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Russian Bear posted:I'm googling around to find local jewelry stores to hunt down some pearl earring and was wondering if Jareds is lumped in with the mall stores(insane markup, charge for everything etc)? Jared's is owned by Sterling, the company behind Kay's Jewelers. Jared's basically exists as a "We're not in the mall" marketing routine. I'd recommend you find a local independent jeweler (or fantastic ecommerce retailer). Queen Of Spades posted:If I was looking to get a moissanite ring custom made from a jeweller and they dont carry them in store, should it be pretty easy to have them order one for a ring? Or am I better just trying to find something online? I believe that you're going to pay 20% duty on a jewellery import. Any jeweler has the ability to special order a Moissanite, and I'd guess that your local jeweler would be able to match or beat that price. Candyann posted:I am not sure if you have heard of Canadian Diamonds or have anything similar in the US. Diamonds mined and sold in Canada that have serial numbers lazered in along with a canadian goose or polar should be conflict free, no? I can't speak for the Canadian Goose people, but I can tell you that the majority of Canadian mined diamonds are cut and polished in India and China. I couldn't verify enough of the people in the Canadian pipeline so I decided to abstain. I like knowing where my diamonds come from so I work with smaller groups of trusted brokers and manufacturers whose reputation is beyond reproach. edit: Clarification
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Dec 10, 2010 04:13
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I tell you what, some etsy jewellers do some amazing custom work. singleBbeautiful and CHenry are both jewellers I've dealt with and both were very professional.
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Dec 10, 2010 04:22
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Any thoughts about GIA distance classes? Are they beneficial to take as a consumer or is that overkill? Interesting to take just for fun or too business-specific?
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Dec 10, 2010 05:56
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Hired_Sellout posted:Any thoughts about GIA distance classes? Are they beneficial to take as a consumer or is that overkill? Interesting to take just for fun or too business-specific? They're significantly overkill as they deal with a lot of the tedious monotony of diamond grading, and much less with the business side of things. They're also a little expensive so unless you're planning to deal diamonds as a professional or continually buy diamonds as a personal investment then it may be a little much. But the subject matter is very interesting, and you would definitely learn a lot. One thing to consider is that the GIA methods and policies change over time so to really stay relevant you need to keep up on the continuing education. At that point you might as well make jewelry at least a part time profession.
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Dec 10, 2010 07:47
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JohnnyRnR posted:That's a constant question we get. Should I spend the extra money on better construction, etc? It really depends on the individual piece. Even a less expensive piece can be rebuilt in case of damage provided that it was built well at first. I was looking at building a custom ring, the center stone would be a pink heart shaped stone. The local jeweler has two options, pink tourmaline ($100-$600) and pink sapphire ($900-$1,300). The jeweler told me the tourmaline is much cheaper, but also softer. This is going to be a wear everyday ring, and am wondering just how much better the sapphire is in terms of durability and practicality in the event of repair.
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Dec 10, 2010 16:15
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The sapphire would likely last 100 years with only minor damage: Scuffing, or a minor chipped corner. The tourmaline would likely be a fine choice for the ring, but know that with softer stones the chance for chipping greatly increases. The trade off for durability is that with a less expensive stone you can afford to replace it more often. But likely it could be worn for years without any kind of damage. A great middle ground between price and durability would be a synthetic pink sapphire.
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Dec 10, 2010 17:52
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JohnnyRnR posted:I hate to say it, but the problem with buying pearls online is that you never know what you're going to get. In your opinion, is it safe to buy from an established pearl specialist like mikimoto online or do you really have to inspect them in a store to be certain they're the real deal? Also, what's a typical markup like on a 16 inch strand of A/A+ 7X 6.5mm pearls?
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Dec 10, 2010 20:03
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I can tell you that the markup on a strand of Mikimoto branded pearls will be significantly higher than the price of identical pearls without branding, but some people buy for the prestige of the brand so the price isn't as important. Markups really depend on where you're buying it, and how high the dollar amount is. Bigger pieces tend to have lower markups. All this talk of pearls has really gotten me in the mood to expand our business there. My business partner is in Nanjing now, and we plan to start buying direct at the pearl markets. Very exciting.
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Dec 10, 2010 22:14
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I ran around some stand alone jewelry stores today looking for a pair of Akoya pearl earrings with a white gold back, 6.5-7.5mm in size. I got prices ranging from $70-250. The 250 was near a big mall. As I was getting farther away from the city I got a quote of $110(7.5mm Akoyas) and at an even smaller store $70. However at the smaller store they didn't know if the pearls were Akoya, just that they were salt water. Only the very expensive store seemed to know of a grading system. I read there are two grading system, Tahitian(A-D) and Akoya(A-AAA). Is what I read full of it and not really followed? Should a good, reputable salesman know grade and nacre thickness?
