Jewelry

Becoming a mother is sheer magic.  When my oldest, Sadie was born I was immediately filled with a whole new kind of love.  And when Lyla followed 2 years later, I swear my heart grew bigger.  It’s fun to find a piece of jewelry to celebrate the special mother/child relationship which is why I’m thrilled to be sharing with you a customized jewelry giveaway from Olive Bungalow along with promo code “TinyOranges15″ for 15% off  when placing your order before November 23, 2012.

Be sure to stay tuned to the bottom of this post to enter for your chance to win a $100 gift card to Olive Bungalow!

Michele, Olive Bungalow creator, started her career as a gold/silversmith 12 years ago from her home in Arizona.  All of her jewelry is handcrafted in the USA using eco-friendly gold and silver and conflict-free diamonds.  She takes custom orders and guarantees her high quality workmanship.

Her  “Customize It” stack rings are a fave with her mommy clientele.

I’ve always loved the idea of stackable birth month gemstone rings using my daughters birthstones (and my own).

Olive Bungalow’s site has an awesome birthstone guide to help you pick your month and learn a bit about the meaning behind the stone.  A ring with our birthstones would mean harmony, healing and strength- I like that!

She also offers engraving on the inside of the ring.  What a lovely touch to have your child’s name on the inside of their birthstone ring.  And the nice thing about the stackable version is you can start with your first child and simply add a ring each time you pop another one out!  What a perfect push present!

Or if you prefer something closer to your heart, she has a selection of the circle initial pendants and earthy 
initialed pebble-like charms.

She has so many beautiful, nature inspired modern pieces, I found myself getting lost on her site.  Her Chunky Heart Ring is so sweet – I love the rose gold version.  Wouldn’t it make an adorable special daddy/daughter holiday gift?

Grandmother gift idea for the holidays!  The Gemstone Drop Pendant with the their grandchildren’s birthstones would be sure to make her smile this Holiday Season.

I think the Modern Leaf Earrings in Black Onyx  are stunning and versatile!  They’d look awesome with a pair of jeans and a tee or with a little black cocktail dress.

As for myself, I can’t decide between the Diamond Satin Stack Ring or the Rustic Gold Hammered Stacking Ring but I’m hitting up Santa for one of them!  I’ve been wanting a simple pointer finger ring and I think either of these would do the trick!

Seriously, Santa, I’ve been sooo good this year.

What are your favorite Olive Bungalow Designs?

Be sure to get your order in before Sunday December 9th to ensure it makes it in Santa’s sleigh!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

{Disclosure:  Olive Bungalow is a Tiny Oranges Sponsor we are thrilled to be able to share with you about their quality handcrafted jewelry as you’re writing up your Holiday Lists!}

Have you ever wondered how it works to trade in or sell a diamond?

I spoke with Bruce Lambert of Gramercy Gifts, a trusted family jeweler in Newport Beach, and he told me all about the process. It really is fascinating! If you want to explore trading in or selling a diamond in Orange County, consider Bruce to be your go-to guy.

Life scenarios that involve trading in or selling a diamond can be due to either happy or not so happy events.  Let’s start with the happy first!

How to trade in a diamond

Many couples find themselves in a stronger financial situation a few years into a marriage than they were when they first got engaged and married, so the time may come when you might want to trade in your diamond for a larger or better quality one. Bruce explained the process this way.

Let’s say you want to trade your 3/4 carat for a 1.5 or 2 carat stone (lucky you!) You should be able to take your diamond to a trusted jeweler (trusted being the key word – someone you are truly comfortable with) and trade it toward a new one, sort of like trading in a car – only a lot more fun! 

Or, you may be able to leave it on consignment, where you agree to a price and then when the diamond is sold, you can use that amount toward the purchase of a new diamond. This alternative may take longer (maybe only a week or two but sometimes several weeks or months) and leave you without a diamond ring in the meantime, but if you have the time, this way should give you a positive price advantage.

How to sell a diamond 

Diamond sales can sometimes involve not so happy events. People might be getting divorced or find themselves in a situation where they need money. Sometimes diamond sales involve an inheritance where the diamond is not needed, and the people prefer to sell it and use the money towards other things. Whatever the case, there are two ways how to go about selling a diamond.

