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The Charm of Charm Bracelets

The wearing of charms and charm bracelets, like all other jewellery, dates back to prehistoric times. The popularity of charm bracelets was revived when Queen Victoria of England wore charms on bracelets and pins in the 1800s. During World War II, soldiers brought back little trinkets for their wives and mothers, who then put them on their bracelets.

Charm bracelets are also passed down as family pieces from mother to daughter as a ‘coming of age’ present.

Charm bracelets are popular for many reasons. The jingling noise when you move your wrist and the fact that it looks so appealing. It is also a piece of jewellery that is extremely personal and unique. Charms come in different shapes and sizes representing zodiac signs, religious affiliations, favourite cartoons, etc.

Some charm bracelets have gemstones placed in such a way that they spell out a message. For example: ‘I Love You’ - iolite, lapis lazuli, olivine, amethyst (the gemstone of St. Valentine), emerald, yellow zircon, obsidian, aquamarine (the magical substitution for emerald which is the gemstone of Umina, a Peruvian goddess). You can be as creative as you like with gemstone selections to spell out your own personal message on charm bracelet.

Bridal charm bracelets should essentially consist of pearls and blue chalcedony gemstone charms. Pearls stand for purity and are a popular favourite amongst brides, while blue chalcedony is the gemstone of Nelle, an angel of incredible beauty. It also covers the ’something blue’ on a bride’s ‘attire’ list.

To charm bracelets more personal, add charms to your bracelet over time - representing a period of your life, thus creating a wearable history.

Fashion designers team up to tackle breast cancer

While it’s true that buying designer fashion jewelry should make you feel good, it’s rare that it also does good as well. But that’s exactly what happened in September, as the Council of Fashion Designers of America partnered with home shopping network QVC on a special program designed to help the fight against breast cancer.

The QVC Designer Charms for Charity campaign featured CFDA designers developing special charm bracelets to be sold during special programming tied to New York Fashion Week. Top names such as Robert Lee Morris jewelry made limited edition charms available, with all proceeds going to the Fashion Targets Breast Cancer charity.

“The CFDA and its members are proud of the accomplishments made by Fashion Targets Breast Cancer in the past 15 years,” said Steven Kolb, executive director of CFDA. “It is our hope that progress in treating breast cancer will advance so we do not have another landmark anniversary like this one.”

Rilee & Lo features jewelry from distinguished CFDA members such as Robert Lee Morris, as well as pieces from up-and-coming designers such as CC Skye jewelry.

Tips for Buying Gold Coins

When buying gold coins there are many quality attributes you should look for such as year, karat, and overall quality. The first tip when buying gold coins is to check the reliability of the dealer when buying from a store be sure to check and see if they are a member of the Professional Numismatists Guild if they are then that is a big plus on a scale of quality and reliability. If you buy from eBay or from on online source be sure to check their feedback from previous customers, and to ensure a safe transaction ask if the seller will agree to use Escrow.com that will ensure that you look at the coin and are satisfied before you pay the dealer. A second tip when buying gold coins is to check on the grading and don’t settle for a single person grading it, get multiple opinions on the grade of the coin so you don’t get tricked into paying too much for low quality. Third tip when buying gold coins is to make sure the dealer has a return policy that will allow you a full refund if you dislike the coin. You always want to have the option of returning a coin. Fourth tip is to by the coin that the dealer doesn’t have a million of while still checking into quality. When you buy one of those coins that has been reproduced a million times over you are buying it a lower price due to quantity but when one series goes down in demand and quality they all go down and you are left with a lemon. The fifth and final tip when buying gold coins is to buy regularly, gold coins are like buying anything from the stock market in the idea that it is hard to determine the tops and bottoms and over time you will have made more money and a better buy to have a collection over a series of time instead of bought all at once. Buying gold coins can be tricky, but as long as you follow these five tips you will succeed in making great purchases.