Just For Fun

Do you have a symbol that reflects who you are, where you’ve been, or what you hope for in the future? Or perhaps you’re searching for a meaningful symbol to give someone special? Jewelry can be much more than a beautiful accessory. The right symbol can express feelings, commemorate an important moment, represent a personal journey, or communicate a message without saying a word.

With so many symbols, shapes, and motifs to choose from, you’re sure to find one that speaks to your heart and connects with your own unique experiences. Here are a few popular jewelry symbols to inspire your search.

• The Heart is one of the most recognizable symbols in the world. It is most commonly associated with romantic love, however, its meaning can extend far beyond romance and can represent love, affection, devotion, friendship, emotional connection.

• The Infinity Symbol represents something without end, making it a natural symbol for relationships and commitments that are meant to last. It can represent everlasting love, forever, loyalty, endless friendship, commitment.
• Stars are associated with hope, guidance, inspiration and dreams. A star can represent following your dreams, finding your way through a challenging time, or believing that something better is ahead.
• The Moon is constantly changing, moving through its different phases while remaining a familiar presence in the night sky. Because of this ever-changing nature, it has become a powerful symbol of transformation, personal growth, intuition, mystery, and new beginnings.
• The Sun represents warmth, light, and life itself. It is often associated with energy, happiness, vitality, warmth, strength, and positivity. It can also symbolize optimism and the decision to embrace each new day with energy and hope.
• The Butterfly is a beautiful symbol of transformation, personal growth, freedom, renewal and new beginnings. It can be particularly meaningful for someone who has overcome challenges, embraced an important change, or is beginning an exciting new chapter. For many people, a butterfly can serve as a reminder of how far they have come and the possibilities that lie ahead.
• The Anchor is a straightforward and powerful symbol traditionally associated with ships and the sea. The anchor represents something that keeps us steady even when circumstances around us are changing and symbolizes stability, strength, grounding and security.
• A Key can unlock a door, open a new path, or provide access to something meaningful. The key has several interpretations – opportunity, unlocking potential, trust, secrets and new beginnings. When paired with a heart, the meaning can become even more personal, often representing love, trust, or the idea that someone holds the key to your heart.
• Simple in design but powerful in meaning, the Circle has no obvious beginning or end. This makes it a natural symbol of eternity, unity, wholeness, commitment, and continuity. Representing an enduring connection, rings have long been associated with relationships, promises, and commitment. A simple circle pendant can also represent completeness and the idea that every part of your journey contributes to who you are today.

Your own experiences can make a symbol more meaningful. That’s what makes symbolic jewelry so powerful: the design starts with a traditional meaning, but the wearer gives it a personal story. At Bridgewaters, we’d love to help you discover a piece that tells your story. Stop in and explore our jewelry collection to find just the right symbol for yourself or someone you love.

Have you ever wondered why baptism and communion are celebrated during Easter? Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion, his conquering of death and redemption of mankind from sin. Both baptism and communion are symbolic of the resurrection through identification with Jesus, a time for renewal of faith and embracing new life, and a celebration of both personal and communal commitment to faith.

Baptism

Baptism is initiation into the church and a public declaration of faith and commitment to Jesus. It represents forgiveness of sins through a covenant with Jesus and a willingness to follow Jesus’ teachings and example. It is also a personal connection to the death, burial, resurrection and eternal lift of Jesus Christ – with waiting to be baptized symbolizing his death on the cross, being lowered into or sprinkled with the water symbolizing his burial, and being raised from the water, symbolizing his rising from the dead.

Communion

The act of communion is a symbol of resurrection with the bread and wine signifying the body and blood of Jesus, broken and poured for humanity’s salvation. Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and their own hope for eternal life received through faith. It is a shared experience that unites believers, emphasizing community within their faith. It invites Christians to reflect on their own spiritual journey, the need for grace and the power of Jesus’ sacrifice.

