Bead Jewellery: Dead or Alive?

or Are There Too Many Bead Jewellery Ranges?

Well, eventually it had to be asked. With so many ranges jumping on the "bead jewellery" bandwagon it was only a matter of time! The answer is YES.. and NO! To paraphrase someone else; not all things are created equal. Let me explain:

At Nicholson's Jewellers, when we first started thinking about bead/charm jewellery - about 2 years ago now - we rejected other brands because their name was either ugly (and faintly insulting) or it didn't conjure up a pleasing mental image. Choosing Lovelinks by Aagaard was so easy: the name says it all - you love links.

Why Do YOU Choose Lovelinks?

And what a choice you have, some might say too much! Yes, we can all get a bit confused about how to start, which link to choose, etc. but at Nicholson's Jewellers we think that's half the fun (and if you still want some help, read my blog
http://nicholsons-jewellers.blogspot.com/2009/05/lovelinks-how-do-they-work.html.
The collecting bit appeals to us because we can choose our theme based on favourite colours, animals, places visited. Received as a gift, Lovelinks can have even more significance. For example, the "Well Done" charm for someone who has passed an exam, the cake to celebrate a birthday or wedding, the cocktail glass for a milestone birthday (or as a reminder of a hen weekend?)

Lovelinks are perfectly placed for the economic downturn too. We all love a treat and with Lovelinks from just £5.95 we can treat ourselves as often as our finances allow.

Who do WE Choose Lovelinks?

So, that's Lovelinks from a customer's perspective and just in case any of you are interested here's Lovelinks from Nicholson's Jeweller's perspective:

Lovelinks are produced by Danish jewellery firm, Aagaard, who have a great reputation, not to mention a large share of the Danish jewellery market. Aagaard's silver jewellery ranges have been well known for many years and Lovelinks is its most recent range. So, as a stockist Nicholson's Jewellers were happy to have a relationship with an established manufacturer who has a team of in-house designers and who can handle quality control and marketing so efficiently.

Jewellery for Men

At All About Jewellery we know that sometimes, just sometimes, we have to think about buying jewellery for men. And with Father's Day just around the corner, the time seems right to start thinking. Let's start with cufflinks. All men wear shirts at sometime in their lives, even if it's just for a special occasion. They can be modern, like these caramel or ice-blue coloured acrylic, giving a "dressed up" feel without being too formal. Cufflinks make perfect gifts for all occasions from marking an 18th or 21st birthday to a congratulatory gift for a new or first job. And in silver, a thoughtful gift for a bridegroom or groomsman.

Father's Day

Well, All About Jewellery can't really mean "All About Jewellery for Women" and I guess I have to give some space eventually to Jewellery for Men, especially with Father's Day just around the corner. This led me to investigate how Father's Day came about and, before we talk any more about jewellery for men, I thought it might be interesting to share with you the history of Father's Day. I have to say I found it quite touching.

Father's Day took off in USA when a woman by the name of Sonara Smart Dodd, listening to a Mother's Day sermon at her local church, began to think about her father's dedication to his family. Sonara's father, William Stuart, was a Civil War Veteran who had been a single father for 21 years following his wife's death in childbirth with their sixth child. Whilst listening to the sermon, Sonara began to contemplate the hardships and difficulties her father must have faced, and came to the conclusion that fathers' contributions to family life deserved a similar recognition. She worked to encourage churches in her area to recognise the event and, in 1910, the first Father's Day in Spokane, Washington, USA was celebrated. Progess through to an official holiday was slow. In 1924 the idea was given support by President Coolidge but it was not until some 40 years later in 1966 that Pesident Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed that the 3rd Sunday in June would be known as Father's Day. Another six years followed until, in 1972, President Nixon declared it an official holiday. Wearing a rose on Father's Day is customary in the US, with children wearing a red rose for a father who is still alive and a white rose for one who has died.

Father's Day in the UK seems to have been imported from across the Atlantic and, although it is not an official holiday here, we have taken it up as a special day for Dads. We buy Father's Day cards, but typically of the joking variety as compared with the more loving messages and gifts for Mother's Day. One little boy in the US when asked what was Father's Day replied "Just like Mother's Day; except you don't need to spend as much"; an observation borne out by Bill Cosby with his truism "Being a father means pretending your favourite gift is soap-on-a-rope".

While researching I came across a couple of quotes about Father's Day which, as a daughter made me smile and which I am sure will have a resonance with all of us, both parents and offspring.


• "A father is always making his baby into a little woman. And when she is a woman he turns her back again." -- Enid Bagnold

"A father is a guy who has snapshots in his wallet where his money used to be." -- Unknown

"When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years. " Fathers Day Quote by: Mark Twain, "Old Times on the Mississippi" Atlantic Monthly, 1874