A Timeless Holiday

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

'Twas the weekend before Christmas, and all through the shop, 
Timeless elves were still working, making jewelry nonstop!
Packed all snugly up, sparkly rings with vintage flair, 

Keith, Allison and Donna - Ready to PARTAY!

All to fly out that night, to our customers with care.
So this season enjoy, love, eat and drink wines, 
Happy Holidays to you, from Timeless Designs!

 The Team here at Timeless Designs wishes everyone Happy Holidays and a very happy and bright New Year!

Team Spirit! - Tiffany, Jessi, Leilani, Jackie & Oscar

We celebrated the holidays right before Christmas with our annual holiday party at Connolly's Pub & Restaurant on 45th Street in New York City. 

  

The Cohens - Who wins the free day off?!

Our fearless leaders, the Cohens, even took a minute to specifically show their appreciation for the team. Over $200 was raffled off in prizes and our superstar production manager, Allison, even won a free day off! It was a time of food, drink, celebration and, of course, fun with the amazing people who work at Timeless Designs. We truly are blessed to have such an awesome and talented team.

Izzy, Enes, Jessi & Melanie - just chillin

So we march forward to 2013 with high hopes and drive to make this our best year ever! Thank you everyone who follows us and likes our  jewelry! We wish you all the best in 2013.

 See you next year! 

Happy Holidays from Timeless Designs!

~ Team Timeless 

Once Upon a Timeless Bride...

Jessi - New York City

There are few things in life that compare to the excitement, effort and overall experience of getting married. There is so much that goes into the big day and it can seem overwhelming at times, especially for the upcoming bride-to-be. So we here at Timeless Designs thought why not ask the experts? And there is no better place to start than with our in-house Timeless Bride and Customer Service Manager, Jessi.

 

Jessi and her husband Enes met at a "Welcome Home" party thrown by her best friend when she moved back to New York City. They were part of the same circle of friends but never actually met, even having both attended a Sweet 16 years back for a close mutual friend. But fate took its time and they finally officially met in the Fall of 2010. They've been inseparable since, which isn't even a joke because they now both work for Timeless Designs!

Jessi's engagement ring is the stunning yet classy R1295. "I love my ring," Jessi says, "because it is just a classic and makes me feel so special to have been given something so beautiful by the man that loves me so much. (awwwww)." Also an avid fan of the British royals, it sure doesn't hurt that her ring resembles the one wore by a certain late but legendary princess.

Jessi also had her Timeless Designs family, serving as a fairy godmother of sorts, that adorned her with other collection pieces to wear down the aisle. Our stunning Br470 wrapped her wrist with timeless flair and the delicate P1373S draped around her neck. She has always loved the classic vintage look but is also a girl for some sparkle. And sparkle she did.

As goes for most brides planning their own wedding, Jessi had her work cut out for her. But the thing she most struggled with was not choosing the style of the bridesmaid dresses or finding a venue that worked with her theme. "My biggest hurdle was feeling the weight of being solely responsible for creating an environment that would make two families, from vastly different cultures, as comfortable as possible while still honoring our own wishes."

 

It was a bit of a challenge for them, as accommodating both sets of the couples' parents sometimes are. And there was some push-back in the beginning about respecting traditions and what their respective families expected. You know the saying: Marry the person, marry the family.

After trying to figure out what would please both families, Jessi and Enes made the collective decision to focus on what inspired them, as this was their day after all, and hope for the best. Jessi summed it up by describing the decision as "a 'hold each other's hands, close our eyes and take the big jump' moment." And thankfully on the day of the wedding, their families came and showed their support, seeing the bigger picture of two people in love wanting to celebrate that happiness with them.

So they decided to make it so "traditional" would not be the word to describe their wedding at all. Their ceremony was short and sweet, only pausing for a single love poem and the vows themselves. Even further resiting tradition, Jessi chose a "Man of Honor" as her right hand and Enes had his "Best Woman" stand next to him on their wedding day. And in lieu of having a giant wedding cake, the couple decided on an array of cupcakes (including a wildly popular popcorn flavored one) to satisfy any of their guests' sweet tooth.

And naturally Team Timeless was there to spice up the party too! Gorgeous open-air views of the New York and New Jersey skyline served as a backdrop while we ate, laughed and danced as the sun set over the Hudson River.

