Medical Jewlery

2007-02-11T16:48:07Z

Just about everyone appreciates beautiful jewelry; the sparkle, the color,
and the elegant impression it creates. But did you know some jewelry is
designed to save your life? It's called medical jewelry, and it's worth
knowing about, particularly if you have a life-threatening medical condition
(or know someone who does).

The idea behind medical jewelry is simple; make sure doctors, nurses,
emergency responders, and other medical professionals have easy access to
accurate medical information when an emergency arises. Medical jewelry is
typically in the form of a bracelet, although it can also be a pendant,
watch, key ring. And since it comes in relatively few types, it's easy for
medical personnel to find.

Standardization of medical jewelry, at least of the format of medical
information, means emergency responders receive critical information before
administering drugs, which can save your life if, for example, you have drug
allergies or adverse reactions.

Medical jewelry can come in almost any design (and price range), but it
should always have the special medical symbol prominently displayed so
medical professionals can easily find it, otherwise what's the use? Here's
the medical symbol you can expect to see on your jewelry. The cadeucus.
CADUCEUS

The first question that comes to mind is, who should have a medical
bracelet? While anyone can certainly benefit from this jewelry, there are
some folks who should obviously have it. Diabetics, epileptics, folks with
drug allergies, folks who have pacemakers, basically anyone with a serious
medical condition that emergency responders should know about. Also, anyone
taking a prescription can benefit, to avoid drug interactions.

There's really no specific age group who must have a medical bracelet,
although we're all getting older and are more likely to require one. But
young children, teenagers, and adults may need one, depending on their
medical conditions. Teenagers like eds stuff because its stylish.

The second question that comes to mind is, how much do they cost? Prices are
all over the map, just like regular jewelry, and you can easily pay more
than you should (try www.claudiasjewelry.com for beautiful but inexpensive
medical bracelets) if you're not careful. Think about pricing like this:

. The symbol and the information contained within the bracelet add
almost nothing to the cost.
. The precious metals and jewels used in the bracelet are priced as
commodities, meaning the actual amounts of each used in any medical bracelet
should cost about the same from jeweler to jeweler (but never assume this is
true).
. The design, workmanship, and customer service and support provide
the remainder of the value.

So let's focus on design, workmanship and customer service and support. In
terms of design, there are quite a few outlets for cheap designs (notice I
said cheap, not inexpensive). Your local discount chain store or discount
drugstore probably has a small selection of bracelets, guaranteed to be
cheap and unattractive. And some companies take advantage of the public's
general lack of awareness of options, and charge high prices for
unattractive designs.

And then there are companies like Claudia's Jewelry
(www.claudiasjewelry.com). Ed Anderson is master designer for Claudia's
Jewelry, and he makes inexpensive medical jewelry in designs that are quite
beautiful and very attractive, at prices rivaling the discount outlets
generic bracelets. He has several designs custom-made for teenagers, and
frequently receives positive comments from concerned parents about how much
their offspring like his designs.

In terms of workmanship, it really depends on whether you're dealing with a
jeweler or an assembly line. Some companies sell bracelets made from the
poorest quality materials, stamped out like disposable plastic picnic-ware.
There's a certain logic to this, as the discount stores want to minimize
their cost and maximize their profit. But you can do better.

Again, a good example of excellent workmanship at low cost is the medical
jewelry at Claudia's Jewelry. Ed personally creates and can engraves all
the medical jewelry sold here, and he makes sure the workmanship is
top-notch. He uses a state of the art computer operated engraving machine
that actually removes the metal for a sharper and longer lasting engraving.
He can also adjust the length of most bracelets at no additional charge. He
doesn't produce a million pieces a day, so he can take personal pride in
each piece he sells.

Now on to customer service. Some companies charge extra shipping, and any
other minor service they offer. Not so with Claudia's Jewelry; shipping is
free (except shipping outside the United States).

Dave Mercer - www.claudiasjewelry.com

Claudias Jewelry - Medical Jewelry

Medical Jewlery