Even More Frequently Asked Questions

I’m sorry to say that I have heard this one more than a few times. Unfortunately, for this customer, her husband damaged them beyond repair. They were a beautiful pair of yellow gold hoops. All she had to do was pop in the store for a simple, free two-minute adjustment and she would have been on her merry way. Instead, the husband had crushed the fragile hollow hoop, and flattened it like a pancake. Once a hollow tube has been crushed it is unfixable. Hoop earrings are always constructed of a thin hollow tube and are quite fragile. They are worn in the ear, so they don’t endure the wear and tear of a ring or bracelet. Sometimes, the little horseshoe piece where the post latches will get bent, and the earring won’t stay closed. It takes a gentle hand, a bit of experience, and the right tools to get it working properly. Another common adjustment we perform regularly is to adjust the little figure eight safety clasps you find on the side of your bracelet clasp. These are a safety feature and often get bent from banging it around. They are very lightweight and it’s normal for them to need attention from time to time. A simple repair for a professional but not recommended for a home job. Gold is soft and these moving parts can get out of adjustment very easily. 

The same goes for watch battery replacement. Just let the professional handle it. We have the correct tools for removing the back and putting it back on. The press we use has a pad and nothing sharp or metallic ever touches the crystal or the watch's back. Watch batteries at CVS cost around $7.00 on average. We charge $10.00 total to supply and install. Trying to do it yourself to save a measly $3.00 on a battery replacement that could go sideways and then having to send it out to a watchmaker for a $150 crystal that you cracked accidentally, or worse, costly internal mechanical damage, just doesn’t make sense to me. I’m not cracking on husbands here! I know they mean well, but sometimes I question, “Why did they do that?” Unless your husband is a watchmaker or a bench jeweler, I highly suggest you intercept him before he trots off to the garage workshop to work on your watch or diamond ring!

Speaking of doing damage... A gentleman came and told me this story of how one time he wanted to surprise his wife. He bought her a beautiful emerald ring. He thought it would be fun to stick in the freezer for her to stumble upon. I’m sure you can see where this story is heading. Emeralds are notoriously fragile and for this reason, they are not recommended for daily wear. The shock of the temperature change from below zero to eighty –five degrees caused the stone to shatter into a million pieces. I bet the wife was certainly surprised at that gift! 

“I just bought this ring and now the diamonds are very cloudy.”

A quick cycle in the ultrasonic and a shot of steam will rectify this situation, unless of course, lesser-quality diamonds were purchased. No amount of cleaning will help heavily included (flawed) diamonds appear white and clear. Heavily included diamonds are common in what we call “production or promo jewelry.” Think box stores or mall kiosks and large chain jewelers selling items on special. These items are often heavily marketed at deep discounts and are a lure to just get a customer in the door, with hopes of upgrading you to a higher priced item. Think Costco’s $1.50 hot dog or $5.99 rotisserie chicken. These items are known as loss leaders and the whole point is to get you into the store where some good old-fashioned impulse buying may occur. We do not employ such tactics. Our many years of experience and trained eyes weed through thousands of pieces of jewelry every year. We decline carrying pieces that we don’t think will stand the test of time or may come back for multiple repairs. We constantly search for new classic styles. What I mean by this is we want our jewelry to not be easily dated at first glance. We avoid items that we deem too trendy. For instance, we didn’t get on the permanent jewelry train that began a few years ago. I had a woman come in and beg us to rescue her from her permanent jewelry bracelet because she hated it so much. We put a clasp on it for her so as not to hurt her daughters' feelings who paid for it. I’m not knocking it; I know a lot of people love it and fellow jewelers have made money with it. I just don’t feel comfortable permanently welding jewelry to my elderly clientele or a kid for that matter! Especially if you must be hospitalized or have an MRI, it’s just not practical. 

“So, tell me what ‘s new and exciting?”

There are some trendy items that I think are going to become the new modern classics. The paperclip necklace is one. Jackie O and Sophia Loren made this one popular way back in the day. It comes in many iterations now. Silver with cubic zirconia, or gold with diamonds. It comes in different weights and lengths and with or without pendants. It’s very versatile and makes a solid choice if you choose to layer with other necklaces. It’s a nice way to achieve that big, bold gold look and is very versatile going from day to night.

Another new classic style I believe has staying power is the station necklace. This chain is another great choice for layering. It comes in yellow, white, or two-tone. They call it a station necklace or “tin cup” and diamonds by the inch depending on the decades it’s been popular because all along the chain you will find bezel set diamonds. This makes a great choice for layering because it can swing around the neck, and you don’t have to worry about it being perfectly centered all the time. This necklace or bracelet style has proven to be a popular choice for using up all those little unused diamonds you may have in your box. You can also add different colored gemstones for a bolder look. Every client we have done this for recently has been more than just thrilled. They look great alone or stacked up two or three deep. 

As far as rings go, halos and classic three-stone rings have staying power. My dad and I go back and forth on how stylish a halo is. A new twist on the halo has been a double halo, with one in a colored gemstone surrounding a white center stone. This I like!!! What I look for when buying halo jewelry is a nice balance and symmetry. White bright stones are a must, and if the center stone is big, I want the halo to complement and enhance the star of the show. 

If you’re looking for a gift and you know she loves yellow gold, my bestselling charm is the sand dollar. I have them in many sizes and with or without diamonds, and when hung on a diamond-cut rope chain it makes the perfect Marco Island classic look. People return year after year to purchase one as a gift for a loved one. Then again, you can’t go wrong with any type of sea-life jewelry here in Paradise.