The DJ played everything from 70's jams to the newest hit and the dance floor was alive with energy. All in all, Jessi and Enes chose what they wanted for their wedding and kept their love and desires in the forefront. And it turned out to be the best decision they made for their big day. It was a time of fun, family, friends and, of course, love.

Jessi and Enes were married on August 5th, 2012 at Chelsea Piers in New York City.

The Party Girls of Team Timeless: Ana, Allison, Rachel, Donna & Jackie

The iPad Factor

The APParent Boom in iPad Use for Jewelers

New technologies have revolutionized almost every field of life, and the jewelry industry is no different. Creative innovations combined with ever-improving technology has allowed jewelers to display and sell their gems in new and better ways. One such innovation is the use of tablets and, more specifically, the iPad.

The use of an iPad in a jewelery store setting really has enhanced the entire process of showcasing collections, customizing pieces and allowing the customer to be more involved in the entire process. Many retailers who use the iPad report that just bringing the customer closer physically, by having them interact with a program or app, makes the process much more personal and involved. This not only great for developing the customer relationship but also for efficiently finding what the customer needs.

With the vast amounts of information that can be displayed on the iPad coupled with a stunning high definition display, entire collections of jewelery can be easily browsed with a mere swipe of the finger. Many jewelers store their collections and catalogs of different lines on the iPad for easy accessibility to any customer. Whether they are simply browsing or looking for something specific, the ability to effortlessly show an entire collection on one device allows for more interaction with the customer as well as the ability for the jeweler to determine what the customer is really looking for. This is especially true and helpful with bridal customers.

The newest adaptation in jewelers using the iPad is the development of apps for specific stores and vendors. Even famous high-end vendors such as Tacori and Cartier have jumped onto the app bandwagon.

And of course, we here at Timeless Designs have developed an app of our very own! Our newly-designed app features a stunning display of our collections, on-the-spot retail pricing, and a Google Maps locator to help find nearby jewelers who carry Timeless Designs pieces. You can even create your own unique 3D rendering of a ring in the "Your Couture" section! A number of our vendors have already downloaded and use the app in their stores! Nettles Jewelry in St. Augustine, FL and P. Church Jewelers in Chelmsford, MA are just a couple of examples of jewelers benefiting from having the app on hand for customers to play with.

From the exceptional visual display and browsing convenience to increased interactivity with customers and vast amounts of information at one's fingertips, using the iPad is a fantastic new way to enhance the jewelery buying experience.

The Timeless Designs iPad app is currently available for download from the iTunes store. You can check it out and learn more about it here!

Diamonds Weren't Always Forever

The Evolution of the Engagement Ring

The charming R1333

The practice of giving your betrothed an engagement ring dates back all the way to the days before written history. Early civilizations used a number of different things to symbolize their dedication to their partner, from braids of grass to iron bands to silver and gold wire worn on the third finger of their left hands, believed to be connected directly to the heart by the ancient Egyptians.

SR43942, a diamond is forever

Over time, the style and connotation of the engagement ring changed and still widely varies, especially across different cultures. The first time a diamond was even used for the purpose of a marriage proposal was in 1477 when Archduke Maximilian of Austria proposed to Mary of Burgundy. The ring was set with thin, flat pieces of diamonds modeled in the shape of an "M".

A classic, R1125

In 1886, Tiffany & Co. changed the engagement ring game by introducing their "Tiffany setting", a six-prong ring designed to maximize a diamond’s brilliance by raising it up from the band. As this has become one of the most common designs for an engagement ring, many of them still hold true to that classic style.

A fiery emerald for the R1245E

Actual diamond rings, though, were not as popular as you might think! Up until the 1940s, colored stones were used much more widely than diamonds to adorn a ring's center. Sapphires, rubies and emeralds were among the most commonly used in these engagement rings. In recent years, we've seen a slight comeback in this as these other precious stones are seen more and more as an engagement center stone.

The spellbinding shank of the R1228

However, it was not until 1948 when the legendary De Beers diamond company introduced its famous slogan, “A Diamond Is Forever” , that diamonds quickly became a symbol of everlasting love and took its place as the much sought after engagement ring stone it is today.

A two-tone R768

With the diamond set as the prominent stone to use in engagement rings, it soon became the style of the ring that began to change and evolve. Starting in the early to mid-1900s, fashion and breakthrough metal techniques provided by new mechanical technologies allowed for crafters and designers to make engagement rings to look just about however they wanted. And the evolution of the engagement ring still continues to this day! From twisted bands and engraved shanks to colored accent stones and two-tone metal, the modern engagement ring really has no standard design. Only the imagination of the wearer limits what ring we can create.

