Tennis Bracelets

[AGBF]

Where should tennis bracelets be discussed? I did a Pricescope search on, "tennis" and found threads in Rocky Talky, Hangout, and Jewelry Pieces. (There were also "tennis" threads listed in Colored Stones and Show Me the Ring, but I, sensibly, ignored them. They were anomalies. Most of the threads were in the other places.)

I am not sure if anyone noticed it, but there has been a lot of discussion of tennis bracelets on Pricescope lately!

I have perked up because I have wanted a tennis bracelet for years and am going to do some initial planning.

After I find out where to discuss this, I would like some help from all of you. I want to know if anyone has photos of tennis bracelets made with yellow gold, and, also, whether you would call such a bracelet a tennis bracelet!

Do tennis bracelets have to be all white (like tennis outfits)?

I may want a platinum or white gold bracelet, because I love a platinum bracelet I have seen on the Tradeshop site, but before I commit, I''d like to see if yellow gold tennis bracelets exist. I would especially like to see what stones of about .33 carat look like set in a yellow gold tennis bracelet-type setting.

Any information will be appreciated!

Deb

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Hi!
Tennis bracelets are made in every color metal. My original tennis bracelet was set in yellow gold and I swapped it for one set in platinum 4 years later.

 

[AGBF]

I found some photos on the ''net, although I would love to see more! And, merci, Madame for your quick response! I hope this photo comes out well! I am going to want bezel set stones, so I looked specifically for those.

Deb

 

[AGBF]

This is the same bracelet in white.

Deb

 

[AGBF]

Date: 10/24/2005 3:10:17 PM
Author: AGBF
This is the same bracelet in white.

I guess the white one is bigger.

Deb

 

[AGBF]

I think this one was made smaller.

Deb

 

[widget]

Hi Deb...

Here''s one I found on Ebay with what look like half-bezels..

What total carat weight are you considering? Wouldn''t a bracelet with .33 ct stones be pretty honkin'' big?

 

[cflutist]

Date: 10/24/2005 3:36:30 PM
Author: widget
What total carat weight are you considering? Wouldn''t a bracelet with .33 ct stones be pretty honkin'' big?

Not when "shrinkage" sets in

Here is my 6.5" bracelet made with 32 - .33ct stones. A standard 7" bracelet would have 35 stones.

 

[cflutist]

For comparison here is a picture of a bracelet made of .33s next to one made with .16s:

 

[widget]

LOL Cflutist!...I just saw your old thread and realized AGBF''s mention of .33ct stones was NOT a typo!!!

Lordy....your bracelet is GORGEOUS!!!!

By the way, Deb: any concern that a 14k or 18k bracelet might not match all your luscious high-carat stuff?


widget

 

[AGBF]

cflutist,

Is it an optical illusion that makes the metal in your bracelets look like yellow gold? I thought your bracelets were white?

As you know, I always wanted a bracelet similar to yours, but with a bezel setting like one I had seen on a Tradeshop bracelet. I always planned to ask Wink to make my bracelet, too, since he did such a great job with yours!

Deb

 

[AGBF]

This is the Tradeshop bracelet I have always wanted...set with .33 carat stones.

Deb

 

[cflutist]

Date: 10/24/2005 3:54:12 PM
Author: AGBF
cflutist,

Is it an optical illusion that makes the metal in your bracelets look like yellow gold? I thought your bracelets were white?

As you know, I always wanted a bracelet similar to yours, but with a bezel setting like one I had seen on a Tradeshop bracelet. I always planned to ask Wink to make my bracelet, too, since he did such a great job with yours!

Deb

The bracelet is 14K Yellow Gold to match all of my other jewelry. Wink had suggested 18K (for heft and color) but I "cheaped out" and got 14K (also a little harder metal than 18K).

 

[AGBF]

Date: 10/24/2005 3:53:54 PM
Author: widget
By the way, Deb: any concern that a 14k or 18k bracelet might not match all your luscious high-carat stuff?

Nope . I have plenty of platinum and 18K yellow gold jewelry, and some 14K yellow gold, too. The high karat stuff is a recent interest .

Deb

 

[AGBF]

Oh, geez! Decisions! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE yellow gold...and I always loved your bracelets. But I had assumed I''d get platinum. The Tradeshop does platinum. THAT is certainly durable. If I don''t do yellow gold, should I do platinum? Is there any reason to use white gold (other than cost) if one wants a white metal?

Deb

 

[jadeleaves]

Hmm I remember when I was looking to get a tennis bracelet, someone might have told me that it is better to use 18k gold (either color) for bracelets because platinum bends more easily (or something like that)? I couldn''t understand it at that time, maybe I only dreamt it

as I always thought platinum was a denser, more durable and sturdier metal?

I ended up with a 3 pronged WG tennis bracelet, which I''m very happy with. Although I wouldn''t mind more, for the ''stacked'' look.

 

[Modified Brilliant]

Another factor to consider with a yellow gold tennis bracelet is diamond quality. Many mass produced bracelets use "top light brown" diamonds that actually appear whiter in yellow gold. Style and metal content should be a consideration when making a purchase...but make sure that you receive the diamond quality that you really want. Happy shopping!

www.metrojewelryappraisers.com

 

[AGBF]

Date: 10/30/2005 8:01:23 AM
Author: Modified Brilliant
Another factor to consider with a yellow gold tennis bracelet is diamond quality. Many mass produced bracelets use 'top light brown' diamonds that actually appear whiter in yellow gold.

