Choosing an Engagement Ring Style

I’ve sold thousands of engagement rings during my 20 year career in the jewelry business and with that I’ve gained intimate knowledge of what works when creating a memorable proposal. Most men think that a women’s only concern is the ring – how big it is, what shape, precious metal type, etc. While every woman wants their engagement ring to be something they’ll always cherish, they do want a proposal story to tell their grandchildren. After you propose, your girlfriend’s family and friends will ask two questions – “Can I see the ring?” & “How did he propose?” Now that’s pressure but it doesn’t need to be if you follow some rules of engagement, no pun intended.

Surprise Her
Men have a hard time picking an engagement ring for their future fiancé and rightfully so. After all, how many times in your life have you purchased an engagement ring? With that being said, 50% of guys thinking about popping the question will bring their girlfriends with them to help pick the engagement ring. This can be helpful in finding out what she really is hoping for but sometimes it really hurts the romanticism of the event. The women that are most excited always seem to be the ones that were completely surprised when receiving the ring. There’s no substitute for getting down on one knee in front of your unsuspecting bride and presenting a ring that you’ve selected on your own. It shows that you’re excited enough about getting married to do it without help and that you want it to be a special time for her. It’s not always easy for you to decide which ring is the one she’ll fall in love with but you can get the job done a lot easier than you think.

First thing you should know is that there’s tons of information at your fingertips and you don’t even know it. Look to her lifestyle choices, clothing, and her shopping habits to determine what she would like for a ring. Ring styles are created with the wearer in mind just like clothing; some people are bold and outgoing and prefer clothing & jewelry that matches. This type of person would hope for a ring that’s a unique style and has a bold fresh look. You can get ideas for ring styles at www.andrewsjewelers.com An active person would want a ring that won’t be obtrusive or get caught on things. Traditional women tend to choose classic designs like round solitaire engagement rings. If you still can’t decide what she would like then ask her friends or family for their help. Women spend time discussing jewelry choices with one another, especially when people in their circle of influence become engaged. Another good approach is to look for opportune times to discuss the ring without tipping her off. When you see an advertisement in a magazine, the internet, or on television; comment on the rings and then ask her for what she thinks about them. Women’s magazines are a wonderful tool to do this because there many jewelry advertisements in them.

Learn more about chooseing engagement ring styles at http://www.rokstok.com/catalog.php?eid=2

Style Choices

Classic/Traditional:
Round Solitaire
Tiffany Style
3 Stone Settings

Bold/Contemporary:
Tension Set
Thicker Settings with Multiple Diamonds
Designer Diamond Shapes

By Andy Moquin

Certified Diamonds – GIA, EGL, AGS, Which Diamond Grading Lab is Best?

There are lots of opinions in the jewelry industry about which grading lab is best when choosing a diamond. The trouble with these opinions is that they’re usually jaded because the person/business giving you the opinion wants to sell you their diamond. Their opinion on which grading lab is best is decided by what lab has graded their diamond, how convenient is that?! If they own a diamond certified by EGL then they tell you that EGL is best, if they have another diamond owned by GIA then GIA is best. These are biased opinions and you should be very cautious as to how much weight is given to them during your decision making process.

How are diamonds certified?

The “Big Three” grading laboratories as I like to call them have similar processes for certifying diamonds. This process involves several Graduate Gemologists independently assessing and agreeing on the color, clarity, and carat weight of the diamond. This helps reduce the possibility for human error when determining the final grade for the diamond, although it doesn’t eliminate it. You must consider the indisputable fact that there is no exact science behind diamond grading. I know the grading systems sound official and science like but they’re really aren’t. Ponder this statement for a moment, “No two diamonds are exactly alike.” With that being said, how could two different diamonds which are not exactly alike be graded exactly alike? In reality they can’t be.

The other important fact is that the final quality grades are decisions or opinions not scientific calculations. So if they are opinions and every diamond is graded by different labs and different graders then how could there be any consistency? Truth be known, grading labs have a tough time with that, regardless of which lab you talking about. Let’s say for example, that you send a diamond to GIA for certification and it comes back carat weight - .50ct, clarity-SI2, Color-H. Then, you throw away the certification and send the diamond back for a second grading as if it were never graded before. The chance of it coming back SI2, H again is probably 80% and 20% that it’ll come back different. So the grading and certification process is somewhat flawed to begin with. If you can’t get one grading lab to consistently agree with its own grades, how could you expect other labs to agree with another? Again, there’s no easy answer to that question and as an industry we still don’t have it figured out.

From a consumer standpoint the best approach to buying a diamond is to use your best judgment. Read the grading report from whatever lab certified the diamond and examine both the diamond and the certification. Use the certification as a rule of thumb or a starting point, don’t use it as the end all be all. Learn how the grading system works and then compare diamonds side by side under the microscope and decide for yourself which diamond looks better. If you would like more information on how a diamond is graded you can visit http://www.rokstok.com/financeandinsurance.php .

GIA, EGL, AGS

GIA – Gemological Institute of America
EGL – European Gemological Laboratory
AGS – American Gem Society

Recently, GIA seems to have the best reputation for grading diamonds accurately. I challenge this because I’ve seen and compared many diamonds from all three labs and witnessed inaccuracies in GIA grades as often as EGL and AGS. I believe that GIA, EGL, and AGS are the three best solutions for purchasing diamonds however, I don’t feel one is better than the other. One interesting fact is that you’ll pay 15% more (on average) for a diamond certified by GIA because their reputation appears better than other labs. The problem with that is that EGL and AGS are perfectly capable of grading a diamond as accurately as GIA, and usually do. So if that is the case, then why would pay more for a GIA certified diamond that has the same grade as an EGL or AGS diamond? The answer is that you shouldn’t! One of the best deals in the jewelry industry is a diamond certified by EGL; this is because some jewelers assume that EGL isn’t graded as conservatively as a GIA. In the end many jewelers price an EGL certified diamond at less than GIA or AGS stones. This I believe is a mistake because in my experience the grading for all three labs is similar. For a consumer though, purchasing an EGL certified diamond is an excellent opportunity to buy a well graded diamond for much less than you have to.

AGS has become very notable for their knowledge about cut and grading a diamond for its potential light performance. Most of what the jewelry industry uses to determine if a diamond is optimized for brilliance is based on AGS’s research. If a jeweler suspects that a diamond is cut very well then he may send the diamond to AGS for certification. If you are looking for a diamond with a very high cut grade you should consider looking at diamonds that have been certified by AGS.

Final recommendations

Get more involved in the diamond buying process and understand how the 4C’s work, not just what it stands for. Ask to use a jeweler’s loupe (eye piece) or a microscope to see the diamond under magnification. When looking at the diamond under magnification examine the inclusions for each grade you’re considering then compare them side by side to determine if one looks better than the other. For example, let’s say you are looking at two SI1 diamonds – one is a certified by EGL and the other GIA. After comparing them, you decide that the diamonds look similar but the EGL diamond is 15% less in price. Who cares what lab certified them! Just because some jewelers think that GIA is a better grading lab doesn’t make the diamond certified by GIA better. The grading labs don’t make the diamonds, they simply grade them, a diamond isn’t made better by its certification. A certification is just a piece of paper; you can’t put a piece of paper in a ring and propose. If one diamond looks better than another it probably is, regardless of the grade or what lab assigned it. So in this case the logical choice is to get the better looking diamond, forget about what lab is better and save your money.

Don’t exclude comparing the color. The best way to do this is to ask to see loose un-set diamonds and then compare them side by side. Take a white piece of paper and place the diamonds upside down and next to one another on the paper. The white background adds contrast to the diamond’s color and helps you distinguish the color differences between them. After making a decision on your own about the amount of color a diamond has then refer to the certification to see what the grade is. Again, it doesn’t matter who graded the diamond or what the grade is. In the end you need to see it with your very own eyes and trust your instincts about which diamond is right for you.

Diamond certification is certainly important to have and I don’t think you should purchase a quality diamond without one. I do believe though, that a healthy decision is one that involves you referring to the certification, comparing diamonds side by side, and using your head. Let’s not forget the value of working with a reputable jeweler as well. A good jeweler lends his/her expertise and provides an unbiased opinion about each diamond’s characteristics. The final decision about a diamond and whether it’s right for you – should be made by you. Not a grading lab!

Andy Moquin
President
Andrews Jewelers Inc.716-630-7091

Custom Designing Your Jewelry using 3D-CAD Technology

For years custom designed jewelry has been created using old world techniques dating as far back as the 1800’s. Until recently, almost all-custom designed jewelry was created using these methods. The introduction of Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) has changed all that and in it’s wake ushered in a whole new universe of possibilities. Designs that were never thought possible can be made to the highest quality standards.

How is Custom Designed Jewelry Made?

