The Art of Making Jewelry Fit

I consider myself an expert when it comes to fitting jewelry. The sheer number of fingers, wrists, necks, ankles, and earlobes I have studied would rival a doctor at this point (probably not, but I like to think so). Every body part is different, and what looks like a perfect fit on one may not suit another for a myriad of reasons. I always observe skin tones, hair color and length, length and size of fingers, and height when selecting the perfect piece to make a woman feel good while wearing it. I have heard women lament over their various body parts, and the list of insecurities always gets my attention. “Oh, I can’t wear that length chain because of the wrinkles in my neck.” “What size is my finger? Oh my god, that’s so big!” and “Why do they make these bracelets so small”? Women tend to be their own biggest critic. We fuss over dress size, bra size, shoe size, and an arbitrary number like a ring or bracelet size.

It does not matter what number my sizing stick shows, your ring needs to fit correctly. Life is cyclical; there are always ups and downs. The most common reason I see ring sizes go up is due to arthritis and knuckle swelling. It is so prevalent we have dubbed Marco Island “Knuckle Island.” 

I have a few solutions to this ubiquitous problem, and getting a ring as close to a perfect fit as possible can be a work in progress. As women, we tend to fluctuate throughout the day, and a ring that fits looser in the morning can be a struggle to remove in the evening or vice versa. This is certainly challenging! Besides warm weather, a salty food diet and medications that can cause swelling, in addition cooler weather or indoor A/C can cause our fingers to contract and swell regularly. We have had customers measure a size seven on Monday, and as little as a few days later, they are a size or two up or down! Throw into the mix the seasonal clients who sometimes live in cooler weather and we have a real conundrum! I rarely struggle in this manner when sizing men’s rings. We have gone so far as to not size rings in the dead of summer or on really unusually cold days because without fail, those clients return when the climate changes with a ring that is too loose or too tight. With current gold and labor prices where they are, sizing a ring every time the seasons change is not a good thing for the ring and not cost efficient. 

This leads me to a very amusing story one of my lady customers shared. She said she was enjoying a nice day at the lake. Her ring was feeling a little loose that day, but she didn’t think anything of it. She brought some seeds to feed the ducks, and when she tossed a handful of birdseed to the flock of ducks, there flew her very expensive diamond ring into the duck pond. She was able to laugh about it, fortunately, and that certainly was a new one for me! She never did get it back.

In the olden days of lower gold prices, when my father dropped a tiny bit of our gold on the floor while doing a sizing job, he wouldn’t bother looking for it. Now with gold breaking new record highs of $3,110/ounce you better believe we are on our hands and knees trying to find that bugger!

The phrase it is worth its weight in gold has never rung more true. (For example… there are 31.1 grams to an ounce of gold that is now at $3,150 an ounce - that’s over $100 per gram) Welcome to our world! Regardless of cost, gold will always be in demand. Sure, people will pivot to silver for some items, and I get that. But nothing feels like real gold, there is nothing else on the planet with the luxurious nature of yellow gold. It’s easy to work with, it polishes up beautifully, and it doesn’t tarnish. It compliments nearly all skin tones and adds a touch of glam to any ensemble. Yellow gold just glows in our never-ending sunshine and sparkles with an unmatchable luster. 

Our ocean-inspired pendants set with natural diamonds in yellow gold are best sellers. I think round pendants give you the most bang for the buck. Sand dollars, compasses, and waves show up best when viewed from afar or in pictures.

As far as statement necklaces or chains well suited for a stack, the paperclip necklace and the station necklace have staying power. The station necklace has little diamonds that add a touch of glam and layer very well. The most common chain length has been 18.” Anything shorter tends to not be very comfortable in our heat and humidity. Men prefer a little bit longer in general 22.” This lays nicely on most men about three or four inches below their neck and showcases their pendant. The most desired link style for men is an anchor link or rope chain. Most men are sporting crosses, anchors, coin jewelry, or even their favorite fish. We have a very nice fishhook inlaid with onyx that looks very masculine and is a bit different. If gold is out of reach due to budget, a nice heavy silver chain is much more affordable. It can still look very nice if kept clean and free of tarnish. 

There are so many beautiful designs, and my father and I are always keeping our eyes peeled for new and exciting designs in gold and silver. Our customers are responding in favor to our unique custom designs, and many one-of-a-kind pieces have found their way to a new home this season. Stop by to peruse our sand dollar collection - we have many to choose from. So many, in fact, ladies find it difficult to decide!