Better pictures, Happy Times and Green Gold.

So here's what happens to pictures when you get a professional involved. My good friend Lorrie, who is perhaps the single most talented person I know, did a little work to my picture and Voila! you can actually see the darn things and the way they really look. Lorrie, incidentally is a jeweler, photographer (she takes all of my advertising photos and some of my website ones), graphic artist (she designed my logo), weaver and then she has some kind of a regular day job too! I may have left out some of her talents as every time I talk to her I find out about another. One of my best new (relatively speaking) designs for earrings I did for her originally:







I had another happy, newly engaged couple in the other day. The young man had come to me to get this engagement ring for his girlfriend who was in Israel at the time. He picked out the design and we started talking about how he was going to propose. He was picking her up at the airport so he thought that would be a good place to do it. When she came out of customs, he was down on his knees with flowers in hand. She says that she thought he was just so emotional about seeing her that he had fallen to his knees and she kept telling him to get up...until he pulled out the ring! And then she was speechless. This is a great business to be in.



I promised I would talk about my "green gold" in this posting so I'd better get into it. First of all "green gold" shouldn't be confused with green gold, which is gold that has been alloyed to have a greenish cast to it. All karat gold used in jewelry is an alloy of pure gold and various other metals. In most cases it is alloyed with copper and silver and in order to get a red (pink or rose) gold it has a high copper to silver ratio, a yellow gold will have approximately equal amounts, and a green gold has a high silver to copper ratio. White gold is an entirely different story but I'll get to that in another posting.



Anyway the "green gold" I'm talking about here is environmentally sound, preferably recycled, gold. A number of gold mining companies have recently changed their mining practices to reduce damage to the environment as much as possible, but there is a huge amount of this resource already mined from the Earth and the less we have to mine, the better it is. Unfortunately mercury is often used in the gold mining process and it is a major and dangerous pollutant.

A number of years ago, my primary gold supplier began selling only recycled gold for their mill products and they are active participants in the No Dirty Gold Campaign. Additionally they have spent a large amount of money to upgrade their refining facilities so that they meet or exceed all federal, state and local laws regarding pollutants. For their finished products (none of which I buy as I only sell jewelry I make) they do have to purchase some metal but they follow these guidelines when they choose the suppliers they use:



1) Appreciation of basic human rights outlined in international conventions and laws.

2) Free, prior and informed consent of communities effected by mining operations.

3) Provide safe working conditions, respect for workers rights and labor standards.

4) Keep operations our of areas of armed or militarized conflict, protected areas, fragile ecosystems or other areas of high concentration value.

5) Do not force communities off their land, dump mine waste into water or generate sulfuric acid.

6) Disclose information about social and environmental effects of projects.






As you can see they are in the forefront of this issue and I'm pleased that I can offer their mill products in my jewelry. Unfortunately, my casters do not offer the same guarantees (although I believe most of their metal is also recycled) so I can only offer this option on hand built pieces, or pieces that I have cast in the past, but can hand build. It's just another small step we're trying to do to help out in the environmental mess that humans seem to have done such a good job of creating.

If you come into my shop please feel free to ask me about the "recycled gold" option.

By the way, for those of you interested, the Philippe ring is now out in my shop (albeit with some minor variations). If I can get Lorrie to take a picture of it, I'll post it, but the difference in the two colors of white metal is something I don't think I can possibly show.

New Earrings and Name That Ring!

By now some of you have probably figured out (if I haven't told you already) that I am one of the worst photographers in the world. No matter what I do nothing comes out the right way. But I can't afford to hire someone every single time I finish a new piece and so you're all just stuck with putting up with my crummy pictures. Those of you who have been in my store can use your imaginations a bit as you know how the stuff looks in real life. The rest of you will just have to come in and see for yourselves. These are my newest earrings that I am just putting out today with boulder opals, and emeralds in 18k and 22k yellow gold. I always like to think of this look (one I've done similar ones to in the past) as one of my comet earring designs (to see some of my comet pins click here) but my wife used to have a pair (she lost them unfortunately) and she always called them the bug earrings. So "the bug earrings" they have become. You've just got to trust me when I tell you the opals are far more beautiful than my picture presents them.

Speaking of naming jewelry I have a habit of doing just that. Some pieces (especially the space based ones) are actually named pieces, like this one which is called "Black Hole in the Center of a Spiral Galaxy". Some pieces are named after the people I designed them for (like my Zelda earrings---sorry no picture currently available). Some have the numbers they were originally assigned (like the D20---a design I've been doing for ages and that has had more numbers than you can imagine over the years and that D20 means absolutely nothing about except that it was the first number it got---and that I always know what I'm talking about when I call it a D20). Bear with me here. This is actually leading somewhere.

