Jeweler News

When checking the jewelry trends on Twitter this am, our staff became intrigued by the latest news on plus-sized jewelry. According to Mic: 

Plus-size clothing brand Universal Standard is launching a jewelry collection on Tuesday, July 11, Mic reports. The silver necklace, choker, bracelet, earrings, and rings are designed to fit around and lay elegantly on larger bodies.

“The most basic problem [with mainstream jewelry] is just that it doesn’t fit,” Universal Standard co-founder and creative director Alexandra Waldman. “Regular jewelry isn’t made to scale. This is a line of jewelry that is meant to look native on a bigger body. The longer necklace falls exactly as it should on a longer body. The rings fit. The jointed choker always lays flat on the chest, and can be worn on a larger neck really beautifully.”

And yes, we get this firsthand (though we certainly feel we have scaleable jewelry that works on all types of body). We strongly advocate a holistic  approach when it comes to wearing jewelry. That means taking into consideration (prior to purchase) body type, lifestyle, budget (of course) and personal taste (of course).

Jewelry must feel like a natural extension of you, whatever your size!

(Image: Christies)

No matter what anyone says or does, my task is to be emerald, my color undiminished. – Marcus Aurelius

What is it about the amazing gemstone emerald that makes us wonder how such a color is possible? Well, it must be something powerful because one emerald certainly has many locked in its hypnotic grip.

According to JCK:

The Rockefeller Emerald, an 18.04 ct. “exceptional” Colombian gem, will highlight Christie’s June 20 Magnificent Jewels sale in New York City.

The step-cut stone, mounted with diamonds in a piece by designer Raymond C. Yard, is considered one of the finest emeralds ever to be auctioned. It carries a $4,000,000 to $6,000,000 estimate.

American Gemological Laboratories describes the stone as “exceptional” with “an unusual combination of size, provenance, absence of treatment, and quality factors.”

The diamond market is an interesting barometer of purchasing trends and our economy as a whole. This latest report indicates that millenials are making their mark as well as single and/or married women who are “self-purchasing” diamond jewelry more frequently than ever (good for you, ladies!).

(IDEX Online) – Total diamond jewelry demand from US consumers increased 4.4 percent in 2016 to exceed $40 billion for the first time, according to industry insight data published today by De Beers Group.

While slower US GDP growth in the first quarter of 2017 is likely to have impacted diamond jewelry demand in the short term, the US has recorded five years of consecutive demand growth. US consumers now account for roughly half of all diamond jewelry purchases globally – a level not seen since before the financial crisis.

Although bridal diamond jewelry continues to be the foundation of demand in the US, more frequent acquisitions and a higher value of spend from single women helped drive demand. Meanwhile, self-purchase trends increased among both single and married women.

Fifty-seven percent of self-purchased diamond jewelry is acquired by married women, while a third is from Millennials. Retailers also reported high levels of consumer interest for multi-diamond pieces.

To be noted, consumers are paying more for their jewelry, opting for quality over quantity:

The data showed that consumers are spending more per piece on diamond jewelry, with retailers reporting an increase in the $1,000 to $4,999 category, De Beers claimed.

This confirms our tried and true philosophy: when it comes to jewelry, you get what you pay for. If you’re interested in a custom design piece that defines you, reach out to us and let’s talk dreams. 

If you think about it, jewelry makes for the perfect safety device. You wear it on your person throughout the day, you can get to it at a second’s notice and it looks fashionable the whole time its keeping you safe.

Who out there remembers Swatch? Colorful, fun and affordable watches born in the 80’s, they were all the rage.

Swatch is a Swiss watchmaker founded in 1983 by Nicolas Hayek and is subsidiary of The Swatch Group. The product line was developed as a response to the “quartz crisis” of the 1970s and 1980s, in which Asian-made digital watches were competing against traditional European-made mechanical watches. [Wikipedia]

In a business rebound, the Swatch Group has built the world’s smallest low-energy Bluetooth chip, designed to improve the autonomy and connectivity of watches and small devices. The R&D news comes as the Swiss watchmaking industry hopes to recover from its longest slump since the 1980s.