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Dec 11, 2010 23:59
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How hard/expensive would it be to get a piece of amber cut and put into a ring? I'd like to eventually get a ring with a tick or spider in amber as the centerpiece.
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Dec 12, 2010 01:21
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Chas McGill posted:The 1 month salary ring is ridiculous and I hope to hell that people aren't actually taken in by that. Thanks to being a full time student, the ring I proposed with was ∞% of my monthly income! 
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Dec 12, 2010 01:33
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Russian Bear posted:I ran around some stand alone jewelry stores today looking for a pair of Akoya pearl earrings with a white gold back, 6.5-7.5mm in size. I got prices ranging from $70-250. The 250 was near a big mall. As I was getting farther away from the city I got a quote of $110(7.5mm Akoyas) and at an even smaller store $70. However at the smaller store they didn't know if the pearls were Akoya, just that they were salt water. Your average retail jewelry employee isn't going to know anything. Most of the jewelry stores in the USA are chains, and their employee training consists of "This is on sale" and "The Warranty is only $200 more" and "We have 0% financing, let me get you the application!" The reason that the smaller store can't guarantee that the pearls are Akoya is because a lot of pearls are bought from foreign wholesalers, and then intermixed by quality. The Chinese are producing vast volumes of cultured pearls in very high qualities, and even the wholesalers I work with admit that many dealers buy Chinese pearls and rebadge them as Japanese after cleaning and stringing. So even if a jeweler represents his pearls as Japanese there isn't much guarantee that he's right (Thought he may believe so). But as the Chinese pearls are of such fine quality these days I don't believe that it matters much for pricing anymore. I've never much cared for the pearl grading structures as it doesn't have much clarity. "A to AAA" means very little as those levels are amazingly subjective, and the seller almost always grades higher than the buyer.  ZarathustraFollower posted:How hard/expensive would it be to get a piece of amber cut and put into a ring? I'd like to eventually get a ring with a tick or spider in amber as the centerpiece. It's very easy, but a piece of ancient amber with a fantastic insect inclusion will likely be very expensive. However, there are some overseas shops that fake these types of pieces by melting copal and tree sap and pouring it over dead insects to create a new piece. Much cheaper, and you'll get the same aesthetics. JohnnyRnR fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Dec 12, 2010 |
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Dec 12, 2010 17:22
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I was looking at: http://www.ambericawest.com/beetles.html for the amber. 50-200 for the stuff I'm into, and they have a section on their site on how to tell fake amber from real stuff. Are they fake too?
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Dec 13, 2010 01:22
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ZarathustraFollower posted:I was looking at: http://www.ambericawest.com/beetles.html for the amber. 50-200 for the stuff I'm into, and they have a section on their site on how to tell fake amber from real stuff. Are they fake too? I don't know him, but I have seen his lizard specimens before in journals so I believe that they're A-OK.
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Dec 13, 2010 07:28
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My name is Amber so my mom always buys me amber jewelry. If you have a piece that you're not sure is amber or not, look in the phonebook for a local family owned jewelry store and call them up to see if they can identify it. I guess there's different things that can be done. My mom inherited a strand of beads from a client that passed that she thought was amber, but it turned out to be some sort of plastic that was made in the 1920's or something. It wasn't quite worth as much as if it had been amber, but it was still worth something for being a vintage piece. Green amber is the best amber  I just wish it was easier to find amber jewelry thats not cheap mall kiosk $20 silver pieces.
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Dec 13, 2010 17:31
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I love this thread. I'm a big fan of nontraditional rings and this opened my eyes up to so many more options. I really like the jewelry offered by this Etsy seller: Metamprphosis Jewelry I guess it's hard to judge without seeing the work in person but I would do heinous things to buy the planets/meteorite ring they have. I worked at an astronomy shop & love space/science, and I think the ring is beautiful. Would anyone be able to tell me if their cost, $3600, seems like a fair price for it? I also want this, but that's a hefty price tag! I've never heard of chrysocolla but from the photos it seems super pretty. I much prefer supporting small businesses/jewelers than a mall or chain.. I have a friend who has a metric gently caress-ton of rings and she got most of them from some gem network TV that went off-air or the mall/Kmart. Her latest "steal" was a ring marked down to $100 from "$500" and she was SO PROUD of her amazing steal..I don't have the heart to show her why she's wasted thousands of dollars on costume-quality jewelry, but what is a tactful way to point out that hey, it's not actually a "deal"? She gets offended very easily and would be butthurt if I straight up said "Read these articles/links from professionals in the business as to why all that jewelry you're insuring isn't worth jack poo poo." Maybe if I can educate her a bit she'll stop scouring the mall for "super deals" on generic jewelry...
