The world of gemology isn't limited to simply earrings, rings, and necklaces, it includes many other unique works of art. One such work of art is the singing bird pistol, which are almost impossible to describe in any way other than unique and stunning. Follow the link to watch a video of the matching pair of singing bird pistols. These are, arguably, the most expensive piece of gunsmith work ever made.

            

               Today, I would like to take a moment to remember all those who died on September 11, 2001. I also want to remember those anonymous heroes that are firefighters, police officers, and members of the United States Armed Forces all over the world. If anyone reading this is a soldier, a firefighter, or a police officer, I want to humbly thank you for all that you’ve done in service of this country.

                On the tenth anniversary of the horrible tragedy that was September 11, it is important that we, as Americans, not only remember those who have devoted their lives to civil service, but also take an attitude of progress. Progress both at home and abroad in an effort to improve our foreign relations, and improve our understanding of different cultures and ethnic groups with which we have had conflicts with.

                So in conclusion, America, instead of dwelling on the anger and hate that so many of us have, we must focus our energy on the future. A future that is not only our children, but also the children of the world. It doesn’t matter if we are black or white, Muslim or Christian, man or woman. We must all work together to build a new hope and a better world. Thank you.

                Many times, people inherit jewelry, and they don’t have a clue what its history is. Learning about the histories of family jewelry pieces can be a great way to spend an afternoon and learn more about your elder relatives and ancestors.

                The stories that come with family heirlooms are many times more interesting than the heirloom themselves. For instance, there are many stories of people sneaking family jewelry out of Nazi occupied Europe during World War Two by sewing the pieces into secret pockets in their clothing. These stories can paint a vivid image in your mind of the strength and determination of your parents, grandparents, relatives, or ancestors.

                If you do want to sell a family heirloom, most of the time the jeweler is going to want to know about the piece of jewelry’s history, either just to get some background information, or to figure out if the jewelry is completely original. Many times, the value of an antique piece of jewelry drops precipitously when the jeweler who is appraising it finds out that even though the stone in the ring is from 1890, it was reset in a new band and setting in 1988. On the flip side, finding out that a piece of jewelry that you thought was new, or at least not that old, is in fact a century old can increase the value and appeal to a potential buyer.

                Antique pieces of jewelry have their own histories, as do many other family heirlooms like flatware and hollowware sets. Many families pass down china and crystal from generation to generation, which means that many people unknowingly own crystal glasses that are over 100 years old and in pristine condition, and it can be quite a pleasant surprise for them when they find out.

                So, anyways, try to learn all about the history of your jewelry and your family’s jewelry. Chances are, there are some great stories that you didn’t know about.

                How should you protect your jewelry? Many of the people I know just keep it in their jewelry box, some even without a lock! The ways that people store their jewelry range from simply tucking at the bottom of their sock drawer and hoping that nobody finds it, to renting a bank safe deposit box for a ridiculous amount of money. Neither of these are the best options, the first because, honestly, the bottom of the sock drawer is the first place a burglar is going to look! The other option, renting a safe deposit box, is both overpriced and inconvenient.

The best option is somewhere in between. Depending on how much jewelry you own and where you live, the solution is somewhere in between. Regardless, there are a few basic requirements for jewelry storage:

1.       No matter what kind of container you use, you should always have a lock. If you keep it in a closet, get a lock. If you keep it in a box, lock it. If you keep it in a drawer… lock it! Do you see where I’m going with this?

2.       The box, drawer, or whatever you use needs to be sturdy. If you use a closet, it needs to have a strong wooden door, or if you use a box, it should have strong oak sides.

3.       The third and last thing that you need to consider about your jewelry storage is that, wherever it is stored, its container needs to be difficult to move. A jewel thief isn’t going to take the time to break a container open if they can simply take the container with them and do it later!

In conclusion, you need to take the right preventative measures to make sure that your jewelry doesn’t get stolen, but in the end, the right amount of protection is whatever helps you sleep soundly at night.

