Our First Giveaway - Chocolate Gems, Wine & Travel Pouches

We here at Poway Fine Jewelers are very passionate about a lot of things, but we want to discuss a handful of them with you. 

First, we are passionate about jewelry, of course. Second: caring for and protecting jewelry. Third: chocolate. Fourth: wine. Fifth: indulging (in one or all of the above). Why are we sharing this with you, you ask? Because our very first giveaway, which is close to having a winner, is a pretty little basket filled with these delicacies. 

We are so grateful to those who donated these items that we’d like to tell you about these businesses, their generosity, and their creative products. First, we’d like to thank Promise Me Chocolates (http://www.promisemechocolate.com) for their mouth-watering, hand-made, gem-shaped chocolates. It doesn’t get more original than that.  They have chocolate bon-bons! Gem truffles. Solid ring-shaped chocolates. “Promise Me Pendants.” 

This stuff is so pretty you may not want to eat it, but then again, wait till you taste it. Your eye candy will turn into real candy, and what’s better than having both?! These are some of the most unique, delicious treats to buy for a loved one. Need a creative way to propose (a chocolate teaser is sure to result in a big, fat “yes!”)? Need a unique gift for a friend or your significant other? The “Promise Me Pendants” are deliciously-crafted silver or gold hearts hung by colorful strands of licorice imported from Holland. 

We are just so impressed by the intricacies of these products and the sentiment that comes with them – the same that comes with real jewelry. You need to check them out. They can send these chocolates anywhere, at any time, and they specialize not only in already-designed creations, but custom-designs as well! 

 

Our second wonderful basket item donation is from Frieda, owner of Sunny Day Needleworks (https://www.etsy.com /shop/SunnyDayNeedleworks?ref=shopinfo_shophome_leftnav)  – and man can this lady sew. From purses and handbags to aprons and hats, she does it all. 

 

But the one item she creates that really caught our eye was an endless selection of hand-made travel pouches. We are always talking about the importance of protecting your jewelry at home, away from home, and everywhere between – and these little beauties will help do the trick.  

Jewelry should never be stored with other pieces of jewelry. These pouches keep them inches – and seams – apart. And Frieda’s products are filled with small cubbies that can store between 5 and 8 items of jewelry. When cinched together by drawstrings, these beautiful, travel-size pouches are perfect for treating yourself to or for buying a friend. Need a perfect bridesmaid gift? Look no further. 

These two generous business-owners are geniuses at their crafts, and we personally invite you to check out their work online. And don't forget, we have the fine jewelry you'll need to stuff these pouches with and the real-life gems to resemble those you indulged in from Promise Me Chocolate.

Enjoy! 

 

Sincerely,

Your Friends at Poway Fine Jewelers

CREATIVE DESIGN: Bring in YOUR idea...WE can make it happen!!

Poway Fine Jewelers Owner Tim Dooley is a creative genius when it comes to designing and custom-making unique jewelry. His passion is telling stories with jewelry, and he wants to help you tell yours. 

Do you have your grandmother’s heirloom piece that is too old and worn to wear? Or your great aunt’s pendant that is out of style but contains a beautiful gem in the center? Bring it to us. And with it, bring an idea. Tim has the ability to make something you love with all your heart.  Of course, making anything less than exactly what you want and love is not an option. So Tim needs your help.

First, let’s paint a picture. Of what? We don’t know. Anything? Let’s hire an artist and tell him to paint a picture for us. “What would you like me to paint?” he might ask. He gets no input from us.  So what’s the best way to get the painting you want? Have a meeting with the artist so you can tell him what kind of painting you might want to grace your walls with. How big or small is the place for the new painting, how much light is available, what are the colors in the room, furnishings, window treatments, floors, walls, and on and on?  Family portrait, summer cabin? Landscape (what season), waterscape, etc.? The best approach is a checklist that helps make those decisions.  Because you will be looking at it every day.  Your jewelry is no different and deserves the same planning and decisions. 

If you have grandma or great aunt’s piece of jewelry that you want fixed or changed, the best way to approach Tim is to start with an idea. You don’t need to know EXACTLY what you want. But a good starting place is: earrings, pendant, bracelet, ring? Then: style,  single stones, rows of stones or diamonds, add one colored gem to each earring along with some sentimental diamonds? Maybe  birthstones? Tim and staff will guide you, however long it takes, with an invaluable, extensive knowledge-based approach and an intuitive interview style that is hard to match. You will have jewelry you are thrilled with when you’re finished!

Again, Tim strongly believes that jewelry tells stories. Who better to tell it than you? Who better to discuss what visually makes you happy before hiring an artist to paint you a picture? You. Who’s going to live in the house you design? Not your home designer. You. 

It all starts with you. Tim says that the younger generation of people tends to come in with bookmarked websites of all their favorite jewelry pieces, designs, shapes, and styles. The older generation tends to view Tim as their painter or their architect. He is neither. He is a master craftsman, he can make anything, and he loves the process of design, but he is not a mind-reader or knower of all things. He doesn’t know that, when you plop those 12 diamonds and two sapphires on the counter, whether or not you want to keep them in their current form with some subtle improvements and major repairs, or if you’d like to turn them into a set of earrings and a pendant.