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Dec 13, 2010 17:50
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huskyjackal posted:I have a friend who has a metric gently caress-ton of rings and she got most of them from some gem network TV that went off-air or the mall/Kmart. Well, everything has its place. A lot of people buy costume jewelry to constantly have a revolving stream of fun fashion items. My mother-in-law buys a lot of low priced jewelry, and it's her entertainment. I've actually discouraged her from moving up to the finer pieces because buying those at her current rate would bankrupt her quickly.
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Dec 13, 2010 18:35
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JohnnyRnR posted:Well, everything has its place. A lot of people buy costume jewelry to constantly have a revolving stream of fun fashion items. My mother-in-law buys a lot of low priced jewelry, and it's her entertainment. I've actually discouraged her from moving up to the finer pieces because buying those at her current rate would bankrupt her quickly. I know for me I purposely don't have super nice rings because I'm rough with my hands and the stones I like (eg: opal) are not very strong. I really love the look of meteorite, but I don't recall if it was talked about much here..what are the costs of meteorite rings based on and is it really a unique material or is it just "another form of iron they labeled as cool & jacked up the price on" (as a friend put it)?
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Dec 13, 2010 19:08
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I have a Diamond I will be putting in a band. This is the band: http://www.itshot.com/14k-gold-diamond-engagement-ring-mounting-034ct-p-24115.aspx My girl didn't like what the local stores had to offer and thought that the internet was competant with the catalogs they have in store. Is there a general consensus on https://www.itshot.com
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Dec 13, 2010 22:00
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Sorry, I can't be much help. I don't know them, and don't seem to know anyone else who does either.
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Dec 14, 2010 05:00
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Progression Please posted:I have a Diamond I will be putting in a band. This is the band: I don't know anything about itshot but I'm reluctant to think highly of any product that has a whole tab for videos of D-list celebrities doing promotions.
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Dec 16, 2010 15:10
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I went to another store(this one husband and wife owned) still shopping around for pearl earring and the lady told me that the earring they had for ~$100 were slightly not round, but the hardware was covering that part and if I wanted to go up to the perfectly spherical ones it add around $200. I appreciated the honesty. I called back one of the other stores and asked the saleswoman there if the earrings they were selling for around the same price($100) were spherical akoyas - she assured me they were and that they get "the best pearls" from Royal Pearl. This kinda sounded like a sales pitch to me. I googled around and apparently Royal Pearl is an importer out of chicago(assuming that's the one). Is the second store pulling my leg? Do either of you guys know of Royal Pearl?
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Dec 16, 2010 19:55
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Russian Bear posted:I went to another store(this one husband and wife owned) still shopping around for pearl earring and the lady told me that the earring they had for ~$100 were slightly not round, but the hardware was covering that part and if I wanted to go up to the perfectly spherical ones it add around $200. I appreciated the honesty. If you're down to those two stores, I'd vote for this one on their explanation of the pricing differences alone. They sound like people making an effort to be very open.
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Dec 16, 2010 22:36
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JohnnyRnR posted:Titanium & Tungsten are in the same family if you're looking for a non-precious band. Both are serviceable if not particularly awe inspiring. Tungsten will be more expensive due to the current patent situation. Last year it was cheap, but the courts put a stop to that recently. I went to look at wedding bands for my fiance today and the Tungsten rings were running about $200, did it used to be cheaper then that? Also can tungsten not be engraved? They told me they would have to order his size because they can't be sized, but when I mentioned engraving they said they could do it on site. JohnnyRnR posted:The sapphire would likely last 100 years with only minor damage: Scuffing, or a minor chipped corner. I've been told by many people (not jewelers) that my sapphire will probably have to be replaced with in the next 5 yrs with every day wear, is this not true? That will make me very happy if its not true! Also, Johnny my engagement ring is oddly shaped and I have no clue where to start on finding a wedding band. I tried a few today but none of them seemed to fit it correctly. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!  Click here for the full 1536x2048 image. To add to that, this ring sits almost flush with my skin. I'm in nursing school so I wanted something that would not rip my gloves. I am also a size 4, so something with alot of diamonds I have been told would not be a good idea because they can pop out easier? Sorry for the crappy cell quality.
