Heart Jewelry Choices, Heart Jewellery Allure

When it comes to romantic styles of jewelry, there is nothing as timeless as the heart locket. This style is not only romantic, it is also feminine and can come in some very dainty and delicate designs. This makes this particular piece of jewelry a good item to give a young girl as her first real piece of good jewelry. A heart locket necklace is available in several different types of metal so it is easy to select the design you want to purchase. The necklaces created from gold can vary in the weight of the gold used. You may find some items that are 10 karats and others made of 24-karat gold. The difference in weight dictates how much actual gold was used in making the locket.

You will see the weight variations in the silver lockets as well. This also refers to how much silver was used in making the final piece, although the weight increments may be different from those used for gold. This weight will only apply to the locket itself and not to the chain to which it is attached. The chain will often be the same material and weight as the heart locket is, but it can also be different. Most silver hearts are placed on sterling silver chains to create a coordinated and flowing design and a sterling silver heart locket is a favorite too . A silver heart locket can come as a highly polished item with only the silver used as the outer surface or it can have some accent items on it.

Accenting items can be gemstones. You will find several styles of hearts with various birthstones placed as a single accent on the heart’s surface. The gems are usually positioned in the center of the heart and may have etched designs around them such as radiating lines or curved filigree. The etched styles are also available without gems placed in the surface. These can have delicate etchings of flowers, scrolling leaves or even the person’s name. Some designs are reminiscent of Renaissance styles, while others can have a more baroque appearance. Some heart designs will have a mother of pearl inlay on the surface area that creates a very distinctive and elegant style.

The heart lockets available for young girls can also come in a few unique designs. If your child is an animal lover, you could select one of the styles with paw prints on the heart’s surface. A dainty flower etching is also appropriate for this age as is a birthstone setting. These themed styles also make great Mother’s Day gifts and can be found with the word “Mom” engraved in the surface or set in with an alternate type of metal. The two-toned hearts can be made with a silver surface that has gold inlays around the edges or used as a special ornamental design such as a flower in the center.

Both the gold heart locket and silver locket are available with assorted diamond accents. A diamond can be a single stone accent or several stones created as a band across the front of the piece. Several styles have the entire front section covered with tiny diamonds. This style makes a great bridal necklace as well as a nice anniversary gift. The various lockets will come with one or two inner compartments. The basic design has the locket open to reveal two interior sections into which you can place small photos. The two-compartment style will have an additional divider so the locket opens into four segments to hold four separate photos.

You can find all of these magnificent heart jewelry items available at various department and jewelry stores as well as online.  Whichever one you use, make sure that the retailer is happy to offer a refund ir at the very least an exchange (most are) and you will have a new jewelry item to be proud of – whether it is a gift for a loved one or a treasured item that you have bought for yourself.

When you think of “collecting” as a hobby or pastime your first thoughts are often of subjects such as baseball cards, stamps, coins, porcelain figurines or any of the numerous other items that people choose to collect.  One category that doesn’t readily spring to mind though is collecting heart jewelry, especially heart lockets.  Yes, most women have a selection of different jewelry (some have far more than others!) but they would hardly see it as a hobby of actively collecting different pieces.  After all, jewelry is an accessory used to complement the different outfits in a woman’s closet.

People collect things for various reasons – for some it is purely a hobby and because they like the specific subject while for others they hope that they will discover something rare and valuable related to their collection.  Choosing to collect heart lockets can actually fulfill both of these reasons and at the same time provide you with a fashion accessory to wear for any occasion.

The heart locket was popularized during the reign of Queen Victoria and often contained portraits (this was before the age of the photograph) of a departed loved one and/or a lock of their hair.  During the American Civil War many of the soldiers gave these to their betrothed or wives as a keepsake to keep them close in spirit while they were apart physically.  If you truly want an authentic collection of lockets then you may be lucky enough to find some beautiful and valuable examples at yard sales, flea markets or antique shops.   Web auctions are another good place to look for second hand jewelry and you can sometimes find items for a less expensive price than from other sources.

On the other hand you may just decide to collect modern heart jewelry, which is very popular once more and which is suitable for wearing for any event.  There are lots of different designs to choose from so you are not limited in style. For instance, why just have one pair of simple heart stud earrings which you wear every day to work?  Why not have a selection of styles like a pair of gold chandelier heart earrings or diamond heart earrings for that formal ball?  These could be teamed up with a matching heart bracelet, necklace and ring.  One of the great advantages of heart jewelry is that you can mix and match pieces from different suppliers and different styles and yet you still have a result that looks effective and beautiful.

