Man Trampled at Walmart on Black Friday

This Friday a man was trampled and killed by Walmart shoppers. It was said that people were pushed out of the way while they were trying to help the person being crushed by the crowd. I'm so disgusted by our society, so ashamed at the selfish acts of personal gain and greed, and so ashamed at the unconscious behavior. How could this happen? What on earth have we become? What was going on in the minds of the people at this horrific scene? We've decided that a $49 DVD player is more important than the welfare of our brothers and sisters. That our own personal and financial gain is bigger than precious life itself.

If you look at the people who attend the typical Black Friday sale, who show up at 4:00am to snatch up these products with their greedy little hands; you'll notice that they usually fit the same mold or stereotype. What's amazing is that I am watching a news cast right now and you should see the greedy little grins on the faces of the people rushing through the doors of Walmart. Despicable. Anyone who gets up at 4:00am to go to Walmart the day after Thanksgiving is probably experiencing a lot of problems in their life. They could be a little misguided or confused as to what's really important. Scoring a hot deal on a $49 DVD player should be the last thing on their minds. Maybe getting job or finding their compassionate side should be at the top of their minds. Now I know what you are going to say...."How could you stereotype people that shop at Walmart?" or "How could you say that about unemployed people, maybe they don't want to be unemployed?". Maybe most them are not bad people and maybe most of them don't want to be unemployed. But then again maybe some of them are victims of their own bad decisions and behaviors, like stomping on someone laying on the ground.

I haven't even started on the woman that created a fake person on Myspace and caused that poor young girl to kill herself. Oh my god, I can't believe the pain that we cause ourselves on this planet. I think we need to realign ourselves as a society, time to get our priorities in order. I hope we can use the Christmas Season to inspire our compassionate and emotional side

Economy and Diamond Buying

I have been working as a Jewelry Salesman going on 3 years now and I have never seen business so slow... As a sales professional I need to sell, its my job. I have been noticing that people are on a very tight budget in the last couple months.. its hurting a lot of businesses I'm sure. People/Customers are buying more necessities for gifts this year... shoes, clothes, all that good stuff.. but they don't seem to making the bigger purchases as far as jewelry, cars, TVs ext... and if they are buying the bigger gifts they are price shopping them to death. Its a hard world for a salesman these days. Usually I spend a nice amount for the holidays and even I am cutting back this year... I told people not to spend much on me so i don't have to spend much on them and that's not my style... For example last year I bought my brother a 32'' flat screen TV, my mom diamond Jewelry... This year my brother is getting a movie or 2, my mom a much more affordable piece of Jewelry than last year...always have to hook up the mother with jewelry... If I am doing this I can imagine how many other people are going to be watching their pockets... All I can do as a salesman is hope the economy gets better so we can get the business back that I have seen in the past 2.5 years.

Who knew that for every year your married there is a certain gift you give your significant other. The 1st year anniversary is paper, 2nd year cotton, 3rd year leather, 4th year fruit, 5th year wood. Wood, what kind of gift do you give that contains wood. The 6th year is candy, 7th is wool, 8th is bronze, 9th pottery. I dont have a stitch of pottery in my house but..ok. 10th year is aluminum. Does that mean that an acceptable gift would be aluminum foil? 11th year is steel, 12th is silk, 13th is lace and 14th is ivory. Ivory soap? 15th year anniversary is crystal, 25th silver and 50th is gold. Who thought of all this? What ever happen to gemstones and diamonds? I see hundreds of people a week that love to get a trollbead or two or three or four (highly addictive) as a anniversary gift. The meaning behind each of them makes it effortless to choose from the WIDE variety. The high fashion watches and beads from Cherie Dori are unlike any. What woman wouldn't want some of the finest Tacori fashion jewelry? Now that's what i'm talking about.

Where Is The Loyalty?

I have been actively selling jewelry now for about Eight years, and I cant seem to figure people out.Why in the world would you have a long buying history with a specific Jeweler and fail to give us what may be his biggest diamond sale ever. Recently one of our long time, well treated customers came in to purchase a 4ct. round diamond as a trade in for his wife's current 2.16ct.After searching high and low for what ever 4-5ct diamonds i could find,I found the perfect diamond for his 15,000.00(lol) budget. He came in to view the diamond the following week. He said he loved it but one of his "buddies " sells diamonds too and he wanted to see what he had to offer! My boss wanted to make sure that we got his continued business so he gave a 4ct round diamond away at almost cost to accommodate him. $13,000.00 to be exact! After stringing me along for almost two weeks he finally called to tell me despite my efforts that he was going to buy a 5ct diamond from his "buddy" for $14,000. I was crushed! I mean his wife and all of our staff are on first name basss,he didn't even want me to find him a comparable diamond,he had made up his mind at A hockey game with his "buddy"! I just fail to see the logic in this, we have serviced, sold, and took great care of these people for many years,only to loose the most important sale thus far. I cant wait to hear what his wife has to say when she finds out it was not from here!