Over the years I have created a few designs, both from custom jewelry work for individuals and from my own head, that have become long term, fairly steady sellers. The D20 is actually probably one of my best selling rings over the long period I've been making it (25+ years). Recently (relatively speaking as the first one I made was about 3 years ago) I came up with a new design for a customer (the original used her stones) that has turned into the best selling ring I have ever made. You can see a picture (not by me!) of it here. (Have I got enough hyperlinks in this posting yet or what!) I cannot begin to tell you how many of these rings I have sold in the last two years. Now, mind you, we're not talking thousands here, or even hundreds, because I simply don't make that much of anything, but it has far surpassed any other design in sales both during this period and probably in the last 6-7 years (the D20 being the closest I have to it probably).

I know that one of the reasons it sells as it does is because it has so much of me in it. Every one I make (in gold) is hand built and there are, as will happen with that, slight variations each time I make it. It has my distinctive styling in it as well. And I like the ring myself so I probably sell it a little harder than I might some other designs that I make. But still, even when I don't try to sell it (as happened the other day when a woman in shopping had already picked out another ring to buy and then happened to notice it---I didn't think she wanted something with a center stone in it---and immediately bought it) it seems to go. But my problem is that it needs a name. The number doesn't exactly have much rhythym to it and I haven't been able to come up with anything for it. So I need some help. Any and all suggestions would be appreciated. Leave your comments below and I'll take a look at them.

Next posting will be taking up the issue of green gold---not green as in the color but green as in the environment.

Why I'm in This Business II

I confess to having been so busy lately that I've been unable to get much written. The need to both sell and make the custom jewelry that I do is a time consuming process and I find myself with less and less time these days to get it all done (not to mention that I have to keep up on the blogging). I feel fortunate to have as much business as I do right now. Most of the jewelers I know are so unhappy about business right now. Current jokes of the trade: Have you read the new book about how to open a jewelry store? It starts with Chapter 11. And: Down 10% is the new up.

However while I like to know that I can do what I like to do and make a living from it, the true joy of my job comes about for other reasons. Obviously I get some kick from the process itself, not just the creative process but, more importantly the actual making of the pieces. One of the reasons I have always preferred to hand build pieces instead of cast them is that I really like to actually MAKE jewelry. I enjoy the bending, forging, soldering, chasing and all of the other processes involved. I particularly like it when I can isolate myself in the workshop, crank up my tunes, have a little nip of my favorite tequila, and just bang away at everything. There is nothing quite like the kick of finishing up a piece and looking at the final result of hours of work and saying, gee that really looks nice. Of course, every once in awhile, you get to that end point and say to yourself, now what the heck was I thinking when I came up with this idea?, but usually it's the other way around.

More importantly, however (at least to me) is knowing the role that these pieces I create play in so many people's lives. Here I am creating pieces that stand for so much to people, a declaration of love (usually), a celebration of an important occasion (anniversaries, new jobs), or even of sad ones (memorializing those who have passed). Every day that someone wears one of my pieces they remember that they got that piece from me (well usually) and they remember what it represents to them. We have had a lot of people wear our engagement rings but until recently we had never had the opportunity to have a proposal in the store itself. Now admittedly, in this recent event, the proposal had actually already been made, but it was remade and celebrated in the store itself. The pictures here are of the two fiancees and three of their friends who came in to help it all happen. What a great feeling to know that I've been a part of so much happiness in so many people's lives.

Custom Work IV and Why I'm in This Business I

Earlier this year my wife and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary (well actually late last year but we didn't celebrate it until this year). We went to our favorite state (other than where we live) in the nation and headed back out to California for a 5 day stay at an inn in Big Sur, Ventana where we have spent many significant moments in our life together and 5 days in San Francisco. Last year there was a significant forest fire in Big Sur that came up to the Inn's doorstep and coincidentally (but not because of the forest fire) their restaurant burned down shortly after the big fires.

We had some trepidation about returning this year because of this but ultimately the draw for us of going back to the place where I had proposed to my wife and where we spent our honeymoon was just too strong. Interestingly the least exciting part of our stays at Ventana in the past were the restaurant. While it's location was stunning, sitting out on the deck eating lunch looking at the mountains to the left and the Pacific Ocean in front of you was always a memorable experience, and it had a very nice bar, the food was, well, like hotel food. Mind you there was nothing wrong with it. There just wasn't anything (especially for a foodie like me) very special about it either. Consequently Kathy and I were prepared for the worst, as the Inn had moved a small kitchen into their main building where their offices are located and set up a small dining room there as well for hotel guests only. One of the things I find so relaxing about the Inn is that there really isn't much to do there so the idea that we might have to drive out somewhere else every night to eat (especially on the winding Coast Road after starting the cocktail hour early) was NOT something I was looking forward to.

