Month: October 2019

A Tale 50 years in the making a Match Found to complete a set of Pearl Jewellery

It took 50 years for this little tale to come to a happy ending. Recently a lady purchased a pair of hand made white mabe pearl earrings in a clip on from my Etsy e-Boutique. I just love my little Etsy store as some of my customers kindly share stories on why they choose a particular piece. Here’s a ripper!

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I found this tale so unique I just had to share it. An American couple was posted here in Perth, Australia in the 60’s and they bought a lovely pearl bracelet which remains a constant memory of a happy time, spent here. This bracelet was handed down to the grand daughter, who one day sees a pair of earrings that match her Gran’s bracelet and they are in Julleen Jewels on Etsy. The granddaughter who wears her bracelet every day, bought the earrings from my store and they arrived in the USA yesterday. Her set of pearl jewellery is now complete. What are the odds on someone living in USA has a bracelet her Gran bought in Perth in the 60’s then ends up not just finding a match anywhere  but actually purchasing it from a Perth designer. Such a nice story

Please read her review on my Etsy store. It’s just fabulous!

https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/JulleenJewels?

I need more stars to review Julia and her shop. She has incredible customer service skills plus she has a great sense of humor. In the 1960s, my grandmother lived in Perth for about a year and bought the bracelet in the picture below before returning home to California. Fast forward 50+ years and I buy an incredible pair of handmade pearl earrings that are a perfect match. And they came from South Perth! The earrings are gorgeous and will be my go to staples. Simple and elegant just like Gram’s bracelet.

Clip On Pearl Earrings by Julleen Jewels

Great to see the clip on pearl earring becoming popular again and the neat no nonsense “close fit to the ear lobe” clip on design. There are many of us who don’t want to pierce their ears but find it quite difficult to get clip on earrings of any sort to say nothing of a pearl clip on earring. Enter Julleen Jewels with a wonderful array of bezel set pearls.

When a clip on on the back of an earring is required it needs a saucer base for the actual lever back clip to sit on. This requires more metal to make a flat spacious surface for a clip on to be soldered to, rather than say, a simple post being added to the back of a pearl for the stud style.

This is where expertise comes in handy. The dying art of setting pearls into bezel bases is not handled by many jewellers today as it’s a job that requires using hand made (hands on) skills, understandably it’s not high on the list of designs to make, as the percentage of people with pierced ears is quite high, therefore the lower percentage belongs to those who do not and so why bother catering to them. The person requiring a clip on sits around 30 percent. Therefore you can understand why jewellery makers tend to go for the easier design and cater largely to people with piercings. I saw a niche in the market here and as I fall into the category of non pierced ear women, well, you can see why I chose to make a good variety of clip on earrings in pearl and some, if not as many, gemstone clip ons. I don’t do hallmarked gold settings but I do make Hallmarked Sterling with pure gold microns (vermeil).

I am very proud to say at Julleen we have loads of lovely bezel set pearl clip on earrings. I lovely new selection of recently made earrings in gold vermeil are now available in my Etsy store. Take a look see, you may find just the most perfect earring that will last for decades right here.

https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/JulleenJewels?ref=seller-platform-mcnav&section_id=19307152

What Happens to Old Pearl Bracelets When They Die? They are reborn as new Pearl jewellery

Here’s a story of a very tried bracelet that was very much loved and worn often. After one of the 4 rows of a black and white pearl bracelet became loose, my friend of many decades asked me what could be done to revamp it for her mother to whom she had gifted this piece years ago. I suggested to remake it as a necklace. My friend’s Mum, who was finding the clasp difficult to cope with thee days saw this as a very positive thing to do.

After giving her preferred length, I pulled the entire bracelet apart and created a long and very charming new necklace for her, making it to the required length. This was done by adding some whopping big white pearls and more topaz and smaller black pearls. Voila! a stunning new piece was made for my friend’s Mum.

Today I was sent the picture of her Mum wearing her new necklace and I am so proud of the new design but even more so, now that she told me she wants to wear it all the time. She says she loves it so much and that it’s just perfect. Well what better words could I want to hear, as the designer.

Nothing makes me happier than hearing such wonderful things from my customers.

 

Mad About Coral Earrings for the Australian Summer

Coral beads and the fabulous orangey pink colour have been a favourite of mine for decades. October 2019 has come so quickly I know and you can feel the buzz in the air as the weather changes. Coral is a great happy colour for just about anyone and am sure we’ll be seeing it at the Melbourne Cup and the Spring season of racing and many other fun events around this time of year.

This is what inspired me to make some very cute Coral bead earrings and put them into my Esty store. Please take a look at what I think are some of my best coral designers over the years. Loads more in my Etsy Store.

https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/741334133/coral-gemstone-bead-long-earring?