Beware of the magnetic jewellery! Wednesday, October 15th 2008

I see that magnetic jewellery is becoming quite popular especially for clasps I am aware this is ideal for a person that has problems with the fiddly like clasps but I wonder whether jewellery pieces comes with a health warning?

From my background in the health service I know that magnetic jewellery should not be worn by a person with a pacemaker.  A pacemaker is a battery with either one or two cables inserted inside the left hand side of the chest (just above the breast area).  It is surgically inserted because the person is either in heart failure or heart block due to irregular electrical signals not working the heart as it should be such as irregular heart rate (slow or fast), once the pacemaker has been tested it then takes over and ensures the electrical signals of the heart beat correctly.

Why am I bothered?  Well certain equipment could interfere with the pacemaker and one of them are magnets.  If a magnet is too close to the pacemaker it can interrupt the signal and in turn the heart could be affected to a negative outcome.  It is advised that any magnetic source is at least 6″ away from the pacemaker which rules out jewellery.

So if you know anyone who has a pacemaker please ensure they do not have any magnetic pieces.

Nickel allergy Thursday, October 2nd 2008

Ever worn a piece of jewellery or a watch where you have been itching until red raw then this is a sign that nickel could be the cause and present in the piece you are wearing.

Sterling silver is now comprised of 92.5% sterling silver and 7.5% copper, nickel was removed from all jewellery and watches due to EU regulations which was brought in in 1994.  Any supplier and retailer must comply so all buyers are not put at untoward risk, I as a designer ensure I buy from reputable suppliers in the UK.

Some areas of the world do not follow this regulation and are not as strict so one thing to be aware of when buying such items outside of the EU that nickel may still be present in that piece so buy with caution if you have an allergy to nickel.

If you wish to read the regulations please click here.

Tips when starting out Thursday, September 11th 2008

These are the things I wish I found out at the beginning:

• Research thoroughly your chosen area.
• Contact your competition for information.
• Carry a notebook with you and write everything down as it comes in to your head.
• Don’t spend money unless necessary.
• Think of a niche – you more likely to be successful if you are offering something that your competitors aren’t.
• If you can’t afford to pay for a graphic designer to design a logo contact your local college/university and ask the course lead to see if any of his/her students wish to design for you.
• Visit freelance design sites and let people bid to design your logo www.peopleperhour.com or www.etsy.com/alchemy
• Be realistic you won’t have overnight success.
• Visit your local library and borrow plenty of books about business and your field (its free and if you like the book then buy it).
• Network – join a local networking group and tell all that attend who you are and watch the leads come in, there is always someone there that will know someone else that could use you.  For women there are www.1230.co.uk www.everywoman.com www.wireuk.org and www.enterprising-women.org and for everyone there are www.britishchambers.org.uk/ and www.bni-europe.com/
• Get as much help as you can from all the free advice on line, www.businesslink.gov.uk, www.smallbusinessadvice.org.uk, forums, blogs and the power of google!
• Don’t take it to heart when you get rejected remember it is just business.
• Get your pricing policy, terms and conditions sorted from the start.
• Get people/businesses to review your product/service on reputable websites, each time a customer buys from me I will ask them to provide feedback for my website and/or www.freeindex.co.uk
• Get your company on free directories and if you have google’s page ranking keep an eye on their ranking, I will not advertise on a site unless they have a ranking of 5 and over.  My favourite is www.freeindex.co.uk.  It’s free to join and you get to see your stats, add your company to 3 categories, add photos, services and products for sale, take a look at mine to see what options are available to you www.freeindex.co.uk/profile(romilly-norman)_6046.htm
• Get a name which is short and catchy, I know I haven’t! But as my name is unusual it’s easier to remember and remember what ever you choose it’s an expensive option to change it.
• Have a website, if you have the budget to go to a web designer feel free but if the budget is small or non existing try this website company, I love it it was definately the best £34 I spent.  I have total control and update it when I wish, upload photos, media, have a paypal basket amongst other things – www.mrsite.co.uk
• Take critical and complimenting thoughts from people as a positive.
• Keep up to date with the field you have chosen to join whether it be forums, blogs, magazine subscriptions, continual development (studying) and buying your competition’s service/product.

I think that is enough for a while, I’ll add more as I think of them.

why do items need hallmarking Monday, September 8th 2008

Any sterling silver item which weighs 7.8gms or more needs to sent to the Assay Office to be hallmarked.  The Assay Office will identify the purity of the silver alloy used for the piece, to identify the silversmith or company and to note the name and the location of the manufacture.  Once the Assay Office is happy that the piece meets the requirements the silversmith’s individual hallmark will be stamped on the piece and returned to be sold.

the difference between pure silver and sterling silver Monday, September 8th 2008

Pure silver is 99.9% (also seen as 99.9) silver and sterling silver is 92.5% pure silver (also seen as 925).  Pure silver is weaker than sterling silver but it is perfectly fine to use for jewellery but not ideal for large objects such as silver cutlery and serving bowls.  The other material which takes sterling silver’s percentage up to 99.9% is copper which gives it the strength required. 

Sterling silver is often coated with 99.9% pure silver to give the shine, and it is also has a lower melting point (893°c) than pure silver and copper.

real or fake pearls Monday, September 8th 2008

When purchasing fresh water pearls there is a test that you can do to ensure you are buying the real mcCoy, rub the pearl on a tooth and if it feels like grains of sand the pearl is real, if it feels smooth then its a fake.

Obviously you can’t do that test in a shop so a couple of other tricks is to do the weight test, gently bounce them in your hand, if real they will feel dense and heavy.  Real pearls will have natural flaws in the surface, if they look too good they probably are not real.

The hole of the real pearl where the string goes through will be sharp and even chipped.

Semi precious stones – how to tell if real Monday, September 8th 2008

To tell if your piece of jewellery has real semi precious stones, when putting it on it will feel cold, that is the natural source giving you a shiver!

birthstones Monday, September 8th 2008

 

January	Garnet	A lovely warm red
February	Amethyst	Shades of purple
March	Aquamarine	Pastel blue to bluish green
April	Diamond	No explanation required!
May	Emerald	Green
June	Pearl	Cream / white
	Alexandrite	Greens, red and purples
	Moonstone	Browns, pink, grey, green, yellow
July	Ruby	Red
August	Peridot	Bright green
September	Sapphire	Many colours eg, blue and pink
October	Tourmaline	Various, pinks, watermelon, green and blues
	Opal	Red, white and various of others
November	Citrine	Yellow and browns
	Topaz	Various, pinks, blues white
December	Tanzanite	Blues, lilac, violet
	Zircon	Blues, green, red, white and yellow
	Turquoise	Turquoise

anniversaries Monday, September 8th 2008

 

1st	Gold	20th	Emerald
2nd	Garnet	21st	Lolite
3rd	Pearls	22nd	Spinel
4th	Blue topaz	23rd	Topaz
5th	Sapphire	24th	Tanzanite
6th	Amethyst	25th	Silver jubilee
7th	Onyx	30th	Pearl jubilee
8th	Tourmaline	35th	Emerald
9th	Lapis Lazuli	39th	Cat’s eye
10th	Diamond	40th	Ruby
11th	Turquoise	45th	Sapphire
12th	Jade	50th	Golden jubilee
14th	Opal	52nd	Star ruby
15th	Ruby	55th	Alexandrite
16th	Peridot	60th	Diamond jubilee
17th	Amethyst	65th	Star sapphire
18th	Cats eye Beryl	70th	Sapphire jubilee
19th	Garnet	75th	Diamond