Ring: a drink

Let me count the ways that this ring is different:
1. Red-orange color of stone.
2. Bubbles around the "bowl" of the stone.
3. Straight sharp edges of the setting

The whole product looks like a bubbly cup of bear, if only the bubbles were not so regular.

Earring: Colored stripy disks

Nothing much to say about this pretty generic nondescript earrings. Kind of old-fashioned and uptight. I like the aqua color best. The other two, I wouldn't bother to wear.

Brooch: beady puff

Anyone wears brooch nowadays? It's so last century.
Read on a book about the popularity of brooch: it peaked when the clothing on women was big.
The 1947 New Look era is one of the peak brooch times, where the skirt puff out in such volume that any small scale jewelry cannot match up to that. It's very logical about matching jewelry with clothing fashion in proportion.

So nowadays, it's more functional and no-nonsense kind of clothing in women's wardrobe. A fancy brooch just lost its footing to the contemporary outfit. And today is about showing off cleavage among other erogenous zones on a female body. A brooch perched quietly on usually the upper left panel of well wrapped clothing is simply too old fashioned.

But for jeweler's exhibition of talent, because of its scale and its easy link to body by a pin, brooch is a good stage for a show of sculptural and complicated jewelry designs, more than ring or earring or even necklace. It's self contained and tells a more coherent story than other jewelry siblings.

This piece reminds me of Christmas wreath. The black-red-silver color combo lends it a little edge. The not-so-intense spikes by the four black cubes jarring the otherwise smooth circle shape of the wreath help enliven the piece. I gave it a B, sellable and wearable (for office ladies) and nothing much to say about.

Earrings: ink splash

A set with the previous star-sprinkled pendant. I am not sure if wearing them together as a set would actually look too busy, because of the the relatively content-rich stones. Alone, this pair of earrings can work great as a resort accessory to light up your days on tropical island.

Pendant: star-sprinkled cosmos

From the same designer. Same concept of using unique stone with a picture to tell a story. This one in particular looks like night sky or a corner in the cosmos.

Ring: picturesque and unique

The landscape agate in mysterious red-orange-black color draws the viewer in, making one believe this is a magic ring, as if you can get into that picture or some deity will float out. Because of this picture, this ring becomes a unique one. When I was selling pearls, that's the main sales pitch: you got a unique pearl. But it's more true for this ring.

Hair piece: Indian goddess

I don't know what's the roots of this piece. But it's commonly seen that Indian women decorated their forehead. So I casually attribute this piece to Indian goddess. It has exotic value, because though hats, pins, hairbands or even tiaras are popular in the US, a piece that dangles on your forehead and surrounds the whole cap of your head is unusual.

I like it, because of this exotic factor and it's good for untamed lousy hairs. It's perfect to create a bohemian look paired with long flared jeans and a casual tank top. In the picture her curly hair works well with it too. I wonder if you can wear this piece with earrings. Maybe too much. You want only one focal point normally for a small area as your face. To wear this piece you need to part your hair in the middle of your head. But that's again boho style. So it really works for that look.

Forehead is a special place on your face. Supposedly that's where you soul breathes and your wisdom gathers. I hate it when people touch my head. For me, head is the most sacred place on a human body. So when it comes to choosing a jewelry that decorate my forehead, I would take extra caution. I don't want my soul to feel chained inside. Hope I can try it one day to see how it feels on the forehead. It would be a plus to use cooling stones to create cool spots on a hot day on your forehead. Maybe some technology can be applied to make calming effects for your emotionally unstable days. That would be cool. A therapeutical jewelry. If anything, a hair piece on your forehead is the closest that you can get to cool your mind and get you back to harmony zone.

Earrings: Hook and Pearl

The way of the pearls setting is unusual. From the front view, the pearl was half hidden behind the diamond studded bar. Normally pearls are in full view from any angle. The side view shows a bent fish hook shape and the full view of pearl nestling in the curve. Fish hook is a popular motif of island jewelry.

I like the concept but hope they could do a finer version of the fish hook. To me, that detail tells 80% of the story of the whole piece. And the lines and shape of the hook is not so well crafted. Another imperfection is the pearl is not seamlessly set along the bend. The gap on one side is bigger than the other. If they can correct that, the piece would look more expensive than now.

Bracelet: Geometric puzzle

I haven't solved any geometry problem for years. But this design prompted me to calculate the area around the circle within the convex quadrilateral. I wonder if the designer got the inspiration from a mechanical part used on some industrial structure or from geometry puzzle book.