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Dec 18, 2010 03:07
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Joellypie posted:I went to look at wedding bands for my fiance today and the Tungsten rings were running about $200, did it used to be cheaper then that? Last year Tungsten bands were somewhere in the $60 range. But a company has been able to enforce a patent on "Tungsten Rings for Personal Adornment" or somesuch, and now we're back to monopoly pricing. And don't worry about your sapphire. I've seen 100 year old sapphire that were barely a bit worse for wear. It might need a re-polishing in 10 years, but I highly doubt it will need replaced. e: Wedding bands are going to be difficult. I'd have someone make a double sided wrap set with sapphires. Let me photoshop one up.
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Dec 18, 2010 19:16
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Something like this, maybe.  Just the first idea that came to me. Barring that, I'd just add a simple diamond band that would float freely beneath the ring.
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Dec 18, 2010 19:29
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Do you have any general advice about buying diamond studs? I'm thinking about getting a baller pair of them for my girlfriend, I'm wanting to spend about $3-5k - is that enough to get the job done? I'm in NYC, so I have access to a huge wealth of jewelry stores, but I can also obviously buy online - which I may prefer. I was looking at sites such as bluenile originally. What should I be looking for when buying studs? Obviously they will not be showcased like a ring, but the "eye popping" effect I'd still want to be visible. What sort of size/cut/clarity/color should I be looking for so I can get the best bang for the buck for something that will be going into the ear? Also, is there any benefit to getting platinum? It seems like white gold is the way to go from some of the comments in this thread. Does the setting matter for studs? I've seen 3 and 4 prong settings, and don't really have a preference - will one make them look better than the other? One last question is when you see studs advertised as "1ct diamond studs", does this mean .5 cts for each earring, or 1ct for each earring?
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Dec 18, 2010 20:12
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^^^^^ Not a jeweler, but I can answer a couple of your questions. Yes, if it says they're a 1 ct pair, it's .5 per stud. Generally it says something like 1 ct total weight or something like that. I was told by the jeweler who resized my engagement ring that with larger stones, you want a setting with more prongs so that you have a lot less of a chance of losing the stone, especially if you're using a metal like white gold that isn't as hard as platinum. Maybe that's not totally right but it did make sense to me. My 1.5 ct round cut is in a setting with 6 prongs.
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Dec 18, 2010 20:32
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birdman posted:Do you have any general advice about buying diamond studs? I'm wanting to spend about $3-5k - is that enough to get the job done? You can get a great pair of studs with that budget. Studs are one of the pieces where it's ok to lower the color and clarity a bit, and they'll still look fantastic. Just make sure that any inclusions are small and located more towards the girdle. That way you'll definitely be able to maximize the size without losing any of the aesthetic. For color, you want to stay "eye white" which is going to be I+, but some J's can face up white, too. I'd say that you'll be able to find a great set roughly in the two to three carat range. Stud earrings are generally sold as a total weight. So take the advertised weight and divide by two.
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Dec 19, 2010 02:33
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Hello - read through this thread on and off, but there's a LOT of information so apoligies if these things have been answered. I'd like to propose to my girlfriend in the summer of next year and having done some thinking, I think buying a loose diamond and letting her choose the setting would be my best bet for various financial and personal reasons. However, my first question is that I have access to someone who can get jewellery at trade prices. They reckon that they can get pretty much any jewellery at the big name UK shops for about 1/3 of the price. Is that worth looking at, or does it just bring the prices down to the same as doing it seperately and with 'proper' jewellers. Secondly, is http://www.bluenile.co.uk/ a reasonable place to get a loose diamond? I love their site and the selection process, but I really have no idea if I'm getting ripped off or not! Finally, what kind of money should I be spending on the band. I'll be saving about £600 for the diamond, and once she knows, can probably put the same again for the setting + fitting. Is this about right - can I get a nice setting for that? I know her taste will be something very plain and modern - probably white gold or similar. Also, where should I be buying this from and what search terms can I use to get just the setting. For some context, what are your thoughts on something like this: http://www.bluenile.co.uk/diamond-search?filter_id=0&track=head#diamonds_pid=LD01830421 hermand fucked around with this message at 18:36 on Dec 19, 2010 |
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Dec 19, 2010 18:22
