&Mother Groundbreaker Rectangle Necklace
On Mother’s Day 2019, &Mother co-founder Alysia Montaño published her viral New York Times op-ed “Nike Told Me to dream Crazy, Until I Wanted a Baby,” highlighting the lack of sponsor support for female athletes choosing to become mothers during their athletic careers.
The #DreamMaternity message hit close to home for women all over the world from fellow professional athletes to lawyers to pilots to scientists to doctors and everyone in between. Along with scientist and advocate Molly Dickens, Alysia founded &Mother as a path to transition #DreamMaternity from movement to impact.
Erica Sara is proud to be one of &Mother’s earliest sponsors with this handcrafted jewelry collection. A portion of all &Mother sales are donated to the organization to support a woman’s choice to pursue career and motherhood while enabling mothers to become the driving force breaking down a system that has historically dismissed, undervalued, and discriminated against them, starting with professional athletics.
Each necklace is made to order in our North Carolina studio.
ALL CUSTOMIZED ORDERS ARE FINAL SALE.
To determine your desired length, choose where you want the disc to sit on your chest. Take a string and wrap it around your neck—holding it at the desired length. Then, take the string and measure it with a ruler or tape measure.
All Erica Sara Designs jewelry is handcrafted with love in our North Carolina studio. We use high quality hypoallergenic metals and, with proper care, our pieces are made to withstand everyday wear and to last for years.
Jewelry made from precious and semi-precious metals like silver and gold should be kept away from harsh chemicals, including lotions, perfumes, chlorine, and household cleaners. Store your jewelry in a dry, air tight bag or case and always clean it before storing. Avoid abrasive materials to polish your jewelry; a microfiber polishing cloth or lens cloth is best to remove oxidation or tarnish. Remove skin oils and sweat by rinsing with warm water and gently drying with a soft cloth or microfiber fabric. Clean your jewelry with mild soap regularly, and pat dry.
Most Erica Sara Designs pieces are available in gold filled or gold vermeil. Both options require more substantial and thicker layers of gold compared to gold plating, which has a minimal layer of gold. Erica Sara Designs does not offer gold plated jewelry because we like our jewelry to last a long time — and gold plated does not. Select pieces are also available in 14kt gold.
Sterling Silver
Sterling silver is 92.5% pure silver, most often with copper as the remaining metal. It is considered a precious metal and although stronger than solid silver, is prone to scratching if not treated with care.
Even the most expensive sterling silver will tarnish naturally over time. It’s science! Tarnish is the result of a chemical reaction between oxygen and/or sulfur particles in air and water. Your skin’s oils actually help preserve the silver by creating a barrier between the metal and air, so wearing your jewelry often is one of the easiest ways to prevent tarnish.
To maintain your sterling silver jewelry, remove it when using chemicals like lotions, perfumes, and harsh soaps. Chemicals containing sulfur, such as some household cleaners, are especially corrosive and should not come in contact with your jewelry. Although you can wear your sterling silver jewelry during physical activity, it’s important to clean it well after in the shower or with a jewelry cleaner and then dry it gently afterwards. Make sure your piece is completely dry before storing because moisture can cause oxidation.
Swimming pool chlorine can contain sulfur which can be extremely damaging to sterling silver. Different chlorines can contain different amounts of sulfur, or none at all, so when it comes to silver, it’s safer to just remove it before swimming.
Gold Filled
Gold filled is a thick layer of gold pressure bonded to a base layer of jeweler’s brass. The process of pressure bonding means that gold fill jewelry is tarnish and chip resistant. It’s the perfect affordable option for active women who want to wear their jewelry all day, including during workouts. To maintain your gold filled jewelry, remove it when using chemicals like lotions, perfumes and harsh soaps. Sulfur containing chemicals, such as some household cleaners, should not come in contact with your jewelry. Although you can wear your gold filled jewelry during physical activity, it’s important to clean it well after in the shower or with a jewelry cleaner and then dry it gently.
Gold Vermeil
Gold vermeil is a technique originating in the 19th century, where gold was applied to sterling silver. It requires a thick layer of at least 2.5 microns of gold to be electroplated to the silver. Due to its thicker gold layer, vermeil is a durable option for jewelry. Taking proper care of your vermeil pieces will ensure that they last for years.
Do not apply chemicals to your vermeil jewelry. After wearing your jewelry, be sure to wash off your body oils, sweat, and air pollutants off of it with water and then gently dry with a microfiber polishing cloth. Wearing your jewelry in the shower and then gently drying with a soft cloth will keep it looking fresh.
Handcrafted takes time.
Our holiday order deadlines have passed and orders placed now will not arrive before Christmas.
Waited too long? Get her a gift card.
The date you receive your order will depend on how long it takes us to make your jewelry here in our North Carolina studio (production time) and how long it takes the shipping service to deliver your order (shipping time). Select from the options below to estimate your order’s arrival date.
Destination
Production Options
· Our studio is finishing up orders placed before the Christmas shipping deadlines and then we will be taking a holiday break. Orders placed now will not ship until the new year. Please allow up to 20 business days for us to make your order and get it shipped out.
· We normally offer rush production for an additional charge, but that option is temporarily unavailable.
Shipping Options
· Your order should be delivered within 2–3 business days after it has been produced and shipped. FREE with orders of $150 or more, or $7.
· Your order should be delivered within 1–2 business days after it has been produced and shipped. $25.
Orders to North America are typically delivered between 3 and 5 business days after they have been produced and shipped.
All international orders are final sale and cannot be returned.
Please understand that while we follow protocol to ensure that your package does not get held in customs unnecessarily, we have no control over it once it’s delivered to the shipping agent. Customs can delay international shipments by up to 7 weeks. While this is rare, it does happen occasionally and is beyond our control.
Import duties, taxes, and custom fees are not included in the shipping charges and are the sole responsibility of the customer. These charges are normally collected by the shipping company. Please be aware if you refuse a shipment from Erica Sara Designs, you are still responsible for the original charges and any incurred import fees or taxes, and the charge to your credit card will not be refunded.
If your country does not appear as an option on the checkout page, you can contact us and ask if we are able to ship to it. Please include your city and postal code in your note.
For reference, here’s what our Christmas ordering deadlines were:
