Everything about Jewellery

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Diamond jeweler exchange policies.
 
As I’ve stated before, jewelers—the good ones, anyway– spend tremendous amounts of time on communication and setting expectations with clients. But one troublesome issue that arises every now and again is return policy. Why do some jewelers and diamond sources provide clients one, two or four week windows of time to exchange or return product when others will provide only a day or two… some won’t allow exchanges or returns at all. Why does a jeweler who guarantees me that I bought something at only a few percentage points above wholesale refuse to give me wholesale price for my diamond now that I don’t need it anymore? Anyone have questions like this? I just finished trying to spell out as linearly as possible the reasons for these various scenarios to a client. I’m hoping he now understands, although I can see by the look on his face he’s struggling to accept the logic when he’s sitting on a diamond that he has no use for after the breakup.
 
It’s a simple matter really. The jewelry industry is like every other industry that deals in the manufacturing, or brokering of a product. When the “order” is made by a business for an item (be it diamond or finished good), that product is exchanged for cash. It was purchased for x dollars, and represents debt, until it’s exercised in a sale to cover the debt and turn a profit. In times past, jewelers were notorious for selling at exorbitant markup. They would buy for x, and sell for 100% more than x. Some would sell for 300% or more. But the fact still remains, only that difference between the sale price and the debt belongs to the jeweler. Now depending on potential margin, some might consider it worthwhile to offer clients a particular window of time to reconsider their purchase. Think about it. You buy a diamond from a manufacturer for say $5000. You sell it for $10,000. A huge selling point is your 30 day return policy. For a 100% return of $5000, I think many business owners would consider delaying the conversion of the sale to profit or more merchandise for 30 days. That’s one scenario. Let’s say you don’t work on 100%. Say you’re closer to 15-20%. Now the sale brought you $1000 return. Will the $1000 profit jeweler be willing to wait 30 days to exercise his money? What if he’s working on 5-10%? You get the picture. It becomes less and less practical for low margin jewelers to give fancy return policies to their clients. Now imagine if the item that the jeweler sold was actually on memo from a vendor!! The only way the customer is going to get an exchange policy is if the jeweler received one from his vendor. So when you see 30 day return policies, recognize that such policies are being extended to you b/c they’re being offered to the jeweler. Also keep in mind that when jewelers get these types of terms, they usually don’t get bottom dollar prices.
 
When evaluating you jewelry purchase, keep in mind what components of the piece and what components of the “service” are of value to you. Don’t be fooled into thinking return policies or exchange programs are free. They aren’t. You will be paying on one end, the other, or both for anything that delays a business from exercising their profit.
 
 
As a professional diamond dealer I actually have particular clients that for one reason or another really need a window of time to return or upgrade something. If I’m getting the sense that they value that service, I make sure ahead of time that I work that “expense” into the sales price. I’ll also let them know that I’m doing it. In all actuality, it’s like borrowing money. Take a diamond worth $5k out of my possession for a month is the exact same as taking cash from me. It’s money I could be using for something else. Now, if the potential margin is large enough or if I haven’t myself had to pay for the item yet, then extending to clients a window of time to return or exchange items can, like you said, be a very worthwhile selling point.
 
 

Foreword: In 2009 you’ll see more bright and natural colors in fashionable beads jewelry…

Spring of 2009 is right around the corner and there’s no better time to plan for the upcoming bead jewelry trends than right now, before the 2009 spring and summer seasons really begin! Predicting future fashion and jewelry trends is always a little bit of a game, but I’ve been reading a lot of fashion magazines, listening to my customers that visit my bead jewelry display table and generally talking to people about what they are looking for. There are some definite trends for 2009 and here are some of the things I’m hearing: Colorful and Natural I have seen some emphasis on “nature” influences which sometimes shows itself in the materials such as wood or stone beads use in jewelry, but I’ve also seen a lot more “flower” and “leaf” shaped beads and pendants on the scene. Any sort of botanical or organic looking jewelry pieces or beads are still popular from what I’ve seen. I don’t make much, but I’ve actually had people asked me if I have anything that has “natural warmth”. Big and Beautiful It sounds like the days of dainty shiny pieces of metal jewelry are gone for the moment and the big and colorful gemstone jewelry and beads are still pretty hot right now. People are still asking for more “chunky” jewelry, sometimes with larger stones and crystals that catch the eye, sometimes with asymmetrical patterns or at least oddly cut beads and gemstones. Cocktail Rings If you’re shopping, wearing or making rings, consider “rings with bling!” Cocktail rings are generally over-the-top diamond or gemstone rings that are overly colorful, shiny and, yes, sometimes a bit gaudy. But that’s part of the fun! These go along with the bright and bold bead jewelry you might be wearing and could even match or compliment it with similar gemstones or beads. You can make cocktail rings with gemstone beads, crystal beads or just about any other shiny materials. Charms and PendantsAgain, going with the bold and bright bead jewelry, what stands out more than a beautiful chain that meets with a large bold diamond or gemstone charm or pendant on the end? Modern Metals Yes, natural and chunky are in, but there is still room for metals in beaded jewelry, especially when it is sleek and modern looking or even mixed with natural materials like wood and stone beads. There are always people who like the more “modern” beads and jewelry as opposed to the more traditional bead jewelry designs. You can buy modern beads for jewelry making or you can go for a more unique look and actually make beads jewelry out of hardware washers! Silver and Gold Silver has been popular for the last few years and that will probably continue, but you’ll also see more gold and even two-tone chains and metals being used in both beads and jewelry pieces. Some of those silver and gold Trollbeads are excellent examples of mixed metals being used as a charm or pendant in bead jewelry pieces. Faux Foreign Influence I’m still seeing a lot of Asian and Moroccan influences in fashion, home furnishings and even jewelry. The influences don’t have to be completely genuine or “realistic” but that sense of something coming from a foreign country and past time are still popular. Even the big chain stores are catching this vibe and a lot of their house wares and jewelry give off that “Pier One” vaguely Indian or Eastern Orient vibe. When you’re creating bead jewelry necklaces or bracelets you could think about using dark wooden beads (natural) and mixing it with large metal Oriental looking coins and rings with a hole through the center to bring in the foreign feel! Colorful You’ll want to think about bright and bold, but remember that natural element! Neons and wild synthetic colors are not popular, but bright natural colors definitely are in, both in clothing and jewelry fashion. Once again, I have to turn to the color experts at Pantone who have picked out the trendy colors for 2009. Don’t forget to look at the 28 page Adobe Acrobat guide there! It’s fun and inspirational! I’m thinking about printing a few of the pages out and hanging them around my beading area for inspiration when I’m creating my jewelry. Last, if you have seen any other bead jewelry trends for 2009 that I missed, pls don’t hesitate to let me know…