ROKSTOK

I'm so happy that we have so many satisfied customers from our online custom jewelry site ROKSTOK.COM What great satisfaction it is to hear that what we did for them was more than there local jeweler could do. Most of the customers we are servicing are across the country or out of the country. It's a great feeling that people are able to put there trust in us. Let's face it....an engagement ring is one of the biggest purchases you'll make in your life.

Thumbs up to Andy for having great customer reviews!!

Planning Your Wedding

Planning a wedding is probably one of the most stressful things a woman has to do in her life. A few months ago I helped in planning an affordable couples baby shower/wedding shower. There are so many little details that come with putting together the perfect party. It starts with preparing a list of invites followed by choosing the perfect invitation and location. When you have a budget it's tough! You have to remember to register so that your guests will have gift ideas. I should of known it was going to be a not so good experience when the registration cards never showed up. I ended up having to make my own.

After determining all that along with many other little factors you begin to think up the perfect menu. Now the question is...Do you hire someone to cook or do your friends/family cook everything? Naturally when your on a budget you choose to cook the food yourself. As time gets closer and you get a good idea of the head count it's easier to delegate who will cook what and how much. Make sure the people helping you know what there doing. It's all about timing. The last thing you want is a room full of drunk hungry people and NOT enough food prepared to feed them.

All in all if I had to do it over again....I'm not sure I would.

The Big Three Bail Out - Get the Hell Out!

I love the United States and everything that it stands for but I can’t believe the unthinkable acts of idiocy that I’ve witnessed over the last 6 months. The government has irresponsibly given away 1 Trillion dollars to fund the dysfunctional behavior of grossly overpaid Wall Street banking executives only to see the economy continue to tank. Now, after the first unsuccessful attempt at propping up the economy our nation’s automakers want a handout. This is an industry that never had the fortitude to face its real problems and now millions of jobs are at stake. I’ve listened to people say that American auto makers can’t make a good car and that’s why they’re in the position that they’re in. I don’t believe that to be true at all, American cars are now the finest quality that they’ve been in many years.

The real issue is that they can’t sell their cars at a competitive price because they signed ridiculous contracts with highly over paid autoworkers. The sense of entitlement that the UAW and their union cronies have is beyond comprehension. If you can’t relate to my opinion then have a conversation with a UAW employee and you’ll see what I mean. Ask a UAW member if they would be willing to take a less comprehensive health care plan or if they would take a pay cut in order to save their jobs. These are the most uninformed people that I have ever met; unaware of what the real world is like, and unaware of what it would be like in the real workplace. Real jobs don’t give you heath care for life, real jobs don’t give you every January off paid, and real jobs don’t pay you $100,000 for a $40,000 job. Floor sweepers earning $75,000 to $100,000? Have we all lost our minds? How on Earth did we get here?

The most amazing and outlandish thing is that the President of the UAW has stated that there will be no concessions made by the UAW if a bailout is made. Is this man out of his mind? It’s over pal, pack your crap and get the hell out! Once the Big Three goes belly up your golden goose is dead, you killed it. You milked it for all it had and now it’s over, Americans are fed up and won’t fund your greed anymore. A bailout is simply going to postpone the inevitable failure of a socialized industry. I work my ass off to pay my taxes and I’m not interested in paying more because the UAW workers aren’t willing to work for a fair and reasonable wage. There are 7,000,000 out of work Americans who would gladly take your job for half of what you make, so don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out!

The Real Jewelry Brand

For years I’ve told my colleagues in the jewelry industry that investing in too many brand names could be dangerous. I believe that most designer product lines don’t have the best interest of the jewelry retailers in mind. One example is clearly the poor stock balancing policies that jewelry brands offer their jewelry retailers, the standard being 3 to 1. At 3 to 1 you’re destined for only one conclusion and that’s too much inventory and too little inventory turn. Once this occurs eventually you’re forced to make a decision about what to do with the product line. You could call your supplier and ask for more generous stock balancing but in all likelihood you’re not going to like what they have to say, most often you’ll hear…”go pound salt!” I’ve met very few jewelry designers who’ve been willing to come to the aid of a retailer to help them get their inventory levels in order.

To me, this is so unacceptable and I can’t understand how the designers could think that it could turn out any other way than the retailer being upside down on the inventory. What’s more is that they won’t allow you to discount the product in order to move it and if you do then they’ll threaten to shut you down. It’s a difficult place to be in because you’re really left with no options other than to close the account and sell off your product. Now think about all the time that you’ve spent promoting another company’s brand, advertising it, training your salespeople, informing your customers and allowing your own product to sit idle while you prop up your brand. You could have done those things for your own reputation and products, which brings me to my next point.