Whatever your beliefs may be, spring is a time for renewal, reflection and rebirth. Bridgewaters loves to be part of your celebrations – stop in and let us help you find just the perfect jewelry to mark this special time of year.

March 17 has become synonymous with green, corned beef and cabbage, and beer, but where do these traditions come from? St. Patrick’s Day honors Ireland’s patron saint, St. Patrick and is observed on the anniversary of his death in the 5^th century. St. Patrick, born in Britain during Roman times, was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at 16 years old. After six years in slavery, he escaped to what is now France and trained as a priest. He returned to Ireland where he is credited with converting the Irish to Christianity, creating churches and using the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity.

Observance of St. Patrick’s Day began in Ireland in the 9^th or 10^th century as a Roman Catholic feast day. The more secular holiday we know in America began in the 17^th century with parades, corned beef and cabbage and the wearing of green.

In addition to St. Patrick’s Day, there are many symbols that have become synonymous with Ireland and Irish cultural heritage.

• The Claddagh Ring, traditionally associated with marriage, has a heart representing love, the hands friendship and the crown loyalty and can be worn to reveal a relationship status.
• The Celtic Cross or Irish Cross is a Christian symbol associated with Celtic Christianity. The four arms may signify the directions of a compass with a halo, representing unity at the junction.
• The Triquetra or Trinity Knot has many interpretations of its meaning, all of which include three entities in one symbol and is why it is likely to have been adopted as a Christian symbol.

Stop in to Bridgewaters to check out these Irish symbols and find the one that suits you!

Happy New Year! We are excited about completing another rotation around the sun and hope you are too. We keep seeing lots of things social media about new year resolutions and thought we would jump on board with our own jewelry resolutions!

The beginning of the year is a great time to take steps to make sure your jewelry is cared for in every way!

• We resolve to:
  • Check all our jewelry for
    • gems loose in their settings
    • damaged or broken pieces
  • Have all our jewelry with prongs holding gems checked at our favorite jewelry store
  • Bring our broken or damaged pieces our favorite jewelry store for an estimate to fix them
• We resolve to make sure our jewelry insurance is up to date and accurately reflects the value of our pieces (check our more detail with our insurance blog)
  • If needed, we resolve to get our jewelry appraised (check out more detail with our appraisal blog)
• We resolve to review our jewelry for pieces that no longer suit us and either
  • Schedule time with Bridgewaters to create new pieces from them or
  • Begin planning to bring them in for Bridgewaters Buying Event on May 5-7

Just a few simple resolutions can make a big difference in caring for our jewelry, from keeping our gems secure to creating new pieces we’ll love to wear to making sure we are ensured to cover any losses. We know you love your jewelry so stop in to Bridgewaters to make quick work of these resolutions!

Halloween has a special place in our hearts. The memories of dressing up as a witch, a doctor, a favorite sports figure come back to visit once a year. And who doesn’t love a bit of candy? Halloween has an interesting history and wasn’t even popularized around the United States until the 2^nd half of the 19^th century. So, what are some other fun facts about Halloween that we can use to impress our friends and family come October 31?

• Samhainophobia is the fear of Halloween. The name comes from the pre-cursor of Halloween, the Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced “SAH-win”).
• During Samhain, bonfires were lit to ensure the sun would return after the long, hard winter and to ward off spirits. Druids threw the bones of cows into the fires and, “bone fire” became “bonfire”.
• The ancient Celtics disguised themselves as demons and spirits to escape the notice of real spirits on this night.
• The ancient Celtics put out treats and food to placate the spirits roaming on this night. Trick-or-treating is the modern version of this practice.
• Orange and black are associated with Halloween based on its timing: the end of summer/harvest and beginning of winter. Orange symbolizes strength and endurance and stands for the harvest and autumn. Black is a symbol of death and darkness and stands for winter, which was associated with death.
• The first Jack O’Lanterns were made from turnips.
• The candy, most associated with Halloween, Candy Corn, was first created in the 1880s and was originally called “Chicken Feed”.
• The least healthy Halloween candy is Candy Corn based on 22 grams of sugar per serving. The healthiest Halloween candy is Hershey’s Special Dark.

