Wearing your jewelry creations

Jewelry Discussion
41 
those who didn't go into a jewellery making career because they
love jewellery - what was your motivation in choosing such a
career?

I didn’t choose it, it chose me. One of those funny little twists of
fate. I could have been just as happy doing something else that used
me in a similar way. I had some training as a machinist, was all
fired up to start my own shop doing prototypes. Didn’t work out. Did
a lot of writing in college, wanted to be an author, didn’t work out.
Built a couple of hotrods, wanted to go pro, definitely didn’t work
out.

So I just landed into jewelry one day. Not romantic. Not a good
story for an artist’s statement I suppose.

Out of monetary necessity I had to keep striving to be better. Long
road, fraught with failures and Orcs. Now, I’ve done it so long I’m
too old to start something new. So I’ll just keep growing my grey
hair. But I do believe my time has finally come. Things are just
popping for me. I may turn into Neil The White.

42

This comment does not count for anyone that sits at a bench and
never sees people. We are in the jewelry business, we make and sell
jewelry. We should all wear some jewelry. Most of the time all I have
on is a right hand signet ring. When I go out I have a really cool
wedding band and I have a cool chain I made when I first started 30
years ago. My wife always wears something when we go out whether it
is mine or another artist from the store (to my artist if you don’t
want her wearing you things let us know) the piece usually sells
after it is seen. Wearing jewelry out is the best advertisement you
can get. If it is not good enough for you to wear, why should someone
else buy it and wear it. Why do you think car dealers let the
salesmen drive new cars, they don’t want a guy selling BMWs driving
a 10 year old honda. Which also brings up another point if you are
not out being seen at special functions and nice restaurants you are
not helping your business. Whether you like to or not it’s good PR.

Bill Wismar

43

Hi Helen,

So I'm wondering, for those who don't particularly like jewellery,
how did you come to making jewellery for a career?

As a guy who makes jewellery, but doesn’t normally wear any (I don’t
count the experimentals in testing) I got into this vocation by shear
dint of not wanting to give up working with metals after a serious
back injury, prior to this injury I was a blacksmith and foundry man.
I have always loved to make things, I built a metal cutting lathe
some years ago (it saddens somewhat me to think how long ago it is
now that I finished that project!), so now that I can’t work “heavy”
metal I work with some of the heaviest metals (just in small
amounts).

The other thing that grabbed me was the shear breadth of possibility
that silver and gold (and platinum group metals) offer to the
creative spark in a metal worker. All them sparkly stones we set have
a part to play too, I had always loved the natural world of gems as
it was anyway, so I suppose in a way that too was a reason to head
down this road.

I won’t say its been easy, I’ve had to find some off beat ways to do
things because of my back, but I will say I won’t do it any
differently if I had to do it all over again!!

Cheers, Thomas.
Janstrom Designs.

44 
So I'm wondering, for those who don't particularly like jewellery,
how did you come to making jewellery for a career?

Like Neil, I didn’t really choose jewelry, jewelry chose me. My Dad
was a goldsmith/silversmith/engraver and I spent my high school
summers (early seventies) working with him in a tent banging silver
wire into jewelry and playing around with hand engraving in the
mountains of New Hampshire, but I really wanted to be a pilot. I went
to college majoring in Aviation Administration and got my private and
commercial ratings and then ran out of money. I joined the Army and
went to Flight School and became a Cavalry Officer and Cobra pilot,
my dream job. After seven years active duty, my next assignment was
to attend the first class of Apache Transition school, then
turn-around Apache Instructor Pilot school and then three or four
years in Germany or Korea. My son was to start kindergarten soon, and
I wanted him to go to one school and not have to change schools every
couple of years, so I left active duty and went into the Reserve. The
military is not a very family friendly career if you value family
life, as I do. I soon found out that commercial aviation (oil rig
service) or flying for the DEA was really no better (two weeks on,
two weeks off), the airlines weren’t really interested in helicopter
pilots and my wife had no interest in moving to Alaska where I could
fly bush, so I went back to work for Dad. One of his goldsmith’s
mother was sick so he left to go back home and be with his family,
leaving a pile of repairs to be done. I sat down and started doing
them and just never stopped.

