New design for The Illusion Lockets!

Remember that fabulous artist, Jim Anderson, who created The Illusion lockets after the one featured in the movie The Illusionist?  Well, Jim has made it again, and created something just beautiful: cremation ash lockets with secret compartiments.  It is the same design as his original lockets, but with a small compartment under the pictures, in which you can store small aids (such as pills or batteries), or the remains of a loved one. - he even designed a small black box for them.

I just found out about them after watching this video:

I think it is a marvellous invention.  I am going to start saving up for one.  As I already have one of Jim's lockets, I know for a fact that they are wonderfully made, and they are just beautiful.

Keeping my sterling silver lockets shiny

Today I noticed some tarnish in my H2O locket, so I took 5 minutes to clean it.  Afterwards I thought maybe you do not know how to keep clean your silver, so here is a bit of help.

The product that I use is called Sidol Aladdin.  I use it because my trusted jeweler recommended me to do so - I do trust him because my mom has been his customer for years, and they have built a good professional relationship.

This is what the product looks like:

It is also called "Magic Cotton", because the product itself is a pink cotton that is soaked in the cleaning solution.  You take a piece and rub it onto your silver.  You know it's working because it changes color to black.  Then you buff it up with a soft clean cloth, and the piece looks like new.  

I do not know if this is available out of Spain; when I lived in the US I used Wright's Anti Tarnish Silver Polish:

This one is a white liquid paste that you rub with a cloth onto your silver or silver plated object, and buff with a soft clean cloth.  Then you rinse it with water and dry it.

Be sure to wear gloves (not made of rubber!) when using these products, because they are a bit abrasive.  I also found you a guide to clean silver by the Bishop Museum.

Hope this helps you taking care of your silver!

The Illusionist locket: a Review

By now you all already know that I adore lockets.  Well, last Christmas my mom gifted me one of The Illusionist lockets made by Jim Anderson of Illusion Lockets.

Even though it is not made of a precious metal, it is one of the loveliest locket I have ever seen.  Not only for the amazing design that works exactly like the one in the movie "The Illusionist", also because it is handcrafted of wood, and polished shiny.  The wood is so soft it feels like touching a violin.

As stated, you open it just like the one in the movie.  But, did you know that the one that appears in the movie are actually 2 different lockets, one for the oval shape and one for the heart shape?  The magic of movie production makes them look like one, but they are not.  Jim Anderson has achieved what Hollywood could not!

My locket is made of Honduran Rosewood, has a sterling silver bail and a white butterfly.  Here are some pictures of my locket:

The locket phases

Back of the oval shape

Back of the heart shape

As you can see, you can safely storage two pictures inside.  They are framed in brass components that help the locket rotate into the different positions.  When you buy the locket you can choose between sterling silver, 14 carat yellow gold or 14 carat white gold bail (prices adjust accordingly when you make your choice).  You can also choose if you want a wood or an acrylic locket, as well as the material of which the butterfly will be made of: white acrylic, sterling silver or 14 carat yellow gold.

What you will get with your order is:

- the locket of your choice

- two lovely presentation jewelry boxes (one inside the other)

- a certificate of authenticity, stating the number of your locket, the wood it is made of and the signature of the creator

- a picture punch - to punch your pictures the exact side you need them to be to put in the locket

- double sided tape

- instructions showing how to open the locket and to put inside your pictures - if you would rather watch a video on how to do this, MetroHero2012 has a great one that can help you.

I absolutely love my locket.  I have had many people asking if it was "just like the one in the movie", and if it did really work, and where they can get one like it.  I am always pleased to show it and see the amazement in their faces when they see it twisting and opening.

Here is a short video showing how it works:

I hope if you get one, you will be as happy with it as I am.  Thanks, mom!

Review of the H2O Just add water locket - and musings about them too

As I pointed out in the previous entry, I bought a replica of the lockets featured in the Australian series “H2O: Just Add Water”.

The series features 3 teenage girls that turn into mermaids when they get wet.  Naturally, this brings them close, and they spend the days swimming around and doing what teenager girls do.  As I have not watched the series from the beginning, all I know about the lockets comes from here.  I liked the design and began to peruse the web for replicas.  Can’t help it, I’m a locket addict.

