Yes, it’s true and it can be quite unnerving and overwhelming, to start looking into buying or selling jewelry. This, of course, is because it involves thinking about losing money. Still, it’s important to know what information you need about jewelry to be better prepared to avoid scams. That’s what the tips below are for.
Make sure to store your jewelry away from humidity and air. To ensure it is protected, keep your jewelry in a drawstring bag or a jewelry box that is closed. Precious, as well as non-precious metals, will tarnish if they are exposed to humidity and air over time. Tarnish can be removed from precious metals like gold and silver, but they cannot be removed from other metals.
Pewter jewelry has been widely popular for decades. If you’re looking to invest in jewelry pieces made from pewter, make sure that they are lead free. For a long time, pewter jewelry has contained lead causing many unhealthy side effects to the wearer. Usually modern jewelry made from this metal is advertised as lead-free if it doesn’t contain any.
It is sometimes hard to stand out from the crowd or find a meaningful piece of jewelry. Jewelry stores usually sell the same type of designs that prove to be a bore after a while. Go bold and purchase handmade artisan jewelry instead. Handmade jewelry will always be a success due to its one-of-a-kind nature. You will never see anyone else wearing the same thing as you and you will also be supporting an artist instead of an import company relying on low wage labor.
Vintage jewelry can actually make great fashion accessories. It doesn’t have to be your granny’s jewelry any longer. Make a statement piece by displaying a vintage necklace or a pair of vintage earrings. Vintage seems to be all the new rage and almost every store out there seems to be selling vintage inspired pieces. Why buy “inspired pieces” when you can buy the real thing for a fraction of the cost?
Jewelry is one of the best gifts to give to someone you care about. When purchasing jewelry as a gift, you should consider the person’s interests and lifestyle. For example, if they enjoy sports and the outdoors they may prefer more basic pieces. Think about what they enjoy doing, this should provide a good starting point when you are ready to purchase the jewelry.
Use an egg to antique your sterling silver jewelry. Just boil the egg, chop it up, and put it in a bag with your silver piece. In a few hours your jewelry will change colors and then you can polish it to a beautiful antiqued look. This is an effective method because egg contains sulfur, and sulfur causes the reaction when mixed with sterling silver.
When making jewelry and you want to turn a bead into a linked piece, take an eye pin and thread it through the bead’s hole. Let the bead slide to the bottom of the eye pin. Directly above the bead, use your pliers to bend the eye pin approximately 45 degrees. Using wire cutters, trim this to about half an inch in length. Using small round pliers, grasp the tip of the wire and start looping it around the pliers tip. Don’t give up if your eye pin loop is not directly round – practice makes perfect!
See, it wasn’t nearly as bad as you thought it would be. There are a lot of people in the jewelry market that wish to take your money and leave you with something of low-quality or to try to buy what you’re selling for less. Do yourself a favor and follow these tips.