Ways to Protect Your Hawaiian Jewelry

With gold prices increasing, your jewelry is becoming more valuable. Below are ways to protect your Hawaiian jewelry.

Jewelry Protection

How safe is your jewelry? Where do you keep it when you're not wearing it? Is it really safe in your home?

Jewelry theft—a crime of opportunity

The majority of jewelry thefts occur when workers, guests, or friends are in your home, and your personal jewelry is visible or accessible for them to steal.

In addition, burglars are known to case neighborhoods looking for:

• uncut lawns,
• newspapers on doorsteps, and
• no cars parked in the driveway.

They look for signs that indicate you aren't there or you have been away for awhile. Some thieves even have the nerve to knock on your door to see if anyone is home.

Security for your jewelry and other valuables in your home is a matter of attitude. Realize that all neighborhoods are vulnerable to burglaries. Your home could be a target if a thief feels you have valuables worth stealing and there's easy access to your valuables. While having insurance for jewelry won't prevent jewelry theft, it certainly will make dealing with that lost engagement ring easier after the fact.

Burglary—often a daytime crime

Surprisingly, most burglaries occur during the day, not at night. Burglaries also are more frequent when doors and windows are unlocked, whether or not people are at home.

Think about this: How easy would it be for a burglar to slip into your home unnoticed and steal your valuables if you were occupied in another part of the house, outside in the garden, or mowing the lawn? It could only take a minute for jewelry theft to occur. Fortunately, it's easy to protect your jewelry with jewelry insurance.

Protect your jewelry by following these tips:

Protecting jewelry at home:

• Jewelry boxes and dresser drawers, as well as almost any other spot in bedrooms, are often the first places a thief will look for your valuables. Consider storing infrequently worn jewelry in a bank safe-deposit box. Choose a hiding place that is inconspicuous, yet convenient for you.
• Install good locks on your doors and windows and establish family procedures for locking them. When practical, keep your doors locked at all times, and always when you leave.
• If you have children who need quick entry, consider having them use a back door or a door that is routinely monitored.
• Make your house look lived in. Keep the lawn groomed and pick up your mail and newspapers daily.
• Find a secure spot for optimal jewelry protection, such as an immobile home safe or a safe-deposit box. If you don't have these, choose a secure hiding place in your home.
• Please call Jewelers Mutual Insurance toll-free at 888-884-2424 for great hiding places and other tips for protecting jewelry.

General tips for protecting your jewelry:

Jewelry damage is very common but, fortunately, protecting jewelry is easy with proper attention and care.

• If you bump or catch your jewelry, inspect it immediately for missing stones or damaged prongs. If you do have damaged jewelry, keep it in a safe place until you can take it to a jeweler for inspection and repair.
• Gloves commonly catch prongs on rings; take extra care when removing them so you don't damage or lose your engagement ring or other favorite piece.
• Never put jewelry in your pockets. Even pockets with zippers can be susceptible to opening.
• Prevent damaged jewelry by removing it before gardening, playing sports, swimming, or performing difficult chores around your home. Place it in a safe location.
• Don't set jewelry items on an open surface such as a sink, counter, or public area. They can be forgotten, lost, or even stolen.

Regular inspections are key to protecting jewelry

Have your jeweler inspect your jewelry on a regular basis. This is especially true for items you wear frequently. Small problems—like loose stones, worn or damaged prongs, and faulty clasps—often can be detected and repaired before they become bigger problems, like a lost diamond.

Since jewelry values periodically change, these inspections also allow your jeweler the opportunity to make sure your jewelry is properly valued for replacement purposes.

Don't forget jewelry insurance!

Finally, jewelry insurance can provide peace of mind and make it easy to replace a cherished piece if you experience jewelry damage or jewelry theft. Jewelers Mutual Insurance makes it easy to begin protecting jewelry with a policy and makes it hassle free if you ever need to file a jewelry insurance claim

Mahalo and aloha from Hawaii,

Colette, Designs 'N Gold of Hawaii

Hawaiian Jewelry Manufacturer Introduces Its New Hawaiian Quilt Design Jewelry Line

Hawaiian jewelry manufacturer and online retailer, Designs N Gold, introduced today their new Hawaiian quilt jewelry line using Hawaiian quilt designs created by Hawaiian women in the 1800's. These new Hawaiian quilt jewelry designs are available in sterling silver and gold. The line includes bracelets, rings and pendants.