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Men’s jewelry used to be very conservative, and restricted to watches and wedding rings, with perhaps the odd tiepin or stickpin. Then came the single earring, and it has now exploded to a whole world of hip hop and bling. Not all men’s jewelry is so flash, but a large part of it is once you go beyond the usual gold chain, single earring or expensive watch.Taking a man’s watch as an example, at one time the cost of the watch was in the name:  whether it was Rolex, Breitling or Omega, the cost was related to the maker and the features offered with the watch.  Now, however, we have the world of bling and hip hop men’s jewelry where the carat count of the diamonds determine the price rather than the reputation or even the accuracy of the timepiece. Jojo, Luccello, Luxurman, Tenakey and Ice Time are the new kids on the block, and while the Rolexes of the world are still popular, they do not feature prominently in the hot jewelry stores of today. Hip hop has become one of the most distinctive styles of the modern age and is certainly one of the most easily recognizable.  Sometimes referred to as simply bling, hip-hop’s most distinctive feature is the lavish use of as much jewelry, particularly diamonds, as possible.  This has resulted in men’s jewelry becoming incredibly popular with an entirely new market.  Men’s jewelry is available in a large variety of different pieces and styles, and if you are looking to purchase jewelry that will help to compliment your style of fashion, particularly if your personal style of fashion stems from the hip-hop culture or the bling style, then you should take a look at what is available online.Most hip hop men’s jewelry is distinctive, not only because of the large number of diamonds which are embedded in large swathes across the jewelry, but also because the piece often tends to be quite chunky, giving it quite a masculine appearance.  It is often assumed by many people that men’s bling jewelry is either extremely expensive because of the large number of diamonds used, or extremely affordable where the diamonds are fake.  In fact there is a tremendous range that stretches from the very affordable jewelry that even younger children can afford, all the way up to designer diamond watches that are every bit as genuine as their looks would suggest.If you are looking for men’s jewelry either for yourself or as a gift for someone else, then where do you start looking?  You will not want to invest a large sum of money in a watch which is encrusted with jewels if the interior mechanism is of only secondary quality and unreliable.  Similarly you may not wish to invest a large sum of money in an extravagant diamond earring which you intend to wear every day, and which might get knocked or damaged.  Possibly you might be looking at hip hop watches which will be perfect for everyday wear and not too expensive, or perhaps you are one of the fortunate people who are in the position of being able to afford the very best men’s diamond jewelry available on the market. Whatever your preference, only real diamonds are real bling, so don’t settle for less and avoid those sites that offer you artificial diamonds that can spotted a mile away. Whatever type of jewelry you are looking for it helps to have a good idea of the type of piece you want, since most jewelry stores, either online of offline, will offer you a massive selection from which to choose. There is a massive range of gold diamond watches, diamond earrings, bracelets, diamond pendants and gold chains. You also have the choice of the most sparkling and outrageous forms of bling or something more conservative and traditional.However you need not have to empty your savings in order to purchase a really good piece of men’s jewelry as there are plenty of options available which are extremely affordable without sacrificing either quality or appearance.  Your options range from a bling baseball glove pendant with 32 carats of diamonds in a 14K gold setting at over $30,000 to a gold chain at less than $100, so there is men’s jewelry available to suit every pocket. As far as men’s diamond hip hop watches go, perhaps the one make which stands out above all others when it comes to bling are the diamond Tenakey watches.  These are large, chunky and masculine, and you’ll be hard put to try to find a single part of these watches that has not been encrusted with diamonds.  If you want to stand out from the crowd and make your involvement with the hip hop culture absolutely clear, then a Tenakey diamond watch will achieve this in an unmistakable way.There is only one rule to apply when purchasing men’s jewelry and that is to buy what you want and what you feel most comfortable with.  If you prefer to be conservative you will not feel comfortable wearing 10 carats of diamonds set in 14 carat gold, no matter what type of jewelry it is.  Go with the men’s jewelry that you feel comfortable wearing.

This fast paced jewelry fashion show displays the current range of AsKoru and gives an idea about what’s possible with glass.