01.20.10
Diamond Suggested Retail Price
This month’s issue of National Jeweler magazine had an eye-opening article about diamond pricing. Author Michelle Graff made the point that consumers can go to reputable websites when they want to know how much a car should go for. But, until now, there hasn’t really been a good pricing source for people looking to buy a diamond. 
Whether a consumer has looked for diamonds online, at second-hand jewelry distributors, large chains or independent jewelers, they’ve likely heard prices all over the map. Granted, each diamond distributor may not have the same stone so prices have to vary based on the exact qualities of a diamond. But that said, diamonds of similar cut, color, clarity and carat weight should at least fall into the same ballpark.
In an effort to reduce confusion and increase confidence in diamond buying, the International Diamond Exchange (IDEX) has launched a website with a suggested retail price list for diamonds. The site is www.DiamondSRP.com.
It is not a complete website yet, but consumers can enter specific information about a desired diamond and will learn the maximum retail price they should pay for that diamond. For instance, a 0.75 carat round diamond with G color, SI2 clarity should not go for more than $5,934 per carat.
At this point, the site has prices for colorless diamonds with grading reports, so that does not include fancy colors like yellow or stones that have not been through a laboratory.
These suggested retail prices are based on current market data and the pricing methodology is explained on the Diamond SRP website. (Click here to learn more: http://www.idexonline.com/DRBMethodology.asp)
Visit National Jeweler at www.nationaljeweler.com.
12.02.09
Gift Guide: What to Get and Who to Get it For
It may just be me, but I feel like the holidays really snuck up on me this year. I’m going to blame it on a late Thanksgiving, but whatever the reason I’ve found gift guides to be extremely helpful this year. For that reason, I’m putting a Jewelry Gift Guide together to ease your holiday shopping. Simply find the person you’re shopping for and read through my list of gift ideas in all price ranges.
Wife
- Diamond Studs
– Available in many shapes and sizes, you’re sure to find a pair that will fit your budget. $200 and up - Diamond Tennis Bracelet – There are stunning all-diamond styles or diamonds mixed with other gemstones like sapphires and rubies. If you don’t want to spend a lot, go for a well-made bracelet with less diamonds, perhaps one diamond link to every two gold links, rather than a cheaply-made bracelet with more and/or larger diamonds. $1,000 and up
- Lorenzo Jewelry – This line consists of silver and 18k-yellow gold colored-gemstone jewelry, and especially stunning this year are designs with green amethyst and varying shades of citrine. $250 to $600
- Rainbow Sapphire – Beautiful bracelets, rings, pendants and earrings in both modern and traditional designs stunningly display the sapphires in a full range of color. $450 and up
Mother
Loving Family Pendant – In sterling silver or 14k yellow gold, these come in lots of family arrangements like one parent and two children, two parents and three children, etc. $40 to $200- Watch — Seiko has many beautiful diamond watches and Citizen’s Eco Drive technology means she’ll never have to replace the battery in her watch. $120 to $800
- Birthstone Pendants or Earrings — If she already has her own birthstone, get jewelry that displays her children’s birthstones. If she has more than one child, this gives you future gift ideas because you can get one pendant this year, another for her birthday, matching earrings next Christmas, etc. $150 and up depending on birthstone
Girlfriend
- Hot Diamonds – Great sterling silver collections featuring rings, pendants, earrings and bracelets, each with at least one genuine diamond. $100 to $550
- Elle – Modern sterling silver designs each featuring a uniquely-placed ruby.$100 to $400
- Pearls – From a single drop Tahitian pendant to a strand of white akoyas or a 6-foot multi-colored freshwater strand, there are pearls for every occasion. $100 and up
Sister 
- Lorenzo Jewelry – Consisting of silver and 18k yellow gold, this line offers a big look (think 10 mm blue topaz, citrine or amethyst rings and pendants) without breaking the bank. $250 to $600