You may be asking by now what this all has to do with jewelry but bear with me. There are a number of points I'm getting to but you have to hear the whole story behind it first.

Upon our arrival, after a 5 1/2 hour plane flight, and a 3 1/2 hour drive from the San Francisco airport, through mist and fog, the last thing we wanted to do after checking into our room was to get back in the car and drive somewhere for dinner, so we headed over to the main building to see what they had done about the restaurant situation. They had set up a formal dining room area and off to the side, right next to the what was now the door to the kitchen (formerly the office door) they had set up a 4 seat bar. Since Kathy and I both prefer to sit, and eat, at bars we plopped ourselves down there and settled in. We were presented with menus that were short (4 appetizers, 4 mains) but that certainly didn't look anything like the former restaurant's menu.

The food, as it turned out was simply amazing. It utilized completely different ingredients (although there was a nod to the fact that it was still a hotel restaurant with a meat and a fish dish), was flavorful, unique, amazingly well presented and just downright delicious. Now because of our seats at the bar, we were kind of in the middle of the action as everything went by us on the way in or out of the kitchen and we could see through the window on the door what was happening in the kitchen as well. We were befuddled by how such a tiny (and I mean tiny) kitchen could be producing food of this quality but we were thrilled to know that we wouldn't have to be making daily trips out to eat elsewhere.

I can't remember if we actually met the chef on the first night we were there (although I believe we did and complimented him then) but on our second night, after yet another fantastic meal, he came out, introduced himself to us and we had a very pleasant conversation. His name is Philippe Breneman and he had been brought in by the hotel group that now manages Ventana to get the temporary restaurant set up and running while he was waiting for the restaurant at another inn they manage in Santa Cruz to be built, as that was going to be his restaurant. In the course of the conversation, I mentioned that we were there for five nights and the menu was a little short for our stay given some of our food preferences. He almost immediately offered to make us a five course prix fixe meal for the next night that would allow us to have some things that weren't on the menu. Every single dish he brought out for the five course meal was a masterpiece of attention to detail, flavor and sight. He personally brought out each plate and talked about the food and how it fit into the theme he had come up with for the meal. Although he used many of the main ingredients that were on the regular menu, he presented them all in a completely different format. This was, if not the best meal I've ever had, one of the top two or three meals I have ever had in my life (and we eat out a lot). We were also the only people in the restaurant the meal was prepared for.

As our stay continued we spent more time with Philippe learning something about each other's lives and he continued to treat us with service that was far and above anything that was asked of him. Now I have a number of local chefs who are friends and quite a few more where we are regulars and are somewhat known by the staff, but I have never had an experience like this.

Okay, okay, so what's my point? There are two actually. The first is that, at Daniel R. Spirer Jewelers I try to treat my customers the same way that Philippe treated us. It is important for anyone who is taking care of the public to do just that. Take care of your customers. I try to do that myself by listening to my customers about what it is they want and why they want it. I try to learn something about them so that when I make them a piece (especially a custom one) I am making something that has meaning to them. I like to think of myself as being here to make my customers happy. I'm not just selling a piece of jewelry; I'm more often selling something that has huge meaning to the people who are going to wear it. In over 25 years in my store I have created thousands of wedding bands for people and every day I am continuing to be a part of their lives. You may not remember where you bought a car or an air conditioner twenty five years ago, but you do remember where you got your wedding bands.

So here's the second point: A few months ago I got an email from a woman (Sara) who said that she was Philippe's fiancee and that they were getting married soon and that Philippe had insisted that I make the band for him. I was thrilled by this both because I had obviously made a new friend, but also because someone who had never actually been in my store (and it is different to see something on line than to actually come in) had felt so strongly about me that they wanted me to participate in such a significant event in their lives.

We had many emails back and forth trying to come up with a design that would make both Philippe and Sara happy and that I could produce for them in their price range. Pictures of different pieces went back and forth. Different ideas flowed throughout the process. But foremost in my mind throughout the process was who Philippe himself was and how he had treated us. How could I not at least attempt to make him something that would impart at least some amount of the pleasure for him that he had created for us, for such an important time of his life?

We finally arrived at a band that would utilize my 18k palladium white gold (a metal with a distinctly greyer tone than most commercial white golds) in the center with platinum (a distinctly whiter metal) on the sides, a row of eight flush set diamonds in the center with the grey toned white gold sandblasted and the platinum on the sides high polished. This band was completely hand fabricated, utilizing metal from my supplier who provides me with recycled gold and platinum, and after about another two weeks I had it ready to go.