1. Consignment

A trusted jeweler should be able to take your diamond and sell it on consignment. After the diamond is evaluated, an agreement is drafted with a written agreed upon price and payment that is to be issued at the time of sale. The jeweler is then able to contact people who might be presently looking for such a diamond or have the diamond in inventory for when the right client comes along.

The benefit of selling a diamond on consignment is that typically the seller will get a better price for their diamond. The con of consignment is that the process can take longer, sometimes up to several months. If people do not need the money right away, this may be a better way to go.

 2. Immediate Diamond Sale to Industry 

If people need the money right away, a jeweler can take the diamond and purchase or sell it to the diamond industry and you should get your money within a couple days.

The downside to this is you will get on average 20-30% less than selling your diamond on consignment. The pro is that you don’t have to wait to get cash in hand and it is a sure sale, completed. Depending on your situation, this might be an advantageous way to go.

Most importantly, work with a jeweler you trust!

It is very important whenever you are considering trading in or selling a diamond, that you work with a jeweler you trust. Large, national stores cannot always provide the same relationship that a family/community jeweler like Bruce of Gramercy Gifts can.

Bruce has raised three daughters in Orange County, and is now a proud grandpa who has lived and worked in Newport Beach for over 35 years. To know you are working with someone who has been an active, trusted member of the community is priceless (and important.)

Bruce designed the most gorgeous new setting for my wedding ring last year.  Working with him was so pleasant and easy. I loved the personal attention he is able to provide his clients being an appointment-only jeweler.

It also felt good knowing that we were working with someone that came highly recommended and someone we knew we could trust.

Speaking of which, the holidays are coming up! Feel free to *accidentally* send this post to your hubby in case you are hoping for something sparkly under the tree this year. Bruce can custom design any piece sure to delight any OC mom!

Do you have any more questions for Bruce on this topic? Feel free to comment below…

www.GramercyGifts.com

[Disclosure: Gramercy Gifts is a Tiny Oranges Sponsor]

For my 10 year anniversary last fall, Bruce of Gramercy Gifts in Newport Beach created a new wedding ring for me using my original diamond in a brand new halo setting. Something old, something new!  When I got my new ring, I thought it was an opportune time to ask an expert jeweler something have always wondered about ~  what is the best way to clean my diamond ring at home? 

I have bought fancy jewelry cleaners from the swap meet and various other ones throughout the years, but never knew if they were worth the money.

Bruce’s answer surprised me, so I am excited to share this inside scoop with you. It it cheap, easy and doesn’t include fancy jewelry cleaning solutions!  Here is what he suggested for those times you want to clean your diamond, whether at home, while traveling, or anytime.

How to clean a diamond ring 
by Bruce Lambert of Gramercy Gifts

1. Apply either toothpaste or Windex (or any type of glass cleaner) to your diamond ring. Make sure to close the drain if you are cleaning your jewelry over the sink!

2.  Brush it on and clean thoroughly with a soft bristle toothbrush to get off the dirt and any other debris.

3. Using the same toothbrush, put your ring around the other end and hold onto the toothbrush by both ends. Run hot water* over your ring to rinse off the cleaning solution. The hotter the water, the faster it will evaporate, leaving fewer spots, resulting in more sparkly stones.

4. Blow excess water off of your piece, return to finger, and enjoy!

* Please note hot water should only be used on diamonds. Other stones like emeralds, opals, etc. cannot withstand hot temperatures, so they should be rinsed at a lower temperature.

This technique works great for surface cleaning, but sort of like taking your car to a quick car wash to get off all the visible dirt, every now and again you need to take your ring to a professional jeweler to give your piece a thorough cleaning and “detailing.” He recommends doing this once, maybe twice a year.

Professional jewelers have the equipment and compounds to most effectively clean your jewelry and polish the medal. To make it easy to remember, take your ring into your jeweler around your wedding anniversary. Or, many people also like to professionally clean their jewelry before the holidays.

Bruce is fabulous and has been designing and creating custom jewelry  in Orange County since 1977.  He was trustworthy, honest, attentive and overall, working with him was a wonderful experience. You can read my previous blog on my ring transformation here.

For more information visit www.GramercyGifts.com.

Photo credits: Top ring photo compliments of Gramercy Gifts featuring one of his fabulous designs. Step by step photos taken by me ~ and the ring Bruce created for us!

