Make Your Mark with Personalized Jewelry: Charm Necklaces
People have always loved to declare their devotion with jewelry. Engraved lockets have been around forever, and people have figured out ways to include initials on rings since Renaissance times. I’ve noticed some interesting personalized jewelry lately, and thought it would be fun to show a few designers (thanks, Lauren, for suggesting this topic!). Any of these would be great to call out someone special in your life, as subtly or obviously as you want!
One of the best known personalized jewelry designers is Heather Moore. She has a collection of discs in silver and every color of gold, hand-stamped with initials, names or anything you want. The whole collection can be highly personalized, there are little dangly jewels you can add, and keep collecting more to make it very much your own. You can see the collection and start building your own set by clicking here.
Heather Moore Customized Necklace, $3250 Retail as shown
My first thought was that her stuff is pretty spendy. For instance, I built a necklace on the site with 2 small engraved 14kt discs plus a few jewels on a fine 14kt 16″ chain, and it was over $1500. But after spending some time on the site and seeing some other designers, I am really loving her style and her company. She’s truly an artist (her bio is here), and I can see that in her designs. It’s important to note that her designs are crafted in recycled precious metals. If this is to commemorate your family, kids, or significant other, those things are forever, and so is her jewelry. I recommend splurging, you won’t regret it! You can also start small and build slowly, which can help.
A note about sterling silver: this can be a less expensive option. But think carefully about this. Sterling tarnishes, so if you are not going to enjoy pulling out the silver polish occasionally to get into the grooved lines of the engraving, or you won’t appreciate the natural patina that happens over the years without the polish, I don’t recommend it. If you’re talking about a sweet gift for your favorite girl friend, and you’ve got a limited budget, then go for it!
If Heather Moore’s style isn’t quite what you’re looking for, there are some other great options. At the online retailer Max and Chloe, you can find several designers. Here is Christie Martin’s 14kt disc engravable with up to 8 characters. Not a bad value for $230, including the 16″ chain:
Christie Martin Charm Necklace, $230 Retail
You could also build a little collection of disks by Zoe Chicco in gold and/or sterling silver. Not quite as customizable as Heather Moore’s selection, but nice. For less than a $1000, you could have some gold and silver charms of various sizes on a 16″ chain. Here’s an example of an oval shape that can be engraved with up to 5 letters:
Zoe Chicco Oval Charm Necklace, $435 Retail with Chain
If money is no object, there are plenty of diamond options as well. Here’s a lovely little monogram in 14kt white gold and diamonds by Kacey K, I like her other cut-out framed options as well:
Kacey K Medium Monogram Personalized Necklace, $2035 retail
I also really like little initials, they could be worn singly or combined with engraved discs for a sentimental little touch. I love this little lower-case font from Ariel Gordon:
Ariel Gordon Initial Personalized Necklace Charm, $300 Retail
On Etsy.com there are a few artists making personalized necklaces. I really had to wade through a lot of listings, but I found this person making initials,and a seller called PeaceofMind is doing some sweet things here. Jeneri Jewelry is doing custom sterling silver and gold-filled stamped disks for reasonable prices:
Jeneri Jewelry Silver Charm Necklace, $43 Retail
Speaking of reasonable prices, I found this designer of simple stamped discs. If you just want something sweet and affordable, I think these are nice, especially the “Edison” font (for $30!!):
Mountain Girl Silver Charm Necklace, $30 Retail
Please comment if you have other designers to recommend!
Hello and welcome! If you are looking for in-depth information about jewelry, you’ve come to the right place! It is my mission to give consumers unbiased jewelry information from an insider perspective.
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March 11th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
Monica,
Love your research.
I have a couple thoughts. There are some charms out there (as you mentioned in your blog) that are nice, but I don’t like the chains. Do you think it would be cost effective to buy a charm from another designer (not Heather Moore) and a chain from a local retailer?
At christmas time I went to Georgia Blu in West Seattle, which is one of the only local retailer’s for Heather Moore, and with a 20% discount for 2 medium dics, and 2 gems it came to $635. Do you think that is a good deal for the value?
Also, here is another website found. I actually ordered the family tree for my mom with all the names of the 4 grandchildren http://lisaleonardonline.com/. She loves it.
Thanks again. This was fun and informational to read.
-Lauren
March 12th, 2009 at 4:07 am
Hi Lauren! Thanks for the notes. I think 20% off of actual, official Heather Moore is a good deal. If that’s what you really want, I would, personally, go for that versus a knock-off that you might not love in a couple of years or won’t last. Jewelry is forever!
I absolutely think that buying a chain separately is a great idea, especially if you don’t like what it comes with, or feel that you’re paying “designer” prices for a basic chain. Locally, the Something Silver stores have reasonable prices and a large selection of sterling silver chains. Pick the exact style and length of chain that you like.
I LOVE the designs from Lisa Leonard, I will probably edit the blog to include something of hers, thanks for the heads up!
Platinumgirl
March 16th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Love how you featured all these jewelery designers just as I’m searching for the perfect charm necklace for my sister’s birthday gift. So many awesome choices! I have one more to add:
http://www.helenficalora.com/pg_AlphaCharms.asp. I have one of her necklaces – she offers beautiful chains and very sweet and simple charms.
June 17th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Great list of ideas across the whole spectrum!
I have a couple favorites to share: http://www.SentimentalSilver.com and http://www.HeartOnYourWrist.com. They’re both a little different; SentimentalSilver has some lovely charms that are more organic than those above (she uses silver clay).
Heart On Your Wrist has really nice quality and is always coming out with adorable new stuff.
June 17th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Thanks, Lisa for the additional recommendations. I like the recycled fine silver options that Sentimental Silver does, and there are some very cute things on Heart on Your Wrist. Thanks for adding!
Monica
October 25th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Thanks for sharing these info.
I hope I can afford to have the Kacey K Medium Monogram Personalized Necklace.
http://www.eveandruby.com.au/ also have some charms available.
December 11th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
I did some shopping for unique necklaces starting with Heather Moore and found a similar idea (but more unique idea) from this person: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Simon.....id=6332234.
The prices were more economical. When I ordered a necklace, I received personalized attention from the Marlene (the seller). Her approach is different…she asked you for significant information in your life, and she creates the pieces in her own way. It makes for a much more unexpected gift! It was WAY more than I ever expected. Her materials were quality…which to a guy, that equates to nice thick metals and non-cheap feeling chain
.
December 11th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Thanks, TexasT for the helpful suggestion! We appreciate new Etsy finds!
May 13th, 2010 at 12:13 am
Hey I like all these that you have found but you should check out BelleTresor.com, its a cute website and you can customize charms with a number of charms mainly beachy ones but ive seen other stuff too..its cute check it out!
August 15th, 2010 at 10:17 am
Monica, I checked out all the designers (including those mentioned in the comments) and they’re all spectacular!!
I also create custom charm necklaces using fine silver (99% pure silver) which virtually eliminates tarnishing. Coming shortly, my line of Bonhomie Charms will include custom stamp charms – if you can imagine it, I can create it!! http://www.bonhomiejewelry.com
Thanks so much for your insights – I love your site!
Kirstie
Bonhomie Jewelry
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