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- Trade Secrets from the Queen of Clean: Cleaning Up the Awards Season
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Category Archives: Newsletter
Trade Secrets from the Queen of Clean: Clean Up the Awards Season 2
Here is part two of my wrap-up of the awards season. I love watching them all! Yesterday I offered my thoughts on The Golden Globes, and here’s my low-down on The Grammy’s. Check back tomorrow for the finale: The Oscars.
I wondered what would be happening style-wise at the Grammy’s after the gals were put on notice to show a bit less skin than in years past. Style memo notwithstanding, the women of the Grammy’s brought it strong with gorgeous looks with some rock star edge.
Snake and serpent motifs were a noteworthy trend, adorning Nicole Kidman, Alicia Keys, Rihanna and Florence Welch (whose jewels far outshone her not-so-jolly green dress). The twisting diamond crusted snake cuff of Rihanna’s was both elegant and edgy. I have already seen this look to trickling down from the runway to ladies about town.
And there were rings, lots and lots of rings. Some wore numerous rings on multiple fingers (see Rihanna, again), while others wore larger statements rings, such as Faith Hill’s stunning sapphire piece and Kelly Roland’s fabulous emerald ring.
Not to be left out, wrists got lots of attention with cuffs and bangles. Beyonce’s matching Lorraine Schwartz cuffs had a bit of a Wonder Woman vibe but offered beautiful symmetry in contrast to her asymmetrical jumpsuit. While Jennifer Lopez mixed a bold gold cuff with gorgeous Norman Silverman bangles.
Cleaning and Care How-To: Gemstones such as emeralds, sapphires, amethysts and more, in all their gorgeous glory, require a little extra TLC. Because they are softer than diamonds, I recommend cleaning them with a gentle cleaning formulary especially formulated for delicate jewelry (no ammonia or strong solvents). A quick soak and buff with a polishing cloth will keep your jewelry runway-ready. And it is best to save your gemstone pieces for activities where they can’t be chipped or damaged by exposure to chemicals. So wear them for a hot date, an important business meeting or a girls’ night out, but keep them tucked in a jewelry box or pouch when you are swimming, exercising, cleaning or doing cartwheels with the kids.
Rockin’ RJO!
We just wrapped up the RJO Rock & Restock Show, and our team rocked it just like we did last year (just check the pic). It’s exciting to kick off the year with such a great show. And the fact that we got to head to Phoenix from the frigid Ohio winter is no small perk.
Account Executives, Megan Powell and Rebecca Barker visited with customers and took new orders as they spread the word about properly caring for jewelry with Kingswood products. And on Sunday night they got down to some 70′s music. The Kingswood Company has been a member of RJO for thirty years. Rock on.
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As Seen In: The Knot Winter 2012
The Queen of Clean has shared many a jewelry cleaning tip with family, friends and here at #cleanjewelry. So it was no surprise when she was tapped to offer some care and cleaning tips to the good folks at The Knot. They were putting together a special article on all things diamond ring and asked the Queen of Clean for some quick hits about how to keep a diamond engagement or wedding ring sparkling. We were so excited to have Kristie’s advice appear in the Winter 2012 edition. Check it out!
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Trade Secrets from the Queen of Clean: Buckeyes Clean Up
The Buckeyes are the big game in town, so I was very excited to join Mindy Drayer at NBC4 last Sunday to share the secret to keeping Buckeye jewelry as shiny as the Buckeye’s sterling record.
From jewelry made with real buckeyes to fashion pieces and finer jewelry, I cover all the tricks you need to know. Take a peek and learn some more of my trade secrets! Our thanks to The Diamond Cellar and The Buckeye Bead for sharing samples for our use in the segment!
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Double Beauty: Caring and Cleaning for Your Doublet or Triplet Jewelry
They are beautiful and all the rage. From high-end designers to costume pieces, from the red carpet to a girls’ night out, you’ll see doublets dangling from ears and on fingers making a beautiful statement. While some consumers are leery of doublets because they are layered with a glue that may come undone, we say fear not! With proper care, they will prove durable and the effect achieved by sandwiching gemstones together is unique and exquisite.
What is a doublet or triplet? It is a piece of jewelry designed with two (doublet) or three (triplet) gemstones layered upon each other. Sometimes the lower layer features a less-expensive stone, which helps with price, but layering gemstones doesn’t just result in a less expensive piece. You will see a glow or reflection from the stones in a shade that could not be achieved with the use of one stone or the other. The pieces also have more dimension. Some stones frequently used in doublets and triplets include opals, mother of pearl, malachite and topaz.
Because the layers are indeed glued together, special care is required when cleaning them. We reached out to jewelry designer Kendra Bridel Weinman, who designs beautiful doublet and triplet pieces, for some insight.