Since then, I have found that I have a knack for it, and that I
enjoy working the bench far more than I thought I would. Dad retired,
my brother bought his retail store in Florida, and now I own a retail
custom shop in NC. I find it to be the culmination of all of my
life’s experiences. The training the military gave me - attention to
detail, self-discipline (“pain is temporary, defeat is forever”), the
value of a minute (a lot can happen in a minute) and management
experience coupled with the art and engineering electives I took in
college and the priceless education I got from helping my Dad grow
his business from a tent to a thriving retail custom store have all
come together to help me create what truly is my dream job.

To the original topic, the jewelry I wear. I wear a plain 4mm half
round 14K wedding band that my wife gave to me more than thirty years
ago and an original 1967 Omega Speedmaster “Moon Watch” that she gave
me more than twenty years ago (she traded about six months worth of
pearl stringing for it), and that’s it. I also have a small watch
collection, old Bulova’s, Omega’s, etc, but nothing really
spectacular. My Dad made a ring for me as a Flight School graduation
gift that has hand-made miniaturized Army Aviator Wings incorporated
into the top, but I only wear it occasionally. My wife on the other
hand, finds it necessary to “test drive” virtually everything that I
or my son make, and if she had her way, the store would be her own
private giant jewelry box and we would never sell a thing. She does
the bead and pearl work and most definitely wears her creations. My
son has moved well beyond being a mere apprentice and has developed a
style all his own and wears even less jewelry than I do. Our little
Pomeranian, “Teuce”, models pendants and necklaces (good enough for
the Hope Diamond, good enough for me) and is very photogenic - she
loves to wear jewelry and pose for the camera. She was originally our
Chief of Security but a customer that happens to be a pet
psychiatrist told us it was too much pressure for her and was making
her uneasy. She is, after all, only a little dog. I couldn’t live
with that on my conscience, so I promoted her to the Head of the
Jewelry Modeling Department and Official Store Greeter. She likes
that much better.

Dave

45 
Just to clarify, speaking for myself, I wear some of my own work,
but I then keep it as my jewellery and I do not sell those pieces.
Everything I sell as new, is new.

I, on the other hand, have absolutely no problem with wearing my work
and then cleaning it completely and checking it for scratches &
tarnish, then selling it as new. To me, modeling my work is often
part of the process, and knowing that I have not harmed it at all, I
feel perfectly ethical in doing this. If anyone ever asked me if it
had ever been worn, of course I would tell them the truth, and state
that it was restored to new condition. No one has ever asked me.
Actually, I have volunteered the a few times, stating how
much I enjoyed the piece, and no one ever blinked. That’s my story
and I’m sticking to it.

M’lou

46

To Bill,

Thanks for your thoughts on the subject. Personally I feel the same
way, that if I want to sell my jewellery I should wear it myself
too. I usually get positive comments too, or people asking me where I
got it from. I don’t wear it solely for the purpose of advertising
it, but it’s a by-product of wearing it.

To Thomas J,

I’m glad that making jewellery has allowed you to continue working
in metal after your injury. I think making jewellery is a wonderful
mix of art and engineering and I seem to recall someone else said the
same thing the other day. It certainly gives me a lot of pleasure and
it’s interesting to learn others’ views on the subject.

Helen
UK

47

I personally wear my work constantly, in fact it’s gotten to the
point that I can’t really wear other people’s jewelry that I love
because everyone assumes I’ve made it, and it’s embarrasing to
explain that I didn’t. However, I can also understand why people who
don’t wear or even necessarily like jewelry would choose to work in
it. It’s the one art form that by definition interacts physically
with the body. You have to keep the body in mind every moment, and it
opens up so many incredible opportunities to comment on everything
surrounding the body, from cultural norms to aesthetic beauty to
feminist or intellectual critique. Look at Alexander Calder’s work,
the explorations in jewelry figuring out space on the body the same
way his larger sculptures define space and balance in the air. Just
as figure studies have been a staple of drawing and painting forever,
I would submit that jewelry is a staple of sculpture, and should be
accorded respect as such. Probably never happen… but a girl can
dream!

