New Price Alert
Men can be stylish too.
If you are looking for the most durable men’s no stone rings, try our TUSK for men collection. This collection is made of our exclusive TK316 stainless steel, which is one of the most durable metals used in jewelry and it’s virtually unscratchable. These are perfect for the man who doesn’t want to damage an expensive platinum piece. A no stone TK316 ring is a budget-friendly alternative that won’t have you worrying about a missing stone. Check out our large selection of men’s no stone rings and help your loved one find the perfect accessory.
Are Swarovski crystals worth it? Are Swarovski crystals real?
As someone in the fashion jewelry industry, you hear this a lot. Are these CZs real Swarovski’s? I don’t want fake diamonds, I want a real Swarovski! For someone in the know, these questions are kind of nonsensical. But if you are asking these questions, it is not your fault! There is definitely a lot of misinformation in the fashion jewelry industry. So today we will figure out what Swarovski crystals really are and what you should know when buying them.
What are Swarovski Crystals?
Crystals, like Swarovski crystals, are also known as lead glass. As the name implies, lead glass is when lead replaces some of the content of a more typical glass you would find in everyday life. Adding lead creates a glass with an increased refractive index. For our purposes, you can describe a material’s refractive index as the ability of the material to bend light as light travels through it. This bending of light, along with the faceted cut faces, is what allows gems to sparkle and gives gems the “fire” that we all look for. It is no surprise that diamonds naturally have an extremely high refractive index. Swarovski crystals are faceted lead glass beads produced by the Swarovski company.
So are you trying to tell me that Swarovski crystals are just cut glass?
Well, they aren’t just any cut glass, but yes. By most definitions, Swarovski crystals, and all crystals used in jewelry, are basically a form of cut glass. But just because it is “only” cut glass doesn’t mean that it’s not special. By the same token, diamonds are just precisely cut minerals. With that said, we can answer one common question. Are Swarovski crystals real? Yes they are real. They are real lead glass. But more likely when a person asks this question, they are actually asking “are Swarovski crystals precious gems?”. In this case the answer is, no, they are not.
Swarovski crystals are non-precious lead glass meaning that the intrinsic value of the material is not very high. They do have a valuable brand name, however, which causes them to have higher prices compared to other crystal suppliers. At one point, Swarovski did have a noticeably higher quality crystal compared to other manufacturers. However, this is no longer the case and there are now many manufacturers of high-quality crystals. It is for this reason that we here at Alamode Fashion Jewelry tend not to use Swarovskis in our products. We still use them in some cases and we will certainly use them if a customer requests them, but in general, they do not look any better than any other crystal on the market.
Are Swarovski Crystals Worth it?
This leads us into our other common question: are Swarovski crystals worth it? The general rule of thumb for jewelry holds. If you think looks nice then it is worth it to you! But maybe you are asking: should I pay more for this ring with a Swarovski than this ring made with a different crystal? I would say the answer is if you value the Swarovski brand name, then yes it is worth it to be able to say it is a Swarovski. If you primarily value just the look of the product, then no since it will most likely look indistinguishable from less expensive crystals.
Swarovski Crystals VS Cubic Zirconias
Another common perception is that Swarovski crystals are “better” than cubic zirconias (CZ). Again, the answer to the question is up to interpretation. I think it could be argued that Swarovski has a better brand name compared to CZ which has a reputation for being cheap and fake. If the argument is that Swarovksi has better name recognition among the general population then yes, I think that you can say that Swarovski crystals are “better”. However if you are talking about objective looks, then I do not think you can say that Swarovski crystals are better than CZs. CZs have a higher refractive index meaning that they will sparkle more and have more “fire” compared to crystals. CZs and crystals can have comparable clarity but CZs are much harder so they will be much less likely to scratch compared to crystals. Often it is this scratched surface that makes stones look dull and “fake”.
Why use Crystals at all?