                Anniversaries, in general, mean a lot more to women than to men. Because of this, married men are in the unique position of needing to satisfy their spouse with a nice anniversary gift, but at the same time (usually) don’t know the first thing about buying jewelry. In this article, I’m going to help all those well meaning spouses out there give their significant other an anniversary gift that they will never forget.

                Many times, when a man hears “anniversary gift” he automatically thinks jewelry, which is generally a good assumption. After you’ve decided on whether you want to get your spouse a necklace, earrings, or a ring (generally, bracelets aren’t the best anniversary gifts, save those for birthdays), you need to choose what kind of stone and what kind of metal you want to be used in the piece.

                Generally, for the metal, you are going to want to go with gold, silver, or platinum. Please, please, please don’t get her a cheap set of earrings from your local department store that is made of aluminum and rhinestones, because an anniversary is a time for showing your love, not your frugality.

                Picking a stone is much more difficult. Tradition dictates different kinds of stones for almost every anniversary, but diamonds are almost always acceptable.

                Here is a list of gemstones that are traditionally given at milestone anniversaries:

1^st: One of the most important anniversaries of all, a diamond is a good choice

5^th: Classy looking silver earrings are a good bet

10^th: Just like the first anniversary, you should get her a diamond

20^th: Getting her a platinum ring with a gemstone set in it will make her pretty happy

25^th: Something silver

50^th: Get her a gold necklace with a beautiful slide on it

75^th: Wow! Congratulations on getting here! Get her gold and diamonds

                I hope that this guide helps you get your spouse the perfect gift, and can keep you from making an anniversary gift blunder.

                Diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires – when jewelry shopping, the number of gems, and certainly their prices, can seem overwhelming. Gemstones are priced the way they are because of the laws of supply and demand: more people want gemstones than are readily available. This is why a diamond can cost $500, while a bicycle at Target can cost $79. More people want a diamond than a department store bike. The trick when buying jewelry is to get the most for your money.

Generally, there are a few situations when you shouldn’t try to skimp, like when you are buying an engagement ring, or an emerald for your 50^th anniversary. However, most of the time you could be paying too much for your jewelry.

First of all, think about what piece will look good with most, if not all, of your outfits. Sure, that flashy ring with the giant emerald is beautiful, and definitely expensive enough to show off, but if you wore it with anything red or orange, you would look like either a strawberry or a pumpkin, which is definitely not the look that you’re going for.

Secondly, in the world of jewelry, name brands don’t always equal quality. Many times, a piece of jewelry almost identical to that $2000 Tiffany piece can be found at your local jewelry store for a quarter of the price, and you’ll be able to form a relationship with your local store, and support your local economy. Plus, if your $500 necklace breaks, you’re guaranteed to get much better customer service with your local jeweler than you are at the department store in Chicago where you bought it.

Finally and most importantly, you need to consider which gem is the most appropriate for your situation. For weddings, diamonds are far and away the best and most traditional choice, but for other occasions, tradition usually dictates that a colored stone be given as a gift. Visit my blog soon for an article all about traditional and contemporary anniversary gifts.

If you've been reading my blog, you should already have gotten your jewelry appraised, and then reported the value of your pieces to your insurance agency. If you've done this, you can report the theft to your local agent, and get paid. Usually, this is the end of the story. Unfortunately, if the thief stole a family heirloom, which to you is priceless, you probably want to get the piece back.

The first place to look for your stolen jewelry is at your local pawnshop. Despite what many popular television shows will have you believe, pawnshops aren’t picky about who they buy from, which means that your thief might have decided to get rid of your jewelry there.

If the jewelry isn’t at the local pawnshop, you can check around at jewelry stores that buy and sell gold and silver, but you’re less likely to find your heirloom there because many store owners are able to tell when a person has stolen a piece by judging how nervous they are when they try to sell a piece to them. I’m very good at this, and make sure to never buy stolen jewelry. If you want to buy high quality jewelry, visit www.affordablefinejewelry.com. At this site, they offer a wide array of fine jewelry that will look great on anyone.