Bekka Ross Russell
R Cubed Designs
http://www.rcubeddesigns.com

48

Wear the jewelry? Absopositively!! I wear earrings, bracelets, rings
every day. I feel undressed without jewelry on, incomplete. I make
it, sell it, think about it, talk about it. Jewelry is my way to
connect with the world and I feel so lucky to have this for my work.
I know it’s harder for guys in this particular century on our planet
to get away with wearing much jewelry but a really interesting ring
or bracelet on a man–how intriguing!

Also, wearing the jewelry uncovers new angles of it – often things I
hadn’t thought of before – the way a piece can be made more casual
or more dressed up or surprising ways that things can be worn
together. Also, problems I hadn’t anticipated like how damn
difficult my clever new clasp is when you’re trying to do it behind
your head –

So yeah, I wear it. Someone’s gotta do it.
Janet

49

i always wear my own designs when i do a show, it never occurred to
me that anyone would want to buy something i was wearing till one man
asked to purchase a lapis pendant i had made, first time i did prongs
on a wire wrap. i told him it wasn’t for sale, but this piece was
very close, i never made the same one twice…but no, he wanted that
one.

i then told him it was part of my personal stuff, he didn’t want to
give his girlfriend used jewelry…yes he did. i finally convinced
him that the other piece was better, not a first attempt, i think he
bought it out of pity…i kept showing him flaws in the first one.

i call it product testing. my husband the cop calls it
embezzlement… and has just realized the rings i truly love are
always made in my size…hmmmmmm

pat moses-caudel

50

Thank for your reply Janet - I like your energy.

The replies to this thread have been very interesting. All the
female jewellers seem to wear their creations - I guess that’s to be
expected as the majority of women like to wear jewellery and if
you’re making it, it stands to reason that you’re going to wear your
wares. Also, I think it’s fair to say that the female jewellers
entered the jewellery trade BECAUSE they love jewellery. The male
jewellers, however, fall into two camps which reflect the
jewellery-wearing and non-jewellery- wearing camps of the general
male population. There seem to be some (a few) male jewellers who
started to make jewellery because they love jewellery and love to
wear jewellery, but for the most part, the male jewellers appear to
have entered the jewellery trade by chance (it found them) or they
chose it in order to practice skills they were good at when in school
and therefore elected to work in that trade. Many will more than
likely have gone through some sort of apprenticeship after school,
and become masters of their craft that way. Most of the male
jewellers - when you see photographs of them - appear to be your
traditional, non-jewellery-wearing, highly skilled tradesmen, which
is probably what all jewellers once were in centuries past but the
industry seems to be moving in lots of exciting and new directions,
with the increasing number of women making jewellery for other women
because they know what they love themselves, the growth of the art
jewellery market (which has probably always been there but not to the
degree it is today), and a number of modern men who love jewellery
and are coming up with some exciting designs both for women and for
their fellow male population. I for one am excited to be entering
this industry when there’s so much exciting work going on.

For all the Americans on the list, please forgive all the instances
of the English spelling of jewellery. The above paragraph is just my
summary of the replies I’ve had to this thread. It may be inaccurate
so I hope I’m not treading on anyone’s toes or opening up any more
cans of worms! :slight_smile:

Helen
UK

51 
just realized the rings i truly love are always made in my size....

LOL! I try very hard to make rings in sizes other than my own. Only
once has a ring I’d made for stock reached out and grabbed me, a gold
and Mexican opal piece that I lusted after for several months. I
finally said, “okay, this one is mine,” and made a (perhaps prettier)
replacement.

