A Whole Year Of Articles!
Did you know, the Alyssum Jewellery blog is officially one year old!
Our first ever article, About Us, was published way back on April 6, 2017. Since then, our weekly articles and blogs have been read over 2000 times, so we thought this a great opportunity to recap and bring you a few of your favourites, and maybe some gems that you've missed too. The Top Five The top five articles, based on readership, likes and shares (taking into account how long they've been published) are: The Different Types of Clip-On Earring Fastener
This was one of our earliest articles, and still to date it's the one that gets the most weekly reads. It's simply a look at the different types of clip-on earrings out there, from paddle backs, to screw backs, and spring tension clip-on hoops.
We're rather proud of this one! Written in response to one of our most commonly asked questions, this little guide shows you the simplest ways to adjust all kinds of clip-on earrings. Needing very few tools – and sometimes nothing more than your hands – you can see for yourself just how easy it is to tighten or loosen your clip-on earrings for the most comfortable fit, with infographics throughout. If you're a clip-on earring wearer and haven't already read it, we recommend this one for bookmarking!
From engagement rings found on carrots, to jewellery from outer space and movie trivia, this article was fun to research and write, and one that continues to be frequently visited every week. It inspired a further two articles, each with ten more unusual jewellery and gemstone trivia facts, so if you want to know what the biggest diamond in the universe is (hint: it's NOT one you could fit on your finger!), how much gold is in the ocean, or just who enjoyed wearing jewellery of LIVE beetles, then you'll find all the links here.
Bridal Jewellery on a Clip-on Earrings Site? Our clip-on earrings site was originally a sister site to our bridal jewellery site, but in July 2017 we closed the bridal jewellery site down to focus on clip-on earrings. We didn't want to cause any confusion with the changeover, especially for someone who found us through an old advertising campaign, so this article was intended to reassure everyone that we were still the same business, just with a whole new look! At the bottom of this article you'll find a little hint on how to get an exclusive 10% off discount code ;)
This one took us by surprise with its popularity. It was a chance remark about funniest movies that inspired this article on the earrings worn in "The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert", and it was really written just for an excuse to watch the movie again! But it seems a LOT of people love the movie, and with the stage show currently touring Australia the whole Priscilla Queen of the Desert thing is enjoying something of a revival. If you haven't seen it, there's a clip at the end of this post to give you a taste of what's in store!
Our Favourites The above five are our reader favourites, and now here are five of our own! Of course we like all of our articles, but some were certainly a lot more fun to write than others! We love the ones that involve the most research, and especially love it when we learn something that surprises us! With that in mind, we think we're narrowed our personal top five (excluding Priscilla which would definitely make the list) down to ... So You're Engaged!
Once this one was started it took off with a life of its own. We could never have guessed just how many fascinating things there are to write about engagements! From proposals, to the Chinese ring finger theory, about diamonds and celebrity engagement rings, superstitions, and how to look after your engagement ring, this article was a real eye-opener and heaps of fun.
Jewellery Spells, Old Wives' Tales, and Legends of Cursed Gemstones! Written especially for Hallowe'en, this was great fun to research. Who doesn't love the chance to cast a bit of a spell (albeit a harmless one!), or to feel the chill of a cursed and deadly gemstone? Yes, this is definitely one of our faves.
Earrings: A Fashion That's Endured For Millennia Did you know that people have been piercing their ears for over 5000 years? Egyptian mummies have been found with pierced lobes, and earrings were often used to show status, whether wealthy or poor – even slaves wore earrings to identify them as someone's property. Sometimes it was more fashionable for men to wear earrings, and sometimes more fashionable for women, and for a while it was considered wholly indecent to go poking holes in your ears altogether, hence the introduction of clip-on earrings!
The Origin Of Popular Wedding Traditions To be honest, when it comes to wedding articles, it's a toss-up between this one and Wedding Day Good Luck Bad Luck for our favourites list. But if you want to know why we throw confetti, or which popular wedding tune was actually from a bawdy operatic bedroom scene, then this is the one to read.
Earring Styles of the 1980s Eighties fashions are making a comeback, so this recent post was the ideal opportunity to look back (and laugh) at some of the styles that were popular thirty years ago. Cringe or be inspired ... both are equally viable options with the styles presented!
This anniversary article is the 55th to be published on our site. If you'd like to scroll back through a few, you can browse by category – All About the Materials, Birthstones, Care and Repair, Gemology, General Interest, Glossary, History, Just For Fun, and Style Guides – or click on a tag that interests you. And if you have any suggestions for future articles we'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading!
Next week: "Mother's Day"; A look at the traditions and history surrounding this celebration of mothers, along with a few choice hints and tips for popular gifts.
