Fashion Trends

We all know the dilemma: cute outfits are a little tougher to sport when the thermometer drops below 30 degrees! Suddenly, your many-layered outfit starts looking a little “linebacker” – which is decidedly not chic!

Here’s some pointers from the Budget Babe, so you can look cool, not cold:

Invest in a heavy wool trench-style coat that hits A) mid-thigh or B) falls at or below the knee so you can wear it with dresses/skirts. This will keep you warm and stylish for a good 6 to 9 months out of the year.

Next, invest in at least one thick, warm cashmere scarf, a cashmere/wool hat that covers the ears, and densely knit gloves or leather gloves lined in cashmere. Chicago winters are bitterly cold and you just can’t fool around with cheap polyester, it will do nothing against the cold wind.

Also, you’ll need tall leather boots with a low heel for walking, if you can afford La Canadienne or Aquatalia, great. Either way, invest in a couple pairs of warm wool socks (I like cashmere or SmartWool, not so itchy) and possibly even silk longjohns from WinterSilks.com (thanks to Sal over at Already Pretty for the tip on those).

Depending on how warm your office is, you can probably get away with long sleeve layering tees and cardigans, wool blazers, or pretty blouses topped with warm shawl collar cardigans. I mostly wear jeans all year round, just stick to dark washes for work. Black pants work well too.

On “warm” days (over 40 degrees) you can have fun with colored or textured tights and dresses or skirts, so long as you have that warm trench to shield you.

Hopefully this should be enough to get you started, then once you’re in the elements you’ll have a better sense of what you need. I always loved people watching while riding the El downtown or the bus (especially north-south routes near the lake). Admittedly, I always choose warmth and practicality over style (I know, blasphemy right) but that’s what growing up in the Midwest can do to a girl. Good luck!

Here’s one of our specialty items, guaranteed to warm up any outfit:

Style 8578CO

Save 30% Now! Maltese Cross Tahitian Pearl And Diamond Pendant

An original design by Joe Schubach. This solid 14kt white gold hand made, hand fabricated pendant features a 15mm natural gray Tahitian pearl along with 1/3ct total weight pave and bezel set natural diamonds. The piece hangs from a 16″ black rubber cord with a 14kt white gold clasp.

Internet Special: Save 30% now. In stock and ready to ship.

Moissanite is becoming increasingly popular during a trying economy, no doubt. It provides the sparkle and grandeur of a diamond for a fraction of the cost. But it’s not just about the pricetag. Moissanite is eco-friendly and for the savvy shopper, this is becoming increasingly relevant.

Here are a few more points on moissanite you want to ponder:

Moissanite chips easily. FALSE.

Moissanite comes in different grades of color and clarity. FALSE.

More than one company manufactures moissanite. FALSE.

Moissanite is a man-made diamond. FALSE.

Moissanite IS NOT a diamond nor a diamond simulant. Diamond is pure carbon [C]. Moissanite is composed of the compound silicon carbide [SiC] Moissanite is a laboratory created jewel. Naturally occurring moissanite is extremely rare and found only in microscopic crystals that are too small to use in jewelry. Each moissanite jewel is grown in the laboratory from a moissanite seed crystal. It takes months from start to finish to grow a single jewel. Created diamonds are grown by a similar process.

Save 50%: Round Moissanite Wire Basket Pendant

Golden Facts:

Gold is the most popular metal used in jewelry making. Here are some other uses of this precious metal:

• McLaren F1 uses gold foil in the engine compartment




• Gold is used in astronauts’ helmets




• Gold can be used in food. Goldwater, traditional herbal liquor produced in Poland and Germany, contains flakes of gold leaf. There are also some expensive ($1000) cocktails which contain flakes of gold leaf.




• Gold is used in the connectors of expensive electronic cables like audio, video and USB cables




• Gold is used in computers, communications equipment, spacecraft, and jet aircraft engines




• Colloidal gold (also known as “nanogold”, is a suspension (or colloid) of sub-micromete-sized particles of gold in a fluid – usually water) is used in research applications in medicine, biology and materials science. Colloidal gold is also the form of gold used as gold paint on ceramics prior to firing.