The tiny integrated circuit, designed by EM Microelectronic, Swatch Group R & D and the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM) in Neuchâtel, measures just five square millimeters but its surface is packed with five million transistors. [SwissInfo.com]

Metal detectors are patient folk. Most of what they discover is worthless. But every once in a while, they hit the jackpot. Which is exactly what happened to two lucky treasure hunters in Staffordshire, England.

According to JCK:

The haul—currently on display at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, in Stoke-on-Trent, near where the pieces were found—reportedly includes three necklaces and an 18k gold bracelet, believed to have dated from the Iron Age.

“This unique find is of international importance,” Dr. Julia Farley, curator of British and European Iron Age Collections for the British Museum, said in a statement. “It dates to around 400 to 250 B.C., and is probably the earliest Iron Age gold work ever discovered in Britain. The [necklaces] were probably worn by wealthy and powerful women, perhaps people from the continent who had married into the local community.”

Take note, all you treasure hunters out there: with a little patience and persistence, your bounty awaits!

As in years past, our staff was glued to the Oscars last night (down to Warren Beatty’s unfortunate announcement snafu). As jewelers though, our focus tends to be on the obvious: stunning, jaw-dropping jewelry.

We gave the award for the most over-the-top bling to Charlize Theron, who donned a pair of statement earrings by Chopard that featured a 25-carat pear-shaped D-flawless diamond and 26-carat heart-shaped D-flawless diamond, 4.55-carats of pear-shaped diamonds and 4.35-carats of brilliant-cut diamonds set in 18k white ‘Fairmined’ gold from the “Garden of Kalahari Collection.”

(And not to be undone by the Oscars, we’re currently working on our own three stone D Flawless ring for a client…more to come!)

We can’t stare longingly and lovingly enough at the recent images of the Graff Diamond in a recent Forbes article. And can you blame us? Not only is it massive but stunningly brilliant. But this recent Graff picture just blows our socks off!

This is a diamond that is not only large but has achieved the highest grades in all attributes that matter.The D color grade means it is colorless, the top of the color scale for colorless or white diamonds.It is flawless, the top of the clarity scale.The diamond has a classification of Type IIa, meaning it is almost or entirely devoid of impurities and has the highest thermal conductivity. They make up between 1 and 2 percent of all natural diamonds.

A heart shape diamond must be perfectly faceted and entirely symmetrical to ensure a perfect silhouette and exquisite scintillation, Graff Diamonds said. “The exceptional size of the heart required the development of special tools and new technologies. The process was incredibly risky and tense.”

Well, we don’t quite know the answer to that because you know, angels don’t share a lot of fashion secrets with us lowly humans.

BUT we came a little closer to the answer when looking at Beyonce’s show-stopping gown at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards in NYC on Aug. 28. Each year, ups her fashion game and this year was no exception.

Some of the earthly details of this angelic outfit?

She wore $12,580,000 of diamonds!

That staggering price tag was spread across just four pieces of Lorraine Schwartz jewelry, including a $1.8 million Colombian emerald, intense pink diamond and paraiba earrings, a $9 million 12 carat fancy pink diamond ring, a $1.5 million 20 carat wrap around diamond ring, and a marquise and pear shape diamond ring worth $280,000. [Source: People.com]

Look at those earrings!

In light of recent allegations that mega company Signet Jewelers has frequently swapped real stones for fakes when customers brought their jewelry in for repairs, we wanted to take a moment to highlight the importance of smaller jewelers like ours, where trust is built into the very foundation of our business.

Joseph Schubach is a third generation jeweler who has been immersed in the jewelry business since he was a child. With decades of experience in both jewelry design and customer service, Joe’s ultimate goal is to give all his clients a shopping experience that’s easy, trustworthy and rewarding.

From Joe:

Jewelry is an incredibly personal purchase. It’s important that all our customers receive the guidance and support they need to make the right jewelry decisions. There are several principles that my father taught me that his father taught him. These principles are as timeless and true today as they were back in the early 1900’s:

• Always treat people with the utmost respect.
• Provide excellent service and the best value possible.
• Stay true to your word since your reputation is all that you really ever have.

At Joseph Schubach Jewelers, we continue to hold these fundamentals with the highest regard. They continue to be the centerpiece of our business philosophy, something we consider a must in today’s high-speed, low-touch world.

So the next time you think of a jewelry purchase, consider a smaller Scottsdale-based company whose very reputation is built on trust, impeccable service and design.