Thursday, March 13, 2014

How much are you supposed to spend on engagement rings?

This will be one of my shorter blogs. It's just something that a friend brought up today and I thought I should share.
How much do you spend on an engagement ring? A lot of people may disagree with what I'm about to say, and I should say that this is my opinion, but I say that it depends on a number of things. Some say it should be 1 month of your income, some say 2 months, I'm sure we've all heard one answer or another.
You should first look at where you are financially. If things are tight and you already have various debts accumulated, Then don't put yourself deeper into debt. Put a little money aside each paycheck and buy something reasonable. You can always upgrade to something bigger in the future when you can afford it(If that's important to her).
If you don't have a lot of debt, and you don't mind financing it, then okay, go for it.
What bothers me is the overwhelming number of people that think that they need a big rock right from the start. I'm sorry, but no. The ring doesn't make the marriage. It doesn't mean your significant other loves you any less if it's not as big as you want. I blame the media for part of this problem. All the reality TV stars get engaged and have 3 carat or more rings so why shouldn't you? First of all, they can afford. I don't even want to speculate at how much they make per episode because it will probably depress me, but it's probably enough to get the big bling. Second: never shame your significant other into getting something that they can't afford because you are unwilling to be realistic. A marriage is more than a wedding day, and it's more than a new accessory to wear. If your answer is determined by the ring, you are not ready for marriage.
I could go on but I know this rant isn't gonna get any less snarky and I think I made my point well enough.
Goodnight everybody ;)

Monday, March 10, 2014

Diamonds... part one of God knows how many

Before I begin this newest blog, we need to acknowledge that there is a lot of information out there regarding this topic, from the internet and elsewhere. I want you to feel that what I say here and now isn't just my opinion. I am both a certified Goldsmith and certified in diamonds from the Diamond Council of America. You can look them up if you wish, they are reputable educators.
   I don't write this blog to benefit myself or my employers. I write it for you, the reader. In doing what I do, I have come to realize that jewelry (for the most part) is like Latin. People all over the world are aware of it, they know what it is, but few people actually Know it. I know this blog isn't going to change the world, I have no unrealistic hopes of that. But I DO hope to change the way that we think about jewelry. I hope to share what I know and in doing so, empower you. That being said, here we go..
  Diamonds: I won't bore you with how they got to the surface of the earth, that takes too long, and I don't think anyone else is really that interested. If you are, let me know and I'll address it at another time. Lets start with one of the things that people say that bother me the most; and that is referring to an inclusion as a "Carbon spot". Gem quality diamonds ( that's pretty much exactly what it sounds like guys, a diamond that's nice enough to avoid being turned into a drill bit and made instead into jewelry for you and me) are in fact about 99.95% carbon. Those dark spots can be any number of things that found their way into the diamond while it was forming and just stuck around. 
Although they're primarily made up of Carbon, diamonds can contain other trace elements which can alter the appearance of color in the stone.  Nitrogen is the most common trace element, which is what makes diamonds yellow. Boron makes blue, and radiation within the earth makes green. On a side note, did you know that the first TREATED green diamonds were made in 1904? they were turned green by covering the diamonds in radium salt, then blasted with alpha particles. This was, in fact a very bad idea. The stones, though successfully turned green, were also highly radioactive, and have stayed that way to this day. 
Diamonds are the toughest of all the gemstones. The name, "Diamond" comes from the Greek word, "Adamas" meaning unconquerable. Cultures from all over the world have their legends about the ancient stone. Some believing that they gave the wearer strength, others believing that diamonds were splinters of stars. Its all fun to think about. At least it is for me. 
All these mythologies mingled with fact could easily lead us to believe that diamonds are unbreakable, but that would be wrong. They might be tough but they're not rage proof. Before cutters had the luxury of lasers, they likely used a process called Cleaving to break the crystal down. Cleaving is using force to split the diamond on a weak crystal direction called Cleavage planes. If you apply just the right amount of force to these planes, CRACK. That being said, if you happen to knock your wedding ring on the coffee table and suddenly your precious diamond is now in 2 pieces, don't go off half cocked to whoever sold it to you. Just because it broke doesn't mean it was fake. I don't care what they say in the movies, I don't care what your best friend that watches a lot of Jewelry TV says, diamonds ARE breakable. If you're concerned that its fake, have it tested. Most jewelry stores have a tester and would be able to tell you. 
Recently, I was asked why diamonds are so expensive, Emerald cuts in particular. I'll start with the latter. Emerald cuts are faceted differently than rounds, ovals, or marquis. They are "Step" cut rather than "Brilliant" cut. This form of faceting is used to showcase a stone's clarity. Brilliant faceting can hide inclusions so they are less noticeable, whereas inclusions in a step cut stone would be more evident. Higher clarity means its more rare which makes it more expensive. Now, on to part two of that question. 
It takes 5 tons of ore and 25 tons of rock to produce 1 carat of gem quality diamonds. That gives you an idea of how rare these stones are. Adding insult to injury, about HALF of that weight is lost to the cutting process. Based on the Gemological Institute of America (or GIA)'s grading system, there are 11 clarity grades for gem quality diamonds. In order from lowest to highest: 3 categories of Included ( I3, I2, I1), Two categories of Slightly Included ( SI2, SI1) 1 category of Very Slightly Included(VS), two categories of Very Very slightly Included (VVS2, VVS1), One Category of Internally Flawless (IF) and One category of Flawless(FL). Imagine how many tons of ore and rock it takes to get 1 carat of even SI2 or SI1 quality diamonds. These things are rare! Not only rare, but they are insanely difficult to get to! Diamonds aren't like the newest smartphone, a flat screen TV, or any other item of fashion. Styles come and go, smartphones are updated time after time as we progress with the development of technology. But Diamonds really are Forever. If you take care of them, they'll last. They're heirlooms and symbols of the greatest of all emotions; Love. 
I feel like I've rambled on forever here ( probably because I had to stop every 3 minutes and rewrite sentences.... and I'm sure I still had some mistakes in spelling here and there) but I haven't even scratched the surface of this topic. This is, in fact, the first of several diamond themed blogs to come, but I hope that this at least whet your appetite. If you're as big a geek as I am about these things, you can never learn enough.
As always, I'm open to inquiries, and please comment to tell me what you think.  

