You probably have some jewelry, watches, or items made of precious metals hanging around your home. Do you have to stop to try and guess where those items might be hiding? Do you remember the last time you wore or used them? If so, pull up a chair because we need to chat. The…
You can find answers to just about everything on the internet, but some questions are better left answered by experts. Something like “What day of the week is Halloween this year?” is a great search engine question. But “What is the best way to sell your used jewelry?” is a question where you definitely want…
No, we’re not talking about colored diamonds, but the third C in our list: color. Even though colored diamonds do exist—in yellow, pink, blue, and even rare red—when it comes to white diamonds, what we really want is absence of color. The Gemological Institute of American (GIA) grades the whitest of diamonds D (A, B,…
In our continuing series on helping you buy the best diamond for your budget, this week we talk about Cut, one of the four Cs, and an important one that will determine the appearance of the stone you purchase when you shop for jewelry in the DC area. In its simplest, non-esoteric terms, cut refers…
You’ve got your money, you want to buy the diamond gift—a ring, a pendant, earrings—for a special someone, but you want to be sure you’re getting the best you can buy. But how? If you don’t know much about diamonds before you head off to buy jewelry in the DC area, it’s good to bring…
Nothing says vintage like a brooch, and hand-carved brooches using gems like the coral and carnelian shown here, add a classic touch to any ensemble. Hand-carved jewelry has been around for millennia and precedes the most complicated faceting technique. Mesoamericans, Sumerians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans all carved jewelry, often with animals and beetles, and wore them as amulets. In…
When a person opts to “put a ring on it,” the overwhelming popular choice for that ring is still a diamond. The ring custom itself is said to descend from a Roman custom that had wives wearing rings attached to keys, a symbol of their husband’s “ownership.” The diamond idea took off among European upper…
Heart jewelry is trending for 2017, not just for little girls, but for women of all ages, even those who have resisted heart jewelry for years. If your mind is still picturing those cutesy lockets of yesteryear, take another look at the sophisticated heart styles that jewelry designers are rolling out—and have been rolling out—to…
Diamond jewelry is classic and beautiful, which is how it’s maintained such steadfast popularity over time. Engagement rings are still primarily diamonds, past/present/future necklaces were first designed with diamonds, and diamond earrings are still being touted as the jewelry staple every woman must own. But what if you would love to have a pair of…
The art of enameling goes back to ancient times when artisans discovered they could use fine particles of glass to substitute for precious gems. The effects were so stunning that we still see enamel used in fine jewelry today, with jewelers able to custom make hundreds of colors and incorporate them into bold designs (this…