Posts Tagged ‘Quality Jewelry’

Cheap diamond engagement rings – explore these sources to own the jewelry

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

Not everyone has the financial capability to buy expensive diamond rings to his would-be-bride for engagement. But if you pay attention to some crucial steps, then it is possible to buy cheap diamond engagement rings within the limitations of your budget without compromising much on the quality front.

When we talk of the cheap rings, it does not mean that we are asking you to buy inferior quality jewelry. On the contrary, quality of the rings remains almost the same higher. you can easily compare the diamond and metal quality of the rings with any high quality ones. So, do not be disheartened as you would still be buying a great ring that comes true on all the quality parameters.

Cheap diamond engagement rings are those jewelries that you can think of buying within your budgetary restrictions, despite good quality of the rings. it is because some jewelers selling these otherwise expensive ornaments at lower prices to beat the tough competition that you are able to own the rings.

Clearly, you will have to look for the markets that are more competitive. Physical jewelry stores are not considered as competitive due to their overhead expenses and static price tags. You can bargain over the prices to some extent only. Many of such stores are meant for affluent people. So, do not rely on such stores. You can, of course, use these stores for having a feel of the rings in your hands and for comparing the designs.

Thus, many people are left with the highly competitive online market of jewelry to find cheap diamond engagement rings. As against the static prices of physical stores, you will find that the online jewelry sites are regularly offering huge price deductions to its customers. Their ring prices are already way lower than the local stores.

To take utmost advantage of the competition, scan and compare as many online jewelry sites. Comparison will lead you to right designs of the rings and lower prices as well. but ensure that the online seller is reliable and offers a return policy that enables you to return any damaged piece on time.

You can also look for some sales going on in your locality. Such jeweler may be selling cheap diamond engagement rings at very low prices in order to get rid of the old stocks. These are some of the sources to find out the jewelry that you can afford to buy.

The author has written number of articles to educate the people on various crucial aspects of jewelries such as engagement rings, diamond engagement rings, wedding rings, diamond, pendants, necklaces and other items. Please visit http://www.gilimmerrocks.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/jewelry-articles/cheap-diamond-engagement-rings-explore-these-sources-to-own-the-jewelry-1747098.html

What is Custom Jewelry Design?

Monday, January 4th, 2010

For years custom designed jewelry has been created using old world techniques dating as far back as the 1800′s. Until recently, almost all-custom designed jewelry was created using these methods. The introduction of Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) has changed all that and in it’s wake ushered in a whole new universe of possibilities. Designs that were never thought possible can be made to the highest quality standards.

Before learning about the benefits of 3D-CAD you’ll need to know more about the custom jewelry design process. Most jewelry is made using a method called lost wax casting. A skilled artisan/jeweler hand carves a jewelry prototype out of jewelers wax using small scalpels and knives. This wax prototype also known as a “model” is placed in a flask and plaster called “investment” is poured all around the model. Once the investment hardens an exact impression of the model is formed inside of the flask. The wax model is burned out of the flask leaving a cavity of the jewelry design.

Next molten metal is injected in the flask mold using vacuum or centrifugal casting. When the metal cools and hardens the investment is broken away revealing the un-finished jewelry casting. This casting is filed, polished and prepped for assembly, which may include setting the gemstones or welding other precious metal parts to the casting.

The process of hand carving the wax prototype has always been the accepted process for creating custom jewelry. The problem with this process is that the human hand can’t be as precise as a computer-aided machine when carving the model. Precision equates to more design possibilities and much higher quality jewelry production. In the end you’ll have a product that looks crisper and won’t be prone to stone loss or breakage.

Like any other occupation or trade there are good jewelry craftsmen and there are bad ones. It is important to pre-screen your jeweler to determine if he/she is skilled at making custom designed jewelry. Ask to see their portfolio and examine their designs to determine if the flair they have for jewelry design matches your style requirements. Also, pay close attention to their communication and interpretation skills because much can get lost in the translation of your ideas if you’re not careful. Once the jewelry is made its too late to make changes and the typical jeweler will not re-make it again without added fees.

At this point higher qualified and better skilled custom jewelry designers have moved to using 3D-CAD to create their designs. If you feel 2 jewelers are equally matched in aptitude and skills then you should choose the one that is using 3D-CAD design. You’ll pay a little more to have your jewelry created in 3D-CAD but the final results will be amazing. The jewelry will look 1000% better than if it were hand carved and it will last much longer because of the precision of the jewelry model.

Andy Moquin has spent 20 years in the jewelry industry with much of his experience in polished diamonds, rings , tacori and custom jewelry design. He is an accomplished business consultant and is available for advice on topics such as marketing, advertising, merchandising and business turnarounds.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/jewelry-articles/what-is-custom-jewelry-design-1666832.html

How to Price your Wire jewelry

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Now you’re in the jewelry business, making lovely pieces and you need to figure out how to price them so that they will actually sell!  Below are some tips on how to set prices.

First of all, as a jewelry artist you need to decide what flavor of designer/jewelry artist you are.  Are you inclined to attract the value shopper who wants something low cost but still attractive or would you rather sell to the middle tier customer who considers jewelry an expression of who they are?  Or maybe your desired customer is the investment type who believes that buying a “brand” is as important as the jewelry itself?  Once you decide which type you are creating for, then you can begin to determine your prices.

The best way to start is to assess the pricing levels of your competitors.  Again, your competitors will fall in the three categories defined already – budget jewelry, quality costume jewelry, and designer jewelry.  Within each category there are various subcategories such as ethnic or regional, artist, handcrafted, semi-precious stones, precious metals, etc.  Search online for the products that are similar to what you craft.  Identify a number of different manufacturers and ask them for pricing.  If you don’t feel comfortable asking, persuade a friend to help you because if you don’t know what the competition is doing you can’t effectively price your product.

