Spring Focus: What’s on the Bench

jetflair — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:44:15 +0000

I’ve still got a good handful of custom orders in progress, but here’s a sneak preview of where I’m going to be focusing my efforts this spring and early summer:

Guaged earrings, for those of you with stretched piercings. Look for a variety of designs, starting with 12, 10, and 8 guage. I’ll be offering a growing selection in both single earrings and pairs.
More rings featuring beautiful faceted colored gemstones.
Additions to my popular but currently woefully sold out Galaxy Series.
Fair trade/ecofriendly items featuring recycled silver, fair trade gems, and stones cut in the US.

Ruby tastes on a garnet budget?

jetflair — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 07:59:09 +0000

If you love colored gemstones but don’t have a fortune to spend on that cocktail ring in the jeweler’s window, don’t despair. Thanks to some little-explained quirks of the gem trade, you may be able to indulge in the color and sparkle you love without taking out a second mortgage on the house!

Ever look around at the prices of loose gemstones online and been completely baffled? Ever wondered why one site has a sapphire for $50.00 and another for $50,000? It all has to do with rarity.

Should I not have said quality, you ask?

Not really. Quality tends to be an abstract when it comes to colored stones. Pricing factors include availability, demand, color, size, cut, clarity, origins, and treatment. I plan to go into some of these factors in more detail in a later article; my point for this one is simple: beautiful gemstones need not cost a fortune.

If there is a certain color you love, you may be happy to find that there is a lesser known or less traditional stone that will provide just what you are looking for. Aquamarine is a costly stone, but many shades of aquamarine are well emulated by blue topaz. Emeralds cost a fortune, but chrome diopside provides beautiful, rich green and great clarity at a fraction of the cost.

If it’s a particular, precious stone that is important to you, for example a birthstone, you may find that even precious gems can be affordable in smaller sizes, for instance in the 3-5mm range. That will, given the right setting in a ring, give you the beauty and the stone you want without bankrupting you.

I love colored gems and would be happy to guide you to a choice that works within your taste and your budget; I welcome custom orders and have both a large inventory of beautiful, reasonably priced gems and some excellent sources for anything you might want me to order.

By the way….the beautiful chrome diopside ring shown in the photo above is available through my etsy shop for only $100.00! Take a peek!

Distinction Jewelry - The Blog » colored

Spring Focus: What’s on the Bench

Ruby tastes on a garnet budget?