Enchanting Enhancers

Bracelets, necklaces, earrings! Oh yeah!

Everyone knows what these pieces of jewelry are and what they're all about. Sure there are lots of variations --cuff bracelets and stretch bracelets; beaded necklaces and liquid silver; post earrings, clip-on earrings, and the hybrid omega clip earrings -- but one of our popular types of jewelry is all about versatility. If you follow Relios on QVC, you probably know what we're talking about. Necklace enhancers!

What's an enhancer?
Enhancers are one of those pieces of jewelry where style meets flexibility. In much the same way you can transform an ensemble with jewelry, like sprucing up a casual outfit and highlighting an evening gown with splashes of color, you can change the tone and personality of your jewelry collection with an enhancer.

For the uninitiated, an enhancer is a pendant with a hinged bail. The bail makes it possible to move the pendant from necklace to necklace giving both the necklace and the enhancer different feels fashion-wise.

These adaptable pieces of jewelry can really change the look of a jewelry ensemble as they're paired with different necklaces. An enhancer on a sterling silver chain adds a splash of color to an otherwise subtle necklace. That same enhancer on a beaded necklace will be flush with color and gemstone presence, making for a more boisterous look. That's why necklace enhancers make great gifts! It's like giving several different jewelry styles all in one piece!

An Enhancer Love Story
Over the holidays you might be like most people, shuttling from one party to the next, getting enough eggnog to last you until the next holiday season, and showing off your most recent southwestern jewelry purchases from Relios.

This last holiday season, Bill, Carolyn and Susan were mingling at a holiday party hosted by the local branch of a large national corporation. Susan was wearing one of our necklace enhancers and had engaged in a conversation with one of the host company's senior managers. She commented to Susan that she loved the enhancer that Susan was wearing. Susan popped the enhancer off her necklace and put it on the strand that the senior manager was wearing. Viola! Instant new look! The senior manager loved it, and she wore the enhancer for the rest of the evening catching compliments from other party guests.

That's how easy, effortless and fun a necklace enhancer can be!

A Bail Full of Trouble
Alexander Pope once said, "To err is human; to forgive, divine." We admit that we are human, here at Relios. Sometimes we make mistakes, and sometimes the small imperfections that come from the human handling of a piece of jewelry adds up but not in our favor. Sometimes bails would break or they wouldn't close properly.

Chris Ruiz, our Jewelry Technical & Production Director, and the department leads in the production department went back to the drawing board. Looking at past and present designs for the hinged bails, looking for how the design could be improved. Here's what they did:

• The curvature of the top of the bail was made longer, so the weight of the enhancer wouldn't pull down on the hinge
• They made the clasping ends of the bail wider so there would be a larger surface area holding the bail closed
• The lip on the enhancer where the bail is snapped closed was made higher, so it would hold the bail in place better
• They changed the wire inside the hinge and laser welded it to fit more snugly, so it wouldn't come lose as easily
• The "hook," a small piece of silver you hook your fingernail into to open the bail, was made wider to make it more comfortable to open the bail
• They reworked the dimensions where the two pieces of the hinged bail come together to make a better fitting hinge
• The bail was heat-treated to add durability

That's a lot of changes to make on a small, but important part of an enhancer! But we want you to enjoy your sterling silver jewelry for a long time, and that sometimes means making changes to our designs so they last for as long as you have them. We think the efforts of Chris and the team in Production are going to go a long way towards making our necklace enhancers even better!

Visit the Relios Jewelry website today and check out the great selection of necklace enhancers we have today! And keep your eyes peeled for eight (8) new collections!

Give Love, Give Relios!

Valentine's Day is almost here! It's a chance for us to tell the people we're close to that we love them. Wives, daughters, mothers, sisters, best friends... You want to find the perfect gift to say I love you with all your heart, but maybe you're having trouble finding it.

You might be in a bit of a spot like Pedro, one of our marketing assistants, was at Christmas time. He was looking for just the right gift his girlfriend, asking for advice and ideas. But it had to be just right.

Or maybe you're in a situation like these Relios customers:

My mother is nearly impossible to shop for...she has everything and does very little in the way of hobbies (reading, gardening, etc.)...
J.H. from Pennsylvania

I was looking for something to buy my sister for but couldn't figure out what to get her...
V.R. from Florida

Well, Relios is here exactly for moments like these! With our help, each person found just the right gift. Call our customer service department (800-827-6543) or visit our Valentine's Day Gift Center and we'll help you find a gift that will touch the heart of that special person.

Find your way to great southwestern gifts, jewelry gift sets, inspirational gifts, or shop by price to meet your budget.

Try out our selection of heart jewelry for gifts that turn how you feel into a bold literal statement. Find rhodonite, mother-of-pearl, and lapis jewelry shaped like love's greatest symbol in pendants, earrings and bracelets.

The Loving Family collection of jewelry will help you share with your loved ones how much your family means to you, like it did for J.H.

