Summer fashion colors

National Jeweler Magazine reports that blue and green colored gemstones seem to be the up and coming fashion colors for the 2011 summer season.  These hues first appeared at New York’s fashion week earlier this year, and were prevalent on the red carpet for 2011 awards shows.

There are many shades of both blue and green gemstones available, ranging from light colored aquamarine blue to deep-toned Australian sapphire.  In green shades the color range can span from pale peridot green, to dark green Brazilian tourmalines. 

Many of the gems in these colors are relative inexpensive, allowing for larger gems to be used in the construction of custom ordered pieces. Also, in keeping with trends seen over that past several years, the mixing of colors is quite common, and a good designer or individual with some artistic flair can easily find shades of blue and green gems which complement one another for use in a custom piece.

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The Gem Guys
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Avoid Marange Diamonds

Avi Paz, the president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) has issued a strongly worded recommendation to the jewelry industry: Don't buy Marange rough.  Paz has indicated that diamonds from the Marange diamond fields in Zimbabwe--a troubled region that is the site of alleged, widespread human rights abuses--should not be purchased until approved by the Kimberley Process (KP) Working Group.  The KP Group was founded in response to the "conflict diamond" being sold during the mid 2000's.  

There are many diamonds being mined in KP approved areas where human rights are being respected.  The miners in these areas rely on the diamond industry to make a decent living wage, and we at NEGS promise to only offer for sale those diamonds which have passed through the KP Process.
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Colored Diamond Exhibit

New York--New York's American Museum of Natural History is extending its exhibit of a set of five vivid natural color diamonds.  The collection had been scheduled to run from September 2009 to February 2010 it had been decided that the diamonds will remain on display until further notice. 

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has graded each diamond in the collection as "vivid," meaning they all have the highest levels of color saturation possible for colored diamonds.  The collection consists of: a 1.01-carat, vivid orange-yellow diamond; a 1.02-carat, vivid blue-green diamond; a 2.17-carat, vivid purplish-pink diamond; a 2.13-carat, vivid blue diamond; and a 2.34-carat, vivid orange diamond.

Graded by GIA as a fancy red, the 1.71-carat, heart-shaped stone is the largest natural red diamond in the world and has an estimated value of $10 million.
It's well worth the cost of admission to view these stones.

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Insure Your Jewelry

If you have recently receive an expensive jewelry item and don't have a home owners policy you can use to scheduled that item, here's a suggestion for an insurance company many jewelers use to insure their store inventory.  Jeweler's Mutual is a highly rated company, and they offer very coverage in all states.

http://www.jewelersmutual.com/PersonalJewelry.aspx?gclid=CP_W_ruEoKACFdRM5Qod62kycgreasonable rates

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Amethyst Earrings

If you are looking for an inexpensive and sure-fire February birthday gift, give her a set of Amethyst earrings.  Earrings don't need to be sized to fit, they are usable whether she has a chain or not, and your selection of the correct birthstone shows some real thought on your part. 
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Feburary Birthstone

Amethyst is the name given to the purple variety of quartz. Fortunately, since it is not gemologically rare it is a moderately inexpensive gemstone. The finer pieces can be quite nice in appearance, and it's good that its price is not based sole upon its beauty. The term "amethyst" is Greek in origin, and it basically means "not drunken", and in earlier time is use an amulet to ward off becoming drunk.

It can be found in many shades of purple, and while the TV gem dealers claim to offer green amethyst, by definition amethyst must be purple in color, and green amethyst is just a quartz material which had been treated to turn it green.

If you are in need of a February birthstone please give us a call, as we have many pre-bult amethyst pieces in stock, as well as several hundred carats of loose amethyst available to use in building you a custom piece.

The Gem Guys

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Check the Prongs!

Frequently we are called upon to replace a gemstone which has fallen out of a piece of jewelry. Often the owner of the piece will mention the they had "felt something was wrong with a prong, and meant to have it checked, " but they just never got around to doing so.

If you find that a prong on a ring, bracelet or other item is catching on your clothing or hair, feels sharp, or simply doesn't seem right, HAVE IT CHECKED.

Prongs wear, bend, and break. All of those conditions can easily and inexpensively be fixed, however a missing gem can be a significant financial and sentimental loss. Don't wear the piece until a jeweler has the opportunity to check it over and tells you it's OK, or makes the necessary repairs.

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Holiday Sales

Rapaport TradeWire®
Friday, January 01, 2010



News: Reports show U.S. holiday jewelry sales +5.6% while sales of other luxury goods flat. U.S. consumer confidence improves in December on better short-term business outlook. Trading centers quiet but cutters hopeful retailers will restock with strong orders early in New Year. 

Probably a good time to start thinking about new diamond purchases as prices are likely headed up after the increased holiday sales activity.

The Gem Guys

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Ring Suggestion

Just in case you are planning to become engaged this year, here is a picture (and suggestion) of a ring style we recently built for a private client.


This particular ring works well with a center gem ranging from about .75 carats, up to about 1.50 carats, and the ring can be built in yellow or white gold, or if the budget allows, platinum.


Give us a call for a quote. We have many diamonds and ring styles available, and would love to build one for you.



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Estate Jewelry

Frequently we have customers bring us unwanted jewelry pieces they have either inherited, or been give as a gift. Often these pieces are nice items, just not made in the style the new owner wears, or even wants.

Typically the intention is to "scrap" the piece for its cash value. However, often it is a relatively simple and inexpensive project to reset the gems, and even sometimes modify the gold into a fresh design suitable for the new owners taste.

If you have some unused jewelry you might like to modify, e mail us a picture and we will get back to you with some remounting suggestions. You just might be surprised at how inexpensive this process can be, and thrilled at the results we can achieve using you old jewelry as construction material.

January Birthstone

The January Birthstone, Garnet, is the largest family of gemstones. It can be found in almost every different color, and range in price from only a few dollars a carat to several thousand dollars a carat for the finest qualities in the rarest colors.

The inexpensive, typical red/brown color of garnet, Almandine, is the variety of garnet we usually think of. However, one look at a rich vivid green color of garnet, Tsavorite, will show you just how different in appearance some members of the garnet family can be.

Make sure you have your jewelry insured

If you have obtained an expensive piece of jewelry make sure you have a detailed appraisal done, and then give a copy of that appraisal to your insurance company and ask them to "schedule" the item on your policy. If you don't have a HOMEOWNERS policy, a RENTERS policy is both easy and inexpensive to purchase.  It's also possible to insure just a piece of jewelry itself.

Here's a picture of a Tanzanite and Diamond ring we built for a customer earlier this year.  We would love to make a custom piece for you.  Give us a call on 1.800.659.4367