Rebecca Zemans Jewelry Blog — Jewelry

We hope everyone has been having an excellent summer!  The studio has been busy working with couples to create special wedding bands all season long, as well as custom tailored anniversary and birthday presents.  Our favorite projects always seem to involve heriloom materials and the transformation which takes place in using something old to create something new. Our most recent heirloom redesign was for a client's wedding band using elements of a ring from her Oma.  Our client works with her hands and needed a durable wedding band that suits her lifestyle, yet wanted to incorporate materials from family heirloom...

Today we will be continuing our metals series with 18K Gold! We recently worked on a couple of really cool 18K gold pieces, so we are excited to give you some more information on this beautiful metal! First of, as you might have already guessed, 18K gold is more valuable than 14K gold because of it high gold content. In order for gold to be considered 18K it needs to contain at least 75% pure gold. Because it has such a high amount of pure gold in it, 18K has a very beautiful and rich color. It is also quite...

Established in 1985, the Illinois Artisans Shop was the first gallery of its kind in the state. It showcases one of the most diverse collections of handcrafted work in the Midwest.  The Illinois Artisans Program focuses national attention on the rich heritage of the fine crafting that exists in Illinois. Juried artists participate in art sprees, craft festivals, exhibitions and other events held at three locations throughout Illinois.   llinois Artisans, Chicago,  James R. Thompson Center, 100 W. Randolph St. Suite 2-200, Chicago, IL 60601. Open Monday - Friday 9AM-5PM by the Clark/Lake EL stop. The Museum Store, Illinois State Museum, Springfield: Museum Events Dickson Mounds...

Hi Everyone! Today we are continuing our metals blog series with a post about fine silver. In case you missed it, in our previous post we discussed sterling silver, which is an alloy of fine silver. Fine silver is 99.9% pure silver, compared to sterling silver which is only 92.5% pure silver. Fine silver is very soft, making it more prone to scratches and dents. On the bright side, its softness is the reason fine silver pieces tend to mend themselves to your body and can be very comfortable to wear. It also does not tarnish, which is great if...

Since recycling is such an important aspect our lives, we wanted to introduce a series in which we highlight the ways that jewelry can be recycled!  Many people have boxes of inherited jewelry that they realize will just never be worn: earrings with missing partners, broken necklaces, or seriously out-dated styles.  But there can be a lot of great material in that box, and with a little love and creativity, can begin a whole new life as something you'll cherish and love to wear!  Rebecca met with a couple at the One Of A Kind Show at the Merchandise Mart this past December...