Check out the display of our top 10 Valentine's Day gifts and our necklace enhancers. Enhancers make a great gift idea. The hinged bail lets you move an enhancer from one necklace to another to create lots of unique looks! It's like giving the gift of a whole jewelry collection in just one versatile piece.

Our love-inspiring accessories are sure to get you all the hugs and kisses you can handle! So run to ReliosJewelry.com and get your loved ones gifts they'll never forget!

Is That Turquoise, Or Are You Just Happy To See Me?

Long before the days of Miss Cleo and Sylvia Browne, mystics in ancient India and Babylon attributed strength and power to the stones and minerals of the world that surrounded them. They would use gemstones to ward off illness, bolster the spirit and cleanse the soul. Astrologists would later assign gemstones to the signs of the Zodiac, to help people influence their ruling planets. Sound familiar? Thought so. We're talking about birthstones.

While most of us have the holidays on the noggin, some of us are also celebrating birthdays during the month of December. But Relios has you covered for southwestern gifts for more than just the holidays. December's birthstone happens to be a standard in southwestern jewelry: the sky stone, Turquoise.

If cold December gave you birth The month of snow and ice and mirth Place on your hand a turquoise blue; Success will bless whate'er you do. —Gregorian Birthstone Poems

Turquoise has a long tradition as a gemstone. The chalky stone has been a sought after gem not just in Native American cultures, but through out the world. The Aztecs, Egyptians and Persians all used the sky stone as a gemstone in ornamental jewelry. But would you believe that India and Japan would miss out on the beauty of turquoise until thousands of years later? Sounds pretty rough if you ask us.

If you're looking for a gift for that December birthday, look no further. Relios has a great special section dedicated to turquoise jewelry gifts for December. Find earrings, bracelets and necklaces ranging from clear blue to vivid green with a matrix, or pick something in between. You can find our special December birthstone category of turquoise jewelry by clicking the image below.

You won't find fake turquoise at Relios. We use genuine, natural gemstones. And we never use dyed turquoise. This effectively makes every piece of turquoise jewelry we make a unique gift, because the color of the stones will vary from piece to piece. So when you're giving the gift of turquoise jewelry by Relios to your December birthday girl, you can honestly say you've given them a one-of-a-kind gift.

The first people to produce imitation turquoise were the ancient Egyptians, using earthenware called faience.

Gift Central Station

You've spent the morning warming up with hot coffee or tea, but now it's time to venture outside. You watch your breath puff out in little clouds in the cold air as head out to your car.

Hmph! The windshield is frosted over. You get out the scraper and peel the frost off of the windshield as the car engine hums away trying to heat up the car.

Finally, you're out of the driveway and on your way to the mall. You're going to brave the long lines and rack-after-rack, shelf-after-shelf of potential gifts that have already been through.

And then come the questions: If only they had that bracelet in that color. If only they had that necklace with this stone. Where do I checkout? How long will I be in line? Am I spending too much? Is this nice enough? What about that?

Then you wake up.

The holiday season is staring you down and you need a great way to stave off all the craziness that shopping for gifts brings with it. No one likes to deal with the lines and the parking lot and the cold. Since we find it as tiring as everyone else does, we've decided to do something about it!

The Relios Jewelry Gift Center!

We've gone through our jewelry and organized it to help you find those great southwestern gifts you're looking for with less hassle. We've grouped products together by price and by type to make it quick and easy to get your holiday shopping done.

Inspirational Gifts
Jewelry with spiritual or symbolic connotations like dream catchers, angels and hearts.

Gorgeous Gift Sets
Amazing jewelry gift sets featuring some your favorite southwestern styles and stones. Find sets featuring turquoise, lapis, and red jasper!

Easy for Anyone
Great simple styles and inexpensive jewelry are the hallmark of the Easy for Anyone group! Find elegant jewelry with more subdued hints of southwestern style giving the jewelry a great range of potential.

Carolyn Pollack Fans
Do you follow Carolyn's appearances on QVC? Then this is the jewelry section for you! You'll find a lot of Carolyn's non-exclusive designs here. Add more great styles and colors to your CP collection.

Tops for Teens
Looking for styles that your daughter, granddaughter, or niece would look great in? Try these fun styles ranging from hoops to drops and sterling to stones!

Simply Silver
Sometimes you're looking to make a straightforward statement. Find your statement piece in this section of nothing-but-sterling-silver jewelry.

Totally Turquoise
What would southwestern gifts for the holidays be without turquoise? It just wouldn't feel right! From green turquoise to blue, we've got a lot of great styles to offer.

Clip Earrings
No pierced ears? No problem! Browse this section of more than a dozen styles of earrings we offer with clips instead of posts and earnuts.

Men's Basics
Looking for something for the guy in your life? Try our Men's Basics section filled with rings, cuff links and chains.

With everything from inexpensive jewelry to sweep them off their feet gifts, shop the at the Relios Gift Center today and save yourself the nightmare!