We hope you have fond memories of Halloween and continue the traditions today. If you need some jewelry to mark this occasion, stop in to Bridgewaters!

Have you ever wondered about jewelry trends from historical times? We decided to see what may have been in fashion before modern day. And, boy, did we find some out of the ordinary fashions! Read along for a view into the past!

• Mourning Jewelry: We’ve covered this in a previous blog, but it deserves a mention here as well. In Victorian times, it became a trend inspired by Queen Victoria mourning her husband, Prince Albert. The wealthy followed her lead with lockets, bracelets, necklaces and rings to memorialize their loved ones. Materials included jet, onyx, pearls, dark tortoise shell, black enamel, bog oak, vulcanite, hair and gutta percha (natural rubber made from the Southeast Asian tree). Many of the materials had a specific meaning, for example, jet symbolized grief and mourning due to its deep black color while bog oak represented strength and endurance. Inclusion of hair and sometimes teeth into jewelry was very popular as it was believed to contain a bit of the essence of the person.
• Living Insect Jewelry: Although the wearing of living insects has been around for centuries, for example, the Egyptians wore scarab beetles into battle as they were believed to have supernatural powers of protection, it became fashionable in the 1980s. The Mexican maquech beetle, which is large, docile and wingless, began to be decorated with gold and semi-precious gems and attached to a decorative safety pin by a chair leash. It is said that Mayan women wore maqueches over their hearts to attract and sustain loving relationships based on a story of a Mayan princess who was not permitted to marry a prince whom she loved. She chose to die instead and was transformed into a maquech by a healer with magical powers so that she could spend the rest of her life living as a beautiful brooch on the chest of her lover close to his heart.
• Poison Ring: Yes, these are more than just spy movie intrigues! The concept has been around from ancient times, but became extremely popular in the Middle Ages when political intrigues and poisonings were more common. It was a discreet method of carrying poison, hidden in a small container under a gemstone in a ring. Some choose to carry an antidote instead of poison! The poison could also be used to commit suicide to avoid capture or torture.

While we here at Bridgewaters are not sure we would like to wear any of these bizarre pieces of jewelry, it is always interesting to learn about trends throughout history. What current trends do you think future generations will view as bizarre?

We’ve had a few posts about jewelry facts over the last few years, but we’ve never covered jewelry myths. It is great to know the myths that surround jewels and jewelry so you are at the top of your game when you look to purchase your next piece.

Jewelry Myths – Debunked!

• Opals are Bad Luck: Originally opals were viewed as lucky in Roman times with husbands gifting opals to their wives as good luck charms. This changed during the Victorian era, when the French wanted to hurt the British opal trade and the myth surfaced of opals as bad luck, associated with black magic.
• Diamonds are the Rarest Gem: While some diamonds are very rare, the overwhelming majority are not. Other gems are much more rare, like painite with just 25 known specimens, pink/purple gem star taaffeite, and alexandrite.
• Diamonds Can’t be Damaged: It is true, diamonds are the hardest mineral with Mohs hardness of 10. However, diamonds can scratch other diamonds and diamonds can chip or fracture.
• Zircons versus Cubic Zirconia: It is true, cubic zirconia is an artificial gem, but zircon is a precious gem and the oldest mineral on Earth. They come in lots of colors and are similar to diamonds in brilliance.
• Precious versus Semiprecious: These terms are essentially meaningless. They started being used in the 19^th century to help market the four precious stones: diamond, ruby, sapphire, and emerald. Some semiprecious stones are more rare or may cost more than precious stones.
• There are no Different Colors of Gold: True gold is yellow. Other colors are made using gold and varying amounts of iron, silver, platinum, copper or aluminum to achieve the desired tones.

