As baby boomers age and begin to depend on their pets for company as their homes turn to empty nests, they’re beginning to spend more and more on fancier fare for their dogs. From organic dog food, professional grooming and of course, jewelry. Dog jewelry comes in many forms. Although I wouldn’t call a basic dog collar jewelry, there are certainly dog collars that are studded with everything from rhinestones to diamonds. There is more selection of jewelry for dogs now than there ever has been.

Jeweled collars are perhaps the first piece of jewelry that a dog owner will buy for their dog. Glitzy Canine Couture Collars come in all different types of looks from collars with mohair and charms to mesh collars with slide on initial charms. It all depends on the size and breed of the particular dog to determine what will turn your dog from a pooch to a glam dog. Toy breeds will look good in pearl pet collars while larger breeds will look good in more rugged mesh collars that can be blinged out with crystals and dangle charms.

There is also room for the socially conscious dog. Breast Cancer Awareness dog collars and leashes may be purchased and some percentage, usually ten or fifteen of each pink ribbon collar or leash would be donated to the foundation for cancer research. Breast Cancer Awareness dog collars in pink ribbon nylon are comfortable to wear and have a side release buckle and the all purpose D-jump ring so you can attach dog ID tags and leashes. Of course the term dog tag jewelry has more to do with mens jewelry than dog jewelry

Larger or more aggressive dogs like pit bulls, dobermans and bull dogs and other exotic pets with strong personalities like Gila monsters would do well with spiked dog collars to give them even more character and oomph. For small dogs or toy dogs that want to look more fierce some but still look like a glam dog, there is the smaller version of the spike leather dog collar in pastel pinks, mauves and sky blue with smaller spikes and square rivets or the more popular and with it  rhinestone studded dog collar.

For themselves, nothing speaks of a dog lover’s priorities than dog breed jewelry. Dog jewelry for people is all the rage with many designers doing great work to identify all the breeds popular in the Western hemisphere.

Some of the more common breeds that you find in dog breed jewelry charms are Bassett Hound Dog Charm, Beagle Dog Charm,Boston Terrier, Bull Dog Charm, Chihuahua Dog Charm, Collie Dog Charm, Cocker Spaniel Dog Charm, Dachshund Dog Charm, German Shepherd Dog Charm, Greyhound Dog Charm, Irish Setter Dog Charm, Husky Dog Charm, Jack Russell Terrier Dog Charm, Newfoundland Dog Charm, Pit Bull Dog Charm, Poodle Dog Charm, Pomeranian Dog Charm, Pug Dog Charm, Retriever Dog Charms, Schnauzer Dog Charm, Scottish Terrier Dog charm, Scotty Dog Charm, Spaniel Dog Charm, Shit-zu Dog Charm, Shar-Pei Dog Charm and Toy Poodle Dog Charm. These are just some of the basic breeds As dog lover jewelry goes. There are many others along with designers that do very detailed work in terms of dog charms and gold dog jewelry.

Designer dog jewelry is best represented by the work of Meche dog and cat charms. Meche charms are stunningly realistic and three dimensional depictions of various breeds of dogs. Each charm shows the unique character and detailed coloring of more than 130 breeds of dog. Another great dog jewelry designer is Esquivel and Fees.

Horse jewelry is not necessarily just for horse lovers although horse lovers will know a bit more about horses and be quite picky when it comes to selecting their horse jewelry. Yellow gold horse jewelry is quite popular because it is not as bright as white gold and details of the horse’s features that identify the kind of horse it is, is more easily seen in yellow gold. Whether it be a Draft, Quarter Horse, Arabian, Morgan  or other type of horse, the beauty is in the details for the horse lover.

Sterling silver horse jewelry affords the non avid horse lover to collect all manner of horse jewelry for a reasonable price. Most gold horse jewelry has an equivalent in sterling silver because the same mold used to shoot a wax for a gold casting can be used for a silver one. With  sterling silver horse jewelry a bit of skillful antiquing or black rhodium a jeweler can often bring a horse bust to life. Relief that was not so visible because of an all bright finish can now be highlighted with blackened silver.

