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There is such a huge array of baby and children's jewelry on the market, particularly online that almost anybody would be able to easily find a baby bracelet, or a pair of children's earrings, for example, that's just what they're looking for.

Often, the baby Christening gift or first birthday gift that you're looking for is one intended to become a family keepsake, to be worn and photographed and admired for the duration that the item fits the baby or small child until it's outgrown, the desire being that the gift will be so special that one day, a baby born in the future, will also wear the little baby bracelet, baby bangle, etc.  This is when traditional, or classic baby jewelry is what's called for.  A family keepsake.  

Jewelry stores tend to stock traditional baby jewelry but have very little to choose from.  Often this includes baby brooches which are made to be worn on baby's little matinee jackets, which is an item of baby apparel that's rarely worn these days.  

Online, there is a much greater range.  Tiny gold baby bracelets, often featuring a Filigree chain and a locket or heart charm, little sterling silver baby ID bracelets, sometimes with a bluebird set on the ID plate, or with a bare ID plate for inscribing a personal message.  Gold or sterling silver baby bangles, hinged and with a fine safety chain, or engraved and expanding in size to accommodate the rapid growth years.

A tiny, fine gold or silver chain with a heart pendant or a cross, simple or engraved, sometimes with a cz stone or a tiny gem, to be worn on her Christening day but kept for special occasions thereafter.  These are the timeless baby jewelry items that are normally kept for future babies in the family, or for the current baby's own children in the future.  

I've found it a good idea to check out the websites of our baby and children's jewelry opposition, to ensure we have a better range, competitive pricing and a great range to choose from.  

Whilst on these sites, I often notice that baby bracelets are often described as 6 inches long.  Six inches is too big for a baby bracelet, and could fit a child over 5 up to the teenage years.  When you buy a baby bracelet, you don't want her mother putting it in a cupboard for many years.  An older child may also find a baby bracelet is too "babyish" by the time it actually fits.  Best to measure her wrist if you can, or buy only 5 inch expanding baby bangles and bracelets.

Baby and children's necklaces too are readily advertised as 16 or 18 inches.  This size would reach a baby or small child's navel!  We sell baby necklaces at 12 inches, 13 inches and 14 inches, depending on the child's age and size.  We have 16 inch necklaces for older girls and 18" is for adults.  

For best value, buy jewelry that is expandable or adjustable in size.  This ensures the gift will be worn for many years.  Bracelets can have 2 or more clasping points along the length, and bangles are often expandable.  Therefore the baby christening bangle you bought for a 3 month old, will expand to fit her just as neatly at age 3 or 4.  

Baby earrings or children's earrings are a safe bet when you are unable to measure her wrist.  If she has pierced ears, you can buy earrings that will fit petitely on her baby earlobes that will fit her the rest of her life.  Conversely, adult earrings will have rods too long for a baby.  But buying her earrings when she's a baby is great value because ear lobes don't grow much at all, and her baby earrings will fit her all through her childhood.

There are loads of absolutely divine, modern styles of baby jewelry, both on the net, and in jewelry stores and these styles are very popular.  But there remains a hard core of traditionalists out there who love classic, traditional baby jewelry.  

Prior to Christmas, I spent months scouring the web looking for new and different styles, new suppliers who can supply us with baby jewelry and children's jewelry, most particularly baby bracelets and baby bangles, to suit newborns, baby christening jewelry and first birthday gifts.  

We found a family of gold and silversmiths in England who've been making baby jewelry since 1825.  Still in the hands of this family, they still use some traditional methods of making baby jewelry by hand.  We've acquired some gorgeous embossed, expanding baby bangles and some baby ID bracelets in sterling silver but now that we know their jewelry lives up to their photos and descriptions, we're about to order some 14ct gold bangles and bracelets.  

Keep an eye out if you love traditional baby jewelry!

At Baby Jewels, we tend to find the largest group who purchase baby and children's jewelry are grandparents, grandmothers, specifically. Grandmothers purchase baby bracelets and baby brooches for their grandchildren usually when they are newborns.  But it's also grandmothers who continue to purchase other baby jewelry and later, children's jewelry as their grandchildren grow.  Many of the 2011 Christmas season purchases from our website were by grandmothers for their grandchildren.  

Aunties, friends of the family and Godparents are the next biggest group.  They also purchase bracelets when the baby is born, but also the engraved baby bangles are popular as Christening gifts.  First birthday and Christmas gifts.  

We've found the traditional styled jewelry is popular for newborns and Christenings but the more modern styles, those with enamelled animals and insects, sparkling crystals, the charm bracelets or the children's necklaces are great choices for children's birthday gifts.  

Who buys boys jewelry?  Moms mainly!  We love to purchase jewelry for our kids and these days, boys are no exception!  The leather bracelets, or the gemstone jewelry are the main choices for gifts for boys.  

We had a run on stock leading up to Christmas and we spent a lot of time scouring the world wide web for new suppliers and new products.  This week we've had new stock arriving daily and it's been incredibly exciting for us, because everything ordered has been just beautiful.  We are thrilled to have some new lines and can't wait to show our customers. 

Unfortunately we've had a glitch in the Admin side of the site so to date have only been able to load a few of our new items onto the site:  some gorgeous children's necklaces.  But hopefully this will be fixed shortly and we can show you our new baby bracelets, baby bangles, children's bracelets, children's earrings.  Visit us again next week and while you're here, check out the new gold ID bracelet for newborns - beautiful.  In a month or so, we hope to have a whole new range of solid gold baby and children's jewellery.  We're also very excited about that.

Where is our new jewelry coming from?  Italy, Spain, the US and Thailand.  Thailand remains the source of some of our nicest quality and cutest baby jewelry. 