- Diamond Cross or Circle Pendant — Whether covered in diamonds or just a beautifully simple design with a single diamond, there’s a pendant to match your budget and her style. $200 and
up - Dangle Earrings — Designs in silver, gold and white gold can easily be dressed up or worn casually and many styles feature pretty pearls and colored gemstones. $75 and up
Daughter
- Jewelry Box — There are many styles and sizes available in finishes like mahogany, oak and cherry, as well as silver-plated boxes in heart and oval shapes and even the classic ballerina box. $30 to $300
- Birthstone Jewelry — No matter her age, there is adorable jewelry for your precious daughter. Special children’s sizes include crosses, lockets and earrings, and if she’s older there are styles from classic to ornate. $60
and up - Charms — there is a charm for any activity or interest you can think of, including skis, a blow dryer, pigs, pianos, Christmas trees, communion and birthday cakes. If she doesn’t already have a charm bracelet start one for her because charms make great gifts for birthdays, Easter, graduation, etc. $15 to $100 for silver $100 to $400 for gold
Husband 
- Citizen Watch – Eco Drive technology harnesses the power of light and converts it into energy that is stored in a rechargeable battery to run forever, and the Stiletto line is one of the thinnest on the market. $125 to $800
- Northern Front Range Ring – If you live in Northern Colorado, this ring will be quite a hit,
especially if your husband likes the outdoors; it’s available in three different styles each depicting mountains like Longs Peak, Mummy Mountain and Horsetooth. $570 to $1150 - William Henry Pen – Many months and even more individual steps go into making these limited edition writing instruments that blend titanium with exotic woods, gemstones, mokume and damascus to create bold designs that include roller ball and ball point converters. $875 to $2000
Father
- Seiko Watch – Neat features like perpetual calendar, which automatically adjusts for odd and even months including leap year, and alarm chronograph that works as a stopwatch and 12-hour alarm are just a few of the cool things he’ll enjoy about these watches. $120 to $800
- William Henry Knives – Taking more than eight months and 800 individual operations to complete, each knife is heirloom-quality and uses exotic materials such as fossil ivories, black lip pearl, opal, wave damascus, superconductor and olive wood. $350 to $2000
Boyfriend
- Citizen Watch — Eco Drive technology harnesses the power of light and converts it into energy that is stored in a rechargeable battery to run forever; combine that with cool features like a stopwatch and military time and you’ve got a great gift. $125 to $800
- Cross Pen — Available in many styles, colors and sizes, these pens can also be personalized with a name or monogram. $45 to $400
- Lorenzo Jewelry – These masculine 18k yellow gold and sterling silver creations, like cuff links, are great for the guy who likes a little bling. $150 to $500
Brother
Flask – Polished or brushed stainless steel and pewter or leather-wrapped flasks are available in varying sizes and some styles can be personalized with a name or monogram. $40 to $200- Signet Ring — The best ones will be gold or white gold with his monogram or a family crest. $500 and up
- Citizen Watch – Mix Eco Drive technology, which means the watch never needs a battery, with features like a 43-city world timer, atomic time, digital time or diving depth meter and you have the perfect men’s watch. $125 to $800
Friend
- Book Jewels — These great bookmarks are available in all your favorite colors. $24
- Keychain – There are endless options available in various metals and many have personalized designs like golf clubs, horse shoes and spaces for a monogram. $40 to $400
- Clock – Seiko makes many great designs for the mantle or wall, as well as great travel and alarm clocks in silver, gold and wood finishes. $30 to $400
11.16.09
Jewelry Periods: Modern
For now, modern jewelry consists of pieces created since 1970. There isn’t one definite style that dominates this period because many new designs have been created and many older periods have been replicated.
Many contemporary designers use any technique they can think up while others rely heavily on ancient techniq
ues in new forms. For instance, wedding bands are being made of Damascus steel, which consists of many layers of forged steel — a technique that has been used since 1100 AD in Middle Eastern sword making.
