allyb web store FAQ section

My jewelry is made with natural stone, shell coral and fresh water, cultured pearls. Some pieces are treated for color either using a heating method to increase the depth of color or a dying method (shell and pearls only) to change the color. There is no glass or plastic in my collection. almost all metals in my collection, and ALL Ally B custom components are either made with solid fine pewter or fine stainless steel (medical grade). I use these alloys in my collection because of their beauty and durability. Neither of these alloys requires polishing the way silver does, while both have the same beautiful shine of silver. A FEW of the earring components and beads in the children's collection are silver plated brass or pewter. Since I do not manufacture these parts myself, I cannot control the materials they made of. I hope to eventually custom manufacture all the components within my jewelry collection.

"Cultured" basically mean "intentionally grown" in this instance. Cultured pearls are farmed by intentionally inserting an irritant in the oyster or calm triggering the nacre coating that creates the pearl. When sufficient nacre is built up the farmer harvests the pearl. These are NOT fake pearls. "Fake" pearls are plastic balls coated in iridescent paint.

We use powerful neodymium magnets for our clasps. This way they hold through your hectic day. To connect the clasps simply place the magnetic face of the clasp with pins to the magnetic face of the clasp with holes allowing the pins to go into the holes. THE PINS MUST BE IN THE HOLES, otherwise the clasp will not hold well. To easy separate the magnetic clasps BEND THEM APARTMENT at a 45 degree angle perpendicular to the connection. Imagine the clasp were a candy bar and the connection of the magnetic faces a seam down the center. To break the candy bar in half you bend each end down until it "broke" - same principal. Bending vs. pulling the clasps apart puts the least amount of stress on the magnets and is the preferred method for separating the clasps.

All the pendants have a magnetic component on the back that fits in between the clasps. Simply turn the clasp of the necklace to the front and attached the clasp with pins into the side of that magnetic component that has holes and the clasp with holes to the side of the magnetic component that has pins. This will hold the pendant securely to your necklace until you choose to remove it. MY PENDANT IS BACKWARDS! Don't panic :-). Remove the necklace and turn it around so that the clasp with pins and the clasp with holes are on the opposite sides of your neck than they were when the pendant was backwards. Now when you attach the pendant it should be forwards.

In 99.9% of instances, this just means you need to "flip" the necklace. You can do this by removing the necklace and turn it around so that the clasp with pins and the clasp with holes are on the opposite sides of your neck than they were when the pendant was backwards. Now when you attach the pendant it should be forwards. If this does not fix, their may be a problem with the pendant - call me at 512-921-2276 and we will get you a new one or determine the problem.

Call me at 512-921-2276. Everyone's neckline is different, but we can't build every piece different. If your beads are not laying right, call me and we determine if some beads need to be removed per strand to create the right lay for your neck.

The easiest way to remove the bracelets one-handed is to: 1) center the clasp of the bracelet on the underside of your wrist 2) Grasp the middle of ONE of the clasps with your thumb on top perpendicular to the magnetic connection. 3) Using your wrist as the brace for the other side of the clasp, push with your thumb and until the clasps "bend" apart at a 45% angle. Feel free to call 512-921-2276 if you have questions. The bracelets can be tricky, but once you've got it it's cake!