Re: mignon faget question:
 

I don't think that everyone is buying jewelry...just that they have certain pieces that are meaningful to them that they feel naked without. It'd be like getting dressed and forgetting to put on a bra (for a girl) and then feeling weird the rest of the day - stupid annalogy but you get the point!

I also think you'll find that it's trendy right now to wear jewelry. Silver is the HOT item right now. And then there's also the whole yellow and white gold thing girls love as well. I think this whole fascination has been around for ages. I mean take a look at the Hollywood actresses who BORROW beautiful diamonds and sport them at award shows. A girl can't help but want to look beautiful!

Mignon Faget is a designer from New Orleans. Her designs are very distinct and stylized. Its very easy to spot a MF piece. Its rarely copied because, while she used to sell some things through Tiffany's, now she's mostly a Louisiana thing. All the girls at LSU have the Tulip necklace (myself included).

I'm hoping for Santa to bring me the Red Bean and Rice bracelet :)

Tonight my boyfriend and I did our Christmas. I was extremely surprised to find a little blue box inside the other boxes! :D He got me the Elsa Peretti floating heart! I love it! Its going to go in the rotation of things I never take off :)

Definitely! For me, if I don't have my watch with me, my day will be a nightmare!! (or so I think)

Maria, I'm so sorry for your loss :(. I'm so glad that you found your emerald cross!!

Have a wonderful holidays :).

Newbie

Right now, it's only my silver hoops and silver KA lavalier! But I have a feeling that when my bf gets done playing Santa, I'll have a few more pieces that I can't live without!

C.,
Thanks so much. Next July will be 10 years since we lost him. It seems like yesterday, but he is always with me in my heart.

I never take out the diamond studs my grandfather gave me when I was about 10. I also wear a Tiffany silver Atlas ring that my fiance gave me when I got my Master's degree. When I get my engagement ring, that will stay on too.

Other than that, I like to change my jewelry to match my outfits, and I have inherited lot of really neat stuff that's been passed down to me from my grandmother and great-grandmother. My favorites: a tiny gold butterfly with a diamond in the center, given to my grandmother for me when I was born from the Factors (as in Max Factor, Max Factor cosmetics...they were friends of my grandparents), a gold ballerina in an open medallion with her arms raised, holding a pearl, a gift from my grandmother's cousin when I was born, an amethyst and diamond ring my mom gave me when I turned 18 (my dad had given it to her for an anniversary), and a gold bell with tiny gems around the flare. There's a pearl inside the bell, and it actually rings.

There's not a lot of monetary value in the jewelry I have, but it's very sentimental, brings back memories of my mom wearing these items when I was a kid, or how my dad used to open the safe for me and let me look at the jewelry and tell me stories about how it got there or the people that owned it.

I never take off my Phi Mu lavalier, ever.

I also have a silver watch that I feel practically naked without!

I always wear my Aggie ring. I can spot an Aggie a mile away with an Aggie ring-that is the coolest thing about it.

Just wondering; I don't think I've ever seen one
 

Karen, what does an Aggie ring look like that makes it so distinctive?

Hmmm hard to explain, all Aggie rings have the same design unlike most other universities which have different designs. I guess that is what makes it easy to recognize-oh that doesn't make sense does it? Maybe Aggie DZ can chime in here? Wish i could post a picture.

:( Can't wear any jewlry because...
 

...I'm working in manufacturing facility - and safety precludes wearing practically everything. I cannot wear my lavalier every day anymore (like I used to) because necklaces are not allowed. Married people don't even wear their wedding bands and engagement rings out on the production floor. The company's serious about safety - there's a regulation about the size limit on earrings that are worn.

However (:D) I do manage to wear some jewelry. I have an ankle bracelt that's very precious to me - it fits snugly between my work boot and my sock, so it's on all the time. :)

When I start working an office job again in January, I'll get to wear all three of my special pieces - the lavalier, the ankle bracelet, and another one that I recently got. :)

BTW, I'm going to have to look up this Mignon Faget on the internet...seems like her stuff's just the cat's meow! :D

I have to have:

silver watch on left hand

blue topaz ring on left hand from Hunny from JA

on right hand, I switch out rings that Hunny has bought me: right now, it's a silver ring with 3 blue stones in it, or else, a silver JA ring

either my letters or Sigma Nu lavaliere for a necklace

I always have my gold/opal ring that my man gave me 6 years ago and my watch. I used to always have a necklace on, but not anymore, but I have to have my ring and watch!!

