Gold and Gem Jewelry: How to Get What You Want

http://lifedancerlynn.blogspot.com/

Many women would rather get fine jewelry than any other gift. Jewelry is sexy. It seem superficial, but I've found learning about jewelry great fun and educational. History, politics, science, geography, geology, gemology, economics and fashion all effect the price of fine jewelry. Learning about beautiful stones and metals is a fun way to learn about the earth. In this hub you will learn, or be referred to places from which you can learn, what you need to know before you buy expensive fine jewelry. I include some of my mistakes and happy outcomes. You'll find a list of websites from which you can buy with confidance. I've purchased from them, so I know. Don't buy without reading this.

Buying Jewelry You can still buy gold and gem stone jewelry at reasonable prices even though gold has touched $1000 an ounce.. You must, however, educate yourself before you buy. It is illegal to say an item is gold if it is not, but look for and be suspicious of modifiers like "gold tone" or "gold color". A gold plated pendant may last, but it's not a good idea for a ring that will be worn frequently. 10K gold is often used for men's rings as it is more durable. Go to high end stores to see many quality items. Ask what makes an item so expensive. Then go to local, non-chain jewelry stores, the web and TV to compare. (In the Monterey Bay area , Tony's at 1 MidTown Lane, Salinas, CA gives a fare price for gold items you may want to sell. www.tonysjewelry.net) Don't buy stones or jewelry for investment at today's prices, unless you have connections. Before you buy make sure you know terms like: carat, table, window (something you don't want in a stone) culet, "faces up" (how a gem or piece of jewelry looks, ex: "It faces up like a 2k stone."), light 1K, setting, the Mohs scale for hardness, melee (small stones in setting), and have read the next section for resources and used them. You will save money and feel better about your purchases.

http://hubpages.com/_1pct4pvt7cmfe/hub/How-to-Make-100-per-day-with-AdSenseTips-for-Hubpage-authors T

Resources The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) http://www.gia.edu/ has information on it's web site on all the gem stones and metals and offers courses, some on-line, and appraisals.

Where to buy: at strip mall jewelry stores with independent owners (Mr. Zs in Pacific Grove, CA, The Jewelry Exchange in Redwood City), estate sales, L. A. pawnshops are supposed to be good for "high end" items, web sites/T.V. Web sites:

http://www.gemstv.com/ has 14K rings for $99,operates reverse auctions. Web site has lots of bargains, especially if you like red-orange-yellow stones. http://www.shopnbc.com/ May 2008 still has some good buys on it's closeout section on the web), http://www.bluenile.com/, for diamond education, http://www.gemcountry.net/, http://www.gemselect.com, http://www.melanijewelers.com, http://www.bidz.com/, http://www.overstock.com/, http://www.ebay.com/, http://www.jtv.com/, http://www.aantv.com/, http://www.dsntv.com/, www.flixya.com/blog/bangsib, http://www.oroking.com/. Oroking has some really nice bangle bracelets at good prices, even with today's high price of gold. Know the price for gold or silver, know the price range of stones. 3X is normal retail markup.

Ploys Think of used car dealer. "It will be gone when you return." " It's 70% off." (not). "It's the only one." Take a price from on-line to your local jeweler to bargain. I did that with furniture and got free delivery from another town.

Metals Gold (24K, 18 = 75%, 14 = 58.3%, 10 = 41.6%, less than 10K cannot be sold as gold in U.S. Look for __ K marking. Alloy with copper and silver. 14/24 gold=14Khttp://hubpages.com/_1pct4pvt7cmfe/hub/How-to-Make-100-per-day-with-AdSenseTips-for-Hubpage-authors

Troy ounce = 31.1034768 grams

Gold Colors: rose, yellow, white (gray) green are usual.

Platinum 2x weight of 14K gold, hard and more brittle than gold, used for prongs (6 prongs are better than 4 to prevent stone lose)