Today, there are designers of all types including large multi-line manufacturers, highly prized exclusive designers and small, local artists. With the variety of designers comes a variety of quality, as well. This provides jewelry styles for everyone in every price range. Like clothing, jewelry is used as a fashion statement and styles fluctuate with each season.
Polished gold and sleek lines were prominent in the 1980s and early 90s. Bracelets, earr
ings and rings with invisible-set diamonds, marquise shapes and tapered baguettes were used frequently, as well as clusters of small diamonds. Colored diamonds gained popularity in the 1990s. According to Christie’s Fine Art Auctioneers, the increase in was due in part to the ”concerns about quality and origin of gemstones.”
In the early 2000’s white gold or platinum solitaire engagement rings were all the rage and square or princess cut d
iamonds were the center stone of choice for younger brides. In the last few years, vintage-inspired designs have regained popularity for engagement rings. This includes micro-pave designs and halos surrounding the center diamond.
Rose gold has made a comeback and there is hardly any material that a designer won’t at least experiment with when designing jewelry. Wedding bands are being made of colored ceramic, steel, tungsten, titanium, palladium and we’ve even seen wood. 
Of course the variety of materials creates a new set of concerns and more information of which consumers need to be aware. While titanium is light weight, it can’t be sized so men choosing a titanium wedding band better not want to wear if for the rest of their lives since most all people have to alter the size of their rings as they age. Tungsten rings won’t scratch, but they have to be broken off if they get stuck on a finger since you can’t easily cut through them.
It certainly w
ill be exciting to see what new and creative jewelry the designers will think up next — especially since gold is skyrocketing and many people cannot afford to spend gobs of money on jewelry right now. One of the biggest trends right now is the use of large, “semi-precious” gemstones like green amethyst, blue topaz, smoky quartz and created sapphires. They are relatively inexpensive so you get a big look for less money than the “classics” like ruby, sapphire and emerald.
10.26.09
Customers, customers, customers…
Not sure if it is the change in the weather, the approaching holidays or just coincidence, but we have had a handful of entertaining (if not slightly crazy) customers in the store in the last few weeks. Here are a couple stories that still have us cracking up!
- KJ sold a 3/4 carat F/SI1 Hearts & Arrows ideal cut diamond to a woman who set it in a right-hand ring. As part of her sales presentation, KJ pulled out the special scope that allows you to see the hearts and arrows pattern
exhibited by the diamond’s cut. The next day the woman came back into the store and asked KJ if the hearts inside the diamond had been dyed red. Confused for a moment, KJ realized the woman was talking about the hearts she had seen under the scope. The reason they were red was because they used the red film (the scope also comes with a blue and green film). Even though the woman had not seen any color in the loose diamond, she was perplexed as to why the hearts were red. Guess we can’t assume that all people understand how gem scopes and other jewelry tools work! - KJ — hmmm, how is she the one who always gets these fun customers? — waited on a younger gal who wanted to know if she had real diamonds. She was toting a 10×10 mm square-cut colorless stone with a fantasy cut that made it look like there were 9 smaller stones set together. She also had the ball end of a belly-button ring that
clearly had a foil-back rhinestone in it. By just looking at the two, KJ knew they were not diamonds — first off they didnt’ have the brilliance or the cut of diamonds. She told the customer they were not real (the square one was a CZ), but the gal wanted her to “double check” by looking at them through the microscope. KJ obliged and again told the gal that they were not diamonds. Here’s the kicker: the customer then took the CZ and scratched our glass showcase with it. ”It scratches glass though,” she said. “Lots of things scratch glass,” KJ said! And then the gal tensed up and said, “Don’t sue me!” in dead seriousness, turned around and walked out the door. We still have the little scratch in our showcase. - Liz delivered a ring repair to an elderly lady who was at least 90 years old. Very cute and frail, she was quiet and content, slowly waddling around the store with her walker as her daughter signed the pick-up slip and paid for her repair. “When she passes away I can come in and get that spacer taken out of the ring, right?” she said while her mother just smiled with no clue that her daughter is just waiting for her to kick the bucket.
