FAQs

If you wear my jewelry all the time, it should stay shiny and beautiful. After wearing and before storing, wipe with dry soft cloth and store airtight, preferably in the bag given with the piece. If you feel your jewelry needs cleaning, you can use a silver polishing cloth, like the yellow Sunshine cloth or other silver cleaning cloth to remove tarnish. Occasionally washing may be needed, I have found a professional cleaning product that works great on my jewelry. I now sell the jewelry cleaners that I have been recommending.  It is safe for all of the metals I use, and most stones I use. The polishing cream used with a dampened toothbrush will remove tarnish and the foaming solution is a great cleaner to remove dirt and body oils and bring back its original shine. Be gentle using the polishing cream on a piece that I have oxidized or softer stones like lapis and turquoise.
Do not get wet any pieces that have wooden beads.  You can use the these cleaning products on the metal parts that I have attached to any leather cord, just be gentle on these and try to use it only on the metal trying to avoid the leather. Always set out to dry completely before storing. Regarding stones: Some crystals are affected by sunlight. It is best to store in darkness any jewelry that contains crystal stones.

Measuring for a bracelet – Best fit is achieved by having an actual measurement of wrist. To measure, use a soft tape measure and note the measurement, of your wrist at the narrowest part, to the closest 1/4 of an inch and select that in the Wrist Measurement field. If you do not have a soft tape measure, use a string and then measure that using a ruler. When making the bracelet, I will size it on a mandrel with enough looseness for a perfect fit. Here is a metric to inches conversion if needed. Most of my bracelets have some kind of dangle or charm. You can request these removed if that is your preference.

If a bracelet or bangle needs to be made for a wrist measuring larger than 7.5 inches (7 1/2 in.), contact me for the price.

Please note: If you are ordering for a gift and do not know the size, select SMALL, AVERAGE, or LARGE in the Wrist Measurement field. I offer free size adjustment up to 3 months after purchase. I just ask for a small return mailing fee of $4.00. If adjustment needs to be made exceptionally larger, there may be a fee.

Measuring for a choker – The average size for a choker is 16 inch. Use a necklace you already own to measure your desired length. (Slender or smaller than average women may wear a 15 or 15 1/2 inch choker.) When using a necklace you already own for measuring use one that has a similar thickness of the choker you are ordering, or it may be too small. Contact me with questions. Here is necklace length guide, but keep in mind these sizes will be unique to everyone.

There are a couple of ways. The best way to order is online using my website shopping cart. Please check all your spelling so that I have accurate mailing address and email. My site uses SquareUp to process payments, which is as secure as any major online banking site. You do not need a SquareUp account to use this service. You can pay using all major credit cards or debit cards. There is a 3% processing fee when using credit or debit cards. Another way is to contact me letting me know what you want to order. If you call or email me to order, I will invoice you through SquareUp via email, or you can send me a check. (Contact me for my address if you want to mail a check, plus there is no processing fee to send a check.) Please do not send credit card info thru email and I do not take credit cards over the phone.  There is a 5.5% sales tax for sales within the state of Wisconsin.

If I have the item in stock, I will mail it within a few days. Several days or up to a week may be needed to make size adjustments to jewelry, and many pieces are made to order. I will contact you if it will take longer than a week to prepare for mailing. If you need something quickly or by a certain date, just enter that in the “Notes” area during checking out, or contact me to ask. See “shipping options” below for various mailing time. I generally will email you the tracking number when your package is ready to mail.

If you created an account before early 2019, your account was lost due to a website updated that needed to be done. So sorry about that but it was out of my control. Please create another account if you like. If you want to see if you have an account or want to set up a new account you can do so here, or click on the “My Account” in the menu. If you want to know what you have ordered in the past, I may have record of that. It will be helpful if you can give me approximate dates when you ordered.

I use (United States Postal Service-USPS) and (UPS) for all shipping. All orders are shipped from Wisconsin. Prices include shipping and handling costs, and insurance as listed with each option below. The time estimates are from the day mailed. This does not include the time needed if item is not in stock or size adjustment is needed.

FREE SHIPPING for USA orders $100 and up. The free shipping option is USPS First Class.

USPS First Class: $5.95 (time varies by destination)

USPS Priority Mail: $9.95 (2-4 days from date of mailing) (This option includes $100 insurance.)

UPS: $13.95 (this option includes total value insurance) (time varies by destination)

Canadian First Class: $16.95 (subject to change – time varies by destination)

Canadian Priority Mail: $36.95 (subject to change – 6-10 days from date of mailing) ( This option includes $200 insurance.)

All the above prices are subject to change.

*All Other Countries: Please contact me listing the items you want to order and your full mailing address. This is needed to calculate the approximate cost of shipping.

Contact me if you need Express Delivery.

Gold Filled – also known as “rolled gold” is composed of a solid layer of gold bonded with heat and pressure to another metal such as brass. It is 50 times thicker than regular plating. It does not ‘peel’ or ‘rub’ off. There is no better metal for gold jewelry short of real gold. It wears like gold and customers don’t experience any problems with it, and enjoy it for years. I use 14 karat gold-filled.

I do not use any silver plating components. All of the silver wire I use is Sterling Silver, 92.5% silver. I use some silver beads and components that come from the Karen Hill Tribe in Thailand. These silver beads are a higher quality than sterling at 95% silver. The sterling silver beads I use are mostly from Bali, but also from the USA, India, Turkey, Israel, China, and Nepal, and maybe a few other places as well. Occasionally, I may use Gold Vermeil. This is a thick gold plating over sterling silver that is of higher quality than standard gold plating. Information about the difference between these two can be found here. No standard plated gold is used in my pieces. If gold vermeil is used in my pieces, it will be stated in the description of the piece. None of my pieces contain nickle.

I have been asked many times to repair jewelry that has been made by someone else. I usually do not repair jewelry not made by me but you can ask because I occasionally will, depending on what it is. Repairing strung jewelry?…I work mostly in wire. Normally the beads that were used in the stinging process have too small of holes for use with wire. However there are exceptions, contact me if you have beads that you would like made into a new piece of jewelry in my style using wire. Of course, my own designs are guaranteed and I will repair it any time free of charge if breakage is due to a manufacture defect. However, you will need to send it to me if you are too far away to drop off. If a repair is needed due to misuse or accident, please contact me for an estimate. Sometimes I can determine the extent of repair if you email or text me a clear close-up image of the piece needing repair.

I guarantee my jewelry and I truly want you to be happy with the jewelry you purchase from me. If the item has not been altered or damaged, and if you are not satisfied with the item, just return it to me within two weeks of receiving it, and I will refund the price of the item, or exchange it, whichever you prefer. If you purchase for a gift, I will extend this to two weeks from the date it is given.

Please note: There will be a restocking fee of $5.00 if not returned with original tags, printed info, and jewelry box with ribbon or protective clear bag that was given with the piece.

Yes, I do this quite often. I enjoy the creative input of my customers and it is great fun to co-create in this way. Most of my designs are made in silver, but if you prefer a particular design in gold or copper, I may be able to do that. Also, I have MANY different types of stones. If you see a style you like but want it made with different stones. Just ask. I would be happy to do that for you if I can. Contact me if you would like to create together a custom piece of jewelry.

I send about one or two emails a month. Never will I sell or share your email with anyone. I use Constant Contact for sending my emails and we have very strict rules on this. If you subscribe to my list using a “gmail.com” account please be aware that Gmail sorts emails into folders. Most of the emails you receive from me using this service will go to the “Promotions” folder. If you do not check this folder you will not see my emails. You can drag my emails to the “Primary” folder and request to receive them in the Primary folder in the future. Also, If you do not open my emails for several months, they may go into your “Spam” folder, so look there if you are not seeing my emails. Please mark them as “not spam” if you see it in your spam/junk folder. Also, try to subscribe again or update your email address. Other email programs may have similar folders that my emails can get lost in. If you have subscribed and are not seeing my emails check all the above mentioned folders, or you can search your email account for “BJChristian Designs” or “Betty J Christian”. Contact me if these solutions do not solve the problem.

Yes, I offer gift certificates that can be redeemed on this site or at a show, and are good for up to 6 month from day of purchase. Front & Inside of Gift Certificate. All jewelry comes in a gift box with a tag that describes the piece, Care of Jewelry, and info about me and my designs. The descriptions on the tags are similar to the descriptions that are given of each piece on this site.

Yes, I do sell wholesale to qualifying merchants. Contact me to inquire about ordering wholesale, or about consignment.

You may contact me through email: betty@bjchristian.com or by calling 715-892-6431. If you are traveling through or live near Rhinelander, Wisconsin, I am open to private showings by appointment only, with advance notice.

“The spiral is the age-old intuitive symbol of spiritual development and our identity with the universe.” -Geoff Ward.  Most of my jewelry pieces contain a spiral of some sort. I have always been attracted to spirals, and have been doodling them as long as I can remember.  It’s meaning is of creation, evolution, journey, and enlightenment. Spirals are found in the plant kingdom, throughout nature, and every indigenous culture on Earth. Even the galaxy itself is a spiral. Learn more about spirals here.