It stands out from pearly-beady-glittery bracelets as a loner in one solid piece (without any joints or links) with unforgiving allowance to put your hand through (absolutely no elasticity). The 60 degree or so angles can still hurt someone if poked with a momentum. The wood streaks in its natural color tell you a story from nature, maybe from the diminishing Amazon rainforest.

The mini sculpture is jarring and uncompromising. And on your wrist, it will surely keep making woody clanks to remind you of its existence. It serves a function not so much to beautify as to purify a tired dusted old soul in the city.

Necklace: Morphing twig

What's so amazing about this piece is that it invites the wearer to be part of the design process to create the final look.
By spreading out the leaves in whatever internals set by the wearer or simply clustering them into one end, drastically different necklace styles are created. And one can also twist the ribbon to make a thinner string or a wider one.

Bracelet: Conversing ends

The simple and clean design has several merits:

1. I call it "conversing ends" because it's an open closure and the two ends have just a little bit gap between them as if they are in a deep forever-going-on conversation. I've seen the same kind of closure on more complicated designs, like the two ends in the form of dragon heads. BTW, in this dragon year, a lot of brands come up with dragon motif designs.

2. Asymmetrical placement of stones. Make it into threesome by adding a small dot next to one of the ends and you have two possibilities instantly: you can wear it with the small 3rd dot upside or downside. The otherwise simple piece gets directions and you can make choices how to wear it.

3. The uneven surface of the gold ring. It has a handmade feel (I don't know if it's really made by craftsmen instead of by machines). That irregularity adds subtlety and interest to the piece and make it "not so simple".

4. Stone color choice is on the "conservative" side. The designer may want to make the piece "classical". But please give me an emerald green or black stones. Or maybe like the last earring piece, make it tri-color. I would feel more urged to buy the cute piece.

Earring: triple color stones string up

Same as the previous concept, one is not good enough. Here come "three musketeers".

Yellow-green-olive color combo works fine, mellow and merry. Can fit a lot of earthy tone office wear.

The way the three stones stringed up remind me of a keychain. Wonder if they will produce any clinking sounds.

Someone may carry it further by making a miniature wind bell with a major or minor harmony. When you feel good that day, you wear a major one to reinforce or announce your happy mood. When you feel down that day, you wear a minor one or a major one to cheer up. But it may become annoying since it's right at your ears. I have a pair of earrings that make monotonous metal sound when I move. I wish it could turn into music and keep changing and may accidentally come up with a great melody. Just some thoughts. If someone get inspired and make a piece of wind bell earrings, please let me know. I will be pleased. And please send me a free pair as a token of appreciation and acknowledgement. :-)

Necklace: Beads and Tied-back Ribbon

Two-strand (one in bigger beads and the other in skinnier beads) or multi-strand are commonly seen nowadays, especially for fashion jewelry . I guess because of the "cheap" material used, to add some more "weight" or value and create more visual complexity, pairing up or teaming up is a natural choice of solution.

Ribbon tied-back closure is catching on. We can see that trend on shoe style as well. But it's not "traditional" or practical for say everyday office setting. It adds casualness and femininity. The look goes well with beachwear or weekend fun.

Cuff: Leather + Metal = Warrior

I should give credits to brands or designers. But I tend to keep it anonymous so that this is a commercial free place for the pure pleasure of visual appreciation of what designers of our generation come up with.

The formula: leather + metal = warrior is the association that I made in my mind when I first saw this great piece, very uncommon among the girly realm of jewelry. The shape and color of the cuff reminds me of saddle. The rough texture which can stand on itself as some art piece because you can see mountains and rivers from the lines as in old Chinese painting add to the toughness and wartime feel, as if this pieces survived some ancient war and passed down accidentally to 21st century. 6 buttons on the metal and 4 buttons at the bottom closure give a perfect number 10.

Cuff as a sub-category of bracelet strikes me as a masculine sibling to its sister bracelet. Cuffs are normally chunky, solid, stiff, sculptured and may hit the table or whatever object that comes in collision with a dramatic clank. That alone may stop many consumers from wearing a cuff. When men have tiny decorative and status-conscious cufflinks, women (and men) wear cuffs to make statement about who they are. In this sense, it's much more dramatic than bracelets. This piece in particular spans probably a good 3/4 of your forearm and will certainly make an impression on surrounding people. But this person who wears it better be able to carry it out well with a fierce spirit.

If I can afford it, I would love to own the piece and wear it sometimes in the "urban jungle" to feel myself protected by the energy contained in this warrior piece and transform myself into a sort of warrior. I give it A+.