With everything going on in the jewelry industry right now I think the future of successful jewelry retailers is going to be in private label products, forget the brands! They’re all users and could care less about your future, they find they way to success through your hard work and investments. How dare they assume that their product drives consumers to your door! Think about this statement for a moment…”There are no REAL jewelry brands!” Yes I said it; there are no real jewelry brands. There are only two jewelry brands in this world….Rolex and Tiffany. No other jewelry maker, designer or wholesaler can make that claim. I’ll tell you why, because the jewelry industry is a tiny and obscure product category in the consumer products world. Pepsi is a brand, Apple is a brand, Kleenex is a brand - David Yurman is not a brand, Tacori is not a brand, Hearts on Fire is not a brand, Simon G is not a brand. I dare you to ask the next person that you meet to tell you if they’ve heard of any of the aforementioned jewelry designers and I’ll betcha (yes I have a crush on Sara Palin) that they won’t have any idea what the hell you are talking about.

Think about this fact for a second; every diamond, watch, or piece of jewelry sold in the US last year only amounted to about $60 billion dollars. Last year Starbucks sold about $10 billion in coffee, that’s one company selling $5 items! Ingram Micro has annual revenue of about $40 billion a year; I bet you’ve never even heard of them. My point is that there are thousands of individual companies out there that sell more products than every jewelry company in the entire United States combined – we are unimportant to most people! That makes most jewelry designers unimportant and you don’t need them. There’s not one “so-called” jewelry brand that will make a bit of difference to your business. If most people have never heard of jewelry brands then what do you need them for? Why should you continue promoting and advertising their brand awareness when you should be promoting your own. If you asked someone in your own hometown if they were familiar with your jewelry store there would be a pretty good chance that they would know you. If you then asked them if they knew what Hearts on Fire was, they wouldn’t know. So doesn’t it make sense to continue building your brand awareness, your store name, and your quality products? You are the only brand in your market place; your jewelry store becomes the brand!

There are other issues with brands and that’s territory exclusivity and distribution rights. I’ve heard some really alarming stories about Rolex and how they have been pushing retailers around when it comes to exclusivity and product levels. More specifically pertaining to demands from Rolex to close competing in-store products, failure to comply has been met with closure of the Rolex line all-together. Some jewelers have been asked to purchase unreasonable amounts of watches and have been told by Rolex that they wouldn’t take no for an answer. Imagine having a product line that accounts for 60% of your total revenue being taken away from you when you least expect it. I could continue for hours and give you dozens more reasons for branding your store and even more reasons for not carrying designer jewelry lines. However, I must admit that every situation is different and in some cases a few designer jewelry lines are important to have in order to position yourself as an expert in the business. I will caution you though to seriously consider how designer jewelry lines should help you achieve your business goals and not how you can help the designers reach their goals.

GIA vs. EGL Certification - The Real Truth About Diamonds

This question has become more and more important in the recent months. I believe the reason for this is the economy coupled with the obvious price difference between EGL and GIA diamonds. At the time of this article I found a GIA certified 1.00ct Round H-SI2 for $4400 on a website, I found the same diamond with a EGL certification for $3400 on another website. So what gives? Why is there such a huge difference in pricing? The first thing that I want you to realize is that GIA and EGL do not make diamonds! GIA and EGL are not a brand of diamonds, they don't sell diamonds either. They provide independent grading services for jewelers and diamond wholesalers and could care less how much a diamond sells for or who sells it.

I think the other thing that is important to know is how the certification process takes place and how a diamond moves through distribution channel. When a diamond is first mined it needs to be polished, if you look at the image above you will see how the diamonds look un-cut. Once the diamonds are cut and polished to bring out their natural beauty and brilliance, they need to be graded for color and clarity. Let me just preference this first, the diamond wholesaler is doing the cutting and polishing. He then can choose to sell the diamonds without a certification to a retail jewelry store or have the diamonds certified by one of many grading laboratories. In most cases, the diamond will be certified before it is presented to the jeweler for sale. The increased demand by consumers to have assurances about the color and clarity have encouraged the practice of certifying just about all diamonds before being put on the market.