Before learning about the benefits of 3D-CAD you’ll need to know more about the custom jewelry design process. Most jewelry is made using a method called lost wax casting. A skilled artisan/jeweler hand carves a jewelry prototype out of jewelers wax using small scalpels and knives. This wax prototype also known as a “model” is placed in a flask and plaster called “investment” is poured all around the model. Once the investment hardens an exact impression of the model is formed inside of the flask. The wax model is burned out of the flask leaving a cavity of the jewelry design.

Next molten metal is injected in the flask mold using vacuum or centrifugal casting. When the metal cools and hardens the investment is broken away revealing the un-finished jewelry casting. This casting is filed, polished and prepped for assembly, which may include setting the gemstones or welding other precious metal parts to the casting.

The process of hand carving the wax prototype has always been the accepted process for creating custom jewelry. The problem with this process is that the human hand can’t be as precise as a computer-aided machine when carving the model. Precision equates to more design possibilities and much higher quality jewelry production. In the end you’ll have a product that looks crisper and won’t be prone to stone loss or breakage.

What is Computer Aided Design?

Computer Aided Design is a sophisticated modeling process using advanced software to plot coordinates for mechanical drawings. These drawings can be exported to various types of prototyping machines called CNC mills or growing machines. CNC mills cut-away material from a block of wax to make the jewelry model. The growing machines layer material from side to side much like a printer to build the model, samples of this process can be viewed at http://www.rokstok.com/custom_design.php?catid=30 .The precision of these models exceeds what any human could do while hand carving the jewelry model. Design possibilities become limitless because the 3D-CAD software enables the designer to create parts and design elements that aren’t possible using outmoded tools and methods.

Another benefit of 3D-CAD jewelry design is the ability to see a computer rendering before the final completion of the jewelry. In old methods the jeweler would create crude counter sketches of your concept and the rest would be left to your imagination. Now the designs that the jeweler creates in 3D-CAD can be rendered to photo-realistic images for you to view before making your final decisions. You can learn more about this process at http://www.rokstok.com/

Choosing a Jeweler for Custom Jewelry Design

Like any other occupation or trade there are good jewelry craftsmen and there are bad ones. It is important to pre-screen your jeweler to determine if he/she is skilled at making custom designed jewelry. Ask to see their portfolio and examine their designs to determine if the flair they have for jewelry design matches your style requirements. Also, pay close attention to their communication and interpretation skills because much can get lost in the translation of your ideas if you’re not careful. Once the jewelry is made its too late to make changes and the typical jeweler will not re-make it again without added fees.

At this point higher qualified and better skilled custom jewelry designers have moved to using 3D-CAD to create their designs. If you feel 2 jewelers are equally matched in aptitude and skills then you should choose the one that is using 3D-CAD design. You’ll pay a little more to have your jewelry created in 3D-CAD but the final results will be amazing. The jewelry will look 1000% better than if it were hand carved and it will last much longer because of the precision of the jewelry model.

Andy Moquin
President
Andrews Jewelers Inc.
andrew@andrewsjewelers.com

Jewelry Insurance & Appraisals

I’ve seen it time and time again. Customers come to have estimates or appraisals done for their lost, stolen, or damaged jewelry. They ask if the appraisal can be done without seeing the jewelry or if it can be done based on their recollection of what it used to look like. Unfortunately insurance companies will not accept this form of evaluation or appraisal, and certainly not after the fact. In the following article I will explain what to do in order to properly appraise and insure your jewelry.

Creditable Appraisals

Insurance companies require that your jewelry policy be based on official and creditable appraisals done by a reputable jeweler. Jewelers that have studied or have been train by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) will provide the most acceptable appraisals. Being trained by GIA ensures a conservative grading analysis and a correct evaluation of the jewelry’s worth. Most insurance companies do not require that you have your jewelry appraised by GIA graduates however; it’s always better to have one done by someone with these credentials.

Your appraisal should include the information regarding the precious metal content including it’s weight, karat purity, and color. The diamonds and gemstones should be described in terms of shape, carat weight, color, clarity, and cut grade. If the diamonds are pre-certified by a grading laboratory then you should give a copy of the certification to the appraiser and ask them to list this information on the appraisal. If possible have the appraiser photograph the items and attach this photograph to the appraisal when submitting to the insurance company. Always keep a copy in a safe deposit box or in a fire proof safe.

Jewelry appraisals should be reassessed every 7-10 years to determine if the value of the items has appreciated. Jewelry is a commodity and like all commodities they are subject to fluctuations in value. In recent years the value of certain diamonds have actually doubled in price because of shortages in the marketplace for high demand shapes and sizes. A loss after such a gain in value without proper reassessments will result in gaps in your jewelry coverage when trying to replace the item.