Last week I shipped it out to Sara. Of course, then the nail biting stage starts. Did I do what they wanted? Will they like it? Will it fit (in this case a big question because there really isn't any good way to size the band)? So I waited and wondered for a few days. Yesterday I got a call from Philippe (the first I had talked to him since the whole process started) who was thrilled with it. He wants to start wearing it right away but Sara won't allow it (although she said to me in an email: "By the way, it is at our house, hidden away, but he keeps sneaking peeks at it and trying it on!") Now THIS is why I make jewelry. And this, as I said in an earlier posting on custom work, is why you should look for a jeweler who will listen to you. Someone can have the most wonderful skills in the world, but if they don't want to see who you are, they won't be able to make something that is right for you.

As for Philippe, he is currently running his restaurant called Aquarius in Santa Cruz. Anyone reading this who is on the West Coast should absolutely make a trip to his restaurant. I can't guarantee you'll get your own personalized five course meal, but I can guarantee you'll have an absolutely wonderful one.

Because of my marginal photography skills I did not take a picture of Philippe's ring, but I am making one up for the cases (if you're in, just ask to see the "Philippe ring") and I hope to get a picture of that once it is made up (that I will post here) and I have one of my photography assistants in for a round of picture taking.

My next posting wil be "Why I'm in This Business II" and should be up much sooner than this one came out.

Custom Work III

This will be my final posting on custom work for the moment and it has to do more with the job/role the customer has to play in this situation. At Daniel R. Spirer Jewelers I really try very hard to please my customers and work with them regardless of the limitations (within reason). If my starting custom price is too high, I will try to work with the customer in using an existing design, perhaps with other stones in it or a minor modification. If time frame is an issue, I will do my best to work with you on that as well, but there are certain things that are beyond my control.

Having been in business for so long, I have seen many changes in the way business is conducted. In particular, over the last 10 years, since the widespread use of the Internet began, there has developed a mindset about how quickly things can be done. Say you want a book that just came out. Well, you can go to Amazon, or one of the other online booksellers, find it, click a couple of buttons, and voila!! two days later the book is in your hands. Unfortunately this kind of "click and it's done" mentality has spread widely and seems to now encompass all fields of work.

I like to play computer games and a year or so ago I needed a new computer. I went online and found a place that specialized in putting together custom gaming computers. I was able to order exactly what I wanted, and they built the computer up to my specifications and it took about three weeks to get it. Interestingly, while reading their reviews on line, the thing that other customers complained about the most was how long it took to get the computer. Now, none of this company's product was off the shelf set ups. But very few of the purchasers could grasp the concept that when an individual had to actually hand build the unit they wanted, it would take some time to actually produce it. Given that we were dealing with gaming computers, I was pretty sure that the majority of purchasers were fairly young and that they had been raised in the computer age.

So how does this relate to jewelry? Well for one thing, while there have been some advances in the use of cad/cam computer designing, and there have certainly been huge advances in the understanding of metallurgy allowing for the development of far more alloys than ever seen before (because of computers), making jewelry can still be a pretty labor intensive field. It is especially so when you are working with someone like me. I would much rather hand build a piece than cast it. There is simply more of "me" in the final product and I can guarantee that I am using recycled metals. But when I do have to cast a piece (and some pieces simply need to be built that way) there is time needed for building a model, having my casters make a mold and cast the model, and then for me to do whatever finish work/stone setting, etc. that is necessary. When working on cad/cam pieces, I need to develop a design, attempt to translate it to my cad/cam person who then needs time to do their work, get a wax cast up, and then have my casters cast the piece and still do the finish work. All of these elements add time to the process. And all of them assume that the first model/wax/piece is what you, the customer, actually wants. If the first model isn't right then I need time to make the second or third. If not enough time is left for making a design, then there often isn't time at the end of the process to make alterations, or correct misunderstandings, in time for the final product to be used.

While I can produce many of my existing designs in relatively short periods of time, true custom work (i.e.: I want you to make this exact pattern of oak leaves all around my ring) takes time and the more a jeweler has, the better chance that, you, the customer will get exactly what you want. Four to eight weeks is usually a reasonable time period for true custom work. Yes it can be done quicker, but the results won't always be the same. It is important that you try to plan ahead on this type of job. And remember that the reason you're coming to someone like me is because you don't want something that looks like it was made by a machine!

The pendant pictured above was a custom piece made using a customer's marquis shaped diamond in 18k yellow gold.