Black rhodium completes this R1305PS

Though the engagement ring has indeed evolved much over the centuries, and continues to be ever-changing in its style and composition, the reason why we give and wear them remains the same. It is a declaration of one's undying commitment to another, a timeless and valued symbol of happiness and love.

Retailer Showcase

Diamond Perfections, Showing Sometimes it's OK to Throw Rocks at Girls

One of our CAD specials for Diamond Perfections

Hi everyone! Welcome to another edition of Retailer Showcase! This month we are featuring a long time friend and retailer of Timeless Designs jewelry, Diamond Perfections in Hyannis, Massachusetts! This quaint store is located on coastal Cape Cod, a fitting romantic setting for a store that has sold loads of engagement rings as well as a plethora of other fine jewelery. From diamond rings to pearls and even Rolex watches, Diamond Perfections prides themselves on prime jewelery and upstanding customer service.

The man at the helm of this sparkling ship is Harold Sachs, a veteran jeweler and diamond guru. For over 60 years, Harold has been running Diamond Perfections and has yet to compromise on superior gem quality or client care. And with Diamond Perfections offering custom made pieces in addition to their other collections, like our R1184HS, unique jewelry is not hard to find in their showcases.

Harold's love for fine and unique jewelery has also been coupled with his romantic side. He and his wife Marilyn have been married for just about as long as Diamond Perfections has been around! So for her 78th birthday, he teamed up with us to make a custom pendant especially for her. Together we created the SP44851 which contains 78 diamonds in the outer circle, equivalent to the birthday she was celebrating, and 61 diamonds in the inner heart, one for every year they had been together.

On the morning of the pendant's arrival, Marilyn said he was so excited about giving it to her that he kept anxiously checking for the Fed-Ex truck to see if it had come yet! When it did finally come, she absolutely loved it. We're told that whenever she wears it he can't help but have a huge smile on his face.

Harold and Marilyn, a timeless couple

So if you're ever in the Cape Cod area, be sure to visit Harold and his loyal staff at Diamond Perfections and say that Timeless Designs sent you! Between their expansive selection, unique pristine pieces and overall great service record, it's definitely worthwhile to stop by.

We are honored to work with such a quality store and wish them tons of continued success. Keep up the awesome work guys!

 

Diamond Perfections

422 Main Street 

Hyannis, MA 

508-771-6463

diamondperfectionsinc.com

diamond.perfections@gmail.com

A Vintage Re-Release

Reintroducing Our Best-Selling Sapphire and Diamond Bracelet

 


We have some exciting news here at Timeless Designs! One of our best selling pieces, our Br118, is being re-released after being placed into our vault for over 2 years. Back by popular demand, this bracelet is a pristine example of the jewelry we make at Timeless Designs. Its vintage style and glamorous design are what we strive to make come alive in every piece of our collections.

The Br118 is a handcrafted block bracelet modeled after the classic Art Deco style, staying true to our jewelry's vintage look and feel. Art Deco is an influential visual arts design style that came about during the 1920's in France and was vastly popular through the 30's and 40's. It is an eclectic style that brings together traditional designs and patterns with materials and symbols of the industrial boom in the early 20th century. Art Deco is often characterized by bold geometric shapes, rich colors and lavish decorations.

"Fashion trends come and go, but antique styles like this bracelet are always in style," remarks Jackie Cohen, our Vice President. As a part of our ever-growing collection once again, this bracelet is now available to be ordered through us and select retailers that showcase our collection.

You can also check out the full press release of the Br118 here. 

Timeless Team Spotlight: Leilani

The CAD Fairy

Hey everyone! As you might know, once a month we dedicate one of our blog posts to a devoted teammate here at Timeless Designs. This month we are featuring our newest CAD (Computer-Aided Design) member, Leilani!

Leilani has been working with us since February of this year and brings her own jewelry experience to even further the vision of Team Timeless. As a child, she helped her mother make jewelry and watched her work with pearls and semi-precious stones. Leilani was also exposed early on to wire-work and clay beads, which she uses to now create her own jewelery!

Lovingly given the nickname "the CAD Fairy", Leilani is well on her way to becoming a master CAD designer and, through her sheer love for computer design, tirelessly comes up with new sketches and concepts of jewelry for our clients on a daily basis. She is currently taking classes to enhance her skills with the CAD design program and is quite the protege for our senior CAD designer. Her favorite thing about her work is working with a client to help them achieve their dream ring. To her, that experience is overwhelmingly satisfying and rewarding.