• It is used for the protective coatings on many artificial satellites




• It is used in infrared protective faceplates in thermal protection suits




• It is used in electronic warfare planes like the EA-6B Prowler




• Gold is used as the reflective layer on some high-end CDs
• The isotope gold-198 is used in some cancer treatments and for treating other diseases




• Gold leaf, flake or dust is used on and in some gourmet foodstuffs, notably sweets and drinks as decorative ingredient




• Gold alloys are used in restorative dentistry, especially in tooth restorations, such as crowns and permanent bridges




• Gold can be made into thread and used in embroidery

Source: Purple Slinky

Styel 7233WB

Ladies’ 14kt Yellow Gold Anniversary Band With Channel Set Diamonds

Ladies’ anniversary band, 1.0ct t.w. channel set diamonds, 14kt yellow gold.

Metal: 14kt Yellow Gold
Stone Size: 1.0ct t.w.
Ring Size: 4 – 8

According to one expert:

The winning trends for Winter 2009-2010:

¨ Big and bold
¨ Dramatic, unique, unusual necklaces
¨ Huge cuff bracelets with big stones
¨ Natural stones, eclectic natural look
¨ Black
¨ Multi-strand necklaces
¨ Pearls
¨ Cocktail rings with huge stones
¨ Big hoop earrings

And the color choices? Yellow and coral. It stands to reason that these colors that elicit a sunshine effect would be popular in the darker months. The nice part is, at Joseph Schubach Jewelers, we can provide jewelry that’s priced right for you, with colors you choose.

When it comes to yellow, for instance, we can provide you with citrine, yellow topaz and of course, Gemesis cultured diamonds, whose gems possess some of the brightest, most vivid hues of yellow around.

Take a look or check out our Gemesis gallery:

Style 8570GM

Bypass Gemesis Diamond Earrings

Classic “bypass” stud earrings featuring 1/2ct t.w. Gemesis cultured diamonds in fancy yellow or orange color.

Available Metal: 14kt White Gold And Yellow Gold
Available Stone Size: 1/2ct t.w.

Style GM1014

Yellow Round Gemesis Earrings With Marquee And Round Diamonds

.84ct t.w. of deep fancy yellow round brilliant Gemesis diamonds of VS clarity set into 18kt white gold earrings accented with approximatley 1.50ct t.w. marquee and round white diamonds.

Metal: 18kt White Gold
Stone Size: .84ct t.w.

Sapphire gems dazzle and attract the eye like no other. But what is it and where does it come from? What magical properties does it contain – and more importantly, is a sapphire pendant, necklace or other piece of jewelry in your budget range? Here’s a few tidbits to school you on this rich and intense gem:

• Sapphire is the official birthstone for the month of September.
• Sapphire is given as a gem for the 5th, 23rd and 45th wedding anniversaries while a star sapphire is given on the 65th wedding anniversary.
• Sapphire is the non-red variety of corundum (the red variety of corundum is ruby). A 9.0 on the Mohs scale of hardness, sapphire is the second hardest natural mineral.
• Blue is by far the most popular color for sapphires, but they can be almost any color, including yellow, green, white, colorless, pink, orange, brown, and purple. Padparadscha is the name for a rare orange-pink variety of sapphire and has a higher value than blue sapphires.
• Sapphires with inclusions of tiny, rutile needles exhibit an optical property called asterism. This is the star shaped effect seen in star sapphires and is usually only seen in cabochon cuts.
• Star sapphires usually have six ray stars, but twelve ray stars are also known. Rarely, when sapphires are cut en cabochon, they can demonstrate a cat’s eye effect. This effect displays a thin band of light down the center of the stone and is known as chatoyancy.
• Heating colorless and very pale blue sapphires to high temperatures is done to give them an intense blue color. This treatment can also improve the clarity of the stones by removing tiny inclusions.
• A rare variety of sapphire, known as color changing sapphire, exhibits different colors in different light. A color change sapphire is blue in natural light, and violet in artificial light. A similar effect is also seen in alexandrite.
• Sapphire was first created synthetically in 1902 and is hard to distinguish from natural sapphires except by gemologists. Lab grown sapphires range in price and smaller stones are frequently used in less expensive jewelry.