Even just a decade ago, we rarely saw a baby or little girl wearing jewelry.  These days most babies have a bracelet, but many have several.  They may also have a necklace or baby anklet or possibly a baby brooch.  

Children are a little harder on jewelry than babies, and they tend to wear less expensive styles of jewelry, possibly acrylic or alloy, but usually have a sterling silver or gold bracelet at home for special occasions.  

One item of children's jewelry has boomed in popularity in recent years:  children's earrings.  Today, almost all little girls have their ears pierced and they adore their earrings.  Most have several pairs which they alternate.  Some might be specifically for school, others for weekend wear, and others for special occasions.

We have always loved dressing our girls up and jewelry is just an extension of that.  Today we are lucky enough to have access to a wide variety of beautiful styles of children's jewelry, particularly baby bracelets, and most are quite affordable. 

Solid baby bangles, without charms or safety chains are probably the safest of baby jewelry and for that reason are a very popular gift when a new baby arrives.  Adjustable bangles are equally safe but can see baby through her fastest growth period, as opposed to only 6 - 12 months.  For this reason, expanding baby bangles are becoming one of the most popular gifts for a new baby. 

Adjustable bangles easily slide together or apart, thus creating a smaller or larger bangle.  This means most of this style of bangle can be purchased for a newborn, and adjusted to fit, then as she grows, made larger several times as she grows.

Baby bracelets are very popular for newborn gifts and most come with at least one extra jump ring on an extension so that the bracelet can fit the tiniest of babies right through their rapid growth stage, until age 4, 5 or more.  

Remember bracelets should be removed from baby before she's put down to sleep because the links can be broken if she gets it hooked onto something.  The pieces could possibly become a choking hazard if ingested when she wakes up.  Bangles on the other hand have no pieces to break off.

Baby bracelets are the newborn gift which is most likely to be put away for future siblings or for the original recipient's own children, a generation down the track.  Your gift will be remembered always.  

If you're thinking about giving a piece of baby jewelry for a first birthday gift, consider the great deal of growth baby will undergo in the next few years.  For this reason, baby bangles with an extension for growth are an excellent idea, because they give years of wear.  Ditto for little baby bracelets with an extension for growth.

Baby necklaces too, can have an extension for growth, or the ability to be clasped at any point along the necklace, which is a great asset. Some baby bracelets are also able to be closed in this manner.  

Sizing isn't a problem with baby brooches, however, most mothers stop dressing their babies in their brooches by about 18 months which makes them less of an option for a first birthday gift, unless you're thinking of it more as a family keepsake.

Baby/children's charms are an excellent idea for any child's birthday gift.  Give them a sweet, little, naked charm bracelet at age one, and add to it each year with a new charm for each following birthday.  This is a great idea adopted by many grandparents, Godparents and aunties and personalises the bracelet to suit the recipient.

Some mothers have their baby's ears pierced quite early, which also gives the option of baby earrings, of which there are a huge selection, and they make an inexpensive gift that baby will not grow out of for many years.

Generations ago, baby and children's jewelry was very ornate.  Usually 18ct gold was used and quite often enhanced with a tiny stone of ruby, garnet, emerald or even sapphire.  Usually intricately engraved, these jewelry items were very special and only a lucky few were gifted these items which were most likely to be a baby brooch or baby bracelet. These items were so special, they were kept for new siblings in the family and indeed, the next generations of babies.

These items are still found to day but are more likely to be made of sterling silver, though gold jewelry for babies and children is of course, still available and still very popular... at a price!

Today, the minimalist look that has become popular, is being seen in new styles of baby jewelry, in particular.  Engraving is less common.  Enamelling is very popular.  We see highly polished baby bangles, with a single charm as embellishment.  The charm may be a heart or a simple hand-enamelled flower.  A tiny chain with a single charm, a tiny necklace with a simple pendant.  

This modern look is very popular but the traditional styles still have a place in the market.  Is the traditional style more likely to become a family keepsake?  I think yes, but I speak to many Moms who say their children's modern jewelry is most certainly going to be kept for the next generation.  

I will be keen to see how trends alter over the next 10-20 years.

Today it's possible to discover the gender of your baby many months before it is born.  But some parents choose to not be informed of this very exciting news, and with great strength of will, hold off months until the birth, to find out.

However, more often than not, parents are happy and excited to announce that they are expecting either a boy or a girl. This gives family and friends, the opportunity to purchase a gift for the baby shower, that will suit the baby's gender.  

Increasingly, boy babies are being presented with gifts of jewelry for the baby shower, and also, as a newborn gift.  At Baby Jewels, we have a number of unisex bracelets, a baby brooch and various necklaces which would suit a boy baby or older boy every bit as much as a girl.  

But the vast majority of baby and children's jewelry is purchased for girls.  With the knowledge that the coming baby is a girl, a friend or relative can look to a feminine theme for their baby shower gift.  Baby bracelets are the all-time favourite jewelry gift.  There are baby bracelets which feature flowers, strawberries, hearts, as well as baby bangles with charms, which expand with growth.  More traditionally, aunties or grandparents who remember baby brooches from when they had babies, might be more likely to purchase a little brooch or pin for baby's first matinee jacket.

Very tiny baby bracelets are readily available in some very cute styles, which will not just thrill her mother but also, eventually, will become a family keepsake, to be presented to her as an adult, when her own first baby is born.  

Baby necklaces and tiny earrings are generally given to older babies, most commonly for her Christening gift or first birthday gift.  

Most people will agree, it's hard to beat a beautiful piece of baby jewelry for a baby shower gift.