Silver coated with rhodium to prevent tarnishing

Gold filled, 10K and up bonded to base metal

Gold plated = electroplated

The BIG D Diamonds Know the 4 Cs, Color scale starts at DEF, GHI, etc.. Quality starts at "F" for flawless (VVS. VS, etc). Mohs (diamond = 10, talc = 1) scale of hardness, metric sizes, small "k"( for carat), shapes/cut, how to use loupe to look at all sides and bottom, "Hearts on Fire", Buy stone separate from setting. Know that stimulant (CZ)-synthetic-created diamond-white sapphires-zircons are not as valuable as natural diamonds. Buy ¾ k or more only with GIA or IGI reports and ask to see Rapaport Diamond Report (the blue book of diamonds). Jewelers can buy under the $ in this report and still make $200-300. Rose cut and old mine cut have antique value, so you may not want to re-cut. Diamonds are not rare, but large Flawless diamonds are; the cost reflects rarity. As with all stones, prices are exponential. A "light 1k" is not the same value as a full 1k, but you can save money buying if. Just know what you are getting. If a 1k diamond is $5000, a 2 k may be $15,000+, assuming quality is equal. All of this and more is explained in the following site. At http://www.bluenile.com/ you can pick your diamond and see a complete report, including the cutting proportions at this web site. If the diamond is cut according to certain proportions, it will reflect the maximim amount of light (fire). It's what makes us say "Wow" when we see a well-cut stone. Check the placement and proportions of the facets with a magnifying glass or loope.

http://www.diamondsexplained.com/

www.ehow.com/how.6829-buy-jewelry-online.html

http://www.bluenile.com/

http://www.diamondhelpers.com/

Colored stones Color, Color, Color. That's why we buy colored stones. Traditionally the 4 important stones are diamond, ruby (form of sapphire), blue sapphire (are many other colors), emerald. Treatments: oiling for emeralds, raidiated diamonds, sapphires are treated to change and enhance color. Political unrest and weather can change availability and price of stones. Stones at 7.5 or less in hardness should not be used in rings, but today are. Look for a low, bezel or well protected setting if you buy a stone that is less than 8 in hardness in a ring.

http://www.colored-stones.com

New or lesser know colored stones:

1. Tanzanite (zoisite) -- www.egl.co.za/tanzanite.htm Discovered in the last 20 years, Tanzanite is like no other gem, with rich, deep violet-blues (or blue-violets)and flashes of pink. Tiffany orriginally promoted. It's expensive and going up in price because the mines may be closed or depleated by May 2008 and because the supply and cutting are now regulated. There has been a grading system established for Tanzanite only since 2007. See the above web site. I love tanzanite, though it is soft for rings. An accepted practice is heat treatment for what might otherwise be a brown-green pebble. Tanzanite is 1000 times rarer than diamonds.

2. Garnets are not just red:

a. Russian and Namibian demantiod garnet, slightly greenish to bright Kelly green, much rarer than a diamond, refracts more light that a diamond. You must balance deep color with sparkle, fire. The greenest with the most fire is the best. Another of my favorite stones.

b. Indicolite is dark blue shades of teal to dark blue.

c. Tsavorite is dark green, expensive, what emeralds would like to be in color and clarity. From Tsavo National Game Reserve in Kenya and some from across the boarder. Discovered in the last 20 years.

d. Mandarine orange--red-orange to orange-yellow

e. Color change garnet -- Color change stones are valued for rarity and beauty.

3. Tourmalines -- A Sparkling Blue Never Before Seen In 1989 H. Barbosa's mine in Paraiba, Brazil finally yielded a tourmaline of a bright, deep blue-green never seen before. Barbosa had looked for 5 years, selling everything he had because he knew he would find a stone unlike any other. The "Windex" or cool-water, blue tourmalines (cuprian albaite) were a sensation and the mine was quickly depleated. (Tourmalines have more colors than any other stone. Rubellite is rare -- raspberry to ruby red.) Then copper bearing tourmalines were discovered in Nigeria and Mozambique. Direct Shopping Network is promoting Cuperian Au, with gold in the stones, from original Paraiba, Brazil mines. My understanding is that all Paraiba contains copper and gold .

It is unusual to find a clean and large Paraiba tourmaline. Blue Shepard of DSN owns tourmaline mine in Southern CA. I saw the mine in an episode of "Cash and Treasures".

4. Alexandrite from Russia with recent find in Brazil and India-- Color change, depending on type of light, from red to green or purple-red to blue-green are the best. 100% color change is rare. Look for at least 75% color change. Expensive

5. Labordorite/Andesine named for Andes but plentiful in Oregon (Oregon SunStone), Tibet? Comes in red, blue-green, yellow and is being promoted (red ) by DSN as official stone of Olympics in 2008. Testing released in late July, 2008, has shown that stones sold on DSN, JTV, E-Bay and other television sellers is "enhanced" , but sold as natural. It's soft, 7, for rings, but people are buying them. Many stones exhibit a color shift (not same as color change) so that you see green-red-blue as you move the stone (or red-orange-brown). Look for a stone with pop or brillance. Non-gem quality can be a beautiful stone.