Source: Bernadine Fine Art Jewelry

Sapphires can radically range in price but are generally more affordable than diamonds. Contact us if you’re interested in a sapphire engagement ring or a sapphire pendant necklace or even a sapphire broach. Sapphires are guaranteed to catch all eyes, so be prepared to draw a lot of attention.

Here are some possibilities:

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why jewelry sales have been slumping these last few years. People are more concerned about meeting expenses, so bling is taking a serious backseat:

Jewelry “sales were down 10 to 20 percent last year — I can’t imagine they won’t be again this year,” said Dione Kenyon, president of the Jewelers Board of Trade, a credit-reporting agency for the industry. “I hear people say, ‘Oh, things will [improve] and go back to the old days.’ You don’t go back to the old days — there is a new order.”

There is a new order…and maybe that’s not such a bad thing. The economy as well as an ever-emerging eco-consciousness is shifting. Jewelry purchases now include non-mined gemstones like Gemesis or moissanite, whose quality is only increasing. These are not “wannabes” gems. They are spectacular stones in their own right, surpassing the diamond in certain areas.

Maybe this new movement isn’t such a bad thing. The consumer still gets his or her “bling thing” for a better price and a greener world.

Stop by our MOISSANITE GALLERY and our GEMESIS GALLERY.

Be part of the new order!

Prong Set Seven Stone Moissanite Wedding Band

Seven stone, prong set wedding band with Charles and Colvard created round moissanite. This ring has the look of an anniversary band without the stones going completely around.

Available Moissanite Total Weight: .35ct-1.75ct

In what the New York Times is calling a “tectonic shift,” luxury goods traditionally auctioned off at houses based in New York City or Geneva are now moving the activities to Asia. This includes the upcoming auction of the bubble-gum 5 carat “Vivid Pink” diamond, which will take place in Hong Kong:

Christie’s and its rival Sotheby’s say that within the past few years, their hub in Asia, in the financial center of Hong Kong, has emerged as a top location for their sales of top-dollar jewelry, gems and fine wines. Asians have also become major buyers of ultraluxury goods at the auction houses’ sales in cities like London, New York and Geneva.

Rolls-Royce, which did not even have dealerships in Asia until 2003, immediately got 20 orders for its new $250,000 Ghost when it presented the car in Hong Kong last month, despite taxes that effectively double that price.

For Christie’s and the others, moving auctions and business to Asia is a calculated decision reflecting the shift in the consumer base.

In May last year, Christie’s sold its clear 101-carat Shizuka diamond in Hong Kong for $6.2 million. That sale and the one coming Dec. 1 of its big pink diamond “are both great examples showing how important this market has become at the very top end,” said Vickie Sek, head of jewelry at Christie’s Asia.

“Both stones would have been offered in New York or Geneva just a few short years ago,” she said.

Hammered by the financial crisis last year, many of the world’s economies are struggling to grow. Billionaires in Russia and the Middle East are taking a hit from lower oil prices. And consumers in the world’s traditional spending powerhouse, the United States, are weighed down by debt and expected to be much more cautious about opening their wallets for quite some time.

Tension rings possess a unique look and offer certain advantages that other rings don’t. For the very active spouse-to-be, the tension ring assures that your stone will most likely stay put because the way the ring is designed.

Tension rings are also chic and have a certain contemporary feel for people who prefer that style.

Here’s what one expert has to say:

Tension Rings

For a more modern twist on the engagement ring, consider a tension ring. Instead of being held in place by clasps and prongs, these elegant alternatives stay in place by the sheer pressure of each end of the ring.

Nothing says they have to be diamond, either. Why not consider getting your birth stone in it, instead, or another gem that means something to you and your betrothed? Because of the high tension involved, however, you will need to make sure your jewel can withstand the pressure, or it might need to be attached with hidden prongs or fasteners for a faux-tension look.

Such a classy look comes with a high price tag, however. Your tension ring will need to be custom made, partly because everyone’s tension levels will differ, but mostly because you need a perfect fit. Because of the physics involved, you’re never going to be able to resize a tension ring without destroying the band.

Our Gallery of Joseph Schubach Jeweler’s Tension Rings.

