothbrush wet, dab just a little toothpaste on the brush and use your thumb to make it foamy. Go over the piece with the toothbrush, letting the bristles gently go between the wires as you do. Rinse and allow to dry. Doing this frequently with silver jewelry is a great way to prevent any tarnish from happening.
And remember - don’t take your jewelry off when you are out and about! Taking off rings to put on lotion in the car, wash your hands in a public restroom, etc is the number one way jewelry gets lost. If you must take it off, do not lay it down. Secure it in a zippered pocket in your purse, a tight pocket it will not fall out of, or someone else’s finger - even if it is only for a second.
Chain Included?
Chains are such and individual decision that they are not included with pendants. With pendants, you really should collect chains and beads. Having an omega, a slightly longer chain, and a really longer chain will allow you to place the pendant at the right spot for any given outfit. Open necklines with pendants on omegas just POP! Longer chains allow you to wear pendants over turtlenecks. Putting your pendant over a string of beads will change up the look again. Experiment and play to find the right combinations for your wardrobe.
Chains shown in pictures of pendants are just there to hold the pendants in a hanging position and are not included with the purchase of the pendants. The chain shown in most of the pictures in not a good quality chain, but I use it because it is a fairly large diameter. The clasp is 3mm, so any pendant you see pictured on it can be placed on a chain or neck wire up to 3mm with no problem. Many of the pendants will also fit on larger chains or neck wires without problem. Please email me with any questions about the bail size on a specific pendant.
If there is a pendant in the picture of a collar or neck wire, it is just there for demonstration purposes and is not included with the purchase of the collar or neck wire.
Gold Filled vs Gold
I normally use gold filled rather than gold (ie: solid gold) simply because it represents the best value. 14K/20 Gold Filled is considered a lifetime product and it has a low incidence of allergy problems (if you can wear 14K gold, you can wear 14K/20 gold filled).
Just looking at gold filled, there is no way for you or a jeweler to tell if it is layered gold or solid gold. The layer of gold does not wear off under normal wear situations and it makes it a good choice for pendants, pins, bracelets and other pieces of jewelry that are not in constant contact with other surfaces. Rings - both the shanks and the prongs - get banged into a lot of things. They will wear more quickly than other pieces of jewelry. If it is an occasional ring, gold filled is still a good value. If the ring will be worn on a daily basis, 24/7, without being removed for any circumstances, you might want to consider solid gold.
I have worked in both 14K and 18K solid gold. I’ve taken 3 ammolite pieces - one in 14K/20, one in 14K, and one in 18K and set them down in front of several different people. Some of them swore they would be able to tell the difference between 18K and 14K. No one I showed them to was able to tell which piece was which.
To me, the biggest difference between them for most pieces of jewelry (rings being the exception) is the initial purchase price and the residual scrap value if you decide to change the wire work on the piece at a later date. I just have not found it makes much of a practical difference between those choices, so I normally work with the 14K/20 because it flows so much easier.
Comparing Prices
When comparing my prices against work by other artists, I think you will find me competitive with other artists of my experience level that are using precious metal wires and a similar quality level of stones. Like all jewelry, wire jewelry has a large price range, mostly dependent upon metals, stones, and workmanship.
When making comparisons, the first thing to look at is style - do you like the work? Then you want to look at execution and materials. Because I make bezels deep enough to cover the edges of the stone, I tend to use more wire than wire jewelry you will see available at lower price points. I also use larger wire, harder wire, and more expensive and more unique stones in most of my creations.
Promotional Codes
I have a stock shopping cart and it comes with features I may or may not use. One of those features is Promotional Codes. I do not currently have any available for my site. Should I make any available, they will be posted in the header message on each page.
Findings
Findings are small parts that make jewelry into jewelry. Things like ear wires, jump rings, clasps, pin shafts, bails, faceted gem moutings, etc. I’m told that the word findings evolved from the fact that historically, when a jeweler needed one, he would go through his scraps to find a suitable piece to make it from. So they literally were findings from the workbench.
Nowdays, many findings can be purchased, often for less than the artist can make them. In the US, use of purchased findings makes an item inelligible for a label of "hand-crafted".
I use purchased findings in two major areas - ear wires and small faceted gem mounts. While I could make the ear wires, it is more cost efficient to purchase them and I’ve had so many people with allergies come back to tell me how happy they are with the ear wires I use. Plus many of my customers prefer lever backs or clips on heavier earrings. With small faceted gems, it is not only cost efficient, but I feel sometimes more secure. Since learning of the FCC rule, I try to make sure to remove the term hand-crafted from any of my items that include purchased ear wires, small faceted gem mounts, or small purchased accent beads or pearls. Any places I’ve missed, it is simple human error and not an intent to deceive.