The final place to look for your jewelry is on the internet. Websites like Craigslist.org and eBay.com are notorious for being a place where people can easily sell stolen goods, because most sales are made in cash or through Paypal, and no records are kept.

Hopefully, this article enables you to find your stolen jewelry, because the last thing that I want is for you to lose a priceless piece of jewelry that means the world to you.

With gold prices currently at record highs of over $1,800 an ounce, many people are wondering whether now is the time to sell their jewelry. The short answer: yes. The most basic principle of investing is to buy low and sell high, and with gold prices at record highs, you are going to make money by selling your old or unwanted pieces of jewelry.

 

In 2001, an ounce of gold was being sold for around $300. since then , it has risen 500%, making it one of the most lucrative investments of the new millennium. If you had purchased $1,000 dollars worth of gold then, you would be able to earn $5,000 for that same amount now only ten years later. Gold has generally been a more stable commodity, bucking many different economic fluctuations, such as the dot-com bust of the late 90's and early 2000's, and the collapse of the housing market in 2007 and 2008. 

 

Since gold prices are now at a record high, I recommend that you sell at least some of your old and unwanted jewelry as a safeguard against a drop in price, but plan on selling the rest in the future. One of the best places to go to learn about buying and selling gold is www.lisabodi.com.

                Sticker shock can really hit you hard. If you have walked into a jewelry store intent on buying a diamond ring or necklace, but have been taken aback at the cost, you might have gone online and checked out businesses like Blue Nile that sell diamonds online for cheaper prices than can be found in stores.

                The most obvious benefit of buying a diamond on the internet is the price savings. Online stores are generally able to keep costs down by selling higher quantities of their product and not running a real world store front. This means that they don’t have to pay the additional overhead from small shipments and a monthly rent or mortgage payment, and can pass those savings on to the consumer.

                A major drawback of buying anything online is that you can never see your actual product beforehand. Sure, you can see a picture, but there’s a sense of reassurance when you are allowed to examine and hold a diamond before you buy it. This sense of security, along with not having to wait for a shipment, or have a package get lost is a few of the reasons that people are willing to buy a stone from a real world gemologist for a slightly higher price.

                When it comes to buying anything online, you shouldn’t buy anything that you wouldn’t be ok with getting lost. This means that if you are going to buy a very small or cheap stone and you will be fine with it getting lost then by all means order your jewelry online. But if you want to be completely sure of your purchase and see your jewelry before hand, then I recommend taking the extra time and expense and going to a professional gemologist and having them help you pick out the perfect piece.

          The round cut diamond offers fantastic brilliance, and when under natural light sparkles as if it were on fire. All in all, it is one of the top cuts for a diamond. referred to as an "ideal cut", it is one of the most popular diamond cuts in the world. 

 

         For many people in long term relationships looking to become engaged or get married, the round diamond is a perfect choice for the stone in the girl's engagement ring. The cut provides a certain old world elegance, while still not appearing stuffy or out of date. 

 

         When a diamond buyer is examining a stone, there are many specific aspects that he or she looks at. On major aspect of a round cut diamond is that the diamond cutter, when shaping the stone, should have used the Tolkowsky ideal cut method. The Tolkowsky method is a method that sets the stone to a set of rather ridged and technical specifications, thereby ensuring its brilliance.

                Diamond companies usually indicate whether their diamonds are of ideal cut in their measurements and specifications, so be sure to make sure that their diamonds are up to par before buying a stone.

                One interesting variation of cut that can occur in a round cut diamond is the “hearts and arrows” effect. This is a precise variation first surfaced in the 1980’s, an important decade in gemological innovations. First, diamonds were cut the very ideal proportions, exactly following the proportions set down by Marcel Tolkowsky in his book Diamond Design. Secondly, they were cut to superior standards of optical symmetry so that they would get a minimum grade of “excellent” in any Japanese diamond laboratory. Finally, and most importantly, they were cut to a very specific brillianteering pattern to produce the beautiful “hearts and arrows” pattern.