Style 9500M

Tension Set Round Moissanite Engagement Ring With Diamonds

Tension set ring with .51ct t.w. round diamonds (setting only, does not include center stone)

Some mines have all the luck! Take Petra Diamonds, who just stumbled across this beaut:

JOHANNESBURG — Mining group Petra Diamonds has discovered a 507.55 carat white diamond at South Africa’s Cullinan mine, one of the largest high-quality rough diamonds ever found, the firm said on Tuesday.

“This spectacular gemstone was recovered on Thursday 24 September and is currently with experts for analysis,” said a statement released by the London-listed company which operates mainly in Africa.

Initial examinations of the diamond which weighs just over 100 grams (3.5 ounces), have shown it to be of exceptional colour and clarity.

The diamond is undergoing colour grading, but is believed to be a rare Type II diamond, with very low traces of nitrogen — considered an impurity — making them among the most transparent and colourless of the gems.

“The Cullinan mine has again given the world a spectacularly beautiful and important diamond… we now eagerly await the findings of the expert analysis,” said Johan Dippenaar, Petra?s chief executive.

The precious stone was found alongside three other special white gems of similar colour and clarity, a large diamond of 168.00 carats and two other stones of 58.50 and 53.30 carats.

The mine which was previously owned by diamond mining giant De Beers, is renowned for the discovery of the famed Cullinan Diamond in 1905, which is part of the British crown jewels and weighed 3106 carats.

In May 2008, the mine produced a sparkling 101.27 carat diamond, roughly the size of a ping-pong ball.

The Cullinan Diamond Mine is the third richest diamond producing mine in South Africa.

Source: Canada.com

If a weighty diamond is a little out of of your fiscal comfort level, take a look at our Moissanite gallery. Not only is moissanite highly affordable, its quality is unsurpassed and eco-friendly.

Just when you think just about everyone is pulling their purse strings a little tighter, a new report shows that the wealthiest in the U.S. still consider jewelry a priority and are still spending:

According to JCKOnline.com:

Affluent households, those making $100,000-plus a year, have spent roughly 3 percent of their annual discretionary income on watches and jewelry so far this year. With 20 percent of American households categorized as affluent, 15.1 million affluent adults spent $21 billion on fine watches and jewelry, with almost $16 billion spent on fine jewelry alone, according to the 2009 Mendelsohn Affluent Survey.

Based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s current population surveys, the Mendelsohn Affluent Survey estimates that there are 43.1 million affluent heads of house living in an estimated 23.9 million households. As of the start of 2009, the estimated 20 percent of affluent American households have a total household income of $4.6 trillion; that’s just over half of the $8 trillion the U.S. government estimates is the total household income for all Americans, according the recent survey.

Of that $4.6 trillion, the survey estimates there’s annual discretionary spending of $1.2 trillion spent in 120-plus categories. The top-three discretionary spending categories are “home-related” (19 percent), “personal insurance” (8 percent), and “travel” (16 percent). “Watch and jewelry” purchases account for 3 percent of that discretionary spending pie, which is tied with “personal care and wellness.” Affluent Americans spend 2 percent of their discretionary income on “weddings” and “alcohol” and spend more on “computers and electronics” (5 percent), “leisure, entertainment and dining” (7 percent), and “apparel” (10 percent).

Additionally, the 2009 survey also measures close to 1,000 name-brand products and services (including fashion and apparel brands, watches and jewelry brands, home electronics brands, travel brands, financial service brands, etc.). Of the 43.1 million affluent households that shopped at a store in the past year, 6 percent shopped at Tiffany & Co. with 1.2 percent shopping at Bailey, Banks & Biddle.

The percentage of affluent households that shopped at exclusive jewelry designers and watch shops include Cartier (6 percent), David Yurman (1.3 percent), Tourneau (0.7 percent),Van Cleef & Arpels (0.3 percent), and Harry Winston (0.2 percent).

The results of the 2009 Affluent Survey are based on 13,275 completed questionnaires from male and female heads of house with household incomes of $100,000 or more.

If you’re not of the upper crust, not to worry – jewelry can still be a priority in your life. Tell us what you can afford and we can create a hand-crafted piece of jewelry with your budget in mind. View our custom jewelry designs for inspiration!