Inclusions
Inclusions can be good or bad.
Faceted Stones - you don’t want inclusions, as they interfere with the light that the facets are trying to reflect through the stone to create sparkle.
Cabochons - you often want and pay more for stones with inclusions. Inclusions in cabochons are Mother Nature’s art work, creating patterns that add interest and beauty to the stone. Inclusions can also create pitting in the surface of the stone, where polishing to a smooth finish would take away some of the material you are trying to keep.
Black Marks
The manufacturing process for wire uses oil for lubrication. There is often a black residue on wire when I receive it. I polish and clean my jewelry before sending it off to you - but it is possible to have some of that residue survive the process. As you wear rings and bracelets, you can accumulate dirt between the wires. Finally, if you have used one of the jewelry polishing cloths, you may have left jeweler’s rouge on you jewelry. The oxide in the rouge will turn to black when it comes in contact with your skin.
Whatever the cause, if a bracelet or ring is leaving black marks on your skin, there is probably dirt of some type trapped in between the wires. Clean the item using a toothbrush and toothpaste to get dirt from between the wires. If possible, follow up with a dip in an ionic cleaner. If an ionic cleaner is not available, use a commercial jewelry cleaner - preferably one that says it is safe for opals.
Hopefully cleaning will solve your problem. Unfortunately, sometimes gold does leave black marks for no explainable reason. I’ve heard theories that it is an interaction with something in a person’s system - be it a drug, vitamin, etc, so if the black marks are a recent occurance, review what new things you may be taking and see if you can change any of them.
I know my step-daughter had a very expensive 18K solid gold bracelet that she had had and worn for years without issue. All of a sudden it started leaving black marks on her arm. She stopped wearing it for a while because the marks were so bad. Now she is wearing it again and there are no issues. Sometimes there just is no explanation.
White Residue
If there is white residue on your pendant, it is toothpaste! My apologies for not getting it all rinsed off thoroughly. After I dip it in the ionic cleaner, I let it dry on a towel rather than drying it and getting lint on the front of the stone. Sometimes as the water evaporates some toothpaste residue is left - I normally catch it, but not always.
Repairs
I will take any request for repairs on a case-by-case basis. Should it happen that a wire comes loose due to my workmanship, I would of course fix that free of charge. Should a piece of my jewelry get stepped on, caught and pulled out of shape, slammed in a car door, or otherwise smashed, it will pretty much depend on how much damage has been done. The fee could range from just shipping to the cost to completely rebuild the setting.
Also see Policies & General Information for other frequently asked questions.
This is just a random list of questions. You can scroll through the information, or use one of the following links to go to a specific item. Simply page back up if you wish to return to the top of this page.
Durability
Fragility
Cleaning
Chain Included?
Gold Filled vs Gold
Comparing Prices
Promotional Codes
Findings
Inclusions
Black Marks
White Residue
Repairs
Durability
My Mother’s original wedding band was platinum. She always wore it. She never took it off. After about 25 years of wearing it, the inside of the shank was all but gone. What is left is about as thick as a thread.
Any ring that is worn every day, regardless of circumstances, will wear over time. If my Mother’s wedding band had been solid gold, it would have done the same thing, it would have just taken a different length of time.
If the band had been made of gold filled, as it wore away, the gold would disappear, showing the base metal. Because 14K/10 has a thicker layer of gold than 14K/20, it would take longer for the 14K/10 gold to wear away. If it had been gold plate, the gold would not have lasted the first year.
The 4 wire bangle that I started wearing 24/7 in January 2003, as a strength test for the clasp, is made in 14K/20 and has shown no sign of wear to date. I did stop wearing it 24/7 in early 2009 because I started working out every day and it kept catching on one of the machines. It gets worn irregularly now, but still looks like it did when I started wearing it.
Most jewelry is not worn everyday, under all circumstances. And even if it is worn everyday, it normally does not receive the beating that rings take. 14K/20 is considered a lifetime product under normal wear. For pendants, earrings, pins, and bracelets it is a great choice. For rings, consider a wrapped shank, that can be re-wrapped if wear should take the layer of gold off the shank. For heavy wear, consider a custom order in 14K/10 or solid gold.
