If you buy a diamond at a retail jeweler, it’s likely marked up 100 percent from its wholesale value. If you buy a diamond ring, you could be looking at 200 to 300 percent markup. So what do you think happens when you walk out of the store? That’s right: the value of that purchase…
You may have heard of colored diamonds and, of course, they’re fancy, but are they different from fancy colored diamonds? Not really. The difference is that the rarer colors—pink, blue, green, red—are usually called pink diamonds, blue diamonds, green diamonds, red diamonds. But the less rare ones, the yellows and browns, well, they get the…
Red, green, blue, and purple stones are rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and amethysts, right? Not exactly. These familiar labels are actually trade names for certain color varieties of precious minerals that can occur in a wide range of other colors. The names are usually created in an attempt to make the stone seem more appealing—simple marketing…
And if you see it when you shop for jewelry in the DC area, should you buy it? If you’ve been reading this blog long enough, you know that we’re always in favor of buying what you like, so if this gorgeous blue stone appeals to you, then yes! You should buy it. But if…
In evaluating the four Cs of diamonds, Cut is probably the easiest, because it’s clearly discerned just by looking. Of all the cuts, the most popular is round, or brilliant (sometimes even called diamond cut), developed by Marcel Tolkowsky in 1919. Shop for jewelry in the DC area and you’ll see that the majority of engagement…
We all know that one of the four Cs of diamonds is cut, but when it comes to diamonds, you’re not going to see another C-cabochon. We thought, then, it might help to know about this cut when you go shopping for jewelry in the DC area. A cabochon—or cab as is often heard—cut means…
The minute something becomes a trend, somebody is already bucking it. In the case of diamond engagement rings, it’s taken a while. But over the past decade or so, engagement rings don’t have to diamonds alone, or even diamonds at all. A betrothal can be marked with just about any ring at all, and colored…
Everybody knows what jade is—sort of. Well, it’s green; you know that right? So is jadeite, which is a relative of jade, but a different mineral. Simply put: jade is nephrite. The similar-looking mineral, but rarer and more expensive, is jadeite. Jade comes from China, and jadeite comes from Burma; the most expensive jadeite contains…
Pawn shops have always been a great go-to for traditional wedding jewelry; think lots of diamonds and pearls. But this year’s hottest trends are a far cry from your grandma’s wedding jewelry, but maybe not so far a cry from the other stuff in her jewelry box. Here’s some of what’s hot for 2016, and…
Clear across the country, Gump’s in San Francisco sells everything from home décor to its exquisite artisan jewelry using the brightest gems and precious materials. Gump’s has been a San Francisco staple since 1861, when Gertrude Gump began the business, along with Solomon and Gustave Gump. Over the years, the enterprise survived the San Francisco…