Welcome to the New Year from BC Custom Jewelry!

To welcome January in properly, we are posting a list of January jewelry events that you might be interested in hearing about.

GEM Awards - January 8, 2016

How do you choose jewelry to match your personality? As we head toward kicking off a new year, we're going to share how we select jewelry for our own personalities here at BC Custom jewelry.

One of the first ways to determine jewelry to match your personality is to establish your activity level, or rather what types of activities you participate in, including work. For instance, people who use their hands for work, like painters or even writers, may not be comfortable in rings or bracelets. Necklaces and earrings are probably better suited for you.

Regina George sporting her signature hoop earrings

Once you decide which types of jewelry best fit with your activity level, think about the persona you want to portray to people. Are you more whimsical? Then, bright colors and funky styles will show off your personality best. If you're more demure, then you will find that daintier jewelry will suit you the best.

By figuring out the type of jewelry that reflects your personality, then wearing it on a daily basis, you can present a signature look. People will recognize you by your jewelry, and associate your jewelry style with who you are. You can always change up your signature look if you get bored, too. That's the best part!

What are your wishes for the New Year? Is there any jewelry you would love to add to your collection? What trends do you think will pop up in fashion shows? Do you think that bold statement pieces will stick around? Will the dainty rings and earrings or the assymetrical trends be thrown to the wind?

Here, at BC Custom Jewelry, we love to watch how the jewelry trends change over the years, and how old trends from decades ago reappear. We look forward to seeing what happens in 2016! What the designers feature in the fashion shows, and what gets tossed to the past.

We can't wait for a new year of new trends and plenty of jewelry shows across the country to indulge in! What are your favorite jewelry traditions? Will you be traveling anywhere to see any shows this upcoming year? New York? California? Florida?

We look forward to 2016, when jewelry trends might stay the same or the might change drastically, and we're ready to hand craft the pieces that you request! We look forward to all of your special occasions, the birthdays and weddings and holidays that you celebrate.

A New Year with you! Thanks for your support in 2015!

Today, rather than a regular blog post, we want to just say THANK YOU to our readers, to our customers, and to everyone else, from BC Custom Jewelry.

We are here for all of your jewelry needs, so whether you are looking for something after the Christmas holiday or anytime throughout the year, we can help you create the perfect gift for someone you care about - or even for you! (Who doesn't love jewelry?)

In the meantime, we hope everyone has a relaxing Christmas day, spent with family and friends. We look forward to a New Year in 2016, with new blog posts and new memories that we can all share.

Enjoy your day!

Diamonds have always been known as a "girl's best friend," but let's not forget that they can be just as much a man's best friend as a woman's. And while this may seem like a new trend in fashion and jewelry, if you were to take a trip back through time, you would realize that men have been donning diamonds for centuries, as well.

Here are some quick tips for diamonds for men:

1. Keep it small. It may seem like a man's diamond should be large, but as you see in the picture, smaller diamonds are what looks best on a man. They tend to seem shinier, too, when smaller, than larger gemstones.

2. Pair multiples. Again, the picture demonstrates that pairing several smaller diamonds creates an amazing appeal. Not only do the lined up diamonds seem extra shiny, they also look fabulous together, as opposed to one single stone.

3. Add them to another gemstone. This is something you will see often for men, one large sapphire or emerald surrounded by smaller diamonds. This look not only adds some color to the piece of jewelry, but also showcases the different gemstones amazingly.

See, men can flaunt diamonds just a handsomely as women!

You may not think that there are do's and don'ts of jewelry wearing when you are heading to an interview, but there definitely are some no-no's and some definite must-do's. Here are some quick and easy do's and don'ts for your next job interview.

Do:

• Wear daintier earrings and rings.
• Wear neutral colored jewelry.

Don't:

• Wear bold, bright colored jewelry.
• Wear large earrings and rings.
• Wear huge statement pieces.
• Wear large earrings.

Keep in mind that, while you want to look your pprofessional best, you also want to maintain a more conservative appearance. Your skills and abilities and match to the job that you are interviewing for should stand out far beyond your jewelry.

Remember that large jewelry or bright and bold colors can be distracting, and while they might make you one of the memorable candidates, the last thing you want to be remembered for is the "outrageous jewelry."

