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1) What is your “Fire of Light” Diamond Collection?
This is our own personal brand of diamonds that are hand picked by our buyer, Mr. Stuart, who is a Certified Gemologist Appraiser-American Gem Society. They are classic designs, performed under stringent quality control. The “Fire of Light” diamond is your assurance of quality design and workmanship.
2) Why are your “Fire of Light” diamonds so much more beautiful than other diamonds?
The beauty of a diamond depends on how well it plays with the light. It is essentially a collection of prisms and mirrors. The alignment of these prisms and mirrors is what makes one diamond beautiful, and another one dull. The beauty is determined by a diamonds light performance. Due to the perfect facet alignment of our “Fire of Light” diamonds, they have more brilliance, fire and sparkle.
3) What causes the prongs on my ring to keep breaking?
The most common cause of prongs breaking is “stress corrosion”. A 14 karat gold ring is 14 parts gold and 10 parts are other metals called alloys. When prongs are notched and bent over the girdle of a stone, this action causes some stress in that particular area. Once corrosive chemicals come into contact with the prongs, it breaks down the crystal structure of the grain boundaries, in the areas of the most stress causing the prongs to crack and break. Chlorine is the worst chemical for gold jewelry. Household detergents and hand cleaners are also a problem. The best solution is to avoid these chemicals when wearing your jewelry. Platinum jewelry does not show any of these stress related problems and is an excellent choice for any stone set jewelry.
4) The case on the back of my watch states that it is “water resistant”. Can I go swimming with it on?
In the early 1970’s the Federal Trade Commission adopted rules that are currently in effect today. Until that time, there were no standards on what constituted a waterproof watch. Timex claimed to be waterproof, along with Rolex. This was an obvious problem and the FTC banned the term “waterproof” altogether. Today there are four different FTC standards defining what “water resistance” means. They are General Water Resistant, High Grade Water Resistant, Divers Watch and Professional Divers Watch.
* General Water Resistant watches only have sufficient water resistant characteristics for being out in the rain and washing one’s hands.
* High Grade Water Resistant watches are water resistant for swimming, snorkeling, being out in the rain and washing one’s hands.
* Divers watches are water resistant for recreational SCUBA diving, hot-tubbing, bathing, swimming, snorkeling, being out in the rain and washing one’s hands.
* Professional Divers watches are water resistant for professional and recreational deep water diving, SCUBA diving, hot-tubbing, bathing, swimming, snorkeling, being our in the rain and washing one’s hands.
5) Why is platinum jewelry so much more expensive than gold jewelry?
Rarity is the main factor in determining platinum’s value. There is much less platinum in the world than other metals. How much less? Annual platinum production is about 150 tons. This seems like a lot until you compare that to more than 2,200 tons of gold produced annually. And, here is one stunning bit of information: a piece of platinum jewelry is 50 times more rare than a piece of gold jewelry.
Platinum is 60% denser than 14 karat gold jewelry. Platinum is also 90 to 95% pure with the remaining metals coming from the platinum family. Gold jewelry is mixed with other metals, (14 karat is 58.5% pure gold), so as you can see, platinum jewelry is purer, heavier and rarer than gold jewelry.
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6) I have a necklace that makes a black mark on my neck when I wear it. The necklace is stamped 14 karat gold. Is this possible?
Yes. The problem you are experiencing is called “gold smudge”. It is caused for a number of different reasons. Sometimes it is related to individual body chemistry. Skin secretions and perspiration may contain salts, acids or other chemicals that react with the copper or silver in karat-gold alloys. Another reason for gold alloys making black marks is due to cosmetics. If you don’t wash your hands after applying cosmetics to your face, the result of touching your gold jewelry can be black marks on your skin. The problem can also be caused by household detergents, cleansers, climate, pollution or allergies. It is best to consult a professional jeweler to seek remedies for this problem.
7) Recently I attended an auction and bought a piece of jewelry, which was supposed to be an estate item, but a friend told me she had seen a new item like mine in a jewelry store. How could this be?
The term “Estate” means previously owned. That means it could be six months old or one hundred sixty years old. It does not imply that the item is a collector’s piece or something that is highly sought after. Another thing that many auction houses do: is contract new jewelry items from manufacturers and sell them as unusual, highly sought after, one-of-a-kind items. Be careful purchasing jewelry this way. While there are many reputable auction houses, there are also some that will take advantage of you. Some will give you a few days to have the item appraised, but usually a qualified appraiser is quite busy and would need more time than that to set up an appointment and evaluate the piece. Remember the old saying, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
At Highlands Jewelers, we sell estate jewelry, which has been thoroughly checked over by our expert Certified Gemologist Appraiser. These items are in excellent condition and are available at a significant savings. Stop in and see for yourself.
8) I wanted to buy my wife a bracelet for our anniversary. I had looked at several different stores, and it seemed like all of the stores that I went to sold jewelry at large discounts. It was very tempting to buy something at such a reduced price, but it just seemed too good to be true. How can jewelry stores sell merchandise at such large discounts?
You are very wise to question these so-called discounts. Most of these discounts being offered are not discounts at all. The merchandise was never sold at what the store is calling the regular price, because there is no way anyone would pay that price for it. This deceptive pricing is a dishonest way of making the customer think that he is getting a bargain, when he is really paying what the merchandise is worth or more. It sounds like it should be illegal, doesn’t it? The Federal Trade Commission actually does have some consumer protection regulations forbidding this type of unