The Ins and Outs of Kid's Jewellery

While I was on the journey to create girl’s jewellery, I spent many years researching the ins and outs of sterling silver – to determine how to best create and design a collection that would be fun, fashionable AND durable for kids and young teens.

On that fateful day when my own daughter was turning three, all she wanted as a third birthday present was a girl’s bracelet just like her mother. After trying to find something beautiful in stores and online that was suitable for her, I realized I was up for a challenge.

I ended up settling on a little silver bracelet that tarnished very quickly. My idea to build something for all the girls out there who wanted beautiful kid’s necklaces and children’s bracelets began to evolve and my creative mind began ticking.

Kid’s jewellery needs to be very durable, so I started researching which chains don’t tangle or snap easily, and would not get caught in children’s hair. What better way to research this than to sample adult jewellery and test it on my young daughter and myself! Plus it was a cheeky excuse to buy jewellery for myself ;)

I noticed that some .925 sterling silver jewellery I bought started tarnishing very quickly, whereas with other brands, the 925 sterling silver would look better with wear. So I took things a step further and journeyed to the jewellery district of Melbourne and brought with me about 50 pieces of jewellery to test in one of the jewellery centre buildings near Collins Street and Swanston, in the heart of Melbourne Australia.

The machine tests revealed that there were many nasty compounds in low-end sterling silver, and very little compounds in the high-end pieces that rarely tarnished. Nickel and lead are very high allergens on kid’s sensitive skin, and I am proud to say that My Little Silver has no lead or nickel in any of our sterling silver pieces – perfect jewellery for sensitive skin!

When I began my journey to source manufacturers for my children’s jewellery designs, I further tested the samples they provided me. On one sourcing trip, I visited 5 factories and retained just one. All the others had failed to produce the quality I wanted in my children’s jewellery designs, and some had questionable working conditions for staff. If all boxes were not ticked, I had to move on.

I also wanted to ensure the gold plating of the kid’s jewellery was durable, so I tested various pieces that were plated from the samples of jewellery I had bought, and realised that I would need to use at least 2 microns of yellow and rose gold to ensure that my kid’s jewellery collection was long lasting.

Then came the design itself and the measurements of our children’s bracelets and necklaces, and how to create a size and design that would grow for a girl aged three up to her early teens.

I began measuring the wrists and necks of many different girls (not just my daughter) and worked out the perfect length that would suit a wide variety of girls at different ages and sizes, to ensure that our jewellery for girls will get maximum wear for your little fashionistas.

Ensuring girls could design their own children’s necklace or bracelet became the next challenge! Allowing girls to show their personality through their charm bracelets and necklaces with their choice of children’s charms and pendants. I needed to make sure the kid’s charm and pendant designs were suitable sizes for girls to add lots of kid’s charms to their jewellery whilst still being comfortable and not too heavy to wear.

I gave my daughter her first piece of My Little Silver Jewellery when she was 5 years old, a few months before we went live online. She continues to wear her sparkle heart necklace every day, and she absolutely adores it! At her ballet concert, I gifted her the tiny dancer ballet shoe pendant, which she paired with her sparkle heart pendant, and she wears it with pride.

It’s genuinely incredible to see my brand and designs evolve and I am so excited to show you what’s ahead for 2019, all with inspiration from my two beautiful kids.

Ilana xx