From her countless sketches and ideas, a good number of them are brought to life! One such piece is the SR46713, which Leilani designed herself from start to finish. With two shimmering baguettes mounted in the center, this gold ensemble also features delicately etched engravings and round diamonds that only add to its vintage allure. You can say its thoroughly a Leilani Original!

One of Leilani's CAD masterpieces!

 When Leilani takes a CAD order, she meticulously draws out the design that the client envisioned to her. A computer image of the ring is then rendered using the CAD program and sends the picture to the customer. If the customer loves it, which they almost always do, it goes into our 3D printer and a wax mold of the dream ring is made. From here, we can get started on making the real thing!

Leilani's dream ring, however, is the R1300; a stunning white piece with two rows of brilliant round diamonds and a row of baguettes running down the shank. She simply loves the abundance of sparkle, almost as if fairy dust is powering her after all...

Leilani & little Donovan

Outside of the office, she spends her time with her 3-year-old son Donovan who, she says, makes sure there's never a dull moment between them! Leilani also dabbles in the fashion industry and tries to stay connected with the "scene", many times using fashion as inspiration for her jewelry. Her favorite NYC eatery is John's Deli, to which she exclaims "Brooklyn, baby!" 

We're so lucky to have someone as fun, industrious and creative as Leilani on our team. Let's hear it for the CAD Fairy!

Rules Are Made to Be Broken

5 Traditional Rules O.K. to Break for the Modern Wedding

Change is one of the things that keeps things interesting and moving in life; the evolution of one thing as it progressively becomes better and more unique. Many different things can be applied to this analogy, so why not your wedding too?!

Here are a few traditional rules that many new married couples are doing away with. And we think that they're great alternatives! Nothing is wrong with the traditional wedding, but who doesn't like to break a few rules every now and then?

Rule #1 -  Wearing White 

Coco Chanel's short wedding dress

The history of the white wedding dress dates back to the 1800's, where wearing non-white wedding dresses was not out of the norm. A common color dress to wear was blue and  symbolized fidelity, loyalty and purity. The tradition of wearing "something blue" continues to this day. However, it was not until Queen Victoria wed her cousin Albert of Saxe-Coburg in 1840 wearing an all white dress that the white dress became the new accepted norm for brides wear on their wedding day.

Coco Chanel, an integral part of the evolution of women's fashion, also helped encourage this practice in the 1920's when she introduced the short wedding dress as an option for brides, further reinforcing white as the "proper" color for a wedding dress.


But alas, times have changed and now brides have the option of choosing what colors they want on their big day. Many still choose to go with the traditional white, which is still classic and beautiful, but don't be afraid to step a bit outside the box and pick a color YOU want. Colors can express personality, individuality and can serve as an integral part of the wedding's overall theme and design. You are the centerpiece; go ahead make them look.

Rule #2 - Choosing People in Your Wedding Party of Your Sex

With the influx of switching gender roles in the modern era, it's easy to see how a bride can choose her closest guy friend as her "Man of Honor" or how a groom can choose his best gal pal to be his "Best Woman". And it happens more commonly than you'd think!

There are lots of possibilities for mixed wedding parties

Keeping the same sexes in the bride and groom's respective wedding parties hails from customs dating back to the Middle Ages. Appropriately named the "marriage by capture" era, the groom would literally kidnap the bride from her family to be his betrothed. But he had help! Close friends of the groom, or his groomsmen, would help in the groom's endeavor by fighting off the bride's family as she was carried away by her suitor.

Bridesmaids, on the other hand, were used in weddings that were actually planned. They were the maids and servant girls of the bride. The senior maid, or matron of honor, tended to the bride-to-be in whatever she required and helped her get dressed on the day of the wedding. All the other maids, or bridesmaids, helped set up and decorate for the wedding feast.

Nowadays, the bride and groom usually pick their closest friends or family members to stand with them on the big day. But rather than trying to put your best opposite sex friend in your partner's party, it's very acceptable now to just have them in your own. Many times when there is a male in the bridal party, his tie and boutonniere will match the bridesmaids dresses. Likewise a female in the groom's party would have a dress to blend with the color of suits worn by the groomsmen. It's easy, and actually a lot of fun.