Fragility
Even though wire jewelry can look delicate, I do not believe it requires any more care than any other fine jewelry. The care required is really dictated more by the stone than by the fact the jewelry is made of wire. Soft stones such as opal and ammolite require more thought than super hard stones like diamonds.
Should you apply pressure and try hard enough, you can bend the wires. Basically you just want to keep wire jewelry away from things that will snag and pull hard on the wires. For the most part, this just means storing them in their box, where they will not be snagged by any hooks on other pieces of jewelry. Storing them in their boxes when traveling will prevent heavy items in your suitcase from resting on them and causing them any damage.
Designs with loose wires that are not locked down into the frame of the piece are more prone to getting caught on things such as loose chains in jewelry boxes and frayed threads inside the placket of a shirt. I use hard wire in my pieces, which reduces this risk, but, if pulled hard when something is catching it, the loose wires can be pulled out of place. I do not take any special care with mine and I have not had any problems - but do please be aware.
Cleaning
14K gold filled jewelry may be cleaned the same way that you would clean 14K solid gold jewelry. Again, the concern is not the wire, but the stone. Look for jewelry cleaners that say they are safe for opals and you should be ok with most stones. Do not allow your jewelry to be cleaned in ultrasonic cleaners, which can crack stones. Ionic cleaners are ok - I clean all of my jewelry except azurite peacock ore and other stones with metal inclusions in my ionic cleaner before selling it. Do not let your jewelry sit and soak in any cleaners however!! Soaking stones like ammolite for prolonged time periods can ruin their surfaces.
The warnings to keep your jewelry away from chlorine, bromine, cleaning products that contain these chemicals, and pools and spas that use chlorine given for solid gold also apply to gold filled jewelry.
A great way to keep your wire jewelry clean and to keep silver jewelry from tarnishing is to just take a little bit of tooth paste on a toothbrush and give it a light cleaning. Get the toothbrush wet, dab just a little toothpaste on the brush and use your thumb to make it foamy. Go over the piece with the toothbrush, letting the bristles gently go between the wires as you do. Rinse and allow to dry. Doing this frequently with silver jewelry is a great way to prevent any tarnish from happening.
And remember - don’t take your jewelry off when you are out and about! Taking off rings to put on lotion in the car, wash your hands in a public restroom, etc is the number one way jewelry gets lost. If you must take it off, do not lay it down. Secure it in a zippered pocket in your purse, a tight pocket it will not fall out of, or someone else’s finger - even if it is only for a second.
Chain Included?
Chains are such and individual decision that they are not included with pendants. With pendants, you really should collect chains and beads. Having an omega, a slightly longer chain, and a really longer chain will allow you to place the pendant at the right spot for any given outfit. Open necklines with pendants on omegas just POP! Longer chains allow you to wear pendants over turtlenecks. Putting your pendant over a string of beads will change up the look again. Experiment and play to find the right combinations for your wardrobe.
Chains shown in pictures of pendants are just there to hold the pendants in a hanging position and are not included with the purchase of the pendants. The chain shown in most of the pictures in not a good quality chain, but I use it because it is a fairly large diameter. The clasp is 3mm, so any pendant you see pictured on it can be placed on a chain or neck wire up to 3mm with no problem. Many of the pendants will also fit on larger chains or neck wires without problem. Please email me with any questions about the bail size on a specific pendant.
If there is a pendant in the picture of a collar or neck wire, it is just there for demonstration purposes and is not included with the purchase of the collar or neck wire.
Gold Filled vs Gold
I normally use gold filled rather than gold (ie: solid gold) simply because it represents the best value. 14K/20 Gold Filled is considered a lifetime product and it has a low incidence of allergy problems (if you can wear 14K gold, you can wear 14K/20 gold filled).
Just looking at gold filled, there is no way for you or a jeweler to tell if it is layered gold or solid gold. The layer of gold does not wear off under normal wear situations and it makes it a good choice for pendants, pins, bracelets and other pieces of jewelry that are not in constant contact with other surfaces. Rings - both the shanks and the prongs - get banged into a lot of things. They will wear more quickly than other pieces of jewelry. If it is an occasional ring, gold filled is still a good value. If the ring will be worn on a daily basis, 24/7, without being removed for any circumstances, you might want to consider solid gold.
I have worked in both 14K and 18K solid gold. I’ve taken 3 ammolite pieces - one in 14K/20, one in 14K, and one in 18K and set them down in front of several different people. Some of them swore they would be able to tell the difference between 18K and 14K. No one I showed them to was able to tell which piece was which.