Now the wholesaler has another choice to make, where do I send this diamond for certification? Let's eliminate all the possibilities except GIA and EGL. If he/she sends the diamond to GIA it can take up to 6-8 weeks before they receive their diamond back. This is difficult on the wholesaler because he/she has purchased and paid for the diamond already. It's important for them to be able to sell their goods as soon as possible and GIA will hinder this. EGL on the other hand can return their goods in as little as 2 weeks allowing them to sell almost immediately. You've heard the expression..."Time is Money", right? Case in point, the longer the wholesaler has to wait for his diamonds the more money he has to sell his diamonds for. Let's assume he/she sends one diamond to EGL and one to GIA and both come back with the same quality grade. In all likelihood, the EGL diamond will sell for 15 - 20% less than the GIA diamond. The reason is because the GIA diamond probably took 6 weeks to get back and the EGL diamond came back 2 weeks. The wholesaler could buy and sell 3 diamonds in the time that it takes for the first diamond to come back from GIA. So when the GIA diamond comes back he has to sell it for more just to catch up with all the profit that he could have made if he chose to use EGL. It's simply a matter of economics!

The common belief is that GIA is a much stricter lab and that they never make mistakes and that all diamonds graded be EGL would be graded lower if done by GIA, this is a dangerous and naive assumption. How on earth can we assume that every diamond graded by EGL is done incorrectly? I will agree that GIA does swing in a more conservative direction than EGL however, I have seen many diamonds graded by GIA that I believed were done incorrectly. I've been buying and selling diamonds for over 20 years and I've sold millions and millions of dollars in diamonds, so listen to what I am going to say........"All grading labs are capable of accuracy and inaccuracy!" So where does that leave the average consumer? In the hands of a honorable local jeweler that has experience and integrity and is willing to help you determine if the GIA or EGL grade is accurate. There's still is no better way to buy a diamond than to work with an experienced professional that will examine the diamond with you and help you find the hidden values in diamonds. In my opinion, there are more opportunities for hidden values in EGL certified diamonds than GIA diamonds. The only accurate and safe assumption that can be made is that almost all GIA diamonds will sell for 15% - 20% than EGL diamonds.

So with that being said, why not take the time to look at diamonds with EGL certifications to see what you or your local jeweler thinks? Let's look at a possible scenario....you are considering two diamonds, both are 1.00ct and both are SI1, H, one is graded by EGL and the other by GIA. The EGL certified diamond is $4000 and the GIA certified diamond is $5000, both diamonds are equally brilliant and beautiful. Why wouldn't you elect to save the $1000? The only proven and non-disputed variable is the real math - the EGL is $1000 less and this point can't be argued! Ask your jeweler's opinion, does he think both diamonds are graded accurately? If he says that they are, why wouldn't you go for the diamond at $4000? Keep this in mind...you can't take a certification and roll it up in to a nice little ball and set it in an engagement ring. You're not buying the certification, you are buying the diamond! Notice the extended use of my !'s, this subject drives me nuts because there is so much misconception by consumers and jewelers alike. There are no guarantees that all diamonds certified by GIA are better in any way than a diamond that happens to be certified by EGL.

If you disagree then riddle me this...If I send a diamond to EGL for certification and then I send the exact same diamond to GIA for certification and get the same grading results, does the diamond become more brilliant because it has a GIA certification? Does it become more valuable? The answer on both counts is no, it's still the same diamond for God's sake! I get so frustrated because we must remember that we are buying diamonds not the certification. This can become so much simpler for you if you keep these two basic concepts in mind. If you are considering two diamonds that are EGL and GIA certified and they are the same price, same quality, and they both look equally beautiful - then go with the GIA certified diamond. However, if you are considering two diamonds that are the same quality, the jeweler tells you that they are both accurately graded, and the EGL diamond is less - then go with the EGL diamond.

I will say one final thing though, you will never find an EGL certified diamond that sells for the same price as a GIA certified diamond if they are the same color and clarity, the EGL will always be less. On the other hand, you will find plenty of EGL certified diamonds that are graded just as accurately as the same GIA certified diamond for much less money. You just have to do your homework and trust in a professional jeweler to help you make healthy assumptions. The choice is yours!

Diamonds - Open Your Mind to News Ways of Buying Them

The economy has worsened, the housing market hasn’t rebounded, unemployment is up, and America is worried. When things get as bad as they are people feel less secure in their jobs and their buying habits change. In the past people spent a lot of time concerning themselves with GIA certifications and whether or not they should purchase perfectly cut diamonds. This discriminating criterion has always come at a price and until recent, consumers didn’t give it any thought.

Now though, today’s diamond and engagement ring consumers are searching for ways to save money while buying their loved ones a beautiful diamond. This is very possible but you just have to open your mind to acceptable quality and certification practices. For example, GIA certifications have always been the most sought after or revered laboratory diamond certificates. The problem with this was that GIA diamonds take a very long time certify, sometimes 6 – 8 weeks. Diamond suppliers pay for their diamonds upfront and then can’t begin to sell them for 8 weeks. Time equals money and the longer they have to wait before they have their diamonds, the more they must sell them for.