Choosing the Proper Insurance Coverage

The biggest mistake consumers’ make is assuming that their homeowners insurance will cover them in the event of a loss. This could be further from the truth. The typical home insurance only allows $1500 - $5000 for personal articles and with that is a deductible of $500 - $1500. Along with that is the fact that some homeowners’ insurance policies do not allow for loss of the item, damage, or diamond loss from the setting.

The best way to insure your jewelry is to get a personal articles policy written by your agent. This policy should include loss of the item, theft of item, damage, and loss of gemstones & diamonds. Ask your insurance agent to quote the policy with no deductible and with the above coverage. The going rate for jewelry insurance is $1.50 - $1.85 per hundred and if you’re quote higher then your probably paying too much. To calculate the annual premium take the appraised value of the jewelry and multiply is by the rate and then divide it by 100. Example (appraised value $10,000 X $1.50 = $15,000 Divide by 100 = $150 per year). You can learn more at http://www.rokstok.com/

Some local insurance agents aren’t familiar with jewelry insurance policies and you may feel like you’re not getting the proper assistance. There are a couple of jewelry insurance companies that provide superior service and if your agent fails to give you proper assistance I recommend you give them a call. The two I like most are CHUBB Insurance and Jewelers Mutual. These companies specialize in personal articles policies and generally have the lowest rates with the best coverage.

Insurance is one of those things that you have to think about until you really need it. I will say though that a jewelry insurance policy makes a lot of sense. Let say you have a wedding set worth $5000 that you wear every day. How often do walk around with $5000 cash in your pocket? Almost never right? Well is some cases you walk around with the jewelry equivalent all the time. If you have valuable jewelry that you wear everyday then you are certainly increasing your chances of having an unfortunate loss. Jewelry valued at $5000 can cost as little as $75 per year to insure. It’s worth every penny to give you the peace of mind to wear it with pride and without worry.

Andy Moquin
President – Andrews Jewelers Inc.
CEO – Rokstok.com

Contact Information:

http://www.andrewsjewelers.com/

andrew@andrewsjewelers.com

How to Choose a Wedding Ring

You've chosen the engagement ring of your dreams as well as the person of your dreams, now you have to choose a ring that compliments these choices. Selecting a wedding ring that matches your style and tells the world I'm taken and this rings proves it!" is no easy task. Especially since there are so many different choices for wedding rings today. To add to the challenge is the need to find a ring that looks just as beautiful as your engagement ring.

For the Gals
Once you’ve received your engagement ring you’ll have much time to stare and daydream about a wedding band as equally beautiful as the ring he professed his love for you with. Our experience tells us that brides are very concerned about finding a perfect match and won’t settle for anything that will detract or overpower the engagement ring. So it is crucial that a ring is chosen that has similar design elements as your engagement ring and fits nicely against it. Today’s engagement ring designs can be quite elaborate which is great but it creates the problem of finding a nicely matched engagement ring. Unfortunately many jewelers don’t have matching wedding rings available for their engagement rings although, you should always check with the jeweler your ring came from first to see if they have one available. What we’ve seen most is the difficulty in finding a ring that looks like it was made for your engagement ring and while not having spaces between the wedding band and the engagement ring. There are 3 approaches to solving these problems when choosing your wedding ring.

First Approach – Choosing a band that looks good with your ring but not alone If you’ve received a ring that has multiple diamonds or has an intricate and unique design you may have experienced a problem finding a band. In an effort to get your wedding ring to fit together you may choose a contoured ring, or a wrap. A contoured ring is a band that has been specially designed to gently curve to the contoured profiles of today’s most popular engagement ring styles. Unfortunately, a contoured ring will not look good on its own and if you plan on wearing your wedding ring on it’s own you may be displeased with the way it looks by itself. If you are most concerned about a perfect fit against your engagement ring and won’t wear the wedding band alone then a contoured ring may be best for you.

If you have a solitaire engagement ring and you would like to spruce it up with your wedding ring then a wrap could be great. A wrap is designed to fit nicely around your diamond and over the top of the sides of your ring. Most designs have a series of diamond or gemstone accents set with rounds, princess cuts and baguettes. There are many choices to choose from and most people are successful at choosing a wrap that works will with their ring. There are 2 important things to consider with a wrap; most wraps won’t fit perfectly out of the case, and wraps can’t be worn by themselves. With slight adjustments to the wrap most of them will fit nicely on your engagement ring. Make sure you choose a jeweler who has a skilled jeweler in house to do the work for you.