Bracelet: Beady serpantine

When you have an open closure like the serpentine style (the bracelet spirals around your wrist for several circles and grips there without falling off, because you need to unwind it to take it off), the feel is laid-back as if leaving the window open for some fresh air. Yet because it's serpentine, your wrist is snuggly huddled by the beads around and around, which is a nice thing to feel.

I am not very sure about the color combo of the aqua wire with mostly brown/beige beads. If the designer applied with more blue/white beads, the piece can be Mediterranean.  The blue bead set is more bohemian and the brown wire set is more western (country) style.

Like the previous bracelet, this one uses button as part of the deco, which loses its function as closure. I am not sure if the button adds much to the design. People like different complexity level. Button here ruffles up the otherwise regular beads between wires rhythm and jumps out of the "circle" if you will at little bit.

Bracelet: Multi-strand multi-texture

Multi stranding has been going on for a few years. When you want to draw attention to your delicate wrist, one circling around it is not enough. The same trend is carried over to ring, multiple rings worn at the same time for that 1 inch or so space on your finger.

I like this piece because the material used here is twisted yarn. With different yarn thickness and the density per inch wrapped, one achieve different texture. And of course as a piece of jewelry, we need some glitter on the otherwise matt surface of yarns. So that beading effect converted this fiber piece into a jewelry piece.

I took one semester fiber art and think we should do more with fiber, which gives us such diverse way of expression: color, texture, the warmth and the earthy tone associated with the material.  In some art exhibitions in Los Angeles, I find more artists are using fiber as their media. I see that trend spilling into jewelry making.

One last thing: I like the big button closure, domesticating the piece for the girl next door.

Ring: twin blooms

After seeing so many leaves, it's great to take a break and see some flowers.

I like the tri-shade pinky plumerica and how the two flowers overlap on one of the pedals.

But I don't like the one-size-fit-one device of an elastic ring band. I hate it. Cheap solution of mass manufacturing. But because of lower price points, the flowers can bloom on fingers of more people. So it may be a good thing after all.

Ring: leaf wrap

It's such a big trend now that rings no longer stay modest by sitting across your finger in a thin band. No it expands into top and bottom of your finger and wants to occupy more space, wrap more of your fingers and draw more attention. Leaf is commonly used to provide that space cover because its curvy shape is easy to mold to fit the roundness of the finger. It's a classical wrap by a turn-symmetrical method. (Gee. I am not sure of the terminology, but it's not a mirror symmetrical, but get the repeat by pivoting one point by 180 degree)

Ring: crown or arch?

Wow. Triangle shapes are unusual for rings, but this designer is bold in applying an open triangle to the front, covering larger part of the finger. The finish is little rough, circles plus "S" repeats, one round disk is missing already. The deep purple-black color provides more depth of the otherwise light piece. Good concept. Can be refined.

Necklace: cobble stone

Coming down on the same line of "chunky front" which is a stiff immobile panel of design hanging by strings to the neck, this one turn the front panel into more 3D form with many stone embedded in various sizes. Effect is that the front provides a certain visual complexity to go with simpler outfit.

Necklace: colorful distant flat beads

This look is trendy for a few years now. It's more Banana Republic lady-like tamed piece with just a little allowance of fun by its color and little irregularity of the placement of beads. Overall, it can work around the neck with many outfits.

Necklace: radiant music peddle

I have purchased a similar piece before. Never found the occasion to show it though.

While the piece I got used hair pins as the little individual units strings up together, this piece improved on its raw-ness and second-handness by pressing the pinhead to raindrop shape flat head. In effect, it looks like a sunburst with symmetrical order and little fans waving to the audience. I like this rendering better. And the gold works well here. It's a letter upgrade from the one I bought.

Necklace: chunky front to the back

The immobile metal pieces almost forms a complete circle with only a short section of flexible ropes in the back. It may create fun ethnic looks with its stiffness.

Necklace: chunky front chopped up version

Because it's stoned and in fan shape in 9 small chunks, it provides more movement, more reflection and look more feminine. Less bold and strong. You could say it's more sexy.

Necklace: chunky front thin version

I like the way the metal piece connected to the functional part with 4 leather straps. It's the thinner version of the previous thick ones. Because of its reflecting gold panel, it may make similar bold statement as the previous wider black chunky front necklace.

Necklace: chunky front

This style is really trendy since 2011. Solid crescent shape attached to strings making a bold up front statement.

Necklace: beaded pectoral

Necklace: leaf wreath

Bracelet: triple bangle