Sterling Silver Jewelry is Hot!

I read a few months ago that Sterling Silver jewelry has surpassed the popularity of Gold.  In other words, gold jewelry is for the old folks and Sterling is for the young and post-modern.  It seems that everybody is selling jewelry nowadays.  Everybody claims to have the finest around.  I don't know about that.  It all comes down to experience with the retailer and to a larger extent what your standards are.  If you can settle for cheap or being cheated, so be it.  I like Sterling Canyon myself.  I have bought a few items for the wife and never been disappointed.  I bought a bracelet there in April, and out of curiosity took it down to our jeweler.  He said it looked pretty good to him and wondered where I had bought it.  I told him.  I think he was hurt for me buying from someone besides him.  Besides the stamp 925 on the jewelry piece, he could tell it was real and not plated.  He said if the piece is heavy and not too large, it is probably plated.  You get that stuff from Macy's and Target.  Settle for cheap? Go to Macy's or Target.

What Makes a Quality Sterling Bracelet?

 Quick question.  What makes a quality Sterling Silver bracelet?  Is it the store that you purchased it in or the brand name stickered to it?  Well actually the answer depends partly on the person wearing it.  Indeed you have to wear the bracelet to determine if its comfortable.
1.   It shouldn't have any harsh edges to dig into your skin.
2.   The Sterling Silver should be polished all around and not just the outside.
3.  You shouldn't see a tag telling you it was made in China.
4.  It should be flexible enough to fit your wrist with ease.
5.  The Sterling Silver shouldn't tarnish after a few months.
6.  It should bring rounds of complements to you.
7.  If your man buys it for you, it should earn a kiss for him.

I came across these bracelets, made in Europe, sold at Sterling Canyon.  My wife deserves one for her upcoming birthday.  I hope I get a kiss from her.  I'm sure I will.

 

Real Lapis, Bad Lapis

Sterling Canyon learned last week from the widespread announcement that Afghanistan sits on top of a veritable fortune on minerals, perhaps $1 trillion worth of cobalt, copper, and gold.  The term Resource Curse again is used to describe when developing nations discover vast wealth in minerals under their feet.  Think Nigeria and oil, Sierra Leone and Angola for diamonds.  Afghanistan has always been known for its Lapis Lazuli, the extraordinary blue gemstone used in jewelry and art the world over.  It is found in other places around the globe, but it is Afghanistan the sets the world standard with its highly concentrated blue lazurite.  Bloodshed and wars breakout over gems.  Truly, the Lapis that is found in Afghanistan and Iran is no exception.  It is also very difficult and fairly expensive to get your hands on authentic Iranian Lapis.  If you do have a deep blue Lapis piece of jewelry, take great care of it.  Always use a clean cloth to wash it.  Never use detergent or chemical cleaners.  And the best thought of all is that U.S. soldiers are fighting for your privilege to wear that blue rock.

A Diamond Hatchling

I discovered perhaps what could be the ultimate piece of jewelry, created by very creative and highly skilled artisans.  Picture if you will the chick inside an egg.  Now try to picture a diamond inside a pearl.

Artisans working for Galatea.com in Vietnam have perfected the technique of placing a gemstone inside a South Sea Pearl.  How is it done?  I'll tell you.  A gemstone, be it an emerald, ruby or diamond is seeded or placed inside a mollusk. The mollusk begins to form a pearl around the stone.  After the pearl reaches perhaps 10mm in diameter, a couple of years work, the pearl is harvested.  An artist then carves a fabulous design into and through the pearl nacre revealing the gemstone inside.  Certainly these are expensive baubles.  Their website claims to be represented by 1500 retailers in the U.S.  Sterling Canyon is not one of them.  However some of the finest pearl necklaces and earring sets are available only at Sterling Canyon.

Are You Luxury?

 This is a terrific question that can be answered only by the beholder.  Remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  The Luxury Institute came out with its annual ranking of jewelry and fashion brands.  It surveyed 500 rich folks in this country representing the top 1.5% of society.  In a nutshell, here are the results for the top 5 luxury brands,  Graff, Asprey, Buccellati, Harry Winston and Piaget (tied for fourth place).  Also in the top 20 is Blue Nile, dealer of wedding diamonds and rings.  Sterling Canyon was not on the list much to my surprise.  They are a dealer in fine sterling silver jewelry.  I imagine they have some additional work to do to get there.

Sterling Silver is the New Fashion GaGa

The latest news about the battle between Sterling Silver and gold shows that Sterling Silver is winning more than the battle, it is winning the war.  Since the price of gold has increased, so has the cost of making 10-karat, 14-karat and 18-karat gold jewelry.  Go into Macy's a find a swell gold necklace for $125.  With gold hovering around $1200 per ounce, just how much gold is in that $125 necklace?  Not much at all.  Even with gold plating, the plating would have to be awfully thin for that price.  Gold also has the added distinction of being for old ladies.  Young fashionable people don't wear gold, they wear silver.  Silver is bright and can be worked by jewelry designers in so many creative ways. It is affordable too.  Pure silver is valued at about $17 per ounce.  With that said, Sterling Silver is the new darling.  And the new fashion gaga.

A Ruby For You My Dear!

It has recently been published an article describing more deceptive sales practices by trustworthy jewelry store salespeople.  After the fiasco at Macy's where they sold fake rubies without proper disclosure, can it be true?  This by National Jeweler:  A recent complaint* received by the Jewelers Vigilance Committee involving a "composite ruby" helps illustrate this point.

A consumer bought a 1.2-carat ruby ring, accompanied by a grading report that described the stone as a "ruby" and a "gem, " enhanced by heat treatment that "contained residues from the heating process."

The store receipt said only this: "Many gems are enhanced to improve the color and/or clarity of the stone."

A respected grading lab that analyzed the stone for the customer a month later reported it showed "indications of heating, significant clarity modifications." The report labeled the stone as a composite ruby filled with lead glass, and said the filler "may be unstable" if exposed to elevated temperatures or chemical agents and that it required special care.

The buyer tried to return the ring, not wishing to own what she learned was a composite ruby, but the jeweler declined, citing its posted two-week return policy.

It's getting so bad folks that your neighborhood Target can't be trusted when purchasing fine gems. Sterling Canyon deals only with the finest gemstones.  Can't hurt to look.