Feb 17

Throughout the centuries, every period of time has have its own fashions and trends in jewelry, which in this century are more focused on the color of diamonds and appropriate metal selection when it comes to engagement rings.

The popularity of colored gems is the result of tendencies arisen from famous jewelry designers, including Bailey, Tiffany, Banks and Cartier. Pure white diamonds set in platinum, silver, or palladium rivaled with diamonds which impurities cause yellow, brown, blue, green, or pink colorations, colors that match better with gold settings.

The more rare the color of the diamond the more original the engagement ring or bridal jewelry setting could be. Today’s modern diamond trends are focused on gems which coloration covers the full brown spectrum.

Unbelievably, you can find diamonds ranging from the smoky quartz color, to tones resembling agates, topaz, and tiger’s-eye. There are also diamonds ranging in color from champagne, brown gold, cognac, wood, and chocolate, although, not all these colors occur in diamonds naturally.

Of course, every jeweler has a selection of classic white diamonds, along with other rarities such as costly pink diamond settings, but the main characteristic in all those pieces of jewelry is that none of them follows a unique design pattern. In addition, there is a new thin diamond hard coating that enables the fancy coloration in diamonds, such as the popular deep-pink purple diamond.

Some fancy diamonds use a coating produced by boiling the gems in sulfuric acid. This is the method used to obtain the trendy brown diamonds since it is sulfuric acid that will reverse the color of the gem to its natural mineral carbon color.

Contacting your jeweler will allow you to learn more about modern diamonds cuts such as round brilliant, oval, marquise, pear shaped, heart shaped, emerald cut, princess cut, trilliant, radiant, and cushion cut diamonds, as well as different settings, including prong, bezel, channel, bead, cluster, flush, and ballerina settings.

Related to size, bigger seems to be the new trend. The days when a one-carat solitaire was the traditional engagement ring have gone. Today, solitaires are not less than three carats and more commonly found weighing five carats and above, following with the trend made popular in 2006 after some celebrities wore larger engagement rings.

Vintage styles remain strong among the favorites, but all with a modern touch and set in white metals rather than the traditional yellow gold. Brown jewels and earth tone diamonds are classy and look great. However, it is hard to determine the quality of a coated or treated diamond since clarity, color, and cut grading are altered.

People should consider that trendy diamond jewelry might become demands in a short period of time. Coated diamonds are also susceptible to scratches that may require reverting the coating to leave the stone as it was originally, or requesting your jeweler to add a new coating that might damage the metal setting if it has alloys.

If you want a modern diamond, try to stick as much as possible to the four C’s to determine the quality of the jewelry because after all a diamond, coated or not, is forever.

Feb 10

Romantic Era Jewelry

The Romantic Era or the early Victorian Era is from 1837 until 1860 The Victorian Era received its name for England’s Queen Victoria who ascended to the throne at the age of 18 in 1837. She had a major influence of the fashion as well as the jewelry worn during this time.

At the beginning of the Romantic era and the ending of the Georgian era, Ferromagnetic were very popular. These types of jewelry were chains or ribbons adorned with a single jewel, which was to be worn on the forehead.

Clothing fashion changed along with the type of jewelry worn. During the Romantic Era, multiple bracelets were worn as well as brooches, earrings, rings, and necklaces. The most popular bracelet during this time were once that were at least 1 inch wide or wider which were either solid hinged bangles or ones of gold chain, pearls, and gemstones.

Earrings were also very popular except for the years during 1840 until 1890 when bonnet ribbons were worn.

Lockets were very popular sentimental jewelry of the Romantic Era. In these lockets were small tokens of affection such as locks of hair or small photographs. These were always worn under clothing to protect the special token inside and to keep away gossip.

Brooches were seen worn in various ways on the shoulder, on the neck, in the hair on the waist, and on ribbons worn as bracelets and necklaces.

Religious symbols were still the main theme for all types of jewelry. Some of the most popular were crosses, doves, ivy, Greek letters, and snakes, which at the time was a symbol of eternity.

Symbolic jewelry was worn with meanings as follows:

Dogs – faithfulness

Pearls – Tears

Fly – modesty

Butterfly – Soul

Daisy – virtue

Fern – attraction

Mistletoe – A kiss

Doves – domestic

Bluebells – reliability

Wishbone – Wish and Hope

Lilac – Constant Love

Flaming Heart – passionate desire

Forget Me Nots – Remember me

Arrows – Love

Crowned Heart – victorious love

Ivy – Friendship

Clasped Hands – Friendship or Lasting Love

Lizards – Passionate Love and desire

Roses – had several different meanings.

Precious gems also had symbolic meaning such as:

Diamond – Constancy

Amethyst – loyalty

Emerald – optimism

Ruby – fervor

During the Romanic Era, Victorian jewelry was found to be most popular with the stones such as agate, diamond, onyx, glass, carnelian, emerald, amber, coral, opal, peridot, ruby, sapphire, turquoise, garnet, and pearls. Jewelry was create out of such materials as bog oak, enamels, cut steel, human hair, ivory, tortoiseshell, pinchbeck, very small tiles known as micro-mosaic, silver, gold, and the cameos were often made from shell, stone, lave, and gemstone.

The best jewelry or fine jewelry during the Victorian Era was a sign of wealth. It was used to show the social standing and the status of the person wearing the jewelry and of course their family. Not all jewelry was appropriate as in Europe unmarried younger women were only allowed to wear chains, crosses, pearls, or mourning jewelry. Only married women as an appropriate age were allowed to wear such items as gems or diamonds.

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