“Doublets and triplets may be wiped with a damp soft cloth and mild cleaning formula,” said Weinman. “You need to avoid bleach, chemicals, harsh cleaners and ultrasonic cleaners.”
Kristie Nicolosi, President & CEO of The Kingswood Company agreed.
“The cleaner you choose needs first to be safe for the gemstones used in the piece, likely a gentle cleaning formulary. But no formula or liquid is safe for soaking doublets. While pieces of this kind can be safely cleaned with a gentle liquid cleaner, they should not be soaked in any liquid, as that can break down the glue used to hold the stones together.”
Weinman added that any soaking of a doublet or triplet can cause lifting of the layers and allow liquid to infiltrate the piece. If liquid does penetrate the piece, it will take on a foggy or gray appearance and possibly even have condensation inside the stone.
“But that doesn’t mean your doublet will be ruined if you wear it in the shower once or get caught in a rainstorm!” laughed Weinman.
As with most jewelry, exercising caution about wearing, cleaning and storing your piece will prolong its beauty. But do not be afraid to try doublets or triplets. Their beauty is worth a little TLC!
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Meet Brittany Dotson!
A few months ago, we introduced you to one of our Sales Executives, Lillian Schmid. Now we want you to meet Brittany Dotson, our indispensable Office Manager who ensures that our office runs flawlessly every single day. We are so grateful to have her as part of the Kingswood team.
Could you give us a little background about yourself?
I was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio and graduated from Ohio Dominican University with a major in Psychology. My long-term career plans are as yet undetermined, but I am so grateful to have such a wonderful job while I am figuring those plans out.
Where in the world would you most like to travel? Why?
I love learning about ancient cultures. I have already visited Egypt (with Lillian Schmid, our wonderful Account Executive!), so my next top choices would be Athens and Rome. It would give me a chance to put my Art History minor to some use!
What is the last great book you read?
The Mismeasure of Woman by Carol Tavris. Tavris is a respected social psychologist and one of my role models, whom I had the pleasure of meeting.
Describe your favorite customer experience.
I do not usually get to work directly with the customers, but I love helping our account executives follow through with their promises. Recently a customer found out that he needed his jewelry cleaner sooner than he originally expected. He asked if we could get him his product within four business days, and we did! He was so appreciative that it arrived just in time for his planned event, which made all the hard work even more worth it.
What is your favorite thing about jewelry cleaner?
Who doesn’t want to sparkle? Plus, it is a wonderful feeling to tell someone that my jewelry looks so wonderful because of the product my company makes.
What is your favorite part of your job at The Kingswood Company?
I love that I have a hand in just about all aspects of the business. It keeps me busy, and I get to learn something new every day, whether it is about customer service, collaborating with vendors, shipping or the screen printing process itself.
What product would you most like to see The Kingswood Company offer?
I always said purple jewelry cleaner, but we just launched it! Dreams do come true.
Do you have a fun ritual at work? Is there something you HAVE to do before you can work?
I have to check in with the rest of the team to see how their day is going and what they need. I want everyone’s day to go well, and if I can help them get something done when I get here (I work afternoons), I want to know right away!
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Passion for Purple
I was very excited last week when a project we had been working on for some time came to fruition. We have been asked many times over the years, by customers, friends, colleagues and even my daughter, Eva, why we don’t offer purple jewelry cleaner. It’s a valid question. Purple is a lovely color that would work beautifully in jewelry stores; so why wouldn’t we offer it?
The key answer is that adding colors to our line is not something we do haphazardly. From the time The Kingswood Company offered its first Emerald Green jars of cleaner in 1955, only two other colors had been added to the line: Sapphire Blue and Sweetheart Pink. So we analyzed the situation to determine if the addition of purple would bring value to our customers and be in keeping with the sophisticated products we are so proud to produce. We pride ourselves on offering the most customizable line in the industry, so in the end we determined that purple would be a fabulous addition to the other beautiful colors we offer.
Then we went to work. We knew that we had to develop the perfect shade of purple, one that evokes richness and jewel tones. We produced many batches, reviewing each shade carefully. It is surprising how many hues of purple exist; we had batches ranging from reddish pink to blueish green. There were so many pretty purples to choose from, but eventually we chose the one that spoke to us. It has that richness and jewel-like feel we were looking for. In fact, it’s such a regal color, we christened it Royal Purple.
While Royal Purple Fine Jewelry Cleaner is already in limited production, we are very excited to unveil it at the JCK show next month. If you are one of our customers who has been patiently waiting for purple jewelry cleaner, please stop by and meet the newest addition to our family of products!