Another rule of thumb in manufacturing is to charge five times the cost of production.  Jewelry however usually has an additional 40 – 200% markup beyond this because often there are middle-persons who need to get paid for merchandising the product.  If you don’t have this layer in your sales process then you can compete to garner more sales for a similar product found in boutiques or department stores.

You may choose to sell direct to a retail store but you will see yourself getting paid 20-40% of the actual sales price because of this markup.  Selling online is an effective way to merchandise your jewelry also; however you will need some lessons in building a store and then marketing it.  It will require that you build a recognizable brand, build business and consumer relationships, and pay for advertising and marketing that utilize online tools.

Finally, you can always change the price if it’s not working for you, adjusting it up or down until you find the sweet spot that covers your cost of production, your overhead and a profit.  Also, don’t forget to enjoy this pricing process.  Lowering prices does not necessarily increase sales; sometimes the opposite is true because your jewelry will be seen as more valuable, more in demand, and more compelling to own.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/jewelry-articles/how-to-price-your-wire-jewelry-1585389.html

Characteristics of several main classical series of Cartier

Sunday, December 13th, 2009

Many people have heard of Cartier. It has always been considered as the best brand in the world of jewelry. Its diamond jewelry attracts numerous imperial aristocrats and the public celebrities. Almost everyone dreams of owing a piece of jewelry of Cartier in order to present the honored personal status. Its high blood ensures Cartier to become a most famous and well-known brand of jewelry. Cartier was established in 1847, owing the fine reputation as the emperor’s jewelry business and the emperor of jewelry business. Since it was established, it has made the high-quality jewelry ornaments for various countries’ imperial families as the jewelry maker second to none in the world. You may wonder why it can have so much reputation and be popular among people for such a long time. Now I will introduce several classical series of Cartier and their styles and characteristics. Maybe you will understand the reason.

 

The diamond series of Solitaire 1895

This series was promoted by Cartier in 1895 as the engagement diamond ring. Till today, it is still presented one of the classical series of Cartier. It used the simple crustification of four fingernails. The designer minimized the weight of the body of the inlaid place by this fine slight mosaic technique to highlight the brilliance of diamond with emphasis. This classical section is also imitated by numerous jewelry manufactures.

 

The platinum gold series of Love

This series is distinguished by its unique screw design created in the 1970s in New York. It was inlayed by the diamond and recited the love forever to remember faithfully. This section has become the best mode to express love and the amulet of the loyalty to love.

 

The series of Ballerine

It got its name on account of its bright-like stone cutting method. Its diamond has the most dazzling brilliance. Its design made use of the most excellent technique and the classical crustification principle.

 

The series of Declaration

This series used the sincere platinum gold to mount the single bring diamond with the best cutting. The diamond’s shapes are circle primarily, which manifest the union of classic and modern perfectly.

 

These main classical series of Cartier are the most reprehensive masterpieces. And they all have a huge affection on the world of jewelry. 

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/jewelry-articles/characteristics-of-several-main-classical-series-of-cartier-1575504.html

Buying Guide for Pearls – Pearl Jewelry

Saturday, November 28th, 2009

The kind of pearls woman wears defines her persona and desire to look elegant and beautiful. High quality ones are very much in demand and every woman adore them. The classic pearl necklace is the perfect choice for most weddings events.

Pearls are known for their unparalleled natural beauty and white color brilliance. Around the world, from royal princess to regular folks, everybody loves to wear gorgeous looking pearl jewelry. Since they come in wide array of attractive colors, designs and price range, it is important to know few things before you buy them.

Quality is the king. Better the quality higher goes the price. But it does not necessarily mean, one cannot get high quality jewelry at discounted prices. The online stores now are the best source to compare and buy at very competitive prices. They have much more control on the overheads than regular jewelry boutiques or departmental stores. Since most of them buy direct from source, they pass on these savings to customers.

1. How pearls are formed and where they come from?

A small mental piece or irritant is placed inside the oyster or mollusks As a result; the mollusk secretes a crystalline substance called nacre, which builds up in layers upon layers, surrounding the irritant thus forming the pearl overtime. Mikimoto of Japan had invented and patented this culturing technique of producing these beautiful natural gems in the coastal saltwater area of Japan. It normally takes 2 to 5 years depending upon oyster types, water and climatic conditions.

  1. White color is synonymous with the pearls but they do come in other attractive colors such as black, gray, pink, cream and golden colors. Round pearls with clean surface with no blemishes on the surface and high lustrous quality are most sought after and typically command higher prices.

Akoya pearls, so called the saltwater ones largely came from Japan ever since Mikimoto made the cultured pearls very popular all around the world but now China lately has surpassed Japan in both quantity and quality. China is the largest producer of Freshwater pearls and akoya cultured ones.

South Sea pearls with golden overtones come from Australia and some other Indonesian regions whereas Tahitian pearls, the black metallic beauties are harvested from the pristine seawater of French Polynesian areas near Hawaii.

2. How pearls are graded and valued?

Pearls typically are graded and valued depending upon quality from A to tripleA by all jewelry merchants around the world. Highest-grade ones are those with the high luster and reflective mirror-like quality. Many jewelers often sell tripleA+ or higher to command higher prices projecting superior quality but in fact one may be paying more for the compromising quality.

If there is no much of budget constraint and looking for high-grade best quality pearl jewelry, one should look for triple A quality. Pearls indeed are timeless fashion statement.

Trusted Source for Buying Quality Pearl Jewelry: http://www.pearlprincess.com/

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/jewelry-articles/buying-guide-for-pearls-pearl-jewelry-1517030.html