Jewellery Talk

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Bridal Jewellery Guide: Part 2 – Necklace Styles & Dress Necklines

February 15, 2011 in Bridal & Wedding, Jewellery Talk by jennifer | Permalink

At this stage you’re probably ready to go shopping! Maybe you have a era-inspired or vintage dress and would like to stay in the same time-period. Or you’re looking for modern jewellery that’s in keeping with your dress and wedding style. These are some considerations, but don’t forget that your accessories can add character too. You don’t need to play by the rules. Having said though, you don’t want to have an unflattering neckline, so lets look at some ideal matches.

Special Note: If your dress is embellished, match the beads of your dress with your jewellery. For example if your dress is beaded with pearls, pearl jewellery is complimentary. If your dress is embroidered or embellished with crystals or rhinestones it’s extra important to keep the jewellery simple and understated.

V-neck-NecklineV- Neck
Choose a necklace that follows the lines of the dress. Make sure that the entire necklace can be seen and doesn’t get lost in your cleavage. If the v-neck is high look for choker or collar necklaces with or without a pendant.

Choose: Pendant, Y-drop or short Lariat

Sweetheart-NecklineSweetheart
Sweetheart necklines come in a variety of styles: sleeveless, long sleeves, cap sleeves or straps. All of these sleeve styles aside the neckline rules stay the same. The necklace styles are very similar to the v-neck.

Choose: Pendant, Y-drop, short Lariat, Princess or Choker with or without a pendant or drop.

Round-NecklineRound
The round neckline can look good with a variety of necklaces, depending on your style you can select single or multiple strand necklaces, they can trace the inside shape of the neckline.

Choose: Pendant, Y-drop, short Lariat, Single or multi-strand necklace.

Scoop-NecklineScoop
The scoop neckline is one of the most versatile styles for jewellery. The scoop shows the collarbone and normally stops just above the cleavage, so jewellery that rests along or just under your collarbone is the most flattering.

Choose: Collars and Chokers alone or with pendants, Princess length single or multi-strand necklace, Y-drops, short Lariats.

Off-the-Shoulder (Portrait)
Another gown with great jewellery versatility. Again you’ll want to imitate the lines of the dress keeping the necklace inside the shape of the neckline.

Choose: Chokers alone or with pendants, Princess length single or multi-strand necklace, Y-drops, short Lariats.

Bateau
This classic and elegant neckline begs for simplicity. Necklaces can be worn close to the throat for a formal look, or long for a more modern approach.

Choose: Collar or Choker – single or multi-strand. Daring? Try a long Lariat or Rope wrapped, loose or knotted.

Jewel
This neckline is high and round like a crew neck. It can be sleeveless or with sleeves. This style suits jewellery that fits close to throat like the Bateau.

Choose: Collar or Choker – single or multi-strand.

Strapless-NecklineStrapless
A very popular neckline for bridal gowns, and versatile. Keep necklaces and pendants at least an 1 inch above the neckline. If you want to try something more daring look for a glamourous long rope or lariat.

Choose: Collar, Choker, Pendant, Single or multi-strand. Daring? Try a long Opera length necklace, Lariat or Rope knotted.

One Shoulder or Asymmetrical Neckline
This style of dress looks best without a necklace. You can wear one, but a fabulous pair of simple stud, dangle, chandelier or shoulder-duster earrings would be ideal.

Choose: Earrings, Bracelets, Hair pin or Headpiece.

Square
This neckline has well defined right angles and can be a relatively high neckline or it can rest just above the bust. Select organic shapes and curves to soften the neckline.

Choose: Collar or chokers, single or multi-strand. Princess necklaces that end 1 inch above the neckline.

Halter
Halters come in two styles, wide or high and narrow. High and narrow halters don’t suit necklaces, like the asymmetric neckline earrings and bracelets are best. The silhouette of the halter dress to the left is an example of a wide halter neckline. Below are the styles for the wider neckline.

Choose: Pendant, Y-drop, of short Lariat.

Queen Anne or Elizabethan
This neckline needs no adornment, let it shine by selecting jewellery that flatters the era of your dress.

Choose: Earrings, Bracelet, Hair pin or Headpiece.

Hopefully this helps you find the perfect type and length of jewellery for your dress. If you’re having difficulty picking a necklace or jewellery set remember to keep it simple. Coming soon is Part 3: Colours & Materials, where I’ll talk about the types of jewellery metals, gems and colours that hot for 2011 and beyond.

Read: Bridal Jewellery Guide: Part 1 – Before you Buy

Stay tuned for: Part 3 – Colours, Materials & Gems

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What Makes Jewellery Handcrafted?

August 20, 2010 in Jewellery Talk by jennifer | Permalink

Buying handmade is seeing quite a revival these days. I’ve been asked by friends and customers alike “What is handcrafted jewellery?” or “What makes jewellery handcrafted?” Part of what makes defining handicrafts challenging now is many jewellery-makers mix their techniques and materials, there’s a lot of overlap. Handcrafted has become a blanket term, and is being used to encompass many methods of creating jewellery.

Hand tools vs. machines
The simplest answer of course is handcrafted means ‘made by hand’, but it also means not created using large machines. Simple mechanical devices are sometimes used, but hand tools are used most of the time. When an artisan makes two necklaces of the same design there are slight variations between them, making each unique. If a large machine was used instead there would be no discernible difference between them. Cast jewellery made from molds is often not considered handcrafted, and neither is an assembly line of people making jewellery by hand. Handcrafted refers to there being only one or two makers (a collaboration), but not several people.

Handcrafted vs. hand-assembled

Jewellery artisans use as many raw materials as possible, and as few manufactured parts as possible to make their handcrafted jewellery. They forge, shape, and cut materials. A few cut gemstones or make beads. Most aren’t mining and refining precious metals of course. Metals are mostly purchased in sheets and as wire. Because of time and cost many artisans don’t make 100% handmade jewellery, but even creating mostly handcrafted pieces is time consuming and take many hours or days to complete. The end product is almost completely hand-fabricated.

Crafters purchase ready-made or mass-manufactured supplies from stores, and assemble the parts by hand. This allows them to be creative without having to make the jewellery components and chains themselves. Some crafters get involved with reworking jewellery. For example a necklace will be taken apart and redesigned, it may be put back together in a new arrangement with the same or fewer elements. Sometimes more elements can be added such as new beads, vintage beads, recycled or found objects. Up-cycling makes use of only recycled, vintage, and found objects to create new jewellery.

So how do you tell the difference between them? Jewellery making techniques can be a selling feature, artisans often market this information. Price is a good indicator of how the jewellery was made. It occasionally happens that people over or under price their work, if in doubt you can ask how they make their jewellery. Most jewellery-makers enjoy talking about their goods, so it’s not too difficult to learn about how they do their work. I encourage you to ask questions, you never know, the answer could be an interesting story.

That special connection
When there’s a real person behind the making of an item, who leaves behind tell-tale signs in their work that can’t be found anywhere else, that makes a piece of jewellery handcrafted.

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