Heart jewelry is available in lots of different metals, such as gold, rose gold, white gold, platinum and sterling silver, and most of these can be set with precious and semi-precious gemstones, so this is why it makes a great collectible genre and at the same time it allows you to make a fashion statement.   A sterling silver heart locket necklace and silver earrings will add the required amount of chic to your outfit, whether you are meeting friends for lunch or a drink after work or going out to a formal dinner engagement.

Another great thing about collecting heart lockets and other pieces of heart jewelry is that you can get friends and loved ones to help you build up your collection.  A heart shaped ring would make an ideal anniversary present and a silver heart bracelet would be great as a gift for your birthday.  If you know a girl who has a charm bracelet, buying her an additional heart charm can be a great addition.  Even if she already has one heart charm, there are many alternatives that can complement what she already owns.

With the value of gold and silver at an all time high, collecting heart jewelry seems like a good investment and, unlike coins or stamps, you don’t have to put it in an album or special display cabinet to enjoy it.  Wearing your heart lockets and other pieces of heart jewelry will give you much more pleasure than just taking them out now and again to look at.

Small Sterling Silver Hand Engraved Heart Locket, 5/8 in. (16mm) Wide and 5/8 in. (16mm) Tall

Have you ever considered buying second hand jewelry, especially to get a more individual piece than those sold in the modern stores?  For a more authentic item of jewelry, such as a sterling silver heart locket either for yourself or as a gift for someone, it is well worth the effort of seeking out retailers who specialize in used jewelry whether in the Mall, Flea Market or on the Internet.  If you can find an outlet that carries Victorian jewelry you are sure to find some beautiful, intricate detailed heart lockets as it was during this era that these became very popular.

Classic jewelry is an exceptional investment and a piece of antique heart design jewelry is a superb gift for that special person in your life. Currently, the value of gold is at an all-time high and this has generated a great deal of interest in vintage and antique gold jewelry as it can certainly provide much better value. The price of used gold jewelry is likely to be up to one third less expensive than a similar piece bought new today. Plus an additional benefit is that the quality of a vintage jewelry piece can often be substantially superior to it’s modern day counterpart. However, the same does not always apply to gemstone jewelry: diamond cutting techniques are now a long way superior from what was available a century in the past.

If the thought of buying or wearing jewelry pieces that were once worn by someone else does not appeal to you but you want something that looks like the original, there are a plethora of merchants on the Web that sell replica jewelry designs at affordable prices.

Silver heart jewelry is experiencing new interest for a variety of reasons. Sterling silver’s natural traits allow it to be made into an incredible assortment of designs from the tiniest sterling silver heart earring to a heavy bracelets and chains and a complex sterling silver charm bracelet. The color and sheen of silver gives it the appearance of ultra-fashionable platinum or white gold at a small fraction of the cost. Sterling silver makes a superb setting for almost any type of gems, making it an ideal choice for reasonably priced heart rings, pendants and earrings with either precious or semi-precious gemstones. A variety of birthstones such as garnet, topaz and amethyst often feature in beautiful silver heart jewelry pieces. With the manufacturing skills that are available today, synthetic and created jewels look so good that once set in silver they can look as though they cost a fortune.

Diamonds are the most prestigious of gemstones and diamond pendants are second only to diamond heart engagement rings in the popularity stakes. The heart design diamond pendant is definitely an extremely “in vogue” design today. In this style, the diamonds are not themselves heart shaped (as this is a particularly difficult and expensive cut) but the gold, silver or platinum heart pendant is set with a few larger sized or numerous small gems. If price is a problem, you could attain an equally impressive look with a silver heart shaped locket embellished with synthetic gemstones or cubic zirconia.

Sterling silver heart jewelry is suitable for every situation as it’s color flatters every outfit, from the little black dress to shorts and T-shirt, with designs that can be subtle and elegant or bold and daring. Lovely pieces of heart jewelry suit everyone and in addition they do not have to have high price tags. Individual, made by hand pieces of sterling silver jewelry with heart shaped symbols can be an inexpensive alternative to precious metal and precious gems. Attractive heart shaped rings or traditional Claddagh rings in silver can be purchased for an often amazingly inexpensive price, particularly if you are happy to purchase pre-owned items. Internet auction sites are a great place to look for fantastic jewelry buys and you can have the heart bracelet, earrings or pendant of your dreams!