My research yielded 5 locket designs that have been or are for sale.  The first one was sold at Target stores in Australia, but this one is sold out and unavailable anywhere.  The second one is from World Alive, and it is still available for sale at Amazon, ebay, and at an Spanish website (as well as dolls and watches).  The third one comes from a German website.  The fourth one is from a seller on ebay called Beldiamo.  The fifth one was designed by Blue Crockatt, the owner of Sterling Silver Art.

I must confess that at first, I thought about purchasing one as a private joke to myself for having purchased a mermaid tail this summer.  So, I researched the possibilities.  I studied videos of them on YouTube and pictures, and read people’s comments and links, and came out with these conclusions:

- The Australian one was the closest to the one in the series, except for the blue waves in the back and the fact that it had a moodstone.  But this one was not available, so the points were moot.

- The ones on the German website had a good thing: there were 3 available, one for each girl and each one with a different stone (blue, green and red); and these were official merchandise.  But the 3 waves on the back were not in the right direction: they started on the left and went to the right – the opposite of the ones in the show.  Besides, these cost 40 euros plus shipping.  No pics of the inside.

- The World Alive one was almost identical to the Australian one.  Same exterior design, but it did not have “the grainy” inside.  The inside was smooth.  Plus, it came with 3 pictures of the Season 3 girls to put inside.  The back had the 3 waves in blue, and the same moodstone.  It was also official merchandise.  The price was perfect (around $15).

I did not mind the inside.  After all, the locket would be closed while hanging from my neck.  I would have bought this one.  But the price plus shipping was almost $50 (even though it was available from a seller in my own country), and I considered it too expensive for just a metal locket with a plastic stone that changes color.  When I began reading reviews about how it was delicate and prompt to break, plus the metal changed color after being used, I thought maybe it was just a toy for little girls, and it was then when I considered the possibility of buying a sterling silver one that I could use without fear of damaging it.

The seller on ebay had it almost right, and at a reasonable price ($60) for a sterling silver locket with a stone that you could choose the color.  But the overall aspect was different from the ones in the show.  It looked… thinner to me, for lack of a better word.  The waves of the back were perfect though, but it still lacked something.

The one from Sterling Silver Art got my eye the first time I saw it.  I compared it with the one in the show that appears in this video and it looked just perfect, except for the bail.  The ones in the show had a closed bail, and this one was open.  But other than that, I knew that I had found it.  I found the blog of the artist, and said it had been designed with the help of the fans that had not been satisfied with the licensed replicas.  I liked the fact that the customer could choose the stone he/she wanted, and that these stones were real jewelry stones such as a garnet, coral, moonstone or onyx.  The locket comes with a free sterling silver chain, but one has the possibility of adding a rolo chain if one wants to, and the seller has available a box in the shape of a shell as presentation for the locket.  It was proof to me that the seller had gone great lengths to have happy customers and I liked that.

I discovered by chance that she was also on Amazon and on Etsy, and I messaged her over there.  I asked how long would it take for the locket to ship.  She informed me promptly that she was caught up with orders, and that it would take about 3 weeks for my locket to be shipped, if I bought it right away, as she has a policy of first come, first served.  I liked her professionalism and diligence, and bought the locket in the last days of July, and chose an onyx as stone.  I did not want the rolo chain added, but the listing on Etsy included the shell box, which made me happy, as I did want one of those cute boxes.

The locket was sent precisely on August 15^th, and it took a bit more than a week for it to reach Spain.  It arrived in perfect conditions inside the shell box, with a couple of pictures of the H2O show.  The chain it came with was 16 inches long.  And the locket was shiny and beautiful.  It opens perfectly well, but it snaps close firmly, and it does not open by itself.  The size is about the same of the one in the show, and it has a good weight.  Of course, it is sterling silver, and it is marked 925 on the inside.

I have used it and I do not have anything negative to say.  It is a very nice piece of jewelry, and if well taken care of, should last for many many years.

Here are some pictures of the locket:

Front

Back

And a short video so you can see the details.  I changed the chain that it came with for the rope chain you can see in the pictures.  The chain in the video is the original.  Enjoy!