This is not an issue for me, as I will be having a bracelet custom-made when I can afford to do it at all. I have GIA and AGS certified diamonds that range from D to G, but many are set in yellow gold anyway. I know that if I ever reset those stones, they will not be yellow (unless I reset them in yellow gold!).

At the moment I have decided to go with platinum because I do not want to notice the metal. I like to see minimal metal most of the time that I set a diamond. I think I am going to go for the Tradeshop's look: platinum bezels with no metal bars between stones. No excess metal in the bezels. No prongs (by definition). I want my bracelet to look as if diamonds were just strung together on an invisible strand of silk.

I am looking for .33 carat (1/3 carat) stones in what would be graded by GIA or AGS as an E-F color range and a VS1-VS2 clarity range. This project will not be happening instantly!!!

Deb

 

[AGBF]

Date: 10/30/2005 3:49:40 AM
Author: JadeLeaves
I ended up with a 3 pronged WG tennis bracelet, which I''m very happy with. Although I wouldn''t mind more, for the ''stacked'' look.

JadeLeaves,

PLEASE post a picture of it here!

Deb

 

[WinkHPD]

I can not verify the veracity of this, but I was told and have long believed that the reason tennis bracelets are called tennis bracelets is that Chris Everts was wearing one during a match and it came off, requiring the match to be stopped while Miss Everts picked up the bracelet.

Since that time any diamond or colored stone surround bracelet has been called a tennis bracelet whether it is made in white or yellow metal.

Way back when it first started we did a lot of insurance replacement work and my wife got a call from an agent requesting a tennis bracelet. She said she would check with me. I told her we did not have any but could design one, what style of tennis rackets did they want me to use... Sigh, we never heard back from that adjuster who no doubt thought we were complete idiots. It would be another few weeks before I found out what a tennis bracelet was. We did not have the internet back then, let alone a great place like Pricescope.

Wink

Wink

 

[strmrdr]

rofl funny story wink.
I can just picture the look on that guys face when he heard that.
lol

 

[cflutist]

Date: 10/30/2005 5:59:27 PM
Author: Wink
I can not verify the veracity of this, but I was told and have long believed that the reason tennis bracelets are called tennis bracelets is that Chris Everts was wearing one during a match and it came off, requiring the match to be stopped while Miss Everts picked up the bracelet.

Since that time any diamond or colored stone surround bracelet has been called a tennis bracelet whether it is made in white or yellow metal.

Wink

Wink, now that you mention it, I vaguely remember see that TV footage in my youth (my father was an avid tennis player).

ETA:

The tennis bracelet was born in 1987. Its godmother is Chris Evert, a leading Grand Slam player in the U.S. Open and in all the important tennis appointments of those years. Sports stories recall the victories, defeats and matches won with a final, devastating serve by the lovely Chris against her eternal adversary, Martina Navratilova, her muscular friend and rival on the tennis court. But there were also paragraphs in the sports pages, and sometimes women’s magazines, dedicated to the outfits of these two sportswomen, the coquetries of the blonde Chris and her passion for jewellery.

One incident in particular made the headlines, and not only on the sports pages, because it made her interrupt a game in the U.S. Open. The elegant, light diamond bracelet, from which Chris never separated, not even during tennis tournament finals, broke. And the match was interrupted to allow her to recover her precious stones. From that moment, the discreet and radiant "stream of light" became the "tennis" bracelet. Worn during the Nineties also by a new star in the tennis firmament, the Brazilian Gabriela Sabatini, it has dominated markets all over the world for twenty years. It has always kept its nickname, coined almost as a joke and now the synonym of class, charm and fashionable elegance.

 

[valeria101]

That''s funny... where the name comes from. I''ve always wondered why would anyone prefer to play tennis with a line bracelet on.


Dear Wink, I am totally surprised that anyone on the planet could ignore that there are lots of kinds of line bracelets anyway. Unless those guys had picked the original from the tennis court in ''87.

 

[Kaleigh]

I remember that well Wink. And if memory serves Jimmy Connors gave that bracelet to Chris Everet.

 

[websailor]

Wink,

you could have made one of these:

 

[Blue824]

Date: 10/30/2005 5:59:27 PM
Author: Wink


Way back when it first started we did a lot of insurance replacement work and my wife got a call from an agent requesting a tennis bracelet. She said she would check with me. I told her we did not have any but could design one, what style of tennis rackets did they want me to use... Sigh, we never heard back from that adjuster who no doubt thought we were complete idiots. It would be another few weeks before I found out what a tennis bracelet was. We did not have the internet back then, let alone a great place like Pricescope.

Wink

Wink

LOL - That gave me a good laugh!!!!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

wink- I have heard the same story also

Deb, I love your idea of a thin bezel of white gold/PLT, I can already tell it will be SOOOO beautiful.

 

[Kaleigh]

Having it set in platinum or Wg will just let the diamonds shine, all the more. Can''t wait to see it.

 

[jadeleaves]

Hi Deb,

I''m at work - will try to take pics when I get home tonight!

Your tennis bracelet-to-be sounds yummy already!

 

[MissAva]

Date: 10/30/2005 8:49:32 PM
Author: websailor
Wink,

you could have made one of these:

Now that would get me outside in a miniskirt!