DON'T LOSE YOUR STUDS TO THE VIRUS!

If you're all being responsible about not spreading or getting the Covid-19 virus then you are probably wearing some kind of a mask on a regular basis.  You're supposed to wear a mask anytime you go out which inevitably means you have to strap bands around your ears and unstrap them every time you put the mask on or take it off.

 But here's a warning:  If you have some beautiful studs of mine like the 18k yellow gold orangey/pink sapphire ones in the picture here (okay, or any other studs since there is only one pair of these out there) you have to be extremely careful about them not being pulled off by the elastic straps.  I have personally already lost (and fortunately found) two of my stud earrings that I wear. 

I recommend checking your ears for your earrings every time you are using a mask, especially when taking it off which I think is the time it is more likely to grab on a post and pull it out of your ear!

THE WORLD IS CHANGING

                                                     

                                                     
Well it took an international crisis to get me to write a blog article again but here I am.  Part of this is because I have a little more time since I have very little business (and no customers to interact with at the store)  but part of it is also to reassure you that I am still in business at the moment and to fill you in on some exciting new changes.

First of all I have added some pages of pieces of mine that are actually for sale on my website.  Partial descriptions and pricing is included.  At the moment you have to email me for further details and to arrange for purchases but ultimately we hope to move to a selling platform of some sort on line.  That is going to take awhile so don't hold your breath but it's in the future.  So please make sure you check out my website when you get a chance.  

The piece pictured above is a custom ring I made for customers of mine who I believe are my longest term customers.  They are preparing to celebrate a 40th anniversary and he wanted to get something outstanding for her. This is a 5 ct. natural color purple/blue color change sapphire and is one of the most beautiful and most expensive colored stones I have ever had the pleasure of working with and selling.  When you spend an hour or so actually setting the stone (not making the ring but actually setting it in the bezel) you get to know stones up close and personal and this is one of the most stunning ones I have ever set.  The ring is a combination of 950 platinum and 18k yellow gold.  As always it is wonderful to have customers who appreciate what I do so much that they will purchase something like this from me for such a special occasion.  

My new articles here will be briefer than they were but I will be writing at least a few each week so stay tuned for more.  And please remember to check out my Instagram feed for all the latest pictures of new pieces and custom work.  Thanks for reading!
 

One Day Summer Sale Part 2

Natural color pink sapphire earrings

I just finished these earrings up.  They are actually a very emotional pair of earrings for me as they represent something that I don't really want to get into publicly.  I am often moved by events in my life to create some of my pieces and this one was a fairly emotional one. But as it happens they are out just in time for my one day sale this weekend.  If you missed my previous blog article it talks about the sale in more detail so just scroll down one article.  I didn't even realize these were natural color sapphires when I picked them out so it was a nice benefit when I realized it. 

SUMMER SALE!!!!! ONE DAY ONLY!

Ruby ring in white and yellow gold

White quartz and diamond pendant

Afghani tourmalines and diamonds in 18k

Afghani tourmalines in 18k yellow gold

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I confess.  I've been exceedingly remiss in my writings here. I promise to get back to the sapphire material in a couple of weeks.  But in the meanwhile I wanted to let everyone know that we are having a sale on August 11 in conjunction with the Massachusetts tax free weekend.  In the past we have limited this sale only to existing customers but this year we are opening it up to everyone. Here are the details:   

Don’t miss this annual summer sale event!

Saturday, August 11, 2018 Only*

Don’t miss this annual summer sale event! Daniel R. Spirer Jewelers

Each year in combination with the state’s tax free holiday we offer additional savings on our hand crafted products. Read the sale guidelines below and don’t miss this once a year sale! We look forward to seeing you on Saturday, August 11^th between 11am and 5 pm (we are closed on Sundays)!

The following discounts apply to your total (pre-tax) purchase of jewelry or loose gemstones from our display cases:

• 15% off any case item priced up to $2,499.00
• 20% 0ff case items priced over $2,500.00
• 20% off strands of beads and pearls in our cases regardless of price

For example:

Gorgeous earrings that you have been looking at for months….

Regular price $3,100 + 6.25% tax = $3,293.75

Sale Price - $3,100 less 20% and no tax = $2,480.00

*Busy on August 11^th? Call or come into the store to select your items in advance of the sale day and we will charge your credit card on August 11^th! You can pick them up anytime from 08/11/12 on during regular store hours or we can ship them to you (regular shipping charges apply).

HERE ARE THE RULES

1. Any case item priced up to $2,500 after your discount can be purchased tax free. Case item means you buy the piece you see in the case-no alterations (but we will size a ring purchase).

2. ONLY items sold from our cases are eligible for the discounts.

3. NO CUSTOM WORK DISCOUNTS, however any custom work $2,500 or less ordered and paid for in full on August 11^th will still be tax free!

NO RETURNS, REFUNDS OR CREDITS ON ANY SALE ITEMS PURCHASED AT THIS SALE.

NO EXCEPTIONS. FINAL SALE.

Our hours of operation on Saturday August 11th will be 11:00 am – 5:00pm.

We hope you can join us on Saturday, August 11^th!  Remember we are closed on Sundays!

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Year of the Sapphire Cinq

I told you I was going to talk about purple sapphires in my next post and this is the beginning of it.  I'm actually going to do two posts on them because I just had this ring of mine come in for a cleaning and I want to talk about this one specifically.

Purple sapphires come in a range of tones of purple ranging from a pinkish purple to a pure purple (what I like to call amethyst colored) to a bluish purple.  Many of the blue/purple sapphires actually exhibit a color change (or as I prefer to refer to it, a color shift) when viewed under different light sources (these are generally the most valuable if the colors are good).  Personally I tend towards the blue/purple sapphires just because I think the color is so interesting.  Either that or the pure purple color tones I find particularly appealing.  I'm less enamored of the pink/purple tones, but that's just a personal thing.  I believe if you want a pink sapphire than get one that screams pink!

Anyway, this ring and stone were purchased from me in 2002.  I believe, if my memory serves me, that the customer had me make up this ring with her diamond in it prior to this and that it was lost.  She decided to use the insurance settlement to get a nice big sapphire instead.  This stone is a 3.85 ct. NATURAL color (*unheated*) bluish purple sapphire.  I sold it to her at the time for $5000 for the stone.  Seven years ago she had me do a new appraisal (at my recommendation since I knew prices had gone up quite a bit) and it appraised out at about $13,000.  Today when she came in for a cleaning she asked for an updated appraisal and the stone is now valued at $20,000.  This is a result of how rare, large, untreated stones have skyrocketed in price in the last decade.  I have talked about this in previous blog posts.

Now before everyone gets too excited, let me throw out a few caveats.   This kind of extreme price increase happened on this stone because of the fact that it is LARGE (almost 4 cts.), UNHEATED and a great color to begin with.  If  you're looking at a stone on your hand that is a half carat sapphire that's pretty ordinary, the value has NOT gone up this much. Also you need to be aware that the appraisal price is a retail replacement price. This is the amount she would need to pay to get an equivalent stone today.  If she wanted to sell the stone, she would get nowhere near this price.  However she would get significantly more than she paid for it back in 2002.  This is actually fairly rare unless you're dealing with exceptional stones and that includes when you're talking about diamonds.

I don't ever sell or recommend jewelry or gems as an investment vehicle. But every once in awhile it can happen that you make a good purchase.  It's a good reason to always buy the best possible quality available and as large a piece as you can afford.

More on purple sapphires in my next article.