Now with all these reasons why crystals do not stack up to CZs, does that mean we should not use them at all? No! Crystals still have their place in fashion jewelry. In general, crystals are actually less expensive than CZs which makes them perfect for micro-pave settings. Micro-pave settings will usually use much smaller stones so each individual stone does not need the same level of clarity and detail of a larger stone. By using crystals versus CZs, the material cost of a piece can drop significantly without as significant of a drop in visual quality. Crystals are often also foil backed. This means that there is a reflective metallic foil added to the back of each crystal. Manufacturers add this foil to give the stone more fire at the expense of clarity. But this backing also means that crystals can be glued instead of manually set with prongs or other settings. Again, this is useful for very small stones where individually hand set stones would be too laborious and costly.
Conclusion
Hopefully, we were able to clear up some misconceptions about crystals and some of the stones used in fashion jewelry. It is true that Swarovski has a great brand name but that does not make it automatically better. While crystals might not be the best stone to use if visual quality is the main concern, they still have an important place in fashion jewelry.
Does fake jewelry make you look cheap?
Even though our company Alamode Fashion Jewelry primary sells fashion jewelry (we also carry a vast selection of 925 sterling silver and semi-precious stones — BTW), it may come as a surprise when you hear our answer. Can fashion jewelry make the wearer look cheap? Yes, yes it can. BUT so can flawless diamonds, rubies, and 24k gold. It all depends on how you wear it!
“Cheap” when talking about jewelry can mean inexpensive and economical or it can also mean tacky and tasteless. Both versions of “cheap” can be possible when talking about costume or fashion jewelry so we will tackle each category one at a time.
Cheap (inexpensive)
Well made fashion and costume jewelry will be indistinguishable from jewelry made from genuine precious metals and stones. In fact, cubic zirconias (CZ), the most common diamond simulant, only differs from real diamonds because they often had TOO much fire and sparkle. The industry has since dialed in the fire as to be indistinguishable from diamonds to the naked eye. Generally speaking, the easiest way to quickly spot a cubic zirconia is if it is too large and flawless to be found outside of a safety deposit box. The problem, though, is that cheaply and inexpensively made jewelry is common, especially at high volume fast fashion retailers such as H&M and Zara. Take these earrings from H&M for example.
These earrings look cheap because they are. They were probably stamped out of sheet metal and use a gold colored alloy instead of plating it with 18k gold and probably cost around $0.20 to produce. This type of accessory has its place but know that for probably two or three dollars more, you can buy similar earrings at retail that was cast, instead of stamped, and gold plated instead of using a gold tinted alloy.
Even more obvious than cheap base metals are cheap stones. Again, take these rings from H&M for example.
Even when photographed well, it is apparent that these rings are faceted plastic and only even remotely reflective because of the mirrored foil backing. Alternatively, take a well-made fashion ring such as this:
This ring also costs under $5 each and is made with stainless steel and cubic zirconia which are also not defined as precious materials but there would be no way to conclusively distinguish this from a platinum and diamond ring just by using the naked eye.
The key takeaway is yes, costume and fashion jewelry can look cheap but it can also look indistinguishable from the real thing. There will be a price difference between the costume jewelry you can spot from across the store isle versus ones that require a jeweler’s loupe to determine its authenticity but the price difference is often only a few dollars, not ten or twenty.
Cheap (tacky)
Tacky is usually described as ostentatious and vulgar and usually designated for jewelry that is explicitly designed to be pretentious to attract attention. Take for example this ring with a giant center stone encircled by smaller stones around the whole circumference.
If you were to see someone wearing this on the street, you would most likely assume this is fake and probably in poor taste. In fact, this particular ring is made of real diamonds and likely costs over $200k just in the raw cost of the stones alone. Even if this was made using cubic zirconias, it would likely cost $20 or $30 just to produce and would likely look indistinguishable to the naked eye compared to the original. The takeaway here is that you can use all genuine precious materials and still look tacky!
How to choose the earrings that best complement your face shape
There are many kinds of earrings on the market: long drop earrings, dangle earrings, chandelier earrings and etc. But do you know what kind of earrings is best matched to your face shape? Today we are going to teach you how to choose the earrings that best suits you!
1. Diamond-shaped face: Delicate drops
Your forehead and chin are narrower than the cheekbones. To balance a diamond-shaped face, choose earrings with more width than length, such as delicate drops, to bring out your natural beauty.