You can see a picture of the Aggie ring at the following link:
http://www.aggienetwork.com/ring/ima...c_ring_sym.jpg

The Aggie Ring at A&M is as deep in symbolism as it is in tradition. The shield on the top of the ring symbolizes protection of the good reputation of the alma mater. The 13 stripes in the shield refer to the 13 original states and symbolize the intense patriotism of graduates and undergraduates of A&M.
The five stars in the shield refer to phases of development of the student: mind or intellect, body, spiritual attainment, emotional poise, and integrity of character. The eagle is symbolic of agility and power, and ability to reach great heights as ambitions.
One side of the ring symbolizes the seal of the State of Texas authorized by the Constitution of 1845. The five-pointed star is encircled with wreath of olive or laurel leaves symbolizing achievement and a desire for peace and live-oak leaves symbolizing the strength to fight. They are joined at the bottom by an encircling ribbon to show the necessity of joining these two traits
to accomplish one's ambition to serve.

The other side with its ancient cannon, saber, and rifle symbolizes that the citizens of Texas fought for their land and are determined to defend their homeland. The saber stands for valor and confidence. The rifle and cannon are symbols of preparedness and defense. The crossed flags of the United States and Texas recognize the dual allegiance to nation and state.

Thanks AggieDZ-well explained and love the picture.

Karen

And now after getting my present from my honey, I will never be with out my Tiffany's Silver Venetian necklace and bracelet!! My sweetie has such great taste!!!

oh, and I forgot I never take off my diamond earrings.

Obviously I always wear my wedding rings....my diamond and my wedding ring plus my anniversary band. On my right hand I often wear the ring I had made out of my mom's engagement ring. It consists of three thin bands, a white with gold on either side, and then the diamond is bezel set in white. I have a pair of round diamond studs in yellow that I wore every day practically but Santa brought me a pair of princess-cut studs in platinum that are going to provide some stiff competition. My necklaces vary from day to day as do my bracelets. My favorite bracelet is the one my dad gave me for my 21st birthday, a diamond tennis bracelet in 18k. I don't udually wear a watch, don't know why, I used to. I also have a ton of other rings and I used to match them to my outfit every day, but for sentimental reasons I wear my mom's diamond almost all the time.

Just went on the Mignon Faget site. Sent the link and page to the BF immediately. Love it, love it! Thank you GChatters!!! :D

Oh, I'm always with either my gold ball earrings (or my pearl and diamond earrings) in my first hole, my garnet studs in my second. My Skagen watch, my cross ring and EITHER my gold Zeta bracelet or my diamond and sapphire Zeta dove pendant.
That's about the only jewelry I wear daily. I'll switch out sometimes though.

Ooooh, I forgot, small stud earrings are allowed (they have to be less than 3/16 of a inch across though...and I wear gold ball stud earrings as well. :)

Speaking of accessories - I'm desperately needing a quality watch. Nothing flashy, and preferably not too "heavy" looking. Any suggestions? :D

Who has their tongues pierced?

The tongue question reminded me of another piece I am never without......my belly ring!!!! I wear a gold barbell style with a tiny gold ball on one end and a 7 mm CZ in the navel (like the one Britney Spears used to wear before she started in with all the dangly chains and sh*t.........)

I know it is a little off topic, but since you all seem to be into your jewlery, I thought I'd share. For Christmas I got the Ultrasonic Wave Jewlery Cleaner from the Sharper Image. I'm kind of a clean freak and dirty jewlery has always really bothered me, but I've never found a jewlery cleaner that I've really liked.

I used my new one for the first time last night and I think I might be in love. It is absolutely amazing! Anyone else have any surefire jewlery cleaning methods?

I use the ultrasonic cleaner at work. We use this to clean our surgical instruments but I always throw my jewelry in too. It works great.

I am never without my wedding ring, my anniversary band (which was a wedding present from my husband), diamond studs, and tennis bracelet. Not to exciting---but these are my staple pieces.

As far as jewelry cleaning goes, here's a trick my jeweler taught me.....it's sounds kind of gross but you will be amazed how well it works. To shine up diamonds, particularly like an engagement ring, when you are done brushing your teeth while there is still a little toothpaste residue on the brush, use it on your diamond. The toothpaste has just enough abrasive in it to really polish up your stone. I was astounded at how sparkly it makes it....just make sure you rinse it or else it dries to a whitish filmy finish.

Erika - no, don't use toothpaste! It is an abrasive, and over time it will scratch and wear down even a diamond. The best thing is an ultrasonic cleaner - my mother has one, and every time I visit my parents, in goes the engagement ring. :)

The only problem with ultrasonic cleaners, is that you can't use them with pearls, coral, or anything else that's organic.