EGL on the other hand, can certify a diamond in 2 weeks and the diamond supplier can immediately sell their goods. In addition, GIA has been too harsh on their grading standards, causing diamond suppliers and jewelers to have to charge more for their diamonds. For example, let’s say that I negotiate a deal with a diamond supplier on a diamond based on a projected color and clarity. My supplier and I agree that the diamond is SI1 clarity and G color, and then I send it to GIA for certification purposes. I could wait up to 10 weeks only to find out that GIA says it’s an SI2, H. Clearly I am going to be upset and I will be forced to sell my diamond at a higher price to accommodate the gap in quality grading. This is a common occurrence with GIA and so most jewelers and diamond merchants have adopted the notion that they should always charge more for a diamond with a GIA certification.

Truth be known, EGL is perfectly capable of grading a diamond to the same accuracy as GIA. EGL is faster and diamond merchants haven’t adopted the same notion about EGL as they have with GIA. If you compare the average price on a GIA 1.00ct round H/SI2 diamond and an EGL GIA 1.00ct round H/SI2 diamond, you’ll notice that the GIA diamond is typically 15% more. The unsafe assumption is that the EGL diamond will always be graded incorrectly. That’s a very dangerous and naive assumption! You can circumvent any doubt you have in the accuracy of the EGL certification by working with a jeweler that is an accredited or experienced grader. They will help you decide if the EGL diamond that you are looking at is in fact a responsible grade. If it’s determined that it is a responsible grade then why shouldn’t you buy the EGL diamond for 15% less? Who cares is EGL or GIA’s name is printed on a piece of paper?! You’re not buying the certification – you’re buying the diamond!

I could spend hours discussing ways to save money when buying diamonds, so for now I will leave you with this….open your mind to other ways of assuring yourself that the diamond is graded accurately – not just GIA. This is a great topic and I will be posting additional ways to save money each next for the next couple of weeks. Some of these will include saving on the cut grade, clarity enhanced diamonds, and buying diamonds without certifications. Holy cow, buying a diamond without a certification?! Yes, that’s the way it was done 15 years ago.

How to Sell Your Unwanted Diamond Engagement Ring

Its not a subject that many people like to talk about but unfortunately sometimes relationships don't workout. In fact, if 50% of marriages fail then wouldn't it make sense that 50% of engagements fail as well. In the end, that leaves a lot of people with unwanted diamond engagement rings and wedding bands. I get the question all the time..."how do I sell my engagement ring?". There is no easy answer to this but if you take the time to do some research then you can unlock the value or money that you have invested in your jewelry.

One challenge that most people incur is determining how much to sell their jewelry for. Before getting to that question you have to understand how the profit margins and selling process work on the retail side. When a jeweler sells you a diamond he/she will place a markup on top of the price that they have paid for the diamond. For example, if a jeweler has paid $3000 for a diamond they might place a markup of 1.35x's on top of the $3000 cost. The formula would look like this - $3000 (cost) x's 1.35 = $4050 (retail), the retail price would be what you pay for the diamond. Now every jeweler uses a different markup but I am just giving you one possible situation. Ok, so you paid $4050 for a diamod that a jeweler paid $3000 - now you want to sell it back to a jeweler. Naturally, a jeweler wouldn't want to pay $4050 for this diamond because they can buy it for $3000 from one of their diamond suppliers.

Believe it or not, many consumers think that they should get $4050 for this diamond. That wouldn't make sense because a jeweler couldn't make any money on this transaction. Truth be known, a jeweler can pickup the phone and call a diamond supplier to buy that diamond for $3000, so they don't want your diamond for $4050. So now your are thinking, "Well, I will sell it to them for $3000." The harsh news is that they're still not interested in the diamond for $3000 because they have diamonds of their own already and they can get the diamond from their supplier for $3000 anytime they need one. The jeweler wants incentive to buy your diamond, its easy enough for them to get the diamond whenever they need one, and they don't have to negotiate with a customer who doesn't understand the process to get it.

The million dollar question remains..."What do I sell it for then?" In my example of $4050, you will most likely not get more than $1500 to $2000 for this diamond. Ouch that hurts! I know, it sucks but that's just how it is when you're selling it back to a jeweler. Its a quick easy fix to sell it to a jeweler but you're going to get the least for your diamond when you take this route. The best approach to getting the most for your diamond would be to sell it to someone who is going to where it. This can be done on Craigslist or Ebay if you take your time and list it for the right price. You could encounter some problems like answering large amounts of email from non-serious buyers, scam artists that will commit fraud in an attempt to steal your product, and obnoxious/rude people that will waste your time. Congratulations, you have just become a retail jeweler! So with that being said, you could possibly get $2500 - $3000 for the diamond on the sites that I have mentioned, but not more. The reason being is that customers want incentive too, they want to pay less because your jewelry is used and because you can't offer the same service that they would get if they bought a new one.

