I received the ring today and I’m honestly still in a bit of awe by just how beautiful it is and how perfectly it came out. It is TRULY, TRULY gorgeous – it’s got all the organic, subtle curves we wanted and overall. You guys just perfectly nailed that unique yet tastefully understated look.
I really can’t thank both of you enough for all the hard work that went into this. More than that, I really appreciate the fact that you insisted that we go onto iteration 4 to get it exactly 100% right when we probably could have been happy with iteration 2 or 3.
I haven’t presented this to A yet, but probably within the next week. I know without any inkling of doubt that she will be as amazed by this as I am!! Thank you SO much again…and wish me luck!!
Several weeks later:
Joe and Beth:
I presented the ring to Anna right before we left over a week ago for the holidays; unexpectedly, she said she would “Have to think about it.”
OK, just kidding! She loved it as much as I did and we’re now officially engaged!! There wasn’t a big, flashy proposal – just an opportune moment when we were talking about what gifts we should get each other for Christmas and I mention that I actually had a gift ready for her! I think it definitely took her a couple of days to get used to having the ring on her finger: both for “being engaged” and because she was also taken by how beautifully it came out.
This is it!
Joe and Beth were extremely helpful and took care to both understand the changes we wanted and the subtleties we wanted preserved. They helped bring the design to the exact form we envisioned. We can’t thank them enough!
Most of you remember mood jewelry, big in the 70’s and having bubbles of resugence over the years. Well, apparently, you shouldn’t eat them. Now I’m not sure what to do for lunch:
A Tacoma company is recalling about 23,000 “mood” rings and necklaces after they were found to contain high levels of lead.
The heart-shaped jewelry, marketed under the brand name “Love Tester,” was sold for about $4 each in retail stores from September 2005 through June 2010.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which announced the recall, said some 19,000 rings and 4,000 necklaces are covered by the recall.
The jewelry poses a danger to young children, who can be harmed by the lead if they ingest it. No incidents or injuries from the jewelry have been reported, according the commission.
The products change colors when the user’s “mood” changes. The rings and necklaces were sold separately and mounted on round red discs printed with the words “Love Tester” and “Are you in the mood?”
D&D Distributing-Wholesale of Tacoma imported the products from China, the commission said. The jewelry was sold to small retail shops nationwide.
On its website, the company said it tests products at independent safety labs. A spokeswoman was not immediately able to answer why the jewelry was sold for nearly five years before the high lead levels were detected.
The company also was not immediately able to provide a list of retailers who sold the jewelry.
The commission said consumers should return the jewelry to the store where it was purchased for a refund or replacement product.
Estate sales can offer some amazing bargains…as well as some incredible pitfalls. Before you hand over your cash, consider these rules:
Identification
Estate jewelry made with real stones may be difficult to spot without the aid of a jeweler. Before you try to sell any of your jewelry, carefully look for any markings that would indicate gold or silver, or the manufacturer’s insignia. Identifying fine jewelry from costume may not be as simple as a quick look. The older the estate pieces, the more difficult this could be. The first rule of selling estate jewelry is to know what you have.
Considerations
Fine estate jewelry should always be appraised before you attempt a sale. Even though your necklace is only worth what someone will pay for it, you should establish a value so you can know what to expect before accepting an offer. Many costume estate jewelry pieces can be found online at auction sales, allowing you to determine an approximate value for these pieces.
Benefits
Another rule for selling your estate jewelry is to explore alternative markets. Selling your jewelry to a local jeweler or pawn broker may seem like a good idea, but you will likely receive a higher price at an auction or a private sale. The benefits of checking your options could translate into more cash in your hands.
Misconceptions
Inherited costume jewelry may have more value than just sentiment. One rule you should follow before selling this type of jewelry is to do your research. Online auctions are filled with vintage costume estate jewelry and the prices for these items may surprise you. Just because the jewelry in granny’s estate isn’t real does not mean that is has no monetary value.
Warning
Before you soak that old bracelet in some kind of cleaning solution, make sure you will do no harm. This rule should be followed for all of your jewelry, not just estate. Properly cleaning your pieces will add value and bring you a higher price. Improperly cleaning could eliminate any chance you have of selling the piece, particularly if it is costume.