I soon will never be without the diamond bracelet that my boyfriend gave me for Christmas. I had to get a link taken out but it came back in today. It goes very well with the necklace I got for my bday.

I never leave the house without :Gold watch, pearl and amethyst bracelet, pearl and diamond ring

A lot of times I will also wear my class ring. It is also gold and has an amethyst.

ALWAYS: Watch, silver Tiffany bracelte(return to Tiffany dangle), and silver earrings.

If I am dressed up, my KD badge with pearls/emeralds that is now on a slide necklace and the top three items.

I hate rings, I do accoutning all day and they get in the way big time.

I ALWAYS wear my diamond ring, that was my mom's engagement ring and for my 21st b-day, she had the stone reset in sapphires, so it would be part of her, and part of me. It was the nicest present I ever got. I also always wear my 3 garnet ring and my brandnew all diamond TINY cross(its like the Tiffany's one) that I got for Christmas, or my diamond solataire necklace. Oh, and my watch---I go CRAZY without it!! But no earrings--I am allergic and my ear lobes swell up and itch!

AEPhi....I hear ya....Bob (my jeweler) told me to never never put toothpaste on the brush and then polish it with that.....it's just after you are done brushing there is still a tiny bit of residue on there which polishes it without damaging it....something to do if you are without cleaner or if you are in need of a professional cleaning and don't have time.

My wedding set never comes off.
A gold chain my brother sent from Saudi Arabia, where he was stationed, when I graduated from college, and the cross my husband gave me for Christmas.

The jewelry I always wear is
1) my gold and garnet cross necklace
2) my braided mutli brushed gold bracelet
3) my ameythst and diamond ring on my middle finger of my left hand
5) my diamond and ruby ring from italy
6) the garnet ring i got when i turned 13
7) my gold and diamond banana belly ring
8) gold hoop earings
9) my gold fosil watch
some times i add in
my italian horn necklace
or my tommy hilfigure choker and matching bracelet

I don't wear a lot of jewelry on a daily basis, but always wear a pair of earings-whatever looks best with what I'm wearing. I have too much "grand" type jewelry (a LOT of it inherited) and you really need an occasion to wear it or buy an outfit to match the jewelry!!! Crazy, but I do take the pieces out and look at them from time to time-just to remember. Plus I love to work in the yard so I don't wear my wedding ring too often.

AMONIA-is a GREAT cleaner for diamonds. Makes them sparkle ALMOST as good as an ultrasonic cleaning. You CAN NOT clean soft or semi precious gems in it however.

TOOTH PASTE-good quickie for silver-I put it right on it and have a seperate tooth brush for this work. It really gets into the crevices. I don't do it often enough to worry if it's harmful or not.

PEARLS-The more you wear them, the more beautiful they become because of body oils.

I always wear my engagment ring (of course). I also wear a silver watch that my mom gave me for my senior prom (no matter what, I can't be without a watch either). I used to always wear my Sigma Kappa Lavalier, but it broke when I was at work and I didn't find out till I went home! (I'm going to be ordering another one soon) I also usually wear earrings no matter what and of course my tongue ring. I love to wear fancy jewelry, but I don't have a whole lot, and don't dress up much. But every year, I seem to be collecting more and more nice jewelry, so I might just have to wear it anyway!

This will be a long post so brace yourself, but I have to ask if anyone else is as big an idiot as I am......have any of you ever lost something that really meant a lot to you? If so, how....did you get it back?

Let's see.....I lost my Chi Omega badge at my wedding! I had pinned it to the white hankie in my dress and worn it down the aisle like we're supposed to, but I took it out so it wouldn't fall out and get lost during the reception. I put it in a little pink gift bag and either I or my mom forgot what it was, saw the crumpled white hankie, thought it was trash, and PITCHED IT!!!!!! My beautiful Chi Omega badge is in a landfill somewhere!!!! I did get another one but it isn't the same, you know?

I lost my DTD lavaliere from my husband. I have no idea how I did that because it was on my add-a-bead necklace, in the middle, and I still have the necklace!!!!!!! I am really upset about that. My mother-in-law still has hers from her husband (now deceased) and wears it on a charm bracelet.

I thought I lost this beautiful sapphire-and-diamond ring my mom had bought me. It was really unique and she felt really bad and wanted to replace it. We couldn't find one like it, of course, but I settled on one I liked well enough. Not two days later I opened this jewelry box that I never really used and there it was!!!!! Luckily the jeweler was nice and let me exchange the new ring for something else.