To me, the biggest difference between them for most pieces of jewelry (rings being the exception) is the initial purchase price and the residual scrap value if you decide to change the wire work on the piece at a later date. I just have not found it makes much of a practical difference between those choices, so I normally work with the 14K/20 because it flows so much easier.
Comparing Prices
When comparing my prices against work by other artists, I think you will find me competitive with other artists of my experience level that are using precious metal wires and a similar quality level of stones. Like all jewelry, wire jewelry has a large price range, mostly dependent upon metals, stones, and workmanship.
When making comparisons, the first thing to look at is style - do you like the work? Then you want to look at execution and materials. Because I make bezels deep enough to cover the edges of the stone, I tend to use more wire than wire jewelry you will see available at lower price points. I also use larger wire, harder wire, and more expensive and more unique stones in most of my creations.
Promotional Codes
I have a stock shopping cart and it comes with features I may or may not use. One of those features is Promotional Codes. I do not currently have any available for my site. Should I make any available, they will be posted in the header message on each page.
Findings
Findings are small parts that make jewelry into jewelry. Things like ear wires, jump rings, clasps, pin shafts, bails, faceted gem moutings, etc. I’m told that the word findings evolved from the fact that historically, when a jeweler needed one, he would go through his scraps to find a suitable piece to make it from. So they literally were findings from the workbench.
Nowdays, many findings can be purchased, often for less than the artist can make them. In the US, use of purchased findings makes an item inelligible for a label of "hand-crafted".
I use purchased findings in two major areas - ear wires and small faceted gem mounts. While I could make the ear wires, it is more cost efficient to purchase them and I’ve had so many people with allergies come back to tell me how happy they are with the ear wires I use. Plus many of my customers prefer lever backs or clips on heavier earrings. With small faceted gems, it is not only cost efficient, but I feel sometimes more secure. Since learning of the FCC rule, I try to make sure to remove the term hand-crafted from any of my items that include purchased ear wires, small faceted gem mounts, or small purchased accent beads or pearls. Any places I’ve missed, it is simple human error and not an intent to deceive.
Inclusions
Inclusions can be good or bad.
Faceted Stones - you don’t want inclusions, as they interfere with the light that the facets are trying to reflect through the stone to create sparkle.
Cabochons - you often want and pay more for stones with inclusions. Inclusions in cabochons are Mother Nature’s art work, creating patterns that add interest and beauty to the stone. Inclusions can also create pitting in the surface of the stone, where polishing to a smooth finish would take away some of the material you are trying to keep.
Black Marks
The manufacturing process for wire uses oil for lubrication. There is often a black residue on wire when I receive it. I polish and clean my jewelry before sending it off to you - but it is possible to have some of that residue survive the process. As you wear rings and bracelets, you can accumulate dirt between the wires. Finally, if you have used one of the jewelry polishing cloths, you may have left jeweler’s rouge on you jewelry. The oxide in the rouge will turn to black when it comes in contact with your skin.
Whatever the cause, if a bracelet or ring is leaving black marks on your skin, there is probably dirt of some type trapped in between the wires. Clean the item using a toothbrush and toothpaste to get dirt from between the wires. If possible, follow up with a dip in an ionic cleaner. If an ionic cleaner is not available, use a commercial jewelry cleaner - preferably one that says it is safe for opals.
Hopefully cleaning will solve your problem. Unfortunately, sometimes gold does leave black marks for no explainable reason. I’ve heard theories that it is an interaction with something in a person’s system - be it a drug, vitamin, etc, so if the black marks are a recent occurance, review what new things you may be taking and see if you can change any of them.
I know my step-daughter had a very expensive 18K solid gold bracelet that she had had and worn for years without issue. All of a sudden it started leaving black marks on her arm. She stopped wearing it for a while because the marks were so bad. Now she is wearing it again and there are no issues. Sometimes there just is no explanation.
White Residue
If there is white residue on your pendant, it is toothpaste! My apologies for not getting it all rinsed off thoroughly. After I dip it in the ionic cleaner, I let it dry on a towel rather than drying it and getting lint on the front of the stone. Sometimes as the water evaporates some toothpaste residue is left - I normally catch it, but not always.
Repairs
I will take any request for repairs on a case-by-case basis. Should it happen that a wire comes loose due to my workmanship, I would of course fix that free of charge. Should a piece of my jewelry get stepped on, caught and pulled out of shape, slammed in a car door, or otherwise smashed, it will pretty much depend on how much damage has been done. The fee could range from just shipping to the cost to completely rebuild the setting.