The most popular type of horse jewelry is Arabian horse jewelry partly because it is the most recognized breed from its facial to body details. This type of horse jewelry is commonly available in single busts multiple busts showing race horses going neck and neck. This can be a particularly challenging piece to design because a designer wants to get the facial details just right to show the the power and elegance of horses in motion.

The horse as a Celtic symbol was associated with war, victory, longevity and strength. The Celts  considered the horse as an animal that belongs to the sun god and gave it a place with the goddess Epona. So it is not surprising to see horse designs on Celtic horse jewelry.To the Celts horses were noble beasts.

Diamond horse jewelry can be quite expressive, especially when diamonds are used for the eyes of the horse. Some hip hop jewelry pendants depict horses and as you can imagine, they are covered in diamonds so the eyes of the horse are often set with ruby, emerald or sapphire.

There can be a lot of freedom to horse design especially hen it comes to jewelry. Some designs can be dome by hand at a jewelers bench with just a jeweler’s saw. Some designs may have a lot of negative space like filigree horses or pendants that just have the mere suggestion of the outlines of a horse head.

Horse jewelry rings are quite popular although the designs have to rendered at a smaller scale than pendants. Coins from ancient Rome and Greece often have a horse on one side of the coin and many horse lovers like to collect these coins and mount them in rings with the horse side of the coin facing outward.

Charm bracelets have begun clawing their way back into jewelry mainstream fashion. The look has been around forever but with major retailers like Links Of London going big time into customised charm bracelets with their in store charm bar its no wonder that sterling silver charms have experienced something of a renaissance in today’s jewelry market. Silver charms on silver charm bracelets have been a great format for some years now with silver beads taking some of the thunder through brands like Pandora, Trollbeads and Chamilia.

A silver charm is no longer just a silver charm anymore. Women have been taking to silver charm collecting ever since the companies just mentioned have made it easier than ever for women and girls to have it their way with silver charm bracelets and necklaces. The new type of sterling silver charm bracelet is shaped like a rather thick snake chain. It is flexible and strong and allows silver beads to be strung on them held together with lockable spacers.

The variety of sterling silver charms is staggering. Chamilia has over 600 different kinds of silver charms that range from two tone silver and gold beads to murano glass and all sterling beads. Putting together a piece of jewelry has never been more fun. You get to mix and match all kinds of silver charms or beads melding colorful glass beads with dignified vintage silver charms that hark back to the Victorian era. You can also put charms with your birthstones or charms with Disney characters on them. The charms are reasonable to purchase and make excellent gifts for young adults. The sterling silver charms cost between $15 and $20 and the workmanship on these small beads is quite exceptional for such a small item. The two tone beads that add a bit of gold to the silver can run between $35 and $64 depending on the design and amount of gold. The all gold charms will start at around $200.

Chamilia also does a silver charms necklace using the same silver snake chain with spacers that allow you to center the beads at the drop zone around your neck. The necklaces come in assorted lengths so you’re sure to find the right length so that your silver charm beads will lay just right. The sterling silver necklaces themselves run from $40 and up depending on the length and the clasp works the same way as on their bracelet. They have to be quite durable because they must have anticipated that women will like to configure their bracelets and necklaces with different combinations of charms for different occasions.

For work, most women will stick to the all silver charms with maybe one or two charms with colored stones in them. For going out they will probably add some more color beads maybe some murano glass beads and some silver beads with Swarovski crystals in them. These are not the cheap silver charms of old but are more high quality because they are made in Italy. Many other manufacturers have latched on to this silver bead concept and have begun marketing their own wholesale silver charms to jewelers who cannot get brands like Pandora. They are also designing them to fit on bracelets made by the big three, Pandora, Trollbeads and Chamilia.