2. Round-shaped face: Long drop and dangle earrings
If the width of your forehead, cheekbones, and jaw are about equal, wearing long drop and dangle earrings are a great way to elongate the face.
3. Heart-shaped face: Teardrops
Try teardrop styles or designs that are wider at the bottom to balance a triangular face shape.
4. Long face: Short dangles, pearl earrings
Earrings like short dangles and pearls help to visually complement a longer face by shortening your overall look.
5. Square-shaped face: Chandelier earrings
Chandelier earrings are the perfect choice for you. They can soften the natural angles of the face and accentuate the cheek-bones.
6. Oval-shaped face: Any style of earrings!
Lucky you! You can basically wear any style of earrings. Pearls, teardrops, ovals, all give a soft compliment your face’s natural contours.
Lessons from running a family business three decades in the making
Deciding to start a family business can be a pretty exciting journey. Thinking about a new business idea, about leaving your job to work for yourself, and building something that you can call your own – that’s a neat idea. And from watching on TV, it seems like most family businesses are incredibly successful…right?
As a three-decade-old family run
Here are the top 3 lessons we’ve learned in running a family business:
Lesson 1: Check Your Relationships at the Door
This is the number one lesson in running a family business. If you take one thing from this article, this is the one.
By definition, working in a family business means you’re working with your spouse, significant other or family member. And while those relationships do not change, it’s crucial that everyone in the business understands that in the workplace, you are co-workers working in a business environment first and family members second.
That means no Hi Mom, can you help me finish this project? I’m too tired or giving up your responsibility to Grandma just because you’re her favorite.
A family business is still a business. It’s vital everyone remembers that.
Lesson 2: Communicate, Communicate and Communicate Some More
It’s no secret that communication is key to running any business. But it’s especially important when you’re working with people you know so well.
Why?
Because business decisions sometimes
Rather, build a habit of communicating and asking for their input and thoughts. It’s good teamwork and good business.
Lesson 3: Have Fun
While this lesson can apply to any business, it’s something that often is lost in family businesses.
Because this is a family business, work naturally becomes a part of the discussion topics at home. While a healthy amount of discussion at home is good (who doesn’t work a bit at home?), it’s key to build time that is focused on the family and not the business.
This is easier said than done, of course. However, for our family business, one thing we try to do is to designate one weekend day that is completely work-free. And if you can aim for both weekend days, even better.
Doing this will make the family business less stressful, happier and tends to lead to more success overall.
Key Takeaway –
Starting a family business can be one of the best decisions you and your family make. But it’s not for everybody. It takes a strong commitment to key your relationships separate from business, to communicate and to always remember that at the end of the day, you are still family.
Amazon third-party sellers may be forced to pay California sales tax even if they don’t operate in California
What you need to know and what you can do about it.
In a letter on Friday, March 8, 2019, California State Treasurer Fiona Ma urged California Governor Gavin Newsom to help Amazon third-party sellers against an unjustified sales tax burden by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA).
Background of the issue
Third party sellers that use Amazon’s FBA, or Fulfillment by Amazon, service have been able to reach more customers and have helped many sellers simplify their logistics and inventory management. However, using FBA comes with the cost of losing control over customer information, direct marketing, shipping, and returns. Since Amazon handles all payment, inventory, and logistics, third-party sellers fundamentally do not have control over where the product is stored and how the product is processed. In addition, third-party sellers do not have the ability to calculate or collect sales tax.
Even with all control belonging to Amazon, the
The CDTFA has already sent notices demanding some out of state Amazon Marketplace sellers to comply with CA sales tax and permit laws. Some sellers have even been told to pay back taxes going as far back as 8 years, which have amounted to tens of thousands of dollars or more.
Ma further argues against the practicality of the enforcement by noting that 38% of FBA sellers are located in China, well out of the reach of enforcement. All the while, the American small business owners who are within reach might be forced into bankruptcy if required to pay decade old back taxes.
What you can do to help
The most direct action available is the call the office of Gavin Newsom and urge him to help third-party sellers and to voice your support for Treasurer Fiona Ma. You can also participate in letter writing campaigns such as the campaign organized by the Online Merchant’s Guild. More information on the campaign as well as a template letter can be found at their website here.
Lucky Sparkle!
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in style with our designer-inspired and affordable green jewelry, Claddagh rings, Celtic Crosses, four-leaf clovers, and more! Whatever it is that your customers have planned for St. Patrick’s Day, they will definitely need some modern Celtic jewelry to give their outfit something special. We’re sure you’ll agree that our affordable and stylish jewelry is the right choice – especially for a fun holiday like St. Patrick’s Day.
Starting your Fashion Brand on Amazon: A Step by Step Introduction
Starting an Amazon Fashion Jewelry brand doesn’t have to be difficult!
There’s no getting around it, e-commerce is Amazon. Because of Amazon, a significant amount of retail consumers expect 2-day shipping and free returns. Some customers won’t even purchase anything online without 2-day shipping. If you are an Amazon Prime member, this situation has probably happened to you! Many times, when you are purchasing something off of Amazon, you are actually purchasing from a third-party Amazon Marketplace seller. In this guide, we will go through the high-level steps on getting started with selling on the Amazon marketplace. Then, click through the detail links to get the illustrated how-to for each step.
Key terms in this section:
- Amazon Prime: The Amazon service where customers can receive, among other things, free 2-day shipping.
- Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA): The shipping plan where you send your products to Amazon and they send it to the end customer. This is the most common way to receive Prime shipping
- Merchant Fulfillment/ Fulfillment by Merchant: The shipping plan where the seller sends the product to the customer themselves without using Amazon’s fulfillment infrastructure.
- Seller Fulfillment Prime: The option to fulfill 2-day shipping as the merchant and bypass Amazon’s fulfillment service
- Buy Box: The box on the screen on the product page that has the buy button. Only one merchant can have the Buy Box at one time. Beating out other sellers to get the Buy Box is often called “winning the Buy Box”.
- Purchase an Amazon Professional Selling Plan
There are two types of Amazon selling accounts, an Individual account, and a Professional account. The individual account is free but has an additional cost per unit when selling and has a monthly sales volume limit. The professional account has no limit but costs $39.99 a month. The idea is that individual accounts are targeted for regular people just selling things they have lying around the house, a few times a month. The professional account is geared toward business owners that want to establish a sales channel on Amazon. While it would be great to start with an individual account and then work up to a professional account, unbranded or self-branded jewelry is one of the restricted categories of products that requires a professional account. So in the journey of starting a jewelry brand on Amazon, a professional selling account is required.
2. List your product
While listing on other e-commerce platforms like eBay or Shopify is as straightforward as just adding pictures and descriptions to a page, Amazon has a few more steps. More specifically, Amazon is only expecting only one product page for every unique product. For example, say you’re listing a brand new iPhone X on eBay. You would simply create your own listing with your own descriptions and your own pictures and set your price. In search results, your listing would show up alongside thousands of other similar listings written by thousands of other people. Amazon does not allow these repeat listings. Instead, if you want to sell your iPhone X on the Amazon marketplace, you will find the existing master listing and simply list yourself as an available seller of that item. You will not be able to edit the listing unless you have “page control” and for a popular product like the iPhone X, it will likely be impossible for an individual seller to get that control. In our case, since we are establishing our own brand, we will not be looking to list as an available seller on an existing item but rather we will create a completely new listing with our own branding.
Find out Amazon product listing guide here.
3. Ship your product
There are two main ways products are fulfilled to end consumers: merchant fulfillment or fulfillment by Amazon. Merchant fulfilled is probably what you are used to. In this plan, you physically box up your own item, buy shipping, add labels and send the package via UPS or another shipping company. Fulfillment by Amazon, more commonly referred to as FBA, is a little different. If your product is registered to be fulfilled using FBA, you will first send your product to Amazon and they store it in their warehouse. When the item is purchased, they will package it and send it to the customer without you having to do anything. The catch, of course, is that they will charge you an additional fee for the service. Also, note that FBA is the most common way for the customer to receive Amazon Prime shipping, Amazon’s free 2-day shipping plan. Yes, there are options for Seller Fulfilled Prime but that is a more advanced topic for another date.
