This week's Featured Item!

Last week I talked about the fashion and jewelry trends for the next season. Here are examples of those trends.

Here are five examples of next seasons’ fashions along with jewelry recommendations:

CLOTHING: All black ensembles, or primarily black with vibrant splashes of color.

JEWELRY: Gemstone jewelry in rich, vibrant hues or mixed splashes of color.

CLOTHING: “Strong tailored suits, longer hemlines, patterns & embroidered detailing.”

JEWELRY: “Oversized cocktail rings, button earrings, layered necklaces, & diamond
broaches.”

CLOTHING: “Cool neutrals, especially grays – from heather to steely tones.”

JEWELRY: “White metals with black or white pearls, and/or cool hued frosty gems.
…yellow gold is still viable, and two-tone is ideal as colors cool.”

CLOTHING: “Rich, saturated versions of reds and blues, especially purple, fuchsia, and orange, as well as rich shades of green.”

JEWELRY: Gemstones such as Ruby, Garnet, Sapphire, Tanzanite, Emerald, and
Tourmaline.

CLOTHING: “Ethnic influences, prints, and patterns; vibrant mixes of color and
tradition – defying relaxed silhouettes.”

JEWELRY: Chunky gemstone pieces, fringe necklaces and earrings, and layers of
gemstone beads.

Well, now you have a preview of the next seasons’ styles and colors. So, go out there and create your own wonderful jewelry that will be in high demand as the new season progresses.

The JCK Trends magazine has the complete article, plus other fine articles, all with beautiful color photos. To purchase reprints or copies of the magazine call: (800) 305-7759 or e-mail: RBIREPRINTS@RSICOPYRIGHT.COM.

KAR

Q & A with KAR

Q: In your Bead Blog you talked about tarnished silver, so I hope you can help me. My neighborhood was affected by a chemical accident, and the gasses in the air turned all of my silver black. Do you have any suggestions on how I should clean my jewelry and silver set?

L.K., TX

A: If you’ve read our earlier newsletters, you will know how I love Silver because its’ patina seems to give it “life”, but your situation is over doing it. If a Silver piece has a dimensional pattern in it, I prefer to remove only the tarnish (patina) on the surface, and leave the patina in the engraved areas and indentations. This helps give the silver piece its’ beauty, depth and dimension. To do this, I use a special cloth that is impregnated with a precious metal cleaning solution (“Sunshine cloth” or other brand), and I wipe it over the surface (only) of the silver piece. If you were to dip the piece in a tarnish remover, everything would be shiny, but lack character. For plain pieces of silver jewelry, with no patterns, it doesn’t really matter, so you can wipe it or dip it

Now, for your silver set, I’m not an expert on it, but I know that before you clean it, you need to know if it is solid sterling, or silver plate. If you live in a big city, or around a lot of antique specialists I would contact them for info. I know many people use liquid tarnish removers, either by dipping the silver into it, or by applying it to the silver with a rag. If your silver set is silver plate, you must be careful as to what tarnish remover you use, because you do not want to strip all of the silver off your piece.

A few months ago, on our local PBS TV station they had a fundraiser and they had a guest with a series of books and videos showing tips on how to clean around the house , using things you already have in your kitchen. He showed a simple process to instantly remove tarnish using (I think) aluminum foil, water, salt, and soap. He was a British man and his books and videos were called “Tips by ……….” (I forgot his name). If you contact your local PBS-TV station, or the L.A. PBS station, KCET-TV, they should be able to tell you how you can get his books and/or videos.

Good luck. KAR