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That should be a pretty stone with best color and high clarity, but it has a medium blue fluorescence. Fluor + a high color can sometimes looks hazy due to the UV reaction. The effect depends on the stone. You'll be able to find a fine setting for £600 at almost any retailer. Your friend offering 33% of retail really depends on the product and the shop so I can't say if it's a valid deal or not. Is that website ok? I have concerns with the way that they do business. They have their diamonds drop shipped from suppliers, and never actually see the stones. A lot of overseas manufacturers use the "spreadsheet shopping" websites to sell inventory that educated dealers won't buy. Just like the diamond you linked: It has a potential problem, but they don't bother to notify the consumer of a valid concerns. What part of the UK are you in? I do know a few dealers there that would be willing to sell you a diamond. JohnnyRnR fucked around with this message at 22:36 on Dec 19, 2010 |
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Dec 19, 2010 22:20
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JohnnyRnR posted:That should be a pretty stone with best color and high clarity, but it has a medium blue fluorescence. Fluor + a high color can sometimes looks hazy due to the UV reaction. The effect depends on the stone. Thanks for the info - I'll have a read up on the fluorescence. Here's an example of the type of store I was told he could get trade prices for: http://www.goldsmiths.co.uk/categories/diamond-rings/engagement-rings?cm_sp=Top+Nav-_-Diamond+Rings-_-Engagement+Rings I'm in the West Midlands (Dudley) - about 30 mins away from the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter hermand fucked around with this message at 22:30 on Dec 19, 2010 |
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Dec 19, 2010 22:27
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JohnnyRnR, I have a repair question - my boyfriend got me a necklace from Vivienne Westwood a couple years ago and some of the finish is just beginning to visibly wear off. Is it possible to get something like that replated? It's this necklace: http://www.viviennewestwood.co.uk/shop/jewellery/necklaces/mini-bas-relief-pendant-468/ I'm not sure if it's possible/cost-effective to fix something like this rather than just get a new one, but it's my favorite necklace and he got it for our 5th anniversary so I'd like to keep it nice if possible 
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Dec 21, 2010 00:47
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McPantserton posted:JohnnyRnR, I have a repair question - my boyfriend got me a necklace from Vivienne Westwood a couple years ago and some of the finish is just beginning to visibly wear off. Is it possible to get something like that replated? It's this necklace: http://www.viviennewestwood.co.uk/shop/jewellery/necklaces/mini-bas-relief-pendant-468/ The description there is a bit confusing as "imitation rhodium setting" could mean anything, but I would imagine that the finish could be stripped and it could be replated. At the least it would be more economical than buying a new one.
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Dec 21, 2010 00:55
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Awesome, I'm glad to hear it might be fixable! I emailed their general inquiries department to ask what the "imitation rhodium" actually is, hopefully I can get a better idea of the cost of replating with that.
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Dec 21, 2010 04:56
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Lingling posted:I tell you what, some etsy jewellers do some amazing custom work. singleBbeautiful and CHenry are both jewellers I've dealt with and both were very professional. I have ordered quite a bit of custom pieces from different Etsy jewelers. I have always been happy with the value and the quality. And it feels good to support the artist directly.
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Dec 21, 2010 23:52
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I ordered my husband's wedding ring from eBay. The only reason I did it was because the ring in stores was 900+. The ring on eBay was 200 with engraving. So, I thought it was worth the risk. Well, it turned out great. Though I wouldn't expect this from all eBay sellers.
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Dec 22, 2010 16:36
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I finally got the Blueschist I brought back from Turkey cut into cabs. Here is a sample of what I got cut, its a lovely phone picture since I am lacking a good setup to photograph this stuff well. I got several large ovals cut and made a nice pendant with one, and a giant gaudy ring with the other. Turned out rather well.
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Dec 23, 2010 05:51
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Queen Of Spades posted:If I was looking to get a moissanite ring custom made from a jeweller and they dont carry them in store, should it be pretty easy to have them order one for a ring? Or am I better just trying to find something online? Moissaniteco.com may come with some crazy fees, but it is the only moissanite retailer (to my knowledge) that does an enhancing process to eliminate any of the green/yellow/gray tint that some people notice with the stone (especially larger stones). It costs $100/carat, but I think that it is totally worth it. When I get my girlfriend the moissanite engagement ring that she wants, I'm going to get the enhancement process done. If you go to the Moissanite Co. website, just type "enhanced" in the search box to find out the instructions on how to apply it to the ring (you just add to the cart the size of the center stone).
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Dec 28, 2010 00:06
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This is going to sound like a stupid question but when buying loose stones, is eBay just a damned bad idea? I've bought lots of stuff from eBay, I've had good experiences and less good experiences (mainly as a seller, never as a buyer), and I was wondering if it was an option, provided that common sense is used like when buying anything else off eBay - if it looks too awesome to be true, it probably is. Thoughts?
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Dec 28, 2010 02:48
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