The only way this advice might not be fitting is if you are shooting for a job in fashion, but even then, you will want your skills and abilities to stand out in a professional manner, not your jewelry. Not on interview day.

A good rule of thumb is to keep your accessories simple for job interviews.

The other day, we talked about 3 classically traditional jewelry pieces all women should have in their collection. Today, we have three jewelry pieces that are more contemporary must-haves. You'll be glad you bought them, if you haven't already.

1. Dainty  Rings - If you paid any attention to Fashion Week, you would have noticed that most of the jewelry featured was bulky and bold. The one exception to this trend was the rings. Rather than the trend we called "statement rings," dainty rings accompanied the fabulous ensembles.

2. Statement Necklace - Fashion week showed off the bold and bulky statement necklaces. You must have at least one contemporary necklace in your collection! Big, bold, and attention-grabbing, statement necklaces are great for work or a night on the town. Again, once you add a contemporary chunky necklace to your collection, you will be glad you have it.

3. Assymetrical Earrings - The runway isn't the only place people are pulling off the mismatched earrings appeal. This fashion trend is really taking off, and it seems like you can pair just about any type of earring with other earrings. Danglies with a stud, even mismatched colors are in style.

Do you have any of these contemporary picks in your jewelry collection? Which ones are your favorites?

The 2015 holiday season is flaunting bold and bright colored jewelry with lots of sparkle, as well as some chunky pieces. Here are some of our top picks from sites who are talking all about the 2015 holiday bling:

We love the look of this holiday "ice" that Forbes appropriately calls "Oh Come Let Us Adorn You" in ravishing blues:

Forbes

While Vogue tends to be more on the outrageous side of the spectrum, we love this piece:

Vogue

Silpada's necklace in that fabulous ice blue is another amazing piece for this holiday season:

Silpada

We just love the Fawaz Gruosi Sugar collection:

And his earrings from Melody of Colors collection:

And our final favorite for the 2015 holiday season is this earring and bracelet set from the Fawaz Gruosi collection Boule:

What are your favorite picks for the 2015 holiday season?

As the holidays approach, you will notice that jewelry retailers around the world will show off their amazing and fabulous pieces at phenomenal prices. But, the truth is, if you don't have these three classic and timeless (and almost too obvious) jewelry pieces in your collection, nothing else will make it complete.

Diamonds

If you didn't know, you know now. Every woman should have at least one diamond in her jewelry box - or on her body. Enough Said.

Pearls

Whether you were handed down your great grandma's pearl necklace, or you have recently purchased a new pearl bracelet and earring set, pearls will always be classic, timeless statement pieces. Additionally, the possibilities with pearls are totally endless because they are so simple, yet versatile.

Gemstones

While gemstones are not necessarily jewelry pieces, every jewelry collection needs gemstones in it. You can have your birthstone set in a ring or a necklace, or have a mother's ring made with your children's birthstones. But, you don't have to limit yourself to birthstones! Find out which gemstone colors you love, which ones go best with your hair color, eye color, and wardrobe, and then find jewelry that is made of those particular stones.

Many women may not even think about it, but your lipstick and your earrings might be clashing! If you think about it, your lips and the bottom of your ears are lined up almost perfectly, so earrings and lipstick are definitely linked!

Tips to think on:

1) Color Match - Wearing lipstick and earrings that are the same color is a classic style that has been popular for a reason. You don't have to worry about clashing and you will make the color on your lips and ears pop! On the other hand, matching the colors can distract from the rest of your ensemble.

2. Close, But Different - Taylor Swift is notorious for doing this. Lipstick and earrings that are similar in color, but not the exact shade. To pull this off nicely, you have to make sure that whatever you wear looks like you wore it intentionally. If not, you entire look could appear as a complete fail.

3. Opposite Hues - You can also choose to go in the complete opposite direction. For example, coral and turquoise look amazing together, even though they are on the opposite sides of the spectrum. Gold earrings and red lipstick are smashing together, as well.

Try different lipsticks with different earrings to find out how the look together. Just don't forget that when your entire outfit is put together, you want to take a glance at how your earrings and lipstick look.