Lovely Materials & A Bit of History
My first piece of jewelry that I treasured and that I can clearly remember was in 7th or 8th grade. It was a green and red plaid band watch with the smallest face that my grandma Lizzie gave to me. I honestly had that watch so long, that one band broke, it stopped working but I remember putting it in boxes as I moved throughout life. College, first apartments. Box after box it was shuffled around until it was lost and never to be found again but I still hold onto its memory.
Jewelry holds a special place in my heart. Not the “I need the latest diamond ring, or the trendiest pieces” kinda place. The place in my heart that reminds me of a loved one, a special place or time, a special gift. Jewelry is special to me and I hope it’s special to you too.
So because I want your jewelry to be cherished for years to come, I’ve thought carefully about the materials that I wanted to use for Blue Rochelle. So lets take a look shall we!
- Porcelain:
First is my love of clay. It wasn’t until I took an afternoon ceramics class with my son that I was hooked on clay. Porcelain is part of the earth. It smells like earth when you open the bag. That earthy smell reminds me of grandpa, his gardens, and beautiful flowers. I absolutely love rolling out this material, feeling like a kid, creating one of a kind wearable works of art. Even if it’s a tiny porcelain disk in the loveliest shade of pinks and blues. Those pinks remind me of rose petals, or the setting sun, the blue the calm waters, the spring time sky. Before porcelain goes into the kiln, it can be reused by adding water and a bit of time! It's a bit magical like that!
- Sterling Silver:
My first sterling silver piece that I can clearly remember purchasing (and that I still own) is a heart shaped sterling silver Tiffany’s ring. Yes, I had to have one of those! So with a little savings, I purchased a pretty little heart ring. Sterling Silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver, and usually copper makes up the rest. I wanted to start incorporating precious metals into my collections and this was the gateway! I would solder jump rings, and then wire rings, and now working my way into more complicated designs! I use recycled silver when I can, using up scraps to create charm necklaces!
- 14 kt vs gold filled vs gold plated
Solid 14 kt gold. Solid gold is made up of gold and other metals melted together to create your jewelry. I use 14kt gold for my Heirloom pieces. I love how this metal glistens in the warm sun rays.
Gold-Filled is when a thick layer of gold is mechanically bonded onto a base metal.
Gold Plated is when a thin layer of gold is simply plated to the base metal. It’s typically dipped into an electroplating solution and with the application of an electric current, it is plated to the metal.
As you can see, gold filled has more actual gold and with proper care will last a very long time.
All of my chains are 14kt gold filled and working on solid14kt gold!
Even our gold luster glaze is 22kt gold hand painted onto porcelain.
I want your pieces to last and be cherished. I want in years from now, you to love that tiny porcelain beaded necklace, that simple but organic shaped band. I hope you love each Blue Rochelle piece, because so much love and thought goes into crafting each one!