A BLOG DIRECTORY

I realized the other day that many of you who are new to my blog may not want to read the whole thing in order to find out some of the information pertinent to your own particular needs. So I am making a handy dandy little list here of some of the subjects I have covered and the blogs related to them. However some of my more interesting posts don't actually fall into these categories so you might still want to look around a little. I hope this helps. Pictured above is a new 18k yellow gold and rhodolite garnet pendant that just went out today.

On Custom work:

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2011/04/on-timing-of-things.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/12/anatomy-of-custom-order.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2011/01/part-two.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/09/more-on-custom-work.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/06/marquis-diamond-custom-ring.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/05/more-on-custom-work-lets-not-steal.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2009/09/custom-work-iv-and-why-im-in-this.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2009/09/custom-work-iii.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2009/08/csutom-work-ii.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2009/08/custom-work.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2013/11/know-your-jewler.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2013/06/i-kind-of-cover-wide-range-and-i-work.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2016/01/how-long-does-custom-work-take.html

On Gemstones:

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2011/06/rarity-of-gemstones.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/11/real-rarity-of-gemstones.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/09/alexandrite.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/03/watermelon-tourmaline.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/03/aquamarine.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/03/birthstones.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2009/08/heat-treatment-of-sapphires.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2009/07/heat-treatment-of-sapphires.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2009/07/buying-gemstones.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-holidays-are-coming-and-some.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2013/09/on-henias-gemstone-shopping-and-carved.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2013/03/rare-gemstones.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2012/11/gemstone-treatments-5.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2012/11/gemstone-treatments-4.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2012/10/custom-work-and-gemstone-treatments-3.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2012/10/gemstone-treatments-2.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2012/10/gemstone-treatments.html


On Engagement rings:

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/01/different-kind-of-recycled-gold.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2009/12/giving-engagement-ring.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2009/11/diamonds-in-engagement-rings.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2009/11/engagement-rings-ii.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2009/11/engagement-rings-1.html

On Diamonds:

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/11/de-beers.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/05/synthetic-diamonds-from-your-pets-or.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2009/12/sourcing-of-diamonds.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2009/12/more-on-diamonds.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2009/11/diamonds-in-engagement-rings.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2011/09/good-diamond-cutting-vs-great-diamond.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2014/03/let-me-sell-your-giant-diamonds-for-you.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2014/03/ideal-cut-diamonds.html



On reusing gold:

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/01/different-kind-of-recycled-gold.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2014/05/new-from-old.html

On white metals: http:

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2009/11/platinum-other-white-metal.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2009/10/white-gold-vs-platinum-or-other-white.html

On metal allergies:

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/07/back-from-vacation-and-metal-allergies.html

On Mokume gane:

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/06/ive-spent-some-time-recently-looking.html

On Appraisals:

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/06/appraisals-103.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/06/appraisals-102.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/06/appraisals-101.html

On selling gold for scrap:

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/03/selling-your-gold-for-scrap.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2011/09/on-selling-your-jewelry-again.html

Some of my favorite articles:

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2009/09/custom-work-iv-and-why-im-in-this.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2009/10/why-im-in-this-business-ii.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2009/10/white-gold-vs-platinum-or-other-white.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2009/12/giving-engagement-ring.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2009/12/sourcing-of-diamonds.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/02/on-reusing-gemstones-and-diamonds.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/02/reusing-old-gemstones.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/04/jewelry-designers-designer-jewelry.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/04/shop-local-or-bricks-and-mortar-vs.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2010/11/real-rarity-of-gemstones.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2011/04/overworked-underpaid-and-happy.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2011/03/implied-warranties.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2011/04/on-timing-of-things.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2011/08/why-am-i-in-this-business.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2011/09/good-diamond-cutting-vs-great-diamond.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2011/11/fun-custom-work.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2011/11/trust-your-jeweler-so-he-doesnt-get-fat.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2011/12/dont-look-at-your-credit-card-bills.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-ventana-wilderness-i-have-just.html


On Security:

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2013/08/more-on-security-but-this-time-its-mine.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2013/05/jewelry-safety-part-3-insurance.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2013/04/jewelry-safety-part-two-alarm-systems.html

http://spirerjewelers.blogspot.com/2013/03/jewelry-security.html

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN

I have returned from a very pleasant two weeks off. I actually can't recall the last time I had two weeks off. I believe it was at least 15 years ago. This is something to think about when contemplating starting your own business. It always involves MORE work not less work than if you are employed by someone else. We spent one week on Martha's Vineyard this year and had a wonderful time sitting on the deck of the house we rented and looking out at the water. Actually there was a wonderful view of one point of the island rising out of the water and I plan on making up one of my mountain rings (like the one in the lower right here) with the view. We also ate enough lobster to last a lifetime, including the one in the picture here, that weighed 8 pounds! So my batteries are recharged and I'm starting to work on both my custom jobs (if you have one in house right now and you are reading this thank you for your patience!) and on some new goods for the case. I have continued to sell quite a few pieces out of the cases and they are looking a wee bit peaked at the moment so I hope to have some new pictures soon of some new work.