The worst was my emerald pendant.....for college graduation my dad had this amazing emerald (my birthstone) pendant made for me. It is actually a slide for an omega necklace and it is really unique. The stone is a flawless, 2-carat oval cut emerald and just so beautiful. He gave me the papers on it and with what it was worth I knew I needed to add it to my insurance, but I just never got around to it. Well right after my dad's wedding I lost it. I knew I had worn it in the wedding and done something with it, but I couldn't find it. I was going through an obsessive phase and I was paranoid that someone would break in and steal my jewelry, so I would hide it in really bizarre places. I had put the pendant (which at the time I wore on this long rope chain) in a medicine bottle to the best of my recollection, and then placed it in my bathroom drawer. By the time I realized it was missing, I had already done a mass bathroom cleaning and pitched most of what was in that drawer. I was certain that I couldn't have just pitched that. So I went through the drawer, piece by piece, taking every single thing out and inspecting it. No med bottle, no necklace. I was devastated. My mom came over and helped me look....we even went through that drawer again, piece by piece. No dice.

TWO YEARS LATER, (I had managed to hide it from my dad all this time) my mom died very suddenly and unexpectedly. I was having an extremely hard time at first and talked to her all the time....it was like I just couldn't accept that she wasn't still there with me. She had always said that when she went, if there was life after death she would find a way to contact me somehow. Well one night I was crying and thinking about her and I said "Mom, if you are out there, I know a way you can prove it. You know where my necklace is now.....help me.....find it for me or lead me to it." (This is where it gets spooky) The next morning I woke up and I felt like someone was telling me to go look in the bathroom drawer again. It seemed really dumb because I had been through it two or three times. But I could almost hear this voice telling me to go there. So I went in, opened the drawer, and in the back corner plain as day was this little orange prescription bottle. I immediately started to cry because I knew....I picked it up and heard the rattle, and I opened it and there it was!!!!! The really bizarre thing was, the bottle looked like crap, the label was all faded like it had been wet or something and the lid was trashed. My dad's wedding had been April 4, 1998. That was the last time I had worn it and I knew that Wednesday the 8th I tried to find it to wear it to dinner with Dad before they left for Portugal and it was already gone. The medicine bottle was dated 4/12/98........weird!!!!! I just clutched it to me and said "Thanks, Mom!!!!!" over and over. Needless to say I have never done anything stupid like that since!!!!! Mom's not always going to bail me out!

Fun topic!

Let's see....

I always wear my watch because like most of you, I become totally disoriented without it; my lavalier makes me feel special and goes with everything so I rarely take it off; My grandma gave me a beautiful simple diamond ring that my grandfather gave her when they got engaged and I can't even remember the last time I took that off. For earrings, I either wear pearl studs or something simple. I also usually wear my Tiffany's heart bracelet my boyfriend gave me.

On a side note, I love wearing my Mignon Faget Tulip necklace and earrings on special occasions. To answer an earlier question, I actually found out about MF from a friend who lives in Louisiana a while ago and was so happy to see that lots of other ladies find this collection irresistable. :D

I just love hearing what we all have in common..it's very cool! :)

Carrie

My Must Haves
 

Okay, here goes a list...

First, and this NEVER comes off (even while showering, exercising, etc) my DZ lavalier. It's not the letter one, it a round one that is engraved with the letters, and on the back it says "when you wish upon a star" -- my big sis got it for me, and she found the perfect quote to add to my disney madness, as well as a mutual love of stars.

Second, a gold bracelet style watch with cz's in the band. A graduation gift from the parents.

Third, rings. large gold class ring with a gold topaz stone on the middle finger of the left hand. I love my class ring because it is so unique and not like every other jostens ring out there. amethyst & cz ring on pointer finger of left hand. I bought this one in walt disney world, and the cz's make a mickey head! i love it! gold toapz birthstone ring on middle finger of right hand. christmas present from the parents years before i really wore jewerly. (how'd they know) and last but not least a heart-shaped amethyst ring on the ring finger of the right hand. a valentines gift from an ex, it's just too beautiful to put away.

also in the summer time, i have a toe ring that is cz that makes a mickey mouse (i warned you of the disney madness):p

I also wear a charm bracelet for special occasions. perhaps another thread -- i'll list the charms.

And, also for special ocasions - i just recieved my DZ badge this last semester, and just ordered the guard and dangles, so i'm looking forward to that.

what a super long post!