For Generations the women of Hawaii hand quilted patterns made of tropical plants and island flowers, arranged into a pattern which is usually quilted on fabric. Before the first contact with the white man (haole), the Hawaiians were making a type of Quilt called a Kapa, which was made of fabric pounded from the bark of the Wauke (paper bark or mulberry) tree. While having one of their "sewing bees" in the shade of the Breadfruit tree, the shadow cast by the tree inspired the Hawaiians to create the first "Hawaiian Quilt" by cutting out the design seen in the shadow, from one large piece of fabric. The Hawaiians blended the traditions of their past with these new lessons to develop the unique style of cutting the design from a single piece of fabric. The pattern was then appliqued onto another fabric to create the quilt top. The quilting was stitched "echo style" following the contour of the design throughout the quilt, like ripples on the water which surrounded the islands. The Hawaiians found inspiration for their designs in the beautiful garden islands where they lived.

"We are very honored and proud to be able to capture this wonderful Hawaiian tradition and these beautiful Hawaiian quilt designs in pieces of jewelry that people can be proud to wear" commented Colette Aoki, jewelry designer and owner of Designs 'N Gold.

These new Hawaiian quilt jewelry designs are available at http://www.designsngold.com/hawaiianquilt.htm

About Designs N Gold - The owner of Designs N Gold, Colette Aoki, has been in the jewelry business in Hawaii since 1976. Over that period she has designed jewelry for thousands of clients in Hawaii as well as worldwide. In 1985 she acquired the jewelry manufacturer, Designs N Gold, which gave her the ability to control the entire jewelry making process from design to finished product. Designs N Gold's expert jewelers and engravers create each piece of Hawaiian jewelry including pendants, earrings, bracelets, and wedding rings. Contact 98-1277 Kaahumanu Street, Suite: 106-339 Aiea,Hawaii 96701 Tel Local: 808-484-2699 Tel Outer Island & Mainland: 800-343-5846 Web: http://www.designsngold.com Email: caoki@designsngold.com

NEW Hawaiian jewelry gallery video by Designs 'N Gold of Hawaii!!

Hawaiian Jewelry Manufacturer Launches Its New Hawaiian Petroglyph Jewelry Line

Hawaiian jewelry manufacturer, Designs N Gold, announced today that the company is launching its new Ohana Collection, Hawaiian petroglyph art depicting the family, preserved in gold and silver jewelry. The collection includes pendants, earrings and rings and is being launched in time for the Mother's Day season.

A petroglyph is a stone carving (petro means “stone” and glyph means “carving”). The ancient Hawaiians referred to petroglyphs as ki‘i pōhaku (ki‘i means “image,” and pōhaku means “stone”). Today petroglyphs are virtually the only prehistoric art of the Hawaiian Islands not in museums, private collections, or hidden away in caves. There are circles by the hundreds, and circles within circles. There are figures of humans, animals, sailing canoes, fishhooks, and countless cryptic markings carved into island rocks. These are the petroglyphs of the Hawaiians. Ancient societies all over the world have left carvings on rocks. Worldwide, the oldest known petroglyphs are in European caves and are thought to be more than 10,000 years old. Petroglyph sites in the Hawaiian Islands continue to provide clues to the Islands’ ancient past.

"The Ohana Collection uses the Hawaiian petroglyph depicting the family unit of mother, father and child" explained Colette Aoki, owner of Designs N Gold. Ms. Aoki explained further "the family petroglyph is then surrounded by a diamond cut maile lei in either gold or sterling silver. The pendant can also be set with birthstones to represent each family member's birth month".

The Ohana Collection is now available to order on line at http://www.designsngold.com/ohana.htm

About Designs N Gold - The owner of Designs N Gold, Colette Aoki, has been in the jewelry business in Hawaii since 1976. Over that period she has designed jewelry for thousands of clients in Hawaii as well as worldwide. In 1985 she acquired the jewelry manufacturer, Designs N Gold, which gave her the ability to control the entire jewelry making process from design to finished product. Designs N Gold's expert jewelers and engravers create each piece of Hawaiian jewelry including pendants, earrings, bracelets, and wedding rings. Contact 98-1277 Kaahumanu Street, Suite: 106-339 Aiea,Hawaii 96701 Tel Local: 808-484-2699 Tel Outer Island & Mainland: 800-343-5846Web: http://www.designsngold.com Email: caoki@designsngold.com

Designs 'N Gold Now Offering Hawaiian Wedding Certifcates by Shayna Baecker Magid

Designs N Gold, a Hawaii based fine Hawaiian jewelry manufacturer and online retailer, announced today that it is now offering to its clientele Hawaiian Wedding Lithograph Certificates by renown Hawaiian island artist, Shayna Baecker Magid.

