Happy Stories From our customers

Whenever we make a ring in 18kt yellow gold I’m reminded how beautiful the metal is. It has a very royal look to it, a color so rich that you can nearly taste it!

Remember, you can have any ring on our site, custom made or otherwise, done in 18kt yellow gold!

Our style #1052 with matching wedding ring

Moissanite? What the heck is that? Does a baguette setting go with butter and jelly? Do I really want fire in my diamond? Won’t that hurt?

Jewelry terminology is a language in and of itself. Here at Joseph Schubach Jewelers, we’re happy to provide you with needed information so you can make a smart and educated jewelry purchase.

So sit down, boys and girls…and take that gum out of your mouth.

Here’s a quick lesson to get you started:

Baguette setting — A rectangular-shaped stone with rows of step-like facets. If the baguette’s two long sides taper inward, it is called a Tapered baguette. Baguettes in long, thin cut rectangles are often used as enhancements to a lager center stone, or on a watch bezel.

Bar setting — Similar to the channel setting, it is a circular band of diamonds or gemstones that holds each stone in by a long thin bar, shared between two stones.

Barion cut — This has a traditional step-cut crown and a modified brilliant-cut pavilion. A square barion cut diamond has 61 facets, excluding the culet.

Bearding or girdle fringes — The outermost portion of the stone, called the girdle, can develop small cracks that resemble whiskers during the polishing process. The bearding can sometimes be removed, if not too dramatic, with slight re-polishing, and if the weight allows.

Bezel — With a bezel setting, a rim holds the stone and completely surrounds the gem. It is the upper portion above the girdle of a cut stone. Bezels can have straight edges, scalloped edges, or can be molded into any shape to accommodate the stone. A watch bezel is the upper part of the case surrounding the dial. They can be set with diamonds or other gemstones.

Blemishes — The term blemish is used when the diamond has scratches or marks on the external area of the stone.

Brilliance — Liveliness, or sparkle in a stone when light is reflected from the surface and from the total internal reflection of light.

Brilliant-cut — Brilliant cuts are scientifically found to reflect the most light from within the stone, and often are considered to have the most brilliance of all cuts. A round brilliant-cut diamond has 58 facets. Other brilliant cuts include the heart, oval, marquise and pear shaped.

Cabochon — A facet-less style of cutting that produces a smooth surface. They can be in many shapes, including round with high domes to squares.

Carat — Unit of measure of weight of diamonds and gemstones. One carat is equivalent to 200 milligrams. One carat can also be divided into 100 “points.” A .75-carat stone is the same as a 75-point or 3/4-carat stone.

Certification (or Diamond Grading Reports) — There are many recognized gemological laboratories that can grade your stones for a fee. The most well known is the GIA, Gemological Institute of America.

Channel setting — Used most frequently for wedding and anniversary bands, a channel setting will set the stones right next to each other with no metal separating them.

Clarity — A diamond often has natural imperfections, commonly referred to as inclusions, which contribute to its identifying characteristics. Inclusions are found within the diamond, and can be white, black, colorless, or even red or green. Most are undetectable by the human eye, and can only be seen with 10X magnification. Inclusions are ranked on a scale of perfection called clarity.

Cleavage — A natural area of the diamond where a weak bond holds the atoms together. The gem will be split along these planes by the cutter.

Cluster setting — This setting surrounds a larger center stone with several smaller stones. It is designed to create a beautiful larger ring from many smaller stones.

Color — Diamonds are graded on a color scale established by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Fancy colors refer to diamonds with hues like pink, blue, green, yellow, and very rarely red. Fancy colors are not included in this color scale and are considered extremely rare.

Crown — This is the upper portion or the top of a diamond.

Culet — The bottom point of the diamond. It may be polished in some stones. Sometimes, a cutter may choose to make the culet a surface instead of a point.

Cushion cut — A mixed-cut diamond shaped like a square pillow.

Cut — Cut refers to the angles and proportions a skilled craftsman creates in transforming a rough diamond into a polished diamond. Based on scientific formulas, a well-cut diamond will internally reflect light from one mirror-like facet to another and, disperse and reflect it through the top of the stone. This results in a display of brilliance and fire. Diamonds that are cut too deep or too shallow lose or leak light through the side or bottom, resulting in less brilliance, and ultimately value.