Rule #3 -  Having a Plain White Diamond Engagement Ring

Our SR43438, a sapphire-lover's dream

 Much like having a white dress, having an all-diamond engagement ring is another tradition passed down from the Middle Ages. In medieval times, the groom would often pay the bride's family for her hand in marriage. Most times the exchange would include precious stones as a symbol for his intent to marry the girl. When this exchange was no longer practiced, giving a diamond, the most precious stone of all, continued to symbolize the groom's intention to marry the recipient.

Black rhodium adds that unique flair

With so many stone options out there, though, there are a lot of possibilities for an engagement ring. Even with keeping the diamond as the center stone, you can still add some flashes of color using your favorite gemstones. This trend has actually become quite popular and more styles of engagement rings are being designed to incorporate stones other than just diamonds. 

R1295 - A ring fit for royalty

A great example of this would be our R1305PS, a very different look than the normal engagement ring. Coated in black rhodium with pink sapphires flanking the sides, it has a unique design yet still has the classic diamond center that engagement rings are known for. Even something as small as adding color plating or another colored stone can drastically change the look of any engagement ring.

Add a splash of color!

Emeralds and sapphires are also commonly used as compliments to a diamond ring, and sometimes replace the diamond center entirely! Our R1295 uses an oval sapphire surrounded by a crown of diamonds while the R1373E has four emerald baguettes that burst out from the sides of the center diamond. Other common stones that have been used in modern engagement rings are rubies, topaz and even pearls. When it comes to the ring symbolizing your love and commitment, why not make it exactly what you want?

Rule #4 - Hosting a Rehearsal Dinner

Rehearsal dinners can be a great way for everyone that's integral to the wedding to get acquainted, if they aren't already, but it isn't absolutely necessary to have one. This is especially true if you're trying to keep your wedding within a certain budget.

Back in the day, rehearsal dinners served as a way for the bride and groom's parents to first meet after the engagement. As was customary at the time, the parents of the betrothed couple would be the ones responsible for introducing people to each other at the wedding. So it obviously was a great help that they actually met before the actual wedding.

Other than if both your and your fiancé's parents aren't yet acquainted, the rehearsal dinner serves more for a pre-wedding dinner with those involved or a quick run through of the ceremony before the actual one. It is a great way to treat those that are coming in from out of town or a nice "thank you" for making the effort to come in the case of a destination wedding. However, it is not a requirement at all. If anyone in the wedding really wants to do one, be sure to tell them that they can plan and pay for it while they're at it!

 

Rule #5 -  Use the Traditional Vows

"For better or for worse, til death do us part..." Everyone knows how the traditional wedding vows go, or at least the gist of them. But how did they come to be so cemented in our wedding culture? Turns out they come from the Book of Common Prayer published in 1549. Approved by Henry VIII himself, the priest marrying the couple would lead them in speaking these vows just as still is widely practiced today. The wording of the original vows has changed some over the years. For example, in the original vows the bride had the line "I pledge to obey [my betrothed]". You can imagine how well that went over when the women's civil rights movement began to arise. So the church scrapped that line and added "to love and to cherish" instead. 

The thing about pre-written vows is that you are merely reciting verbatim pretty powerful words and promises and their meanings can sometimes get lost in all the excitement of your wedding day. Not to mention they are usually proclaimed in front of a group of those who you hold closest in life. So why not say words that you actually put together yourself? The bride and groom should keep in mind that just reciting the traditional vows may serve as one less thing you have to put time and effort into for the wedding, but the words you speak are a public declaration of your commitment and love for the other person. And no one can come up with those words better than the two of you. Wedding vows should be able to be spoken comfortably yet with the understanding that each word symbolizes the deep sentiment you have for your partner.

If you do decide to write your own vows, there are things you should keep in mind. Think about your feelings for your partner and your willingness to give to each other. Together, you can research and discuss different styles and options of wedding vows, both traditional and contemporary. If you have a religious leader, talk with him or her for guidance on Biblical references or find your favorite love quotes from literature and poetry if you need some help on the verbiage. Either way, the vows are the most sacred part of a wedding ceremony and writing your own can be add a level of intimacy that cannot compare to mere reciting of lines.  

 

Now go make it your own!

We are fortunate to live in a time when we can make our own rules and have the ability to choose between traditional, modern or a mixture of both! And this certainly holds true in regards to your wedding.Take advantage of this when planning your special day. It's a day to make a lasting loving memory, so go ahead and make it YOURS... make it Timeless.