In the end there is no easy answer and you will lose money on your diamond, its just a question of how much. Below is a chart of what you should expect to be offered by a jeweler listed by diamond size. This should give you a starting point on coming up with a game plan to sell your diamond. Good luck!

Percentage of Original Amount Paid
.01ct - .50ct (25%)
.60ct - .75ct (30%)
.80ct - 1.00ct (35%)
1.25ct - larger (40%)

Platinum is Back!

Precious metals have been extremely volatile over the last 3 years, at one point platinum was almost $2300 per ounce. Rhodium, the metal used to plate white gold was $12,000 per ounce! It became nearly impossible to purchase a men's wedding ring in platinum because the prices were simply too high. With that being said, platinum has always been the most luxurious and highest quality choice in metals for engagement rings and wedding rings. The shame of it was that many people couldn't afford to make their engagement ring or wedding ring in the best metal possible.

We saw a big movement toward palladium and white gold as an alternative to platinum however, even gold reached $1000 per ounce. So any white precious metal was quickly becoming unattainable. In addition, I have never been a huge fan of palladium because its simply not as reflective or white as platinum. As far as white gold goes, we all know that it comes with its own set of problems. The great news is that platinum is now $800 per ounce while white gold is $700, so for a few dollars more you can own the world's most sought after metal. Platinum simply put, is magical!

The properties and characteristics of platinum can't be matched by any other precious metal. It's hypoallergenic, naturally white and extremely durable. A ring made in platinum can be handed down from generation to generation and can in fact be given to your great grandchildren. The reason for this is the durability and density of the metal. The added benefits include the safety of your valuable diamonds and low-maintenance of the metal itself. Look for many new wedding ring and engagement ring styles to be released by designers like Tacori, Verragio, Hearts on Fire, and Simon G. These designers among others love to work with platinum because its easier to set diamonds in and can be manipulated much easier than white gold or palladium. Not to mention the fact that they can be assured the masterpieces they create - and you adorn - will be worn for many years to come.

Look for big things in the platinum arena!

Bad Economy - Great Diamond Deals

Its no mystery that our economy is in the tank right now but everything doesn't have to be so bleak. Bad times also create great opportunities and there's no exception when jewelry is involved. In fact, the jewelry business is starving for business and if you are in the market for an engagement ring or wedding ring - now is the time. One of the trends that I have noticed is increased discounting by jewelers and online retailers. This spells great news for someone who is looking to get engaged or married.

If you take your time and make careful comparisons when shopping for your diamond or jewelry, you'll see that there is a big spread in pricing from one jeweler to the next. The reason why is because some jewelers have adopted the notion that discounting could stir up new business in bad times. On the other hand, many jewelers still can't bring themselves to lower their prices and this has created a big spread in pricing from one store to the next. Keep in mind now more than ever that you need to take your time to compare prices thoroughly. Doing so could save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars on your engagement ring, diamond, or wedding band.

Another thing that I strongly suggest is not accepting the first price a jeweler quotes you. Always counter offer, its pretty likely that most jewelers will bring their price down if simply ask them to. Pitting one jeweler against another is a great thing too, take one jewelers lowest price and present it to a competitor and watch how quickly they will lower their price. Using internet price lists as leverage is helpful also, print a list from an online retailer and bring it to your local jeweler. Let them try their best to match the price, in the end you could get the savings of internet prices but the great service of a local store.

Happy shopping and remember, never say yes to the first price!

Planning a Wedding & Creating a Budget

Planning a wedding can be sensitive when it comes to the subject of money. We all know that weddings cost money. How much money varies between couples. Are you planning a simple garden ceremony, or a huge reception with a cast of hundreds? Traditionally, most weddings were usually paid for in a predetermined wedding formula. However, contemporary weddings now often have very different financial contributions.

It may be helpful to remember that in these enlightened times, more than half of all lucky couples are paying for the whole big day themselves. If you are financially fortunate enough to have others offering to contribute to your wedding budget why not consider some of these modern day wedding payment options of who pays for what:

The Groom.
* his outfit.
* the engagement and wedding rings.
* the marriage licence and any other marriage celebrant fees.
* the honeymoon.
* wedding night accommodation.
* thank you gifts for the male attendants.
* wedding gift for bride (optional).

The Bride.
* her outfit.
* bridesmaid's thank you gifts.

The Bride's Family.
* wedding invitations.
* the flowers.
* wedding location fees, eg: church or temple donations.
* the wedding reception, excluding the drinks.
* decorations for wedding ceremony and reception.
* the wedding photography.
* the wedding planner.
* the wedding transport for bridal party.
* any music or entertainment at the reception.
* the wedding cake.

The Groom's Family.
* drinks and alcohol at wedding reception.
* rehearsal dinner.