Cutting style — Cutting styles are different than diamond shapes. The simplest and most common way to explain cutting style is to categorize it into the following three basic types: Step-cut, Brilliant-cut and Mixed-cut.

Deep cut — When a diamond is cut too deep, it will lose or leak light through the side or bottom. This results in less brilliance and value.

Diamond — A diamond is the hardest known natural substance. It is crystallized carbon. Diamonds are mined in their rough form and then, cut and polished to reveal their brilliance.

Diamond Grading Reports — There are many recognized gemological laboratories that can grade your diamond for a fee. The most well known is the GIA, Gemological Institute of America.

Dispersion — When light enters a diamond it reflects off the facets and the angles cut into the stone. This distribution of light is known as dispersion, or the display of the spectral colors.

Source: Jewelry.com

A baguette:

Wedding band with baguette stones (do not eat!)

Style 10151WB

Wedding Band With Round And Baguette Stones

Matching wedding band with approximately 2/3ct t.w. round brilliant and baguette stones.

(Another great testimonial for moissanite)

Hi Beth,
I just wanted to let you know that I got my ring yesterday and i LOVE
it. I was a little bit wary of the green/grey cast that folks say Moissanite
has, but I haven’t seen it in this stone. Even in a dark room it looks so
brilliant! Your service was great and I really could not be happier. If
people understood how beautiful Moissanite was, I think the diamond industry
would be quaking, unfortunately people are too sucked into the marketing of
a diamond. Also, wanted to let you know I’ve sent my best friend CeCe
Hernandez your way so be super nice to her! Again, thank you SO much. Your
customer service was superior to the other sites I visited and I am truly a
satisfied customer.

Thanks,
A

Moissanite, diamonds, silver, gold, rubies, amethysts…all make for gorgeous jewelry. But your jewelry isn’t worth much if it’s tangled up in a knot or you simply can’t find it!

This article outlines some clever and decorative ways to organize your jewelry so it’s not a jumble!

Choose one of the following methods to organize your jewelry.

* Use clear plastic straws. Cut several straws in half, then feed single-strand bracelets (or necklaces) through them, one by one. Make sure a bit of each bracelet is hanging out of either end so that they can still be clasped shut. After fastening them, place the jewelry-filled straws in a drawer or a case so you’ll be able to spot your untangled pieces easily.


* Pull unused teacups out of your cupboard. Put pretty teacups to decorative use by lining them on your bureau and putting bracelets in each. If you place more than a couple in one, dangle each bracelet over the edge so that they all stay separated.


* Hang a key holder above your dresser. Declutter your space by draping bracelets over individual key hooks. Your jewelry box will have room for other trinkets, and your wall will be newly adorned.


* Purchase an affordable jewelry organizer. Many online retailers carry jewelry holders that will prevent chains from becoming a hodgepodge. You can find everything from pouches to stands with decorative hooks. But whatever you buy should be practical, with individual compartments.



One to try is the Stacking Bracelet & Watch Tray, a storage system with connecting pieces ($12 to $18, containerstore.com) .

― Elinor Smith from RealSimple.com

(regarding a custom moissanite engagement ring)

Hi Beth,

I wanted to give you an update.  I got engaged recently and my fiancee
absolutely loves the ring.  There’s just one problem — her co-workers
are a little jealous!  The moissanite is so sparkly and the ring looks
a little too good.

We decided to go to the mall to see what kind of wedding band would
look nice with it.  In the first store we went to, the woman asked if
she could clean the ring.  We said sure and we were both nervous that
somehow the woman would know it wasn’t diamond and would say something
but she didn’t say anything or seem suspicious.  At the next store,
which even used to sell moissanite, the employee was taken aback when
he saw the ring and said “oh, wow!”  He put a normal diamond wedding
band next to it, but it looked dull in comparison so he steered us
toward their most expensive wedding bands.  We took the ring to
Tiffany’s and they asked us if it was a Tiffany Novo ring.  The only
diamond ring we saw that could compare to the moissanite was an actual
Hearts on Fire.  I guess it’s just the way they cut it.  Nobody had
any idea that her ring was anything other than a very high quality
diamond ring.

We’re in the process of choosing a wedding band to go with it and
we’re planning on having either pink moissanite or pink sapphire in
it. . . .

A