10.20.09
Jewelry Periods: Post Retro
The Post-Retro jewelry period is not as easily defined as previous periods. From 1950 to 1969, jewelry became very diverse with the use of all gemstones and numerous designs, as well as the reproduction of jewelry from earlier eras.
Like clothing of this time (think miniskirts and hot pants), Post-Retro jewelry used unconventional materials to portray people’s rebellious and care-free attitudes. Cocktail jewlery hit the mainstream and large, heavy gold pieces were immensely popular.
Traditional and extravagant jewelry remained popular during this time, but many people also craved contemporary pieces. Color, shape and texture were used in bold and intense ways.
For instance, many pieces utilized bold claw settings that did not follow the traditional lines of previous styles. Pointy shapes, like the marquise-cut diamond, dominated this period, as did animals, ”modern” florals and curvy shapes.
Color contrast was also huge during the Post-Retro era. Turquoise, coral and amethyst were some of the most popular gemstones, and pearls gained popularity as a less-formal option. Often times, a single piece of jewelry was bedazzled with all colors of the rainbow.
Also popular during this time were large, funky charms representing everything from animals to luxury goods. Ladies wore many large, colorful (often enameled) charms on a single bracelet.
Textured gold was also very popular, including mesh, Florentine finishes, braided wire, foxtail chain, fluting and twisted rope. It was common to see mixed metals as well.
According to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), which has a laboratory that independently grades diamonds and gemstones, the institute’s first diamond grading certificate was issued in 1957. The availability of these documents armed consumers with previously unquestioned knowledge on diamond quality, which encouraged buyers to 
purchase better goods.
Equipped with information, consumers began to ask for specific jewelry — even if it wasn’t top quality. For instance, people wanted more “casual” jewelry. Christie’s Fine Art Auctioneers’ website states that jewelry houses created “’boutique’ lines, offering seasonal collections to reflect the fashionable styles, shapes and colors of the time.”
These photos represent Post-Retro jewelry and are from www.broadwaterrosejewels.com, www.christies.com
10.13.09
Jewelry Periods: Retro
Now that we’ve taken some time off to chat about other fun jewelry topics, we’re going to tackle the last few jewelry periods! Hope you find these as intriguing as the last.
The 1940s saw a new style of jewelry that depicted post-war feelings and the rise of the United Sates as the major world power. Called the Retro period, this decade of jewelry was inspired by the glitz and glamour of 
Hollywood. Americans wanted to escape the realities of World War II, so they mimicked the fun and carefree attitudes and fashions they saw in movies of the era.
Jewelry was very colorful, bold and elaborate with a modern edge. For these reasons, jewelry of this period is often easily identifiable.
Rose gold was in full fashion, as were other colors of gold – including yellow and green. Because nickel was used to make firearms during the war, large quantities were not available for jewelry. Instead of using nickel to make white gold, copper was mixed with gold to create rose (or pink) gold. The different gold colors
represented the wearers’ ability to freely express themselves.
During the Retro period, popular shapes and themes included large bows, ornamental scrolls, baskets, birds, feathers and panthers. These had been seen in previous eras, but according to Christie’s Fine Art Auctioneers, jewelers revealed a fresh approach to flora and fauna. They ”created naturalistic fantasy amid the devastation of war.”
Cocktail rings and daring bracelets, watches and necklaces were popular pieces of jewelry during the ’40s. Large, rectangular aquamarine, amethyst and citrine were prominent, as
were sapphire and ruby. Vibrant colors were used for fashion purposes — rather than as a statement of wealth like older jewelry often was — so synthetic rubies were also frequently used to accomplish a particular look without a heavy price tag. This also allowed wearers to express their independence. Diamonds were used infrequently during the Retro jewelry era.
These photographs represent Retro jewelry styles and are from www.beladora.com, www.langantiques.com and www.emcity.com.