Sunday, March 2, 2014

care and maintenance

It's good practice to bring your jewelry in to see a goldsmith about every 6 months; more if you know you're mean to your bling. Reason being that unless you have a 10 power microscope at home and an ultrasonic machine, you don't really know their condition. When people bring their things to me to look at and I discover that they have loose stones, They always ask, "Why?". The answer is never simple because it could be any number of things, so I rattle off a few of these questions to see if any of them ring true.
Do you sleep in them?
Do you wear them while doing housework?
Do you wear them while gardening?
Do you wear them in the shower or swimming pool?
Do you wear them while working out?
How often do you wear them, and for how long?
These questions will usually spark a deeper conversation once any of them hit home.
I'm not sure when this misconception popped up, buy I want to meet the person that started it. Jewelry (rings in particular) are not made to be worn all day every day. I think that wedding rings are the ones most damaged by this rumor.
Jewelry (if it isn't costume) is made from precious metals, the definition of which is a metal that falls under the gold, silver, or platinum group. You might not think so, but all of those metals are soft. They wear, bend, and break if not properly taken care of. That coupled with the fact that some of the jewelry being produced today isn't being constructed with a longevity as a priority. That statement falls under," Know what you're buying" category as well as "Care and maintenance", and I'll go deeper into that at another time.
Jewelry is made to be an adornment, not an organ necessary to your survival. Your wedding ring is a symbol, it is not your marriage itself. Taking it off doesn't mean there's trouble in paradise and it doesn't mean you don't love each other any more. It holds strong emotional influence, I know. But let's not go overboard with the sentiment. You can't confuse the strength of the metal with the strength of the memory of when you got it.
I said earlier that jewelry isn't made to be worn all day every day. I ask you, where did that idea come from? Did the salesperson say thay it could? "Well nobody ever told me that it would break!" That may be true. But there is a certain amount of common sense and responsibility we assume people have when they spend thousands of dollars on something they intend to wear. If you think about it, jewelry isn't so different from say, a Chanel blouse, or a Dior purse. The names give them prestige in our mind. We associate them with words like Quality and High end. But are you going to wear that Chanel blouse all day and all night, even while sleeping? Are you going to keep that Dior purse on the floor of your car when driving, or throw it in the closet at the end of the day? The answer is no, because even though they are well made pieces from giants of the Fashion industry, we know that they are not indestructable. They weren't cheap, and we want them to last.
Why is jewelry so different?
Sheets act like sandpaper over time to prongs on your ring, and sleeping in necklaces is an easy way to stretch the chain to the point of no repair.
Chlorine eats at gold and will dinge the rhodium that makes white gold white. It especially will do damage to silver if you happen to be wearing it when you take a dip. Thay being said, hot springs are a definite no no as well.
Why on earth would you wear rings while mixing raw meat for hamburger patties? Take them off!
Toothpaste is for cleaning your teeth, nothing else. The people at Crest didn't formulate their paste to clean jewelry and later discover that it happened to help with fighting gingivitis as well. Toothpaste is abrasive and scratches precious metals. While it may look cleaner after you use it, you are in fact doing damage. Take it to a professional. We have specially formulated cleaners for this job, and while they may not leave a minty aroma, they are in fact better suited for the job.
Housework calls for moving things around, scrubbing, washing, and general cleaning. That's a lot of potential to knock your rings around and expose them to various chemicals that likely don't associate well with precious metals.
It's important that you as the owner do everything you can to ensure your jewelry stands the test of time. We as goldsmiths are there to assist you in that endeavor. We are not solely responsible. There you have it, the basic Dos and don'ts of jewelry.
If you have a question and I didn't touch on it on any of my posts thus far, please comment. I Am more than happy to reply.