Janet Kofoed
http://users.rcn.com/kkofoed

52

I guess I am an odd female jeweler then! I like my work, it
definitely suits my style, and when I think about it I wear it but
most of the time I just forget. It took me 22 years to get my ears
pierced (I was in my second year of jeweler metalsmith training and
told in no uncertain terms by my classmates I couldn’t be a jeweler
who can’t even wear the earrings she makes!). Rings and bracelets
seem to get in the way at the bench but occasionally I go into the
studio in the morning and whip up a quick pair of earrings to match
what I am wearing. Benefit of the job :wink: Jewelery is one of those
things you seem to need to think about wearing, no makeup, no
jewelery, no fuss usually. Hmmm, have to start planning my jewelry
’wardrobe’ better…

That said my mom is always attempting to steal new creations. We
seem to have a jewelry box raiding war going on whenever we visit one
another. As soon as I can ‘steal’ a piece back she’s pilfered another
one!

Rachel

53

Very interesting read.

My take regarding men and jewelry. “It’s a girl thing,” “real men do
not wear jewelry,” “people will think, I’m that way.” All comments I
have heard repeatedly.

For whatever reasons, some men don’t wear jewelry, it is time for a
rethink.

My greatest pleasure is to see Charles Lewton Brain, wearing his
latest creation, right there on his lapel. Not at all discrete
little things, but his latest, be it form folding or his basket like
structures. This is a man confident of himself, and not afraid to
wear jewelry.

Believe me, change the jewelry thinking attitude of many men, and
watch sales soar.

It is probably a cultural thing as well, Native American men are
proud to wear many pieces of jewelry at the same time. Not a
homophobe among them.

Hugs,
Terrie

54 
Rings and bracelets seem to get in the way at the bench

Yes I’m with you there. Whilst I enjoy wearing what I make, if I’m
going to spend the day at the bench, then the only jewellery I wear
is my wedding ring which I never take off. But when I’ve finished
for the day I often put my engagement and eternity ring (not made by
me) back where they belong, next to my wedding ring, and often will
also choose one of my “right hand rings” that I’ve made and put that
on, perhaps together with a matching pendant. If I’m not working at
the bench, but going out for the day instead, I won’t leave the house
without some coordinating jewellery. I can take or leave the makeup
thing but I do like my sparkles! :wink:

Helen
UK

55

I always wear a pin, about 1"-1 1/4"w on the collar of my coat or
jacket. It never comes off unless I switch it for another. I also
where a rather large ring as my wedding ring. It has an 11mm
stainless ball baring and a small .4pt diamond at the top. My wife
wears an identical ring.

I never wear jewelry when I work or teach. It seems to get in the
way and I don’t want to damage it in any case.

I think it’s important to wear your work. I see it as a promotional
opportunity and have sold similar pieces after conversations begun
about what’s on my finger.

A friend who purchased a large ring from me was telling me just the
other day that whenever she wears the ring it invariably begins
conversations. She said that she has to be in an outgoing mood when
she puts the ring on since she knows it will engender a dialogue.

That’s a powerful quality that is specific to jewelry and a really
wonderful thing.

Take care, Andy

56

Hi Terrie,

For whatever reasons, some men don't wear jewelry, it is time for
a rethink.

Early in my jewelry career, I read an article proclaiming this very
thing. “Men’s jewelry is getting ready to make a huge comeback. Get
on the band wagon and watch your sales go crazy!” I then excitedly
created a line of men’s jewelry, convinced I had found the newest
form of sliced bread. I ended up scrapping all but three or four
pieces five years later. I’m still waiting for the men’s jewelry
craze to catch on. There’s an article in the Dec 2007 National
Jeweler (front page no less!) saying that men’s jewelry is about to
go crazy (again). Major designers have jumped on the bandwagon
(again). If you don’t get into it you’re gonna lose out! (again)

Men just seem to be much more finicky about their jewelry than
women. They are also much more likely to wear it out by never taking
it off, when they find something they like. You can see the same
phenomenon in shoes. Most men have four or five pairs to cover all of
their needs, replacing them with exactly the same thing when they
wear out, but most woman have more than twice that number and would
never get exactly the same style twice. (My experience is with
American men and women, this may be different elsewhere in the World,
but I doubt it.)

It is probably a cultural thing as well, Native American men are
proud to wear many pieces of jewelry at the same time. Not a
homophobe among them.

