custom made jewelry
What are fossils and how do they form ?
Over the past few years, there's been a renewed interest in fossils. In fact, this interest has convalesced into exciting new trends in fashion and home decor : curating fossils for jewelry and art.
If you've been thinking about having custom jewelry made using amber, ammonites, or fossilized teeth, it helps to know how they were formed.
Here's everything you need to know about fossils.
Origin of the pearls of our jewels
The value of pearls does not depend exclusively on their qualities, their shapes or their colors, but on the combination of these 3 main criteria.
The pearl is harmoniously highlighted by jewelry designers, like Gautrey Paris (fr), who know how to take advantage of these three characteristics.
Natural pearls are so rare to find in nature that most pearls sold today are grown.
How to work gold and silver
Many internet users are seeking to acquire technical knowledge of precious metals in order to embark on a more creative craft activity than fimo clay. That's why we often get questions about metal working techniques that can't be solved in a single email. Indeed, the work of these metals such as silver or gold requires knowledge and especially a lot of practice.
Measure your wrist
When buying a bracelet online, it is important for your comfort to choose the length of your bracelet; so that it is not too tight around your wrist or too loose not to wander around your forearm.
Once you know your wrist size, you just need to add an extra 1 to 3 cm (depending on your comfort) to know the ideal size of your flexible bracelet.
This method works for both women's and men's bracelets.
Fabergé egg : the price of excess
Fabergé, a mythical name.
Fabergé eggs : a world reference throughout history for fine jewelry.
Fabergé was an exceptional jeweler working for the greatest crowned heads and the most fortunate, yet his destiny brought him to ruin because of the Bolshevik revolution.
No piece of jewelry in the world has been surrounded by so much pomp, misfortune, chance and mystery following their sale, their loss and rediscovery.
Fabergé eggs are certainly the most intriguing jewelry pieces of all because of their fascinating history, from their creation to their record-breaking auctions.
Lapland jewelry, between tradition and modernity
Lapland is a northern European country, spreading over four countries, from west to east: Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. On these lands where the cold and a great nature reign, lives for millennia the Sami people.
Skin allergy to silver jewelry
Are you allergic to the silver of your jewelry ?
If you think so, because you have noticed itchy skin and redness in the contact area of your ring, bracelet or earrings with your skin, this is not enough to draw this conclusion.
Indeed, silver and gold are non-allergenic metals, recognized for their passivity vis-à-vis the body. However, silver is regularly associated with other metals, or other metals are used instead of silver for the making of your jewelry.
If you don't look like this man, then you are certainly not allergic to silver : Argyrism is the only known disease related to silver.
Ecological impact of gold and silver mining
It's this article published on the blog Brilliant Earth that challenged me, concerning the ecological and human impact of the extraction of gold in the world. Of course, as an online jeweler, I asked myself the question of the impact of the silver extraction, so I dug a little on the web and here are the elements that I could gather, don't hesitate to send me your comments.
Wild gold
I won't repeat in detail the elements of the article cited, so I advise you to read it. Wild exploitation of gold is widespread in Africa and Latin America. It generates havoc on rivers and forests. It's the result of the exploitation of the alluvial gold, present in rivers, which requires the felling of trees, the creation of reservoirs of water and the pollution of this one by use of mercury used to amalgamate gold flakes. Mixing the sludge in the water also greatly reduces the amount of dissolved oxygen and causes the death of the aquatic fauna.
How to make silver jewelry ?
To make an original gift, make a custom made jewel to the taste of the person is a sure way to please and surprise the recipient.
Whether you want to make a jewel on the animal theme like here, or have a custom made pendant (fr) or a personalized ring, we have detailed this in our blog articles mentioned.
Making a piece of jewelry requires knowing how to define the design of your jewel and find the right craftsman jeweler who can make the manufacture of it.
We are going to present you here how the design and manufacturing process takes place in our Vivalatina jewelry workshop.
How to solder silver ?
It is essential to know how to solder silver to make elaborate jewels.
However, in the majority of cases, when we talk about silver solder, it is an abuse of language : in reality we're doing a silver brazing.
In jewelry, we assemble silver coins by wetting them with silver solder. This silver solder will, by capillarity, run along the gap between the two parts and hold them together while cooling.