In the meanwhile, however, I am posting another picture here of a custom job I did about a year ago that I had the opportunity to photograph recently. The neat thing about this particular ring (which you can't clearly see from my picture) is that there were two angles on the band that allowed me to bead set diamonds at different angles. The center stone is a .77 ct., "F" color, VVS2 clarity, ideal cut diamond. For this piece I hand built a model in silver and then had it cast in platinum.

On another note, gold prices have continued to rise. While I don't buy gold for scrap, I will take it in towards custom work I do for you or towards pieces in the case. It's a good time to look at all those old pieces you bought that you don't wear anymore and think about whether it might be a good time to get something new that you will wear.

Vacation Time Woo Hoo!

Well I have managed to survive until my vacation. I have had a tremendous first half of the year and I feel quite positive about the second half as well. I would prefer, however, not to work seven days a week for the next six months as well. I have been bringing in some part time help occasionally but I feel it's important that the customers get my designs, as I make them up, and it's hard to impart some of that to other jewelers. So I will be forced to continue working some of those long weeks it looks like. Kathy and I have, however, been discussing a long term plan where I take off a significantly larger amount of time on a regular basis. So you may find that there will be more periods when the store is closed. As always, if in doubt, call ahead to check on my hours (although I can pretty much assure you that I will be here the entire month of December!). By the way if you come by in the next few weeks you may see people in and out of the store as Kathy's non profit is still in full operation. Please don't confuse this with the store being open for business.

I have posted another picture I took of the last piece made for the cases for the first half of the year. It is an 18k gold ring. The diamond is a fantastic stone (which you can't tell from my, as usual, poor photography skills) but it is not a Lazare Diamond. As I explained in a post recently I have been having a terrible time getting stones in the sizes I need from them. It is a .31 ct., "D" color, VVS2 clarity. It comes with two certs: one from the American Gem Society (AGS) and one from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). The AGS is a much better gem lab for cut grades. They have been issuing them for years and rely much more strictly on true Tolkowsky ideal proportions (you can read about this in previous posts). Actually they are stricter graders in general. They gave two other stones with GIA certs lower color grades (as well as lower cut grades which is why I didn't keep them). Lazare Diamond sells true Tolkowsky stones as well so these stones are equivalent to a Lazare Diamond. It is a stunning stone (in person). Might be worth a trip in to see it. But please wait until I'm back from vacation (July 16).

Hope you all have a great Fourth of July!

PEARLS

What's in a pearl? No, I mean quite literally, what is in a pearl? Virtually all pearls today are cultured, meaning that they have been started by man in some way. One hundred and fifty years ago there were only natural pearls. Divers would go into the water pull up a bunch of oysters and, if they were lucky, find a few pearls. But in the 1920's the world's major natural pearl producing regions were fished out and production of natural pearls basically came to a halt. As it happens, at about that same time, a couple of Japanese gentlemen happened to perfect a method to produce a pearl by inserting a bead nucleus into an oyster and having the growth form around it. These were the world's first salt water cultured pearls.

For quite some time the size was somewhat limited because the oysters that grew in the colder waters around Japan weren't large enough to produce much of anything over 8 mm round. However over some time it was recognized that in the South Seas there were much larger oysters available that could grow much larger pearls.

So what's in a cultured salt water pearl? Actually a round bead nucleus made out of shell makes up approximately 95% of the total pearl size. The actual pearl growth is usually quite thin (and got thinner over the years as production time was decreased due to demand). Consequently most of the pearl is actually starter material.

Natural freshwater pearls had been known about for quite some time too. Actually the Mississippi River produced a large number of pearls over the years, although overfishing reduced the yield dramatically over time. In the 1960's the Japanese however, also figured out a way to produce freshwater pearls by inserting mantle tissue from another mollusc into a mussell instead of a bead. Many of you probably remember (or still own) the rice shaped pearls that were produced in some rather large quantities over the years by the Japanese. I always enjoyed using freshwater pearls because they were unusual shapes making them far more interesting in rings, pendants and earrings than a traditional round pearl.