6. Mexican fire opal -- orange to orange-red

7. Opals -- "black" from Australia. Red flash is desired in a mix of colors. Look at from all angles to see that there are no empty areas. Don't buy doublet/triplet.

8. Kunzite / Morganite / Aqua Marine / Emerald -- all in beryl family. Ultraviolet light will lighten the color of Kunzite and Morganite over years. Light Emeralds are being sold. Usually we think of emerald green, but these are as light as a peppermint candy. What you lose in color, you should get in clarity and sparkle.

9. Pink sapphires and Padparadscha peach or salmon with lots of sparkle) --expensive.

Cheaper colored stones Zircon (a bit soft for rings,but double refractive), Topaz (many colors and treatments),quartz family (Amethyst, green is Prasiolite, Citrine, pink called Brazilian Rose, Perdot (light yellow/green),Smoky Quarts, Lemon Citrine, Iolite(dark blue-violet is best), Spinel (many colors available) was mistaken for ruby in crown jewels, tourquoise (usually stablized) from Sleeping Beauty mine is special and looks good with any color skin and hair.

Buying for self and others: consider

1. hair/skin color
2. clothes and home colors preferred
3. size of person
4. observe how person dresses -- tailored or frilly, formal or informal
5. activities preferred and done (work, play and community)
6. price does not = love

Can recommend appraiser in California, Central Coast area

Why this page

I have compiled this information from my own experiences and from web sites. You may find out more by searching the web sites recommended here or searching key phrases. My hope is to fill in this outline, especially as people request information, but I don't want to write here what you can find on the web site I've listed. I do not sell jewelry or work in the industry. I've made some mistakes and good buys at auctions, on-line and from TV. I hope to share some of that with you. Your questions can help me fill in this outline.

My Buying Experiences

With DSN you should buy on closeout nights. Thursday and Sunday. I've noticed that often the prongs on ring settings are not perfectly alined. Ask them to fix that before sending it to you. They usually offer free sizing. Don't be afraid to return things, though it's a hassle. I bought a ring that supposedly had VS diamonds. A few actually had black in them. DSN replaced them, though the prongs looked different from the others on the ring, something you can only see with magnification. It takes about 3 weeks to receive merchandise.

GemCountry has discounted jewelry on Tuesday and Thursday starting at midnight, eastern time. Sometimes items are $100 or more less than they were earlier in the day. I bought my first item recently and got it in a week. They have a gold buy back program which is clearly explained.

Mistakes Buying from e-bay from a dealer in Brazil. The stone was glass and supposed to be Tanzanite. VISA refunded my money ($500), thought it had been about 2 months since purchase, and VISA may still be trying to locate the seller.

At an auction 2 years ago I accepted the opening bid on an item.. I should have offered less to open. I sat up front. There was a man in the back who bid on everything I wanted. Now I wonder what was going on. I paid too much, but now, the price of gold is so high, I don't feel so bad. It's recommended that you go at the end of an auction. Any advice?

Andescine/Labarorite Are you buying treated or natural stones? See article at http://www.oregonsunstone.bloger.com/ with gemologist's testing results and opinions. http://www.yourgemologist.com/ is the web site of the author of the article on andescine fraud.

Selling Gold: If gold is $1000 an ounce, you only get about $33 a gram. A bracelet weighing 5 grams, not unusual, you would get $165 for it. That is assuming it's 24K, pure gold. For a 14K bracelet, maybe you'd get $100, if your lucky. I can't see the sense in selling a wearable piece for scrap. If a piece is broken, check with an independent jewely store owner or the kiosk sellers in malls for repairs before you sell it for scrap. Stampatto bracelets are an especially bad buy as they break easily and are hard to repair. A jeweler refused to repair one for me, saying that one break means other weak links. You won't get much for them for scrap, because they contain too much alloy. This information is from a jeweler with 30 years in the business.

Damascene Jewelry I just discovered this beautiful type of costume jewelry and think it is so interesting that it deserves mention here. It's gold, usually 24K, silver and sometimes enamel inlaid on a base metal in intricate designs. Toledo, Spain, is the historic center for Damascene jewelry, but there are a Japanese and a Reed and Barton(designers and manufacturers) traditiions as well. Geometric Moorish designs decorate Todedo Damascene. Brids, pigodas and nature themes are Japanese. See E-Bay for examples. See www.vintagejewelrylane.com/information/Damasceneinformation.html

Your comments and corrections are welcome. I want to know your experiences buying fine jewelry.