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Helping Mother Earth
At The Kingswood Company, we celebrate Earth Day every day. We are very proud of our sustainability efforts, from producing all non-toxic and biodegradable products to reducing the amount of plastic we use in our jars, among others. But in honor of Earth Day, we wanted to share yet another earth-friendly product we offer.
Our cream-colored polishing cloths are as green as they are cream. While most fabrics are bleached and then dyed, our cream-colored fabric is untreated, natural cotton. The natural color is beautiful, and we embrace the natural fiber flecks that are not present in bleached fabrics. In addition, the fabric for our all of our polishing cloths (no matter what color) is made of 100 percent cotton, and is milled in the United States rather than being sent from overseas. This reduces the use of fuel for shipping.
So as you polish your favorite jewelry to a beautiful shine, you can pat yourself on the back for being kind to Mother Earth.
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Trade Secrets from the Queen of Clean: The Oscars Dazzle
After watching the Oscars on Sunday night, once thing is clear: diamonds are still a girl’s best friend. There were gorgeous diamonds sparkling from many a neck, wrist, finger and ear. And I mean sparkling!
My favorite look was Natalie Portman, whose v-shaped diamond necklace was a perfect complement to her strapless, red gown. While her oval diamond drop earrings in platinum dazzled in contrast with her dark hair and eyes.
I thought Penelope Cruz simply shone in a diamond and
platinum necklace and earrings. Who knew 71 carats-worth of diamonds could look so elegant and understated?
Cameron Diaz’s emerald-cut diamond necklace was
another stunner, as were her diamond stud earrings, both from Tiffany & Co.
And the fabulous diamond cuff adorning Gwyneth Paltrow’s wrist looked amazing set against her column dress with cape. The
cream dress and the colorless diamonds allowed the shape of the dress and cuff to make the statement. Stunning.
While we look to the red carpet for trends that will influence fashion for the season, in reality most us won’t have access to jewelry such as this. Even the stars borrow their bling from Hollywood’s hottest jewelers! But that doesn’t mean the styles from the Oscars won’t be found on women everywhere. You may not have Penelope’s 57-carat necklace, but a beautiful tennis bracelet makes quite a statement too.
Whether you are digging in your jewelry box for diamond long unworn, or donning a favorite you wear all the time, you will want to make sure your piece is clean and sparkling. While diamonds are very strong, proper care and cleaning is essential to keeping them looking beautiful.
Diamonds lose their sparkle when dirt and grime build up on the surface. You can minimize this build-up by removing your jewelry when exercising, gardening, cleaning, swimming and when applying hair products, lotions and sunscreen.
But no matter how careful you are, your diamond jewelry will get dirty. The best way to
clean your diamonds is to soak them in a fine jewelry cleaning formulary. These products are specially formulated to be safe for diamonds and their metal settings. Through soaking, the dirt, oils and grime that have built up on the stones will be washed away. After removing it from the cleaning formula, simply wipe the piece with a polishing cloth to bring back the shine on the stone and metal. This can be safely done as often as daily.
You may have friends and family who own an ultrasonic machine for at-home jewelry cleaning. I strongly discourage you from using these machines. They clean by way of sound vibrations, and while these vibrations do remove dirt and oils, they can also loosen your diamonds from their setting. When you feel your diamond jewelry needs cleaning beyond an at-home cleaning formula, take it to your jeweler for an inspection and professional cleaning.
Still basking in the glow and glamour from Oscar night, I can’t wait to wear some of my favorite diamonds this season. How will you interpret the Oscar trends in your jewelry wardrobe?
2011 Marks Significant Growth
We were excited this week to distribute this press release regarding our growth in 2011. We are so grateful to all of our customers, old and new!
The Kingswood Company Announces Significant Growth in 2011
The Kingswood Company, the industry’s leading supplier of private-label fine jewelry care products, reported in January significant growth during 2011, with the addition of more than 130 new accounts. The company asserts that such growth reflects its focus on customized product offerings and superior customer service. Kingswood saw expansion in the United States, Canada and Asia.
“The economic realities of today require that we focus even more closely on our customers,” explained Kristie Nicolosi, President & CEO of The Kingswood Company. “We have sought to distinguish ourselves from our competitors with a wide range of customizable products offered by a staff unparalleled in the business. Clearly that approach is working.”
Building on a successful 2011, Kingswood plans to announce new product offerings in 2012 that will further differentiate the company from its rivals. Each new product offering expands the wide array of options available to customers, which allow them to design their own packaging using a variety of artwork, cleaning formulas, polishing cloths, container sizes and colors.
Headquartered in Columbus, OH since 1956, The Kingswood Company is a member of the American Gem Society, the American Chemical Society and the Private Label Manufacturers Association and is certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.
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