Bridesmaids and Groomsmen.
* their outfits for the big day.
* the bachelor party and bridal shower.

However many couples nowadays opt for the groom's family to pay for the cars, the alcohol, the photography, and the music or entertainment at the wedding reception. The bride's family in these instances would pay for the invitations, flowers, wedding planner, wedding ceremony fees, and the wedding reception.

Many modern families opt to split the wedding bill in half, leaving the bride to pay for her dress, and the couple, or groom, to pay for the rings and the honeymoon. Generally, wedding guests are expected to pay for their own travel and accommodation costs, even for destination weddings.

Unless you come from a highly traditional and conservative family, there are really no clear cut wedding protocol rules for the wedding budget anymore. Planning a wedding can be a sensitive time, especially with the issues of money and costs. All wedding contributions should be received graciously and gratefully. Just remember, brides and grooms who entirely pay for their own nuptials are now in the majority.

Celebrity Fashion Jewelry - The Bangle Is Back.

The great news in celebrity jewelry trends is the return of the bangle. The ethnic, almost tribal look that has been creeping into fashion has hit in a big way with arm jewelry. Bangles are ranging in all sizes and can be made from gold, silver, wood, gemstones, mother of pearl, brass, bone, and can even incorporate materials (like ribbons and woven threads). The more worked or elaborate the bangle, the better.

Celebrities spotted working this look include Nicole Richie, Drew Barrymore, Hilary Duff, Jennifer Lopez, Eva Mendez, Christina Aguilera, and Jessica Simpson. These bangles have been worn everywhere from awards evenings to concerts to casual days out.

Look out for carving in natural gemstone beads. Solid bangles in either wood or mother of pearl that have been carved are also wildly popular. Bangles featuring enameled animal prints are also included in this jewelry trend. This fashion is definitely not a case of less is more. Following on the heels of the stackable gold or silver bangle, these bangles are designed to be worn in groups.

Many of these bangles are featuring inlaid decorative pieces, especially in the wooden bangles where we are seeing contrasting inlays with brass and even other colored woods. Brass and bone bangles have also made a fashion comeback. The bangles are available in a variety of widths ranging from narrow to quite wide.

Since our favorite celebrities are wearing these bangles to awards nights it stands to reason that the rest of us can wear them anywhere as well. These heavily textured and decorative bangles are going to look fantastic with simple black sweaters for this fall and winter. Teamed with jeans and simple office outfits would also be ideal for these fancy bangles. Personal taste will dictate how dressed up an event you opt to wear these types of bangles.

Those girls who prefer to keep their wardrobe simpler may prefer to just select one highly ornate bangle to accessorize with their winter wardrobe. For those who really admire the eclectic ethnic look, the more the merrier. Either way the fashion police will not be arresting you.

These ethnic style carved and decorative bangles are going to be available in every body's budget, making them a great and affordable celebrity jewelry trend that everyone else is able to follow. These bangles are going to add interest and color to every girl's wardrobe this winter.

engagement rings

Jewelry Trends & The Cocktail Ring

The cocktail ring is definitely back as one of the latest jewelry trends for this winter. We know, your Great Aunt thought they never went out of fashion style, but now is the time to wear those large gemstone rings that your Grandmother left you. Your cocktail ring should be in a bold color and can even be of an ethnic flavor.

The most important thing to remember when wearing a cocktail ring is to keep the count at one. Wear the ring on your right hand leaving the left hand free for any wedding and engagement rings. Cocktail rings are designed to be jaw dropping knock-outs and should not have to compete with any other fancy rings. (A notable exception to this fashion rule is Mary-Kate Olsen, but not everyone can replicate her style successfully.)

Cocktail rings are meant to have big stones, usually more than 3 carats. Generally this means that they are made from less precious stones than diamonds to keep the costs down. Colorful semi-precious gems such as amethysts, citrines, aquamarines, garnets, onyx, opals, pearls, and tourmalines are all popular selections for cocktail ring stones. Right now the fashion rule for the stones are the deeper and brighter the better.

Cocktail ring settings can range from extremely plain to heavily carved. When selecting heavily carved, bear in mind that right now it is all about ethnic. Other popular settings include the gorgeously geometric art deco cocktail ring, and ornate settings using multiple tiny gems such as seed pearls or turquoise (usually seen in vintage cocktail rings).

Your cocktail ring should only have one larger stone in the center, any other stones should be considerably smaller and considered as part of the setting.

Antique cocktail rings can be purchased from jewelers who sell vintage or estate jewelry. Alternatively, many jewelers are now selling new cocktail rings that have been designed with this particular jewelry trend in mind.

