Happy Stories From our customers

A recent study shows that indeed some purchases can boost your “happy” level. Experiential purchases – such as a vacation – often provide more happiness.

Luckily, at Joseph Schubach Jewelers, we believe purchasing jewelry is an experience – an ongoing one that continues to keep giving back to you.

Here’s the excerpt from Psychology Today:

Philosophers since Aristotle have claimed that experiences fulfill us more than material goods. To test this claim, a pair of psychology professors examined discretionary spending on material purchases (such as jewelry or clothing) and experiential ones (such as vacations or tickets to a concert). In a nationwide phone survey of 1,279 adults, respondents were much more likely to claim that a prior experiential purchase made them happier than a material one—57 percent versus 34 percent—even after accounting for differences in price.

Of course, some items—such as books or sports gear—are both material and experiential. And one person’s splurge may be another’s must-have. So the researchers simply asked respondents to think of purchases they’d made “with the intention of advancing their own happiness.”

Advance your own happiness with a jewelry experience today!

Our long time friend Francesca came to us to make a custom 18kt yellow gold wedding band for her and her husband Leo’s 50th wedding anniversary. She wanted an old world feel, something that looks used and worn, something heavy that feels nice to the touch and smooth to wear. Fran liked the way a pair of her earrings looked and thought they could be the inspiration for the piece that would signify their special day.

The wedding band in the image with the earrings was the original wedding ring that Fran’s father gave to her mother. This piece, of course, is extremely sentimental to Fran and her family. We can only hope that the ring we made for Fran will someday have a similar meaning to her family.

Have you thought of a family heirloom that you would like to create? If so, we would be honored to help you with this!

Note from Joe. Every year during the holidays it seems that I have one project that I pay particular attention to, one that captures my interest more than the others. This past season it was a necklace for my dear friends Peter and Liliana. It was a lot of fun working with Peter on this piece, choosing the aquamarine, working with the wax carver, working with the goldsmith, doing all that we do to make a custom piece of jewelry. It was big fun for me partly because of whom this piece was for, as both Peter and Liliana are special to me, and partly because I got to play with one of my designs! So thank you Peter for this!

View this Joe Jewelry piece in our custom jewelry section

Spring and pearls go together like champagne and strawberries.

Pearls add a touch of elegance, sophistication and old-world charm. They also blend flawlessly with so many outfits, from a silky black gown down to a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

And pearls have poetic value:

Robert Frost

(1874–1963), U.S. poet.
“Going for Water.”

A note as from a single place,
A slender tinkling fall that made
Now drops that floated on the pool
Like pearls, and now a silver blade.

The other big perk with freshwater pearls? The price:

.5mm-9.5mm: Now $299
9.5mm-10.5mm: Now $399
10.5mm-11.5mm: Now $499

Single Strand Cultured Freshwater Pearls – 8.5mm – 11.5mm With Free Matching Earrings

Single strand cultured freshwater pearls, 17″ with 14kt yellow gold clasp and free matching earrings.
(each strand sold individually)

Thank you for the kind words below.  I feel like we not only picked up a nice ring, but also a distant friend.  Sometimes you never know who you’ll run into, but you seem like a great person with a wonderful energy.

Details–well, it worked out that the ring was trapped in the ice and snow that weekend.  So, when our last day before vacation came (a Tuesday), I suggested that we go out after work and get a nice dinner.  The first place I tried to take us was this nice lake and park not too far from here, but it was dark and closed (and Judy was a little nervous about that).  So, I went to plan B–there was this beautiful Holiday Lights celebration at a park not too far from here.  3.5 miles in a warm car driving through pretty amazing displays.  Add to that it was dark, pretty lights, 2 feet of snow still on the ground and a frozen lake. Judy was really having a great time, and then when we pull up by a frozen lake, and a peacock display (which is a sign of good fortune and wealth in her culture), I surprised her with it.  She was totally shocked and then quickly said yes and was in a daze for the rest of the ride.  We then went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants which happened to have a variety of dishes from her culture (she’s Taiwanese).  It’s funny–was a total surprise for her even though we recently discussed designs.  She thought that it would have taken you guys several more weeks to do it, and was suspicious when I was mentioning how great it would be to have Chinese New Year and Valentine’s day on the same weekend (she thought I would do it then in February).  Also, I got the package without her knowing, so she didn’t have a clue.

As I mentioned, she loves the ring.  She’s constantly playing with it and looking at it, and even just a little while ago was commenting on another little nuance that she really likes about it (the smooth progression and rounding on the band).  She comments regularly with how great of a job was done on it.

Without torturing you any more, we’ve just taken some pictures.  They’re attached below (these are reduced in size).  I’ll send the large resolution ones in a separate email (rather large).

Happy New Year and thanks!
Emanuel (and Judy sends her best wishes too)

As many of you know, our home base is in Scottsdale, Arizona. Our jewelry store has a long, multi-generational history here. This year, we celebrate 100 years in business!