Shayna Baecker Magid was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. A graduate of Punahou School, and Colorado State University, she taught photography and art at many Hawaii schools including Iolani, Molokai High School, and The Honolulu Academy of Art. Shayna moved to New York in 1989 and soon after began her career in Ketubot the ancient art of the illuminated wedding contract. Inspired by artists Maxfield Parrish and Paul Jacolet, Shayna often produces romantic images in her lithographs that speak of stories from days gone by. Using acrylic paint and combining airbrushing with hand-painting, she fills her compositions with the light and beauty that is Hawaii. Shayna spends her time between New York and her home in Kahaluu on the Windward side of Oahu.

"We are so pleased to be able to offer Shayna's beautiful Hawaiian wedding certificates to our customers in time for the June wedding season" commented Colette Aoki, owner of Designs N Gold. Ms. Aoki further commented "these Hawaiian wedding certificates along with our Designs 'N Gold wedding rings will wonderfully remind couples of that special day in their lives when they became one".

Designs N Gold manufactures in addition to Hawaiian wedding rings, bands and wedding sets, traditional as well as modern designs in Hawaiian bracelets, Hawaiian rings and Hawaiian pendants in gold, sterling silver and platinum. Designs N Gold also offers it clients the newest designs in Hawaiian plumeria flower jewelry, Hawaiian palm tree and Hawaiian slipper jewelry and Designs N Gold is able offer its customers the ability to recycle their old, unused and broken jewelry into new Hawaiian jewelry.

About Designs N Gold - The owner of Designs N Gold, Colette Aoki, has been in the jewelry business in Hawaii since 1976. Over that period she has designed jewelry for thousands of clients in Hawaii as well as worldwide. In 1985 she acquired the jewelry manufacturer, Designs N Gold, which gave her the ability to control the entire jewelry making process from design to finished product. Designs N Gold's expert jewelers and engravers create each piece of Hawaiian jewelry including pendants, earrings, bracelets, and wedding rings. Contact 98-1277 Kaahumanu Street, Suite: 106-339 Aiea,Hawaii 96701 Tel Local: 808-484-2699 Tel Outer Island & Mainland: 800-343-5846Web: http://www.designsngold.com Email: caoki@designsngold.com

Video of Pearl Harbor Survivors Appreciation Dinner Sponsored by Designs 'N Gold

My Dear Friend Minerva Keawe

Many years ago, my husband John and I traveled to the outer Hawaiian Islands (off Oahu) to produce jewelry shows. The outer islands, as they are known, were then not built up as they are today and there were few jewelers on the outer islands that offered Hawaiian Heirloom Jewelry and those that did asked very high prices. As a Hawaiian jewelry manufacturer we could offer people much lower prices directly from the manufacturer.

We traveled to all the outer islands, Kauai, Maui, the big island of Hawaii, Lanai and Molokai several times yearly. I always enjoyed traveling to Molokai because we would hold our jewelry show in Kaunakakai where my friend Renee Ainoa owned a general store. We would display our Hawaiian jewelry samples in Renee’s store and service her customers. In those days Hawaii still had sugar and pineapple plantations and when the whistle would blow indicating it was time for lunch, the women plantation workers would come to Renee’s store to see the new Hawaiian jewelry samples that we had brought with us.

One of her customers was an elderly Hawaiian lady named Minerva Keawe. Minerva would come to buy from Renee’s general store and occasionally buy a piece of Hawaiian jewelry as a gift for her children and grandchildren. Afterwards she would sit with Renee and me and talk about the Hawaii that she remembered. On some of her visits she would prepare lunch and bring it for us all to enjoy. I always enjoyed visiting with Minerva and she and I became quite close. On one visit to Molokai, Minerva told me that she was going to give me a Hawaiian name when we visited Molokai again.

On our next visit Minerva came to our jewelry show and while we were speaking she presented me with a piece of paper which on it she had written the Hawaiian name that she gave me. The name was “Kou u’i mino aka” which Minerva explained means the “beauty of your smile”. It was such a nice and wonderful gesture on her part and I cried with joy.

Later, my husband knowing how much the Hawaiian name that Minerva gave me meant to me, made me a Hawaiian bracelet with “Kou u’i mino aka” engraved on it for Christmas. I’ve treasured it ever since.

Minerva passed away shortly after giving me my Hawaiian name. I think of her often, missing our visits with each other and each time I wear my Hawaiian bracelet bearing the Hawaiian name “Kou u’i mino aka” I always think of our visits to Molokai and my dear friend Minerva Keawe.

Mahalo and aloha from Hawaii,

Colette Aoki

Designs 'N Gold