[Disclosure: After working with Bruce on my ring, he became a Tiny Oranges Sponsor! Check out his great ad in our right column along with his listing in our OC Biz Guide.]

“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some people move our souls to dance. They awaken us to a new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom. Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon. They stay in our lives for awhile, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.” ~ Flavia Weedn

I have always loved that quote, and even more so now that I am a mother. My children have awakened a new understanding in me, and have left their precious footprints and fingerprints all over my heart.  And without a doubt, they have forever changed me.

Which is why I am so in love with Tina Steinberg jewelry, where you can take imprints of your loved one’s fingerprint, and put them into the most special silver pendants.

One of the first jewelry artists to handcraft silver jewelry customized with fingerprint impressions, her “Love Touch Collection” has received attention and accolades worldwide.

She is able to do the entire process by mail ~ you simply order a design and send sends an easy kit for you to do the impressions. And then you can wear those sweet little prints close to your heart all day long.

For the month of August 2012, Tina is offering Tiny Oranges readers a nice perk*!

For Love Touch product totals of $95 or more, Tina will personally visit you to do your fingerprint impressions if you reside within Orange County.  If you’d like to do the process by mail, you can receive $25 off your product total of $95 or more with coupon code “TINYORANGES” when ordering online through 8/31/2012.

Hooray!  I also have a Tiny Giveaway of a $50 gift card to use toward any product on her site (shipping charges additional.) Here’s how to enter…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

[Disclosure: Tina Steinberg is a Tiny Oranges Sponsor. Check out her ad in our right column!]

*Offer cannot be combined with any other discounts/special offers.

Let me preface this post by telling you that I never intended this to be a post. But when I fall in love with companies, it is hard for me not to blog about them because I want to share it with my fellow OC moms!  So please let me tell you about my my recent wedding ring transformation (squeee!) Bruce Lambert of Gramercy Gifts in Newport Beach did for us.

I hope this post might be helpful for anyone that someday might want a new piece of jewelry made but don’t have a jeweler to go to.

So my husband and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary in November. Over the last year we (um, if I am being honest, I) started talking about how it would be fun to get my diamond put into a new setting for this milestone anniversary. Lucky for me, hubby was on board.

But we didn’t have a family jeweler and I actually had NO idea where to go. I see jewelers all over the place, but I didn’t want to go to a random jeweler without a personal recommendation.

Then I remembered my fellow blogger friend Shanna from My Favorite Everything telling me she had a jewelry connection so I reached out to her to see if she could give me a rave referral which is how I got Bruce’s info.

Bruce owns Gramercy Gifts and has been designing jewelry for almost 35 years in Orange County.

I gave him and call and we chatted about what we were looking to do and what I came to learn is Bruce can basically create anything you want!

I sort of envisioned having to go into a place and pick out a ring setting from a case. But with Bruce, you can tell him exactly what you want, and he will MAKE IT!

Given this fact, I started doing a bunch of (FUN) research online looking at different ring settings. It felt like the days before I was engaged when I would peruse bridal magazines and dog-ear pages of rings to leave open on the coffee table.

I started my online research with Google searches of  ”halo setting diamond rings” because I have loved the halo setting for a long time.

From my research, I gathered a few photos of settings I liked, along with notes on what I liked about each one before our meeting with Bruce.

Then it was time to meet Bruce in person. My husband and I made an appointment and met with him in his cozy office / showroom.

I liked the fact that we were meeting with him in a setting like this and not a big store. It made the experience very personal. I also loved the fact that he runs by appointment, so there was no standing around waiting for someone to help you.  We had his 100% attention.

And here is the thing about Bruce: HE IS NOT PUSHY. My husband particularly appreciated this!  He never insinuated we “should” spend more money on any aspect of our ring.  In fact, just the opposite, I felt like he presented a lot of options to save money.

We started talking about doing the matching wedding band at the same time, and he suggested saving it for another special occasion or anniversary. His opinion was that having a brand new ring would be fun and special in itself. Why not save the money now and do the matching band down the road?

I thought my husband might hug him.

I sooo don’t want this post to come off as obnoxious, like “look at my new ring!!!” That is not the point.  But I thought some people might like to see what you can do with the same diamond, new setting.

You know, something old, something new…!

I myself enjoy looking at before and after pictures so I will show you my ring transformation here.

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