As an online business as well, we don’t really get to share much about our location, so we figured we’d give you a quick virtual tour.

If you want to stop by, please give us a call and we’ll be glad to show you our place.

(888) 724-8222 – Joseph Schubach Jewelers

First a little history, found on this great website, Insider Scottsdale:

Scottsdale is located centrally in the state of Arizona. Smack dab in the middle of the Sonoran Desert, with mountains ringing the city and giant saguaro cactus guarding those mountains.

Scottsdale was first incorporated in 1951 and as such is a relatively new city! And boy has it come a long way baby.  Scottsdale really came into its own when the U.S. Conference of Mayors named Scottsdale as one of the nation’s “Most Livable Cities” in 1993. We have also been named “Number One Resort Community in America” and “A Fabulous Place to Retire”. We’ve been called “The Most Western Town” and in 2002, The Robb Report sited Scottsdale as “America’s Best Place to Live for golf”. And we have a number of chefs listed on the “Ten Best New Chefs in America” listed by Food and Wine.

We know it’s a great place to live, Scottsdale sparkles, everything is clean, manicured and landscaped…and you’ll see no billboards, which totally sets it apart from any other city you might visit! Our building height is regulated, so that no matter where you are, you have at least a peak of a mountain. The Spanish and Western Architecture is very appealing and of course Frank Lloyd Wright has left his mark on our fair city.

And now, some views of our fine city of Scottsdale:

A view of the city from the dessert

The House that Frank Lloyd Wright Built

Camelback Mountains

Our great outdoors

Downtown Scottsdale - Waterfront

Famous Residents (Past & Present)
The following list includes famous people who were born or have lived in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Entertainment

• Sandra Bernhard, actress and comedian, Saguaro High School graduate
• Katrina Carlson, singer-songwriter, 1984 Saguaro High School graduate
• Gabrielle Carteris, actress
• Paul Casey, professional golfer
• Bob Crane, (1928-1978), actor, lived at Winfield Place Apartments
• Hooman Karamian, blogger, also known as Nik Richie
• Katie Lohmann, actress, model and Playboy Playmate
• Stephenie Meyer, author, Twilight series, attended Chaparral High
• Frankie Muniz, actor and professional race car driver
• Dave Mustaine, musician, former member of Metallica
• David Spade, actor, comedian and television personality, 1982 Saguaro High School graduate

Sports

• Charles Barkley, retired professional basketball player
• TJ Beam, professional baseball player, 1999 Saguaro High School graduate
• Darrell Bevell, professional football coach and former pro football player, Chaparall High School graduate
• Wayne Gretzky, retired professional hockey player, former part-owner of Phoenix Coyotes
• Tom Lehman, professional golfer, golf course architect
• Billy Mayfair, professional golfer
• Geoff Ogilvy, professional golfer
• Danica Patrick, professional race car driver and advertising spokeswoman

First off, a huge thanks to Frank and Cindy for bringing the treats to our diamond party. This will certainly go down as one of the more enjoyable and memorable diamond showings ever! What a great way to take this fun event to the next level.

Ok, so what in the world does 91 points and 179 points mean? Good question. While looking for the perfect diamond for Frank and Cindy, we ran across so many interesting options for them that I suggested we get together and have a diamond party. Hey, what could be more fun than looking at a bunch of diamonds? Why not make it a party?

Frank replied, “Joe – We’ll bring appetizers and a really nice, inexpensive cab sauv, to which Parker and Wine Spectator gave 91 points. So we’ll bring “points” and you’ll bring “points” and it will be a party.”

And a party it was, complete with Frank and Cindy’s appetizers consisting of fabulous grilled teriyaki bacon wrapped pineapple (which I have never had before and now love), cheeses, crackers, salami, chips and other yummies. We all sat around looking at diamonds, eating wonderful goodies and drinking fabulous wine. What a way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

The ‘points’ that Frank referenced he would bring were about the rating of the wine. The points Frank referenced that I bring had to do with the ‘points’ of the diamonds, or the diamond weight. As a refresher, diamonds are weighed in carats, and each carat is made up of 100 ‘points’, very similar to a penny and a dollar. The diamond that Frank and Cindy ended up choosing weighed 1.79 carats, or 179 points (for the record, we normally do not refer to the weight of a diamond in ‘points’ after it reaches 1 carat).

As you can see from the picture, there were quite a few cushion cut diamonds to explore. Also, as you can see from the picture, each cushion cut diamond has a unique shape, or cutting style. We’ll write another post on cushion cut diamonds later.

We did a little Photoshop mock up of what Cindy’s ring will look like with the diamond she chose. Cindy’s ring will need to be customized to accommodate this particular diamond, which we’re in the process of doing now. We’ll post a picture of the completed ring when it’s ready.

Again, many thanks to Frank and Cindy for making this a very enjoyable time.