While it may seem easier to first dip your toe into the Amazon Marketplace by using merchant fulfillment, there are many considerations that new sellers will have to contemplate when choosing these shipping options. Because you will have no reviews, it will be difficult to get visibility in the search rankings. Even worse, even when your product page shows up, you will not show up in the “Buy Box” on the right-hand side of the main product page. You will instead only be listed as an additional seller, even if you are the only seller! Using FBA can mitigate these problems to a certain extent. We will do a deep dive into this topic in our Amazon fulfillment section.
While this can be a lot of information to absorb, this is just a brief overview of the Amazon selling process. The process can be difficult but you will find it rewarding once you make that first sale and well on your way to building a sustainable fashion brand. If you have any questions, be sure to leave us a comment below and we will try to answer as soon as possible!
Three things to consider before starting your first jewelry brand
It’s great to have a passion and a dream. The only problem is when everyone else has the same passion or dream! If Instagram hashtags are any indicator, jewelry and fashion design are very popular interests and aspirations. And why not? What can be more exciting than not just being able to make a living off of your passion but also thrive and be celebrated for your own designs? While competition is fierce, all is not lost.
Here at Alamode Fashion Jewelry, we have been behind the scenes for over 30 years supplying, designing and manufacturing fashion jewelry for customers ranging from the largest department stores to small mom and pop boutiques. While not nearly as many startups rocket to success as ones that quietly wither away, here are the three initial questions that all successful fashion jewelry startup brands have to answer before they can find their way.
- Are you an influencer or an aggregator?
Do you want people to follow you or do you want to be a follower? While this may seem like an obvious and loaded question, there is no right answer here. In fact, it could be argued that fashion brands that aggregate and can communicate the latest trends are more likely to be financially successful that brands are completely forging new ground. The reason for this difference is simple: a brand that condenses the latest and greatest has a preexisting, built-in audience, while the alternative will have to start from scratch. Of course, an aggregator rarely reaches the heights of notoriety of a unique fashion brand built from the ground up. The good news is you are not locked into one strategy. Many successful small brands have reached success after switching from one strategy to another. The risk is trying to do both and splitting your focus at being the best in your category.
2. Who is your customer?
Your answer to question #1 will help you determine this next question: who is your customer? The most common fallacy is that the bigger the market, the bigger the likelihood of success. In reality, the only thing you will find from a big market is immense competition. Instead, think small. Be the best (and ideally, only) choice that the potential customer will have when looking in your specific niche. Are you an animal lover? Be the brand with the cutest and most luxurious jewelry that matches your puppy’s collar and leash. Into CrossFit? Be the only jewelry that’s safe to wear during an intense training session. The key takeaway here is that the more focused the brand, the less competition and the better the likelihood of success.
3. What is your sales channel?
Another seemingly obvious question: where will you sell your merchandise? Well, it’s the internet of course!
Not so fast, are you going to start your own store? Are you going to build it yourself with Shopify or Squarespace or hire a developer? Are you going to list on an existing marketplace like Amazon or Walmart? There have been many brands that started small on eBay or Esty. Even Nasty Gal famously started as an eBay shop. The problem with these channels is the same as all of the other difficulties listed above: competition. The old mentality of “make a great product and put it out there” no longer works. There is simply too much noise on the internet and you as a small startup will be quickly buried.
Our advice is that while you have to be on the Internet no matter what, think of it as a means to reach your community rather than the other way around. Find your community first. For best results, start small and in the real world. Do people in your church love your tasteful accessories? Offer a coupon code to your congregation. Does your friend run the local farmer’s market? See if you can get a small table to sell your merchandise while promoting your site and brand.
Maybe your community is online. That’s even better! If you’re influential in an online forum or run a popular Instagram account then you’re set. But just remember, your online store should serve your community, not the other way around.
And that’s it! You have a long and fulfilling journey ahead of you. These are just the first few questions that you will have to answer on your path to success and Alamode Fashion Jewelry is always available to supply you beautiful products from our over 10,000 item catalog. We can also model, cast and prototype your existing designs or even just a sketch or image with our DNA Custom Design service. Drop us a line any time at service@alamodeonline.com. We would love to hear from you!