With February and Valentine’s day right around the corner, it might be a good idea to start thinking about gifts. One beautiful gift for someone born in February would be a piece of custom jewelry with their birthstone in it. 

The birthstone for February is Amethyst, which is a very pretty purple color, this is based on the month you were born, not your astrological sign.

Facts and Legends about Amethyst

Amethyst is the only gem whose color displays all of the violet hues from the deepest purple to the lightest lavender.

Purple is considered a royal color, therefore it has enjoyed an historical significance as a sign of power.

Top quality Amethysts appear in the British Crown Jewels today, and were also found in the custom jewelry of Egyptian Royalty.

Amethysts were also a favorite for the Christian Church, and were referred to as “the stone of Bishops”.

The origin of the legend of Amethyst comes to us from Greek Mythology. The God of intoxication, Dionysius, was angered by an insult from a human and vowed to get revenge on the next human that crossed his path. He was to have tigers carry out his wish for vengeance. Amethyst was a beautiful maiden on her way to pay tribute to the Goddess Diana when she crossed the path of Dionysius, to save Amethyst the Goddess Diana turned her into a statue of pure crystalline quartz. Dionysius cried tears of wine in regret for what he had done and his tears stained the quartz purple, thus creating the purple gem.

Healing Powers of Amethyst

The healing powers of gems are mentioned for centuries by shamans, medicine men and healers, but still remain a controversial subject.

Amethyst is related to stability, balance, courage, inner strength, a calm disposition, sincerity, and peace. It is thought that anyone who wears Amethyst will be free of sleeplessness, headaches and arthritis. Amethyst is also known to help with circulatory disorders, relief from pain, and to prevent addictions.

Amethyst is traditionally given as a gift on the sixth wedding anniversary, but custom jewelry with an Amethyst is also perfect for a February birthstone gift, or a Valentine’s gift for anyone you love at any time.

Make a lasting impression with personalized or custom jewelry. Personalized jewelry is any style of jewelry such as; rings, bracelets, cufflinks, tie bars, wedding bands, necklaces, earrings, etc., that is customized or created with a personal detail that makes that piece unique.  

These types of personalized jewelry make wonderful gifts that will leave a lasting impression on the recipient. The gift is distinctive from every other piece of jewelry, and shows that you spent time to find the perfect gift for the individual. Nothing is more appreciated than a gift designed specifically for the recipient and no one else.

The personalized or custom jewelry variety runs from fine handcrafted pieces made by an artisan jeweler to personalizing jewelry with customization options such as engravings.

Engraving

The engraving process involves carving or cutting words or letters onto a piece of jewelry to produce a monogram or name. A monogram is a motif or cipher made by either overlapping, or combining two or more letters, normally a person’s initials, onto a piece of jewelry.

The allure of monogrammed jewelry dates back to 350BC.

One of the hardest decisions you will have to make when you are buying someone a personalized piece of jewelry is whether to use their name or their initials. If you decide on initials there is something interesting you may want to know. In a three-letter monogram, it is tradition to place the person’s last initial in the center.

Example – Robert Brian Lewis would be R L B

The first initial of the first name is on the left, the initial of the last name is in the center and the initial of the middle name is on the right.

Of course, you are not limited to initials or the timeless name on an ID bracelet, or even inscriptions on the inside of wedding bands, the options for engraving have grown immensely. Choices for today include having a personal message or special quote engraved on a locket or other pendant, even on wedding bands. Imagine the feeling of having a permanent message engraved on a custom piece of jewelry for the one you love, and knowing that every time they see their personalized piece of jewelry they will think of you.

Welcome to our blog from BC Custom Jewelry, we will spend this time together having fun and teaching things you want to know about jewelry. Sure, we will discuss upcoming fashions for the season and famous jewelry designers, but for right now we would like to get started by introducing you to our Master Artisan, Brian Cundiff.

Brian’s story began when he was a young man, he walked into a jewelry shop to do an errand for his mom and immediately became intrigued. Brian always loved working with his hands but wasn’t sure of what he wanted to do until he saw a Master Jeweler make something beautiful out of what was once just a piece of metal.              

Brian knew from that moment on, that he too wanted to be a Master Jeweler. This did not happen overnight, it took almost two decades for Brian to be called a Master Jeweler but he knows that every moment was worth it. When asked what his favorite part of being a Master Jeweler is, Brian’s response is always the same, “I love to see the smile when the job is done.”

Here you will be able to see pictures of Brian’s original work, photos of what is popular this month and this year. You will learn what the “stars” are wearing, who their Master Jewelers are, and we will try to always add a bit of interesting news in the jewelry world, along with something you can learn. Like below, we have a chart on bracelet sizing.

Sizing guide for bracelets

Newborn            -           4 inches

3 to 6 months        -        4.5 inches

6 to 12 months    -          4.75 inches

18 to 24 months   -         5 inches

2 years                -           5.5 inches

3 years             -              5.75 inches

4-5 years          -              6 inches

6-7 years          -              6.5 inches

8-12 years         -             7 inches

Ladies Small       -           7 inches

Ladies Small/Med     -     7.25 inches

Ladies Medium      -        7.5 inches

Ladies med/large   -        7.75 inches

Ladies Large       -            8 inches

Men’s              -                8.9 inches

We hope you enjoyed our first post, please come back and visit our Master Jeweler and get news and upcoming events from BC Custom Jewelry.