 

So please, before coming in with heirlooms or loose stones, or those once-special pieces that no longer contain sentiment, look through magazines and spend some time on Google (click images) and drop or add a word like:  flowing, geometric, partial bezel, pave, channel set, halo, gallery, and on and on…. to figure out at least a general idea of what you want this piece or pieces to look like. When you have looked at a few dozen pieces from commercial stamped out things to award-winning custom pieces, you will be more in-tune and able to know your “personal style” when you see it.  Become your own painter and architect, and Tim and company will take care of the rest.

Meet Pearl, Your New Best Friend - And Learn How to Treat Her Well

Unveiling a pearl is like meeting your new best friend

It’s no secret that diamonds are a girl’s best friend. Dating back to Marilyn Monroe’s iconic, sensuous performance of the song in the early 1950s, nothing has changed. Diamonds are eternal – “forever,” as they say. 

And there’s a reason for that. Their value goes far beyond monetary. Their worth is based on emotion. Women all over the world have dubbed diamonds necessary luxuries.  They are breathtaking with elegant radiance and will forever be linked with romance. 

But most women have hearts big enough to hold more than one best friend, and according to Poway Fine Jewelers owner Tim Dooley, “Pearls are a girl’s second best friend. If you don’t wear them, you don’t know the friendship you’re missing.” 

Pearls are classy, beautiful, and feminine. They symbolize purity, wisdom, and integrity. And once you’re introduced to them, a lifelong friendship will most likely begin. 

“When women are in their early 20s, they think, ‘Oh, mom wears pearls.’ Then they get their first set in their late 20s and think, ‘I might wear those one day.’ And when that day comes, they never go back,” Dooley says. 

And just like every friendship, pearls must be cared for, nourished, and maintained. Here are a few tips to do just that: 

1.)  Keep them clean. Every third of fourth time you wear your set of pearls, clean them.
2.) Don’t be afraid. Most women think that cleaning their pearls will ruin them, but au contraire.  Keep them clean and they will last twice as long. 

      3.) Let your pearls soak in dish soapy water overnight and rinse the next morning in warm water. 

      4.)   Strings are organic. Inevitably, over time, they will stretch and knots will loosen. When this happens, put them in water and set them out to dry. This will tighten everything back up.

      5.) Apply makeup and perfume before putting on your pearls

      6.) Don't store your pearls with other jewelry, because they can be scratched easily when metal or gemstones rub against them. Find a special spot in your jewelry box for the pearls, or keep them in a soft bag made from chamois or another non-abrasive material. 

      7.) Have your pearls checked and restrung once a year. According to Tim, "The degradation of pearls is microscopic. You’ve just got to come see a jeweler to have them checked. That’s all there is to it.”

8    8.)  When pearl strands begin to get that squiggly look while hanging around your neck, take them off and hang them from a doorknob. This will help straighten them back out.

    Ten fun, interesting facts about pearls: 

    

     - Pearls are the only gemstone made by living animals

     - Every pearl is unique. No two are alike, and all have some imperfections

     - Cleopatra won a bet that she could provide Marc Antony with a banquet costing more than the assets of a country. She took off a pearl earring, dissolved it in wine and drank it.

     - Pearls are the official birthstones for the month of June 

     -Pearls vary in color from white to those with a hint of color, often pink, to brown or black

     - Cultured or freshwater pearls are considered to offer the power of love, money, protection, and luck.

     -  The oldest known pearl jewelry fragment was found in the sarcophagus of a Persian princess who died in 520 BC.

     - Greeks believed that pearls were the tears of gods

     - Not all mollusks produce pearls, and real pearls are quite rare in nature

     - Pearls symbolize loyalty, faithfulness, and friendship 

Our Blog Has Launched!!

Welcome! We are so excited to launch our new blog, which will serve as a platform for sharing and educating you, our customers, with fascinating stories, interesting tidbits, tips, ideas, and jewelry-related news. 

Our posts will be as unique as our work. Come here to see how Poway Fine Jewelers owner Tim Dooley masters his craft, and read about the people whose lives have been touched by the one-of-a-kind jewelry he creates. 

Every piece of jewelry tells a story. It’s a reflection of who we are. It makes bold or subtle statements –  our choice. It isn’t just a ring or a necklace or a pendant. It’s an emotion, an heirloom, a memory. A piece of jewelry has the potential to be handed down from generation to generation, leaving timeless stories in its wake. 

The philosophy that a piece of jewelry is so much more than a decorative accessory is not only revealed in our work, it is reflected in our passion and precision and will now be expressed through the written word on this blog. We hope you will follow us on this literary, artistic journey of informing, inspiring, educating, and most of all, encouraging you, our reader, to engage with us. 

We invite you to post, comment, “like,” and share anything you read on this blog that captures your attention – or more importantly, your eye. 

Sincerely,

 Poway Fine Jewelers Owner Tim Dooley