A good percentage of the jewelry I make for men now is for bikers. A
lot of them wear four or five or more rings, most of them size twelve
to sixteen, many are designed with skull themes, and virtually all
reflect their love of the road and their motorcycle in some way. They
want creativity and individuality in their jewelry as much as in
their bikes, but they are very picky about it. They tend to view
their jewelry in much the same way as they would view designing a
tattoo or a custom paint job on their gas tank, with a sense of
permanence and commitment. They intend to be buried with it. They
also want a look-you-dead-in-the-eye assurance that there will be no
mold made. They are among my most difficult, most appreciative and
most loyal clients. I dare you to tell Ace or Andy they’re not real
men. Or better yet! I dare you to tell their “ol’ ladies” they’re not
real men. That would stir up some stuff!

Personalized jewelry is the only thing I’ve found that men
consistently like enough to spend money on. Hand engraved cufflinks
is a category that is doing well with my professional male clients.
Very highly personalized. Hand engraved, one-of-a-kind family crest
rings are also popular.

When a woman (or a man for that matter) is designing a piece of
jewelry for their male partner, I usually recommend that they include
him in the design process or at the very least, really do their
homework to make sure that the design is something that they know for
a fact will be received well. Most women are very pleased with a gift
of jewelry and the thought behind it, even if the design is not
exactly what they would have done for themselves. Men on the other
hand, are not quite so easily pleased, or possibly not quite as adept
at hiding their emotions. I’ve heard more than one guy say “Wow,
Honey! That’s… uh… different! Was that your idea?” They seldom
say anything like that when I get to work with them during the
design phase.

If you are going to make men’s jewelry, and you are not in the
enviable position of being able to sit on lots of metal for a long
time, try your best to talk with the intended recipient. The odds of
you and your client getting a big smile from him will be greatly
increased.

Vive la difference!

Dave

57

Dave,

Thank you, what a valid response.

There is still a stereotype about men wearing jewelry. Bikers, are
more likely to wear their emblems, skulls, etc. There are a couple
of young men in the Jewelry Classes, and Studio at UCSD’s Crafts
Center, they are both exquisite craftspersons, and have made
incredible masculine jewelry, having carved the waxes themselves.

One started with a Monkey’s Skull, and went on from there. his
Chains are heavy, and beautiful. The other carved an incredible
reticulated Snake, a fellow student wears that one. Snakes, Skulls,
all very well designed and executed. Don’t even suggest that their
jewelry is feminine.

As early 20’s, they are men who have no fear of any suggestion of
feminine traits, doubt it would be an issue. They know who they are.
Too many men are fearful of “suggestion” were they to appear in
public wearing jewelry. Pity.

I well understand about “trends,” makes for a good magazine article,
does not easily translate into sales. Too bad. Guess we need a
"normal" man to appear in public adorned.

Hugs,
Terrie

58

I am male and proud to ware some of my jewellery - I always have a
Thor’s Hammer pendant on and some years ago made an abstract fused
silver broach and at about the same time had to go to a function in
my tux and decided that the broach would look good against the black

  • a bit like a flower in the lapel so I have now used it often and
    as a result have had a number of orders from men for similar style
    ones and now hold male and some his and hers orientated stock. I have
    just sold a set of his and hers diamond ear studs - two for her and
    one for him ( thats a 50% bigger sale than usual).

I think that the market for “male” jewellery is an under developed
one not just tie pins, rings and belt buckles. Its possibly a way to
replace some of the falling sales that some have experienced
recently. In some cultures male jewellery is a sign of manhood.
Matching gold or silver lapel jewellery for male wedding guests -
they last longer than a flower? I am happy to wear my (less feminine)
creations especially if it opens up more sales - another way to
market my wares.

Robin Key
Clavis Jewellery
Aberdeen, Scotland

59

Hi David et al,

My experience is with American men and women, this may be different
elsewhere in the World, but I doubt it.

