Las Vegas Jewelry Show

We will be leaving this week for the world re-knowned Las Vegas Jewelry Show.  I will be in Sin City for eight days - almost too long - with little sleep and too much fun!  But, seriously, it will be much work.  Jewelry Fairs may seem glamorous - but they are not - they are long, tedious days, spent on your feet, working hard and making large financial decisions if buying, and working your tail off if selling. I will be doing both at this  upcoming show - selling beautiful Tahitian and South Sea Pearls and purchasing some pink sapphire and diamonds if the quality and price is right.

The show I will be at is held at Mandalay Bay.  This is the first year it has moved from it's original location at the Venetian on the other end of the Strip.  So we will have a great time checking out the restaurants and fabulous boutiques.  My husband and our three college-age children will be coming with me- so it will be kind of a mini family vacation -minus the fact that mom will be working her tush off!  Evenings will be fun.  I will plan to post any fabulous finds - plus we are working on some new pearl jewelry designs that will be certain to dazzle!

Life is too short not to be SASSY!

The older I get, the more I appreciate other's uniqueness and independence in style and thought.  Why settle for the mundane and ordinary of life?  Be bold - make your own decisions and accept responsibility for them.  Remember - freedom is from within - live with sass and zest!

Lusty Month of May

I love May - it is a beautiful month - where Spring is breaking through from a cold, hard winter.  As a little girl, growing up on a large cattle ranch in the middle of the USA, we would love this time of year.  All of nature is in their full bloom and baby calves would be running wild on the hillside.  I believe this is when I learned to love nature and which lead to loving one of natures most precious beauties- pearls.  Pearls are truly an ocean gift that, after harvesting (only from Eco-friendly farms), they arrive in their beautiful natural form.  We analyse each pearl, pairing them up with other pearls that reflect similar beauty and then create jewelry.  They don't have to be cut or faceted or disrupt Mother earth as gems do, the pearl has it's own innate luster.

For all of you that remember the movie Camelot - you will recognize the "Lusty Month of May" as a lyric from that movie.  Of course, May isn't really "lusty" but this marvelous month does have a certain spirit that gives one a renewed sense of thinking that.. everything is possible...

Hot Pearl Baubles

Have you noticed how pearls are hotter than HOT right now!  You see them from the Paris runways to the most refined political and media darlings.  Pearls have always had a place of value among generations of great beauties.  Although they were worn long before Coca dazzled the fashion world with her layers of pearls, she definitely played a vital role in getting and keeping pearl jewelry at the foremost of fashion. 

These lustrous baubles stand the test of time.  No longer are they only delicate, white, round pearl strands to be worn to church or at a wedding - but the height of fashion.  The color palate of Tahitians alone, can make your head spin...from extremely dark black to greens, blues and silvers.  Then if you really want to dazzle bring out your  South Sea pearls with their golden, white, cream or bronze colors and you truly will make your neighbors jaw drop! 

Buying Pearls from the Farms in Tahiti

Just finished our buying of gorgeous Tahitian pearls for the summer and fall collections!  We bought the entire harvest of some of the most Eco friendly farms in Tahiti.  It is a must for us at Southseapearl.com that our pearls come from producers that are social and environmentally conscious. 

The Tahitian pearls come in a variety of shades of very blue silver, green, bronze, peacock, grey, and various depths of black.  The shapes are from the perfect round pearl up to 17mm to the funky baroque.  After we purchased the pearls, we send them to Japan to be processed (drilled and matched into lots).  The pearls are then sent to us.  We carefully go through each lot (which can be from a dozen to several thousand individual pearls) and select the pearls that make the perfect pair of earrings or comprise the stunning strands.

I can understand why their is a mystic around the black pearl..they have such a beauty and luster that mystifies the wearer and draws in all others that see these rare gifts from our ocean.

Designing Custom Jewelry

I just finished the third watercolor sketch for a diamond ring. I am meeting with my client on Thursday and like to have a starting point with the different designs for discussion.  I have about four to five hours in each design - but they look stunning! It is always interesting when doing a custom design to come up with a unique twist on a classic piece.  As an artist, one strives for a distinct voice, but with jewelry it must be engineered for function, durability and beauty.  Also, I always feel with a diamond ring design, that is worn daily, it has to have a timeless, classic look to it.  With a necklace design, I can dare to go a little more wild!

My advise to all who is doing a custom designed piece, may it be an engagement ring, or redesigning a diamond ring you just inherited from Aunt Bertha, have some ideas what you like, but allow the jeweler to have the liberty to create the vision.  If the jeweler doesn't have their own artistic direction, than find a creative jewelry designer that does!  A good one will balance your style, how the piece functions, show the beauty of the gems, and personalize in a way which allows you to make your own fashion statement!

Fabulous Trends at Jewelry Show

The Tucson Gem Show was fun, energetic and of course a lot of work!  It is posted as the world's Largest Gem Show and it is if you consider all of the various shows going on at the same time it is and I believe it would take an entire month to see it all.  I worked at the GJX (Gem and Jewelry Exchange) show.  Our booth is always quite busy, and this year was no exception.  Exhibitors and buyers are there from around the world.  In the evenings I would have dinner with various clients or colleagues, always an international evening this year included friends from Switzerland, Israel, Hawaii, Philippines, Atlanta, Brazil, Germany and Austria. Jewelry Shows always makes this Midwest girl feel quite Continental!

This year trends seem to be mixed pearl (Tahitian and South Sea) long necklaces, Canary Lava Rock, blue aquamarine, Philippine shells, green beryl, and Peacock Tahitian Pearl in baroque and rounds.  The designers are doing quite a bit of mixing of texture and color in the pieces, which adds depth and interest.  Watch the magazines, what is bought now will be shown this fall or Spring of 2012.

The next big Show is in Hong Kong in March.  My business partners are going, but I am staying home and need to desperately get busy designing jewelry out of my fabulous Tucson finds.  But, I can't whine too much as I did get to go to Hong Kong in June.  It is a great show with a strong focus on pearls. 

Will plan to post some of my designs when completed.  Wow - do I adore jewelry!