However as always time marches on and things change. Japanese labor got quite expensive. Some of the best freshwater pearl producing lakes in Japan got too polluted. So the Japanese exported their pearl expertise to China. China is a huge nation and they have a tendency to do things in a large way. Once they began producing freshwater pearls they began producing so many (and so cheaply) that they flooded the market, prices plummeted and quality suffered dramatically. In the meanwhile however, the Japanese salt water cultured pearl production of round pearls was falling rapidly.

So the freshwater producers saw a new area opening up and began to attempt to produce perfectly round freshwater pearls, which they achieved. Initially only available in very small sizes, over the years they boosted the size until they were able to produce perfectly round freshwater pearls in the same size range as the Japanese cultured pearls had been.

And then they began to look at other, alternative production methods, which brings us to the picture above (apologies as always---it's my own photo). The picture is of two strands of bead nucleated freshwater pearls I just purchased. In other words they are now putting round bead nuclei into freshwater mussels and producing pearls. Admittedly they are baroque (odd shaped) at the moment but it is pretty obvious where they are heading. Of course, I have always liked the odd shapes so these are working fine for me. But someday they will have perfectly round freshwater bead nucleated pearls and I'll have to begin the search for something else.

In the meantime, these two strands are very reasonably priced and way, way more interesting than those boring round pearls your grandmothers used to wear. Come on by and see them (or better yet send your significant other in with a credit card in hand)!

Rarity of Gemstones

People today often think that everything can be bought for a price. In some cases this is actually true. But what people forget about, especially when dealing with a natural product like gemstones, is that many of them are finite (and in some cases extremely finite) resources. I have been seeing a huge increase in prices across the board on my gem materials. The top color, top clarity, ideal cut diamonds that Daniel R. Spirer Jewelers sells are becoming harder and harder to come by. I have had a standing order with Lazare Diamonds for stones under a half carat in my quality range for the last three months and they have only been able to come up with one stone for me. I have had to start looking elsewhere to try to fill in with the types of goods that I believe are truly rare and that I think it's worthwhile for my customers to own. Diamonds in general have seen a significant spike in price recently but my super rare goods have gone up even more than the bread and butter goods that most jewelers use. One of the reasons for this is that high quality material is being sent overseas to Asia where there are now more buyers than ever and where quality is the first thing they want (as opposed to many Americans who only care about size). But there are additional factors. Rarity, of course, is one of them, especially in the better goods. People are also demanding better environmental practices as well as fair trade type practices. These things all cost the companies mining the goods more money so you have to expect the prices to rise from these factors as well.

Colored stones (again in the better qualities) are also experiencing significant price jumps. An example of this is a stone I recently pulled out of a piece of my wife's that she was no longer wearing. It was a 2.90 ct. purple/blue colorshift, unheated, natural color sapphire. When I took it out I realized that the stone was horribly cut on the back (my standards 15-20 years ago were not quite as rigid as they are now). So I sent it off to my cutter and he recut the back so that it was a much better looking stone. I ended up with a 2.73 ct. oval stone that is quite magnificent. I sent it off to my sapphire supplier to get an idea of current pricing on something like it. Now honestly I have no idea what I paid for it, who I got it from or even exactly when (although based on the age of the piece it was in, 15-20 years ago is the general time frame). I also know that while I have no qualms about spending money on beautiful gems for my wonderful wife, there was no way I spent anywhere near what the stone is going to be put out for now that it's been refashioned and readied for sale. The asking price on this beauty is going to be in the $9-10,000 range. When I purchased the stone the asking price would probably have been in the $2500-3500 range. My sapphire dealer told me that there is so little of this kind of material (especially untreated material) coming into the marketplace that the prices have just skyrocketed. Now this isn't a complete surprise to me because it's very similar to the material I already sell and I have been watching prices rising rapidly on it in the last few years. But it certainly gave me some perspective on what is really going on in the gem world. A computer 15-20 years ago that cost $3000 would cost you less than half that today thanks to technological and production advances. Not so with a nonrenewable resource.

The piece pictured above is also an example of material that is too pricey today or simply nonexistent. I have been unable to find any black South Sea round mobe pearls for over three years; either because it isn't being produced anymore or again because the Asian market is sucking it up. So I couldn't make a pendant like this one for you at ANY price. I simply can't get the material.

So now, as well as the price of metals having skyrocketed, the stones are beginning to as well. It might just be the time to get out and buy that piece that has been on your wish list for a few years before it just gets more expensive!