Gold Plating Jewelry – One of Those Frequently Asked Questions As the Dear Abby of Santa Barbara Jewelers, I get asked questions about gold plating jewelry all the time. What exactly is the procedure? Can my jewelry be gold platedGold … Continue reading →

Why is Fire Agate so fascinating? Its earthy iridescence glowing gorgeously and mysteriously is what gets this Santa Barbara custom designer’s inspiration going. Today I’m sharing a couple of projects I’ve done with fire agate. 

We’re Like Magpies and We Like Sparkly Things In common with Jackdaws, Magpies are attracted to shiny objects and are notorious for stealing rings and other jewellery left on windowsills or tables out of doors, which they carry off to their nests! But … Continue reading →

  Ear Lobe Droop, It’s Like an Epidemic! This Santa Barbara Jeweler loves solving jewelry problems and ear lobe droop comes up a lot! Do some of your earrings end up pointing toward the pavement? If so, it’s time to … Continue reading →

Loupes, Loops, and Lupes This Santa Barbara Jeweler thinks one of these is very important. The other two…not so much. I’ll leave it to you to decide which is which. Loupes A loupeA loupeA loupe is a small hand held magnifying device used for looking at gemstones and fine details in jewelry. is a small hand held magnifying … Continue reading →

“A good pair of  earrings does for your face what a nice pair of shoes does for your legs.” Calla Gold Just because you like the designDesigning jewelry starts with a drawing of an idea. Next, a hand-carved or 3D … Continue reading →

Summer’s Coming and Danger May Lurk for Your Favorite Ring As your Santa Barbara Jeweler, who does your jewelry repairs, you know I’ll never give you a hard time for playing rough with your jewelry. I want you to wear … Continue reading →

My Radio Interview on MetalSmith BenchTalk On Thursday, April 28th, 2011, Calla Gold Jewelry was invited to speak with Jay Whaley on MetalSmith BenchTalk on BlogTalkRadio. Jay Whaley and I talked about Calla Gold Jewelry, my custom jewelry designDesigning jewelry … Continue reading →

Let’s Jump Back into the Fascinating World of Your Ring Prong Repair Choices To Re-cap, in Part 4 of this blog series, Ring Disasters, Part 4 Re-Tipping vs. New HeadA headA head is a three to six pronged gemstone setting. Heads are cast separately from the main body of the jewelry. is a three to six pronged gemstone settingA setting is any open element on a piece of jewelry into which a gemstone will be set. Settings include prongs, bezels, channels, or any other method of holding a gem in place.. Heads are … Continue reading →

Let’s Talk Turkey About Fixing Your Ring Disaster In Ring Disasters, Part 1 – “Broken or Pancaked Prongs” your Santa Barbara Jeweler told you how to spot when your ring prongs are heading into the red zone. In this post … Continue reading →