Nowadays, choosing a diamond simulant is a smart, viable choice for many. But still, people want to know how you tell the difference between a fake and real diamond. This article covers the basics, for the skeptical and curious:
To understand how to tell a cubic zirconia from a diamond, it is important to have a better understanding of what this particular stone is and why it looks so much like an expensive diamond. Cubic zirconia is a synthetic material made from zirconium dioxide. The material is extremely hard, strong, virtually flawless from a visual perspective, and colorless, although cubic zirconia can be produced in numerous colors.
One of the primary benefits of cubic zirconia is affordability. Obviously, diamonds are expensive, one of the most expensive of all precious stones. For this reason, if people can purchase a material that looks like a real diamond, has strong and durable qualities, and costs a fraction of what a diamond costs, it is easy to see why a cubic zirconia is so popular. However, with all the benefits, nothing can take the place of a diamond. Now understanding what cubic zirconia is, individuals need to know how to tell a cubic zirconia from a diamond.
Again, the main reason for learning how to tell a cubic zirconia from a diamond is to avoid being scammed. If a person were to sell existing jewelry, he or she needs to know without doubt pieces being sold are actually diamonds. Then, for buying, unfortunately it would be easy for someone to become caught up in fraud, spending hard-earned money on a fake stone. While this might sound farfetched, the truth is this happens often.
The good news is that there are a number of easy tests that will help to determine whether a stone is cubic zirconia or diamond. For starters, there is the old method of scratching glass. If a piece of jewelry made with a cubic zirconia were to be run across a piece of glass, nothing would happen to the glass but the faux stone might scratch. However, if a real diamond were run across a piece of glass, the diamond would likely be undamaged and the glass scratched. The only downside to this particular test on how to tell a cubic zirconia from a diamond is that some of the higher quality faux stones are now made so well they can produce a small scratch on the glass.
Another method to tell cubic zirconia from diamond has to do with the stone’s transparency. Real diamonds are cut, producing facets on the inside. Because of the many lines, seeing through a real diamond is near impossible. For this technique, simply place a piece of newspaper behind the stone. If the print is readable the stone is a cubic zirconia but if not, the stone is a diamond.
The fog technique is an accurate and easy test to perform. To check the stone, simply breathe on it. The reason this is so reliable is that a real diamond is not capable of holding heat. Therefore, after breathing on the stone if it becomes fogged over, it is a cubic zirconia whereas if the warm breath clears up immediately, the stone is an actual diamond.
Now, people can go a little more high tech by using ultraviolet lighting. Officially known as an AUV test, the outcome would be based on the amount of fluorescent color produced. For instance, if the stone were a real diamond, it would show up as florescent color under the ultraviolet lighting. However, cubic zirconia stones would have no fluorescent color.
Another test that works amazingly well has to do with weight. The fact is that a real diamond weighs as much as 50% less than a cubic zirconia stone would weigh. Using a gram scale, the stone could be weighed against a confirmed diamond and the weight would show the stone to be real or fake. Obviously, the two stones should be the same carat to get the best results.
One last test that could be tried uses a loupe. Typically, this type of test is performed by a professional gemologist but anyone who knows how to look at stones through a loupe could do this. The purpose of this test is to look closely at the stone’s characteristic makeup, which includes the inside facets and girdle. A cubic zirconia stone will usually have a waxy appearance whereas a real diamond would be clear. Finally, some cubic zirconia stones will actually have the initials CZ stamped on the inside of the jewelry piece and a loupe would help reveal this.
Custom created engagement ring with a 1.50ct (dia equiv) Charles and Colvard created round brilliant moissanite center and nearly 200 round cubic zirconia pave’ side stones in 14kt white gold, one piece only in ring size 7.
Save 40%! Use the coupon code below for discount at the end of the checkout process.
I noticed the final pictures up on the blog, and they look amazing! I had my doubts on the wax but you assured me it would look stunning, and to trust in the professionals at Schubach Jewelers. Your claims are self-evident. It’s refreshing to do business with a company that offers both an excellent product and even better customer service. I will be sure to direct anybody I can to both visit your website, and to speak with you in person. Kudos to Joe for his remarkable craftsmanship, and keen eye for picking high quality, friendly people to support his trade.
So I believe my final question for you is, when am I gonna get my paws on it? =) If you could supply me with a tracking number when it gets shipped out I would very much appreciate it.
1. Realize the importance: Moms consider jewelry from a son or daughter to be a prized possession – something to be cherished for a lifetime. Take your time in making this purchase. Check your local jewelers and research jewelry online. Ask other family members for input by sending relevant links, images, etc. And don’t wait until a week before her birthday!
