We get a lot of questions in regards to pricing in the jewelry industry. It is fairly common in the jewelry industry to price an item with an artificially high price and then “discount” the item either at the point of sale or through some kind of “sales event”. The problem with this practice is that it implies that the item was actually worth the original higher price when in fact the item is, at best, worth the actual sales price; it begs the question of honesty and integrity. If the jeweler is using a pricing structure that is gimmicky and dishonest to begin with, what else are they not telling you about the actual item you are buying? We have always priced our pieces at the lowest possible price from the beginning and refuse to play the is/was pricing game. We believe that, if you compare apples to apples, our beginning price will beat any “sale” price. We take pride in educating our customers about jewelry and are confident that when armed with this knowledge, they will see through our competitions smoke screens.

There are two main differences, beyond cost, between platinum and white gold. From a wearability standpoint, the difference is that platinum is a naturally white metal that will not turn yellow with wear as opposed to white gold which is a naturally yellow metal that will turn slightly yellow with wear. From a structural standpoint, the metals are very similar with platinum being slightly more durable and white gold being slightly harder.

Diamonds are one of the hardest substances known and because of this hardness it is very difficult to scratch a diamond. Toughness is the property that determines if a substance can be chipped or cracked and diamonds are very tough but they can be chipped or cracked if hit hard enough. Generally speaking, a diamond is most vulnerable to chipping or cracking on the girdle of the stone or on the tips if it is a fancy cut stone. The impacts that cause a chip or a crack are not always severe or noticed by the jewelry wearer and can be as simple as hitting a granite counter at the right angle.

A ring that is snagging on clothing usually has either a raised or worn prong that is grabbing individual fibers in the clothing. A raised prong typically occurs when the ring has some kind of impact that lifts the prong slightly off of the stone which provides a gap that will snag fibers. A worn prong is a prong that through wear is either misshapen or partially (or completely) broken off which will leave a rough edge that can grab clothing. In either case, a ring that is grabbing clothing is giving you a warning that something is not right and should be inspected by a jeweler. If a raised or worn prong is not repaired it can lead to a lost stone.

Pearl necklaces and bracelets are traditionally strung on silk cords and usually have a knot between each pearl to keep all of the pearls from coming off of the cord if it is broken. With wear the cord will slowly begin to stretch out and will eventually get to a point where it is too worn resulting in the strand breaking. Pearls should be restrung before they get to the breaking point to prevent loss. As a general rule, if you can move the pearls from side to side at all between the knots, it is time for restringing.

White gold is yellow gold that is alloyed with various metals that “turn” the yellow gold white. White gold is then Rhodium plated to finish the process and make the jewelry perfectly white. With age and wear, the Rhodium wears off and the piece will usually have a slightly yellow appearance (it will not turn completely yellow because of the white alloys in the gold). In order to return the piece to a perfectly white appearance it must be Rhodium plated. Rhodium plating is an inexpensive and routine repair that we do in our in-house repair shop.