I’m not sure whether it’s different in the UK or not, as a rule.
Looking back over the decades, the whole male grooming thing seems
to have taken different turns along the way. My Granddad’s generation
took a lot of care over their appearance and dressing table sets and
traveling sets of grooming products were popular for men - Macassa
oil for the hair, etc. Then by the time you got to my Dad’s
generation, such things were VERY uncool and considered too feminine
and not to be worn if you were a “real man”. “Real men” didn’t wear
potions and lotions. I think male jewellery probably went hand in
hand with the grooming side of things. However, the modern man (and I
just need to look at my son to see the trends, as he’s a bit of a
sheep) spends as much time as a woman in the bathroom getting ready
to go out, gelling the hair, applying whichever designer fragrance he
feels like, and accessorising his outfit with the finishing touches -
nice belt with designer buckle, smart, fashionable shoes and
jewellery of choice - a silver or stainless steel ring, a chunky
silver chain.

I’m sure it’ll go round in circles forever more too, just as
fashions for women do, as these twists and turns have occurred
throughout history too. But presently in the UK, jewellery for men
seems to be once again fashionable. There is a lot of sterling silver
jewellery and stainless steel available for men, a lot of it chunky
chains and chain/ID bracelets, dog tags to wear on a chain, lots of
rings available, a myriad of cufflinks in all manner of designs and
belts with fashionable buckles seem to be popular too. As far as
durability is concerned, stainless steel is obviously a good choice
but not all of us have the capabilities of working with that, but
then again, it probably doesn’t matter because even if a sterling
piece wears out, something new will probably be in fashion by then
anyway.

Just like the biker jewellery you mention (which I saw a lot of when
I rode motorbikes), there is the body jewellery associated with body
piercing which is popular with some, so even if the general male
population isn’t into jewellery at any one time, there are still
those niches to fall back on. Pat Pruitt and others on the list seem
to be doing well in the male jewellery arena so could possibly
comment on trends for men.

I spoke to my mum the other day and my 74 year old father (newly
nicknamed by mum, the “King of Bling”) apparently hasn’t worn
cufflinks (or any other men’s jewellery) for a few decades but he’s
proudly sporting his new sterling cufflinks I made for him, at church
every Sunday. So there’s hope and a potential market even for the old
“real men” who at one time would never have worn such things -
although of course he probably only wears them because I made them,
and would never think to buy such things.

Male trends (or the lack of) may well vary depending on geography
too, especially in such a huge place as the States, where there are
very definite “personalities” associated with different regions, so
for one store owner in a quiet town, such man-jewellery may never
sell, whilst in somewhere like New York, there will be many outgoing
“individual” males who might buy and wear jewellery made for men.

Crikey! I didn’t mean to waffle on for so long, sorry. Skip onto the
next post if you get bored!

Helen
UK

60

David,

Early in my jewelry career, I read an article proclaiming this
very thing. "Men's jewelry is getting ready to make a huge
comeback. Get on the band wagon and watch your sales go crazy!"

You and I must be the about the same age because I’ve seen the same
stupid thing said repeatedly over the years, including the one about
how men were going to start wearing South Sea pearls as a big
fashion statement too (as if!). Personally I wear two rings (a
wedding band that I change every 5 or so years and a signature ring
of mine), a handmade 24k gold double loop in loop chain that I never
take off (and which, when I’m going out to an event, I will hang a
big South Sea black pearl pendant in 22k from—often gets me out of
wearing a tie), and four earrings (a mask earring, a 22k hoop and two
studs that change regularly), but I know that I am the exception. Are
there some men out there who like jewelry? Sure. Someone has to be a
pirate. Is there ever going to be a big market for it? Not in my
lifetime. The only men’s jewelry I make up for stock are wedding
bands. Other than that, they have to custom order it if they want
it. I don’t even carry tie tacs or cufflinks anymore because it
would, on average, take me about 5 years to sell one piece. There
aren’t enough bikers around my location to try to grab that market so
as I said, if they want it they can order it. On the other hand I do
carry William Henry knives these days and the guys absolutely love
them, and I do fairly well with them. A William Henry knife often
looks like a piece of jewelry (they incorporate Damascus steel,
mokume in all kinds of metals, etc.) so I’m happy to get
that close to getting a piece of jewelry on the guys!

Daniel R. Spirer, G.G.
Daniel R. Spirer Jewelers, LLC
1780 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02140