2. Recognize her style: Jewelry is not one size fits all! If your mother has hundreds of earrings, you might want to consider an engraved necklace or ring. Are her tastes classic or edgy? Is she a practical or romantic sort? (If practical, an oversized piece of jewelry might not be the way to go, for instance.) Look at her wardrobe. Is she a flashy or conservative type? What colors does she lean toward?
3. Go ask your mother! There are ways to find out about your mother’s tastes without giving away the secret. Ask about a ring she’s wearing and why she likes it. Take a look through her jewelry box (discreetly, of course!) Again, ask other family members. In short, go to the source.
Giving the gift of jewelry to your mother is a big deal, simply because it’s from you. Why not make it really special by taking some time to research, asking around and picking just the right piece?
We know that having wedding bands that reflect us really matters. It is a feeling of being individual, sure. But even more, it’s a feeling of truly honoring and loving who we have become and how we got here.The design that Joe helped us create reflects our path, totally.
You can see that they are two slim bands joined at the top. Slim and elegant is how I think of Liliana (I won’t pretend to say what she might think of me.) Joining her at the top of our game is exactly what I want to feel. We are so very different, so having one band of white gold and one of yellow gold just works. And we are very connected, so three diamonds to represent that sharing feels just right.
We came together from different continents. Liliana has lived in Australia and I, North America. Now, we share a home on each continent, a connection on each side of the world. These rings reflect that, too.
The two bands are clearly individual.They show that we connect without fusing to each other. That is how we live and want to continue to live our days.
What you may not be able to see in the pictures is that Joe designed the bands as infinity symbols. For us, this is perfect. I can write about how we met teaching metaphysics. I can talk about teaching the meaning of infinity. But here, I would rather share the feeling, the romantic sense of infinity, as it applies to us today.
We teach a science. But when we look at these rings that are so very us, so very uniquely us, I am living the feeling, not the thinking. Life is infinite joy, as are we. And life is good, getting better, and we are sharing that.
All that from two rings? No, it comes from us, but with Joe’s help, the rings are a perfect reflection. I hope that you like them even half as much as we do.
– Peter and Liliana, contestants of the 3rd Annual DIY (Dream it Yourself) Custom Design Jewelry Contest
At Joseph Schubach Jewelers, we like to look back on history for jewelry inspiration. Because strangely, everthing old IS new. There’s undoubtedly a common thread that continues through time, disappearing, reappearing, reinvented into something new.
Today, we take a look at Marie Antoinette and some of her elaborate pieces, including her stunning pearl neckalce:
Once queen, she steadily ordered the newest looks from Rose Bertin, the leading Paris couturiere—among them the provocative “robe a la polonaise,” with its bosom-enhancing bodice and its billowy, ankle-baring skirts, the whole crowned by a “pouf,” a 3-foot mountain of powdered hair decked with plumes, veils, and other objects arranged as saucy references to current events. All this and more she wore at court and in town, with swiftly contagious effect; and Bertin became known as the Minister of Fashion.
Christie's employee Linda Pyke is dressed with a necklace, made of pearls belonging to Marie Antoinette, at Christie's Auction House in London September 27, 2007. The pearls once belonging to Antoinette and taken to Britain by a friend for safekeeping failed to find a buyer at auction on Wednesday. Credit: Reuters/Luke MacGregor
The history of the necklace:
Now part of a diamond, ruby and pearl necklace, France’s ill-fated queen gave a bag of pearls and diamonds to Lady Sutherland, the British ambassador’s wife, before she fled revolutionary France in 1792, a year before the monarch’s death.
Marie Antoinette, legendary for her extravagance, did not know her fate at the time and would have hoped to be reunited with her treasures one day, according to Christie’s officials.
Christie’s said Sutherland arranged for clothes and linen to be sent to the queen while she was in prison.
“This was reportedly the last gesture of kindness shown to the doomed queen,” the auctioneer said in a statement.
Marie Antoinette was executed by guillotine in October 1793.
We’re always happy to share great local news when it’s sent our way!
The MJSA Education Foundation recently awarded scholarships to four hard-working students who are pursuing bachelor’s and master’s degrees as well as gemology diplomas–all to prepare them for a future life in jewelry making and design.
Katie Poterala of Tempe, Arizona, who won $1,800 to help her work toward an MFA in Fine Metals at Arizona State University within the next two years. (Her necklace is pictured at right.) Poterala also received a Foundation scholarship in 2008.