As you look to expand your jewelry collection, it is always good to know not just jewelry facts, but the myths that are still influencing the market. Stop in to Bridgewaters to see what other myths we can explore with you!

Love is in the air! And our favorite love-inspiring holiday, Valentine’s Day, is right around the corner. Are you one of the 52% of Americans who will celebrate Valentine’s Day? Either way, read on for some really cool facts about it!

• As mentioned, only about 52% or over 136 million Americans plan to celebrate and those that do budgeted $192.80 in 2023, up 9.91% from 2022. Overall, consumer spending was $25.9 billion, up 8.37% over 2022.
• Consumers aged 35–44 spend the most of any age demographic on Valentine’s Day at an average of $280.
• 145 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged each year.
• What is shopped for?
  • 57% shop for candy,
  • 40% shop for cards,
  • 37% shop for flowers,
  • 21% shop for jewelry.
• Facts about Valentine’s Candy:
  • Conversation hearts and heart-shaped boxes of chocolates are most popular.
  • $2.2 billion was spent on Valentine’s candy in 2022.
  • During Valentine’s week, 58 million pounds of chocolate and candy are purchased.
• Facts about Valentine’s Flowers:
  • 30% of all holiday flower purchases are for Valentine’s Day.
  • About 250 million roses are grown each year just for this holiday. 83% of consumers who buy flowers purchase roses.
• Facts about Valentine’s Jewelry:
  • While only 21% shop for jewelry, it is the category where the most is spent at $5.5 billion in 2023.

Are you looking for a great gift idea for those you love? Stop by Bridgewaters and let us help you find the perfect gift!

The end of the year is a favorite time of ours here at Bridgewaters. We love to see all the fun and festive things going on from Halloween with kids in cute costumes, to Thanksgiving with pumpkin pie and the beauty of fall colors and, finally, to our December holidays with the scent of pine and sound of ho ho ho, the festival of lights and celebrations of African heritage. It always feels like a time of year to take stock, reflect on the past year and start to think about next year.

When we think about the past year, we are overwhelmed by all the fun we had celebrating our 140^th Anniversary. What comes to mind is the support and love we felt from you, our customers, throughout the year. From cupcakes and cocoa to tasting wines and beers to our scavenger hunt, you came out and joined in! We hope that you enjoyed it all as much as we did.

And so, as we move closer to the end of another amazing year, we want to take a moment to share how thankful we are for each of you – for supporting us, for trusting us to help you find the right gifts, new pieces for yourself and to care for your existing jewelry and gems.

Our Thanksgiving wish for you is fun with family, friends and loved ones, a perfectly cooked turkey and a delicious slice of pumpkin pie with just the right dollop of whipped cream. We look forward to seeing you on Saturday, November 25 for Small Business Saturday!

With National Grandparents Day just past, we started to wonder about the many different names that grandparents are called. While many grandparents choose to remain traditional with Grandma or Grandpa, there is wide spectrum of nicknames: MomMom/PopPop, Meemaw, Gramps/Gram and so many more. So where and why did these nicknames come from?

Grandma and Grandpa may be too difficult for a young child to say or they may feel too old or traditional. So many grandparents choose their own nickname, something that makes them comfortable and celebrates the special bond between grandparents and grandchildren.

Sometimes nicknames come about from something the child associates with the grandparent, a specific scent can create a “Peaches Gran” or color of lipstick can create a “Cherry Granny”. Maybe a location provides inspiration and there is a “Beach Grammy”.

Another popular naming for grandparents is related to heritage. Tutu in Hawaiian, Bubbe in Yiddish, Nonna in Italian, Abuelita in Spanish, Oma/Umpa in German, to name a few.

And sometimes, nicknames can be a bit practical, used to differential between other sets of grandparents if they choose the same name. We’ve heard of Cape Cod Grandma/Grandpa or New Jersey Grams/Gramps.

What was the tradition in your family? We would love to hear about it on our Bridgewater Facebook page!