Second Approach – Choosing a band that looks great alone but does not have an exact fit Some solitaires have an area on the side where the head meets the ring that protrudes out and prevents the wedding ring from resting against the engagement setting. If you choose a traditional straight band because you want to wear it alone you may have problems with the band hitting against the head. This will create spacing and between both ring and you may become annoyed with that. It’s a trade off at this point, you’ll have to decide what is more important to you and only you can make that decision. You can circumvent that by choosing a wedding ring that has a low profile to it and allow for the wedding ring to rest slightly below the head minimizing spacing. Channel bands are a great choice in this situation because they generally have a low profile to allow for a proper fit. A channel band also looks fantastic when worn alone.

Third Approach – When all else fails make a custom ring In some situations you’ll never find a wedding band that looks good with your engagement ring. When this happens some people elect to have a custom designed wedding ring made. Custom work allows you to have a say in what the wedding ring will look like and ca give you the best of all worlds. Most custom work begins with you describing to a jeweler what it is that you want out of a wedding ring. You then have the opportunity to share the things that you like about your engagement ring and the jeweler can explain to you how he will compliment those features on your ring. Some jewelers will sketch a concept for you then create a prototype to see as a wax model. More advanced jewelers will use a computer aided design tool to create an image for you to see on a computer screen. The wax model will demonstrate the fit and accuracy of the wedding ring with your engagement ring. It can also be altered with great ease and without incurring added costs. You should be very careful when choosing a jeweler to make you a custom ring because as with any craft there are skilled experts and there are hacks. There is nothing worse than investing hard earned money on something that is poorly made or that improperly interprets your desires. A good rule of thumb is to ask to see a portfolio of the jewelers work or ask to speak to the goldsmith personally to get a feeling of his aptitude for custom work.

For the Guys
Men are not used to wearing rings or jewelry for that matter so the thought of wearing a wedding ring scares them. For some men it is uncomfortable and other men are concerned the ring may look girly or not masculine enough. If careful consideration takes place there should be no problem in finding a wedding ring that works with your active lifestyle and fits with your personality. Today there is a wide array of metals choices and styles available and you are sure to find a wedding ring that will satisfy all your needs.

One option you may consider is ordering your ring with a comfort fit. This will provide a soft smooth feel when wearing the ring while making the ring more durable. Creating a slight dome using metal on the inside of the ring where the finger is placed forms a comfort fit. This dome softens the edges of the ring so nothing digs into the finger; it also prevents much of the metal on the inside of the ring from coming in contact with the finger.

Your lifestyle should be taken in account when choosing a metal type for your wedding ring. If you work with your hands and don’t plan on taking your ring off then you may choose the harder metals available like titanium or tungsten. Titanium is very lightweight, comfortable to wear and holds up well over time. Tungsten is the hardest metal on the planet and is basically scratch proof. The finish should also be considered when finalizing your decision; most wedding ring styles are available in multiple finishes. Some finishes hold up better than others under harsh conditions. A heavy brush or stone finish will show less wear and most scratches will not be easily seen. On the other hand a satin finish or a sand blasted finish will highlight even the smallest of scratches. Have your jeweler demonstrate the different finishes to you before you make your final decision.

If you don’t work with your hands or you don’t think you’ll damage the ring then you make want to consider some of the more precious metals available. White gold, yellow gold, platinum, and palladium offer a much richer look than the hard metals. You’ll also find a much greater selection of wedding ring styles to choose from in the precious metal family because they are more malleable and easier to craft. You’ll also have the added benefit of owning a ring that is more valuable because of the precious metal content.

Take care when selecting the finger size to order your wedding ring in. Many people lose their wedding rings in the ocean while on their honeymoon. This occurs because men are not used to wearing rings so they go with a more loose fit because they think it will feel more comfortable. The ring is too big and then it slips off in the surf. The truth is that a ring will bother you less when it fits more snug then when it is too big. When the ring is too big it will constantly be turning on your finger and this will bother you. If the ring is snug you will notice less turning and the snug fit will prevent you from loosing it. To determine the proper finger size use a ring sizer that is the same width as the ring you are ordering. If you use a finger sizer that is 2.5mm wide and your wedding ring is 7mm there will be a difference in the type of fit. This will cause you to pick an incorrect finger size. Remember that a little tighter is always better than a littler looser. You can learn more at http://www.rokstok.com/