Cocktail rings are also ideal for those women with larger hands and fingers who are without the large bank accounts needed to purchase over sized diamonds. The larger the ring, the smaller your fingers will appear. Having said that, those women with tiny fingers may want to try and contain their cocktail ring up to their first finger joint.

Cocktail rings are enjoying another surge in jewelry fashion. Look out for the bolder and darker colors to take you through winter. Women who prefer ornate rings may prefer the heavily carved and more ethnic styles that are currently available.

Celebrity Weddings - Howard Stern Gets Married

After dating for 8 years, longer than many celebrity marriages, shock jock Howard Stern, 54, has finally married his long time love Beth Ostrosky, 36. The couple were engaged on Valentine's Day 2007 (what a romantic). Beth's engagement ring is a dazzling 5.2 carat emerald cut diamond, art deco inspired platinum ring, estimated to be worth approximately $250,000.

The wedding was held at Le Cirque restaurant, Manhattan on Friday night October 3. Approximately 180 guests were in attendance to witness the couple's nuptials. Among the famous guests were Donald and Melania Trump, Barbara Walters, John Stamos, Tommy Mottola, Joan Rivers, Kelly Ripa, Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah Silverman, along with Stern's radio sidekicks Artie Lang, Robin Quivers, and Gary Dell'Abate. Kelly Ripa's hubby Mark Conseulos, who is an ordained minister, presided over the ceremony, and both Billy Joel and Phoebe Snow sang.

This celebrity wedding had toasts from Chevy Chase, Jimmy Kimmel, and Artie Lang. (We are guessing that these wedding speeches were a lot more entertaining than the standard toasts at wedding receptions.) The couple wrote their own vows, and according to guests, were heartfelt and moving. While Beth opted for a wedding band, Howard had a "B" tattooed on his wedding ring finger instead, (surely not in the restaurant).

The wedding meal consisted of tuna tataki, scrambled eggs with white truffles and striped bass served with caviar. The reception wound up in the early hours of the morning.

The bride, who is a TV personality and model, wore a silk chiffon wedding dress designed by Georgina Chapman. The Marchessa frock had a matching white shawl wrap. From the official photo released by the happy couple we can see that Beth's wedding dress was quite unusual in its design, with large cut out pieces on each side revealing an extremely flat stomach. The dress appears to be almost backless and was white.

The bride declared that "Howard was just as handsome as John Stamos in his suit." (Champagne goggles perhaps?)

Guests were apparently asked to wear outfits suited for a fancy restaurant, but "no Black tie". In lieu of gifts, guests were asked to donate to The Wildlife Rescue Center of the Hamptons.

This is the first wedding for Beth and the second for Howard. Howard's first wedding was to Alison Berns, his college sweetheart and lasted from 1978 to 2001, resulting in three daughters. The happy couple are rumored to be honeymooning in the Hamptons. Congratulations!

The Diamond Pave Jewelry Trend

One of the most popular jewelry trends of the moment which does not appear to be losing any momentum is the diamond pave. A pave setting is one in which multiple small evenly sized diamonds appear to be encrusted into a metal setting, shank, or surrounds of a center stone. The tiny diamonds are all held in place with fine claws or prongs, usually white gold or platinum, to enhance the sparkle factor, and to allow the stones to really fire. The stones are set closely together and tend to obscure the underlying metal.

Not only are jewelers surrounding central stones with pave set diamonds, but often the entire piece of jewelry will be inlaid with diamonds. We are now seeing many diamond engagement rings, where the main claws holding in the center stone, along with the sides of the central diamond, and the entire shank of the ring are literally covered with diamonds. As you can imagine these rings really do fire.

A diamond pave set piece of jewelry will use tiny diamonds that are all approximately the same size and color. This creates a more uniform appearance. Pave set diamond rings can be constructed with one row of diamonds the whole way around the shank, and these are known as full pave rings. Alternatively some find the half pave ring a more comfortable fit for a diamond ring as there are no diamonds on the back of the band.

A diamond ring made entirely from pave diamonds with no center stone can make for a stunning wedding ring or eternity ring. Rings with center stones can have one or multiple rows of pave diamonds leading down from the central setting. The more rows, or width of pave diamonds along a band, the more substantial and dazzling a ring will be.

These settings are by no means limited to engagement rings. Pave settings can be used for equally dramatic effect with both earrings and pendants. Pave set diamonds can look equally as exquisite when set around a colored stone. This can add a vintage feel to some square cut stones. The simplest solitaire ring can have a lot of extra visual appeal added when surrounded by a pave diamond setting.

Many engagement rings worn by celebrities this year have been excellent examples of the beauty of diamond pave settings. These include Jessica Alba, Ashlee Simpson, Mariah Carey, and more recently, Jennifer Hudson.

All that glitters is no longer necessarily gold, more likely diamond pave jewelry.