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Automic Gold Blog

We love educating and sharing experiences on this blog.

What Do the High-Fashion and Jewelry Industries Have Against Plus-Size Bodies?

More than two thirds of American women wear plus sizes—and that’s not taking into account the men and non-binary folks who fit into that category. Even so, only about 2.3 percent of women’s apparel caters to those sizes; the number drops to .1 percent for luxury retail brands. When it comes to jewelry in plus sizes, the choices are relegated to fast-fashion clothing brands dabbling in the world of accessories. Excluding Automic Gold, fine jewelry in a full range of sizes doesn’t seem to exist.

So why are so many high-end retailers against being truly size inclusive? According to an op-ed in Business of Fashion, “Fashion, as a system, as a force, as commerce, as logic and as belief, is all about exclusion.” The article goes on to state that being truly inclusive and representative goes against the very nature of the industry. Designer Christian Siriano argues...

Layering 101: How To Layer Necklaces

From Shortest to Longest

Leave 2 inches between necklaces. It's a good amount of space to leave between necklaces for balanced, organic flow.
To spice up the mix, add a pendant or lariat necklace, but make sure to account for height of the pendant when you layer to balance the look
Model wearing Automic Gold Choker, Dashed Collar and Lariat Necklace
Above (from top to bottom):

The Biggest Pendant Goes to the Bottom

Style the biggest, heaviest pendant be on the bottom, and add a pop of color in the...

Queer Dollars

I recently got an email from a marketing agency that was preaching about the effectiveness of marketing to LGBTQ audiences, and how LGBTQ community was a new target audience brands could utilize this season.

That got under my skin. Even I started Automic Gold, I used to see pride stickers show up on facades of shops squarely on June 1st. And every year I had the same question: where were you the other 11 months?

I appreciate that companies are voicing their support for LGBTQ community. It’s a step that makes acceptance a reality and equality a realistic goal.

But I would love big brands to show your support just as visibly and loudly throughout the year.

And If You Have To...

  1. Go beyond heteronormative cisgender couples being happy on beaches in your marketing. Hire queer non-white models. Hire fat queer models and disabled queer models. Hire transgender...

How to style multiple earrings?

   

Circle Threader Earring                               Automic Gold studs with Connector

 


Multi-pierced ears are so fun to style. You can stick to one statement look, or switch up the earrings for a myriad of fresh looks. 

Here's my advice and some ideas on how to style the earrings!

Go from big to small, or from long to short.

Start with the biggest or longest earring closer to your face, and go with smaller or shorter earrings as you move up the earlobe. That way you build an elegant graduated look.

And, if you want to bring a bit of punk energy, switch the order in opposite direction - from smallest to largest further away from...

How to clean real gold jewelry, with diamonds or with stones. Easy, at home.

Cleaning plain real gold jewelry is very easy - just use water, soap, cloth or soft brush.

Note of caution: be careful not to drop your valuable piece into the sink! You can put a cloth over drain to prevent anything from falling down the drain.

First - if the piece is extra dirty you can leave it to soak in mix of soap and water overnight. That is essentially like a pre-wash.

If the piece got scratched up with use, use our jewelry pouch (which doubles as a polishing cloth) to polish visible parts of the metal. You can use any other polishing cloth as well. Press hard when you polish. If scratches are serious and still don't go away - take it to a jeweler for a re-polish.

For gold jewelry with diamonds or cubic...

Why we don't do discounts.

"A particularly famous brand of jewelry" gold earrings start at $500 a pair. Our comparable Bar Earrings are $126. Yes, they charge more for that famous name, but it's 4 times more expensive. Should we price our products at $425 and give you a mind-blowing 70% off coupon?

I believe that's wrong. A "fake" discount (that was included in the price) works because our minds are tricky. But in no way it feels honest to me.

That's why I made a decision from the start to not to leave room for a discount in our prices.

Why we don't do sales.

I am selling solid gold. It won't spoil like produce, won't fade after laundry like clothes, and won't devalue like a certain fancy iGadget in September.

Price of gold was $35/ounce just a 100 years ago. In the...

I am a Metalsmith and Small Business Owner, Can I Handle Both?

Hi!
It’s Al, founder of Automic Gold.
I want to share what I’ve been up to at this week.
1
Did you hear about the new tax reform? It’s a LOT to process. Literally - there’s 400 pages of changes, plus markings on page gutters??
I’ve attended a whole workshop on new tax code trying to get a grasp of it. Long story short - we get more money on each paycheck, but there’s less to be deducted. As a result - most people will see much less $$$ on their tax refunds next year, and more folks will pay more taxes in total.
2
I SNORTED Michelle Visage’s book “The Diva Rules” (she is one of the judges on RuPaul's Drag Race).
Reading the book made me her FAN. Her book follows her through...

Which is Which?: Gold-Plated, Gold-Filled, Hollow and Solid Gold

Gold-Plated

Graphic - Brass plated with thin layer of gold

 

Value: Usually the cheapest option. Contains real gold, but very little (about one gram of real gold in one pint of solution can be used to plate thousands of pieces!). Cheaper jewelry will have a very thin plating which wears off fast, but some higher quality brands will have a thicker plating with an additional protective coating to help it last longer.

How to find: Will have no quality mark on the jewelry, but may have company name/logo stamped.

 

Gold-Plated over Sterling Silver

Graphic - thin layer of gold plated over sterling silver

Value: Still gold plated metal, but with valuable sterling silver. Sterling silver is a sought-after material ($0.57 per gram*) while still being very affordable compared to gold ($43.40...

Queer fashion at New York Fashion Week 2017

Event name: Revolution NYFW
Place: Brooklyn Museum
Organizer: DapperQ
We got the tickets $10 a face.
The line for drinks was unacceptable!😱
But the show was so amazing and inspiring. Butch women in fitted, no-place-for-imagination-fitted 🌊, 3-piece suits blessed the stage alongside flaming humans of all body-shapes, colors and complexion. 🙌🏿🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏽🙌🏼
My fav outfit (i almost dropped the phone, I was so exited so couldn't film it😭) was a vine-red velvet top worn with black velvet overalls 🔥🔥🔥by Stuzo.
The people at the event were very nice and very well dressed. I...

How I Started the Company

Hi!

Al here, founder of Automic Gold. I want to share with you my story: how I started working in jewelry industry and why I design my own jewelry.

I migrated into USA in 2009 in smack-dab of our great economy and I couldn't find a job for a really long time. I didn't have any relatives of friend here, so I was really desperate. The only job I could find at the time, was giving our fliers for the jewelry store. So i took it. I was paid $4 and hour :/ I didn't know it was illegal at the time, but I still did it.  After this I was working as a jewelry store clerk, as assistant to the manager and then the store manager. And right now I have my own business. Yayyyy! American dream, right? (no sarcasm intended)

Since I...


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