Coffee Break: Black Agate, Ruby & Diamond Sterling Silver Earrings

35 Comments

1. I like the featured earrings — think they would be better without the corners, maybe? But, you know, I have a really hard time wearing “graphic” looking jewelry at work — it never looks right somehow. Am I overthinking it?

   (By graphic, I mean jewelry with strong lines and shapes. It always seems sort of overly casual and mod.)

   1. I agree, the corners make it a bit too edgy.

2. Speaking of lever-backs: A newly gifted pair of earrings has a lever back to keep the earring on instead of the regular wing-nut style back. And the lever on them is much too tight against my ear. Can this easily be corrected, by me or a jeweler? Is it the sort of thing you have to pay for to repair? (They were a gift and seem to have come from the Macy’s fine jewelry department.)

   1. A jeweler can definitely adjust them. I’ve been able to just bend lever-backs to fit more comfortably, but if this is a fine piece, have a professional do it. I wouldn’t think it would cost very much.

3. Can anyone recommend a web site for custom engraved jewelry that is cool and modern? I’m looking for something to commemorate an attorney’s 50th year at our government office. She is hip and stylish, and the traditional cheap-o plastic pin just won’t do it here. Someone once posted a link here to a web page that had dog-tag style necklaces with dates engraved on them; so maybe something like that with her start date engraved on it? Ideas?

   1. Maybe Red Envelope?

   2. You could do an alchemy request on Etsy.

   3. Tiffany will engrave all of its silver items for free.
      Red Envelope also engraves a lot of their stuff.
      You could also buy whatever you want engraved — if you have something specific in mind — and just take it to a jeweler. Assuming the space is there, it shouldn’t be a problem to engrave whatever you purchase.

   4. was browsing Kate Spade’s site yesterday and noticed several engraveable items including a number of attractive bracelets.

   5. I had a good experience with this site: http://www.stickyj.com/ They have pendants, dog tags, necklaces, bracelets, frames etc

      1. Forgot to mention they also engrave corporate logos which I think is a nice touch

   6. I’ve gotten nice stuff on etsy, much of it is more “crafty” thank I think you are going for, but I think the dog-tag style necklaces were from there. Don’t know the name of the seller though, sorry!

   7. Try http://www.nelleandlizzy.com. They tend to market to moms – silver jewelry with your kids names, dates, etc. stamped into it, but it sounds like their necklaces are similar to what you’re looking for and you can have anything stamped on them. I have an interlocking ring with my kids’ names and love it – it’s very nice and is wearing very well.

   8. Try the Silver Goose… I have bought from them before and they have a range of gifts that can be personalized.

      1. Sorry – that’s http://www.thesilvergoose.com

4. Can you ladies recommend brands of lipstick (not gloss) that do not dry out one’s lips? Preferably in the $10 or less range, but I could go up to $15.

   1. I recently discovered Revlon’s Just Bitten lip stain and think it’s fabulous. It comes with a lip moisturizer on the opposite end. I hated the thought of wearing lipstick because they would dry out my lips, but I have not had a problem with this one.

      1. btw, I think it was only $8

   2. I have had good experience with clinique. Its about $14 dollars. And, if you wait for their “bonus time” to buy, you get a ton of other useful stuff like mascara, face wash, etc. They tend to have the most useful bonuses and the min. requirement is usually about $21 (you could get 2 lipsticks!)

      I think the one that’s super moisturizing is called ‘high impact.’

      1. I think they are having a bonus right now at a store near me. I may check it out.

      2. I bought it yesterday and I have had it on for 3 hours already today. No dryness and it seems to be staying on fine even though I’m drinking coffee. Thanks for the rec!

   3. I love Burt’s Bees lip balm and they have a few shades of tinted balm that function as lipstick but feel like balm. The only down side is there are very few shades.

      1. I have this – love it. But I am looking for something a bit more full coverage. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

         1. I love Tarte – not sure what the product is called, but it looks like a big crayon. It feels like a yummy gloss, but stays on for a good half a day and has much more coverage.

   4. Have you tried Avon Glazewear? They have some non-glossy liquid lip colors – try the “Intense” versions.
      All the Avon lipsticks are pretty good, actually. I like Smooth Velvet Lip Color too

5. Wear your glasses to interviews & make sure they look grown up, not like Hogwarts
   Use chit chat time to drop mention “grownup” activities–helping rents or inlaws recover from surgery or something similarly responsible. Just make sure it’s in the past tense, ie, won’t take time away from the job.
   And I agree with the comment above that you need to review the rest of your interview schtick. The bit about your old job is new since graduation so you migh want to focus on that.
   With your graduation so recent, your school ought to still let you use career services for mock interviews, etc

6. Jewelery question: Can anyone really tell if you’re wearing fake/costume jewelry v. the real thing? I mean, unless you’re wearing some crazy-sized fake rock that everyone knows you can’t afford…. but if you wear tasteful fakes, is it really that noticeable?

   1. I wear fakes and love them!

      1. Do you have a good recommendation for cubic zirconia studs ? I love the look (even oversized) but don’t really need diamonds, with both the moral and cost implications.

         1. I really like the CZ studs Nordstrom sells under their own name. I like that they come in realistic sizes. I got a pair for my mom last Christmas and they are still in great shape.

   2. It really depends on the piece of jewelry and the person viewing it. I can generally tell if someone is wearing fake jewelry. But, I am someone who really likes fine jewelry, and I regularly window shop for it as a hobby of sorts. That said, I have complimented women on wearing really beautiful pieces of jewelry, even though they were fake, because the jewelry was truly gorgeous. Wear what you like and what makes you feel good.

   3. Like most things in life, it depends. Fake pearls are easy to spot, but a good fake can look nicer than a lower-quality real one. I can’t tell at all with diamonds v. cubic zirconia so long as the metal it’s set in is good quality. I’m not familiar enough with other stones to really have noticed one way or another.

      1. Talking about the metal, doesn’t it seem weird to have diamonds (generally expensive) set in silver which less “precious” metal than Gold or Platinum?
         I have been considering some tiny posts with a small diamond set in silver but I am hesitating

7. Love these, but if they’re diamond and agate, shouldn’t they be priced higher?

   1. The diamonds look very small and are probably not necessarily ‘rated’ or classified. I think that diamonds of a certain size don’t have to be classified and can thus be sold for cheaper, while still being called diamonds. I think this is how places like Sears have diamond jewelry for pretty cheap sometimes- it’s because the component gems are basically tiny, tiny pieces of diamond that are each individually too small to be rated on their own, but the piece as a whole can be sold as “X total carat weight bracelet” or whatnot.

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