We invite you to discover this process in photos, by the work of a designer making silver jewelry.
Recycling 800 silver in pure silver
Since silver is a malleable precious metal, it's necessary to combine it with another metal (copper is the most commonly used metal) in order to increase its mechanical strength.
Silver 800 is the poorest alloy entitled to the term pure silver. Its brilliance is not comparable with that of sterling silver (or silver 925) or that of silver 950.
Beyond silver 800, the problem of recycling arises for all silver alloys, residues of the manufacture of silver jewelry : dust, chips and pieces of silver solder that are on the jeweler's workbench.
Hallmarks in silver jewelry
Hallmark of a jewel or a precious metal object (gold, silver or platinum) is the official guarantee of the title (its degree of purity) of the considered metal.
These precious metals have common characteristics : they're very resistant to oxidation, they have an incomparable brilliance, and above all they are ductile, malleable.
Therefore, it's necessary to combine them with other metals in order to increase their mechanical strength and to be able to use them in the form of jewels or pieces of silverware.
How to test silver and recognize fake jewels
We usually recognize sterling silver by testing it with acid.
Many jewels are sold claiming to be sterling silver but are fake jewels, namely an economical 925 silver plated metal.
A popular method for testing silver jewelry is that of the touchstone.
Silver melting
Many women with a silver jewelry collection also have a collection of silver chains and bracelets broken or damaged to continue wearing them. The advantage of solid silver jewelry is that they never lose the metal value that composes them.
It's easy to melt these jewelry scraps into a silver nugget that can be resold or reused to make a new silver jewelry at a lower cost.
Jewelry workshop
Vivalatina is a jewelry workshop to create from an idea or a sketch, a finished jewel in precious metals and gemstones.
Although sometimes jewelers are particularly confined to metalworking (silver, gold and platinum) while other jewelers are involved in the development of fine and precious stones, the two professions are closely complementary.
As shown in this example below, this pendant shows an interweaving of hand carving work, digital modeling and cast and size of gemstones.
Big rings for men
For men with big hands and therefore a large finger size, it is often difficult to find online or in jewelry stands, rings or signet rings adapted to their measurement.
We generally speak about large size finger or plus size ring for size US 12 or bigger, which correspond to a European size of EEC 68.
It is, therefore, necessary for some customers to use our service to get a custom made ring that fits their finger size.
If you are unsure about your own finger size, this article will show you how to measure your ring size.
If you're not sure which finger will wear your ring, this article will help you find our the best finger that suits you to wear your signet ring.
Over time, we had the opportunity to make several personalized signet rings for sizes of EEC 70, 72, 74 and 82 which range from US 13 to US 16.
Art of Meenakari
“I love jewelry because, no matter how much weight I gain or lose, it always fits”- Ellen Pleesant Isn’t this true?
A classic piece of jewelry drives every woman around the world head over heals. Since the beginning of its journey, jewelry has been inseparable from the women who adorn it.
India, a country rich in its culture and heritage, witnesses a wide array of jewelry arts, ranging from Kundan, Meenakari, Thewa, Gems to intricate Gold and Silver work.
Every single jewelry art form has a story behind it. For today, let’s just pick one of the age old arts of a jewelry style, Meenakari.
Jewelry to save sea turtles
Being located in Mexico, in Puerto Vallarta and very close to the seaside, we often have the opportunity to be in touch with the marine fauna.
Whether it's the dolphins that accompany us on a boat trip, an outing to see the whales, a ray that meets us during a snorkeling trip or a release of baby turtles.
How to measure ring size
Knowing your ring size is a prerequisite for any ring or wedding ring purchase, whether it's a custom-made ring or not.
We offer below two methods to measure your ring finger size, which are both simple and fast.
This measure is made in millimeters as this is the simplest way to measure your ring or finger size.
Please check out the ring chart below to get the correspondence between your ring size in millimeters and the ring size used in your country (whereas USA or UK).
We also explain why French jewelers use millimeters to measure the ring size to ease the ring making process.
How to choose an engagement ring (11 helpful tips)
Even if the engagement might be an important stage of life, it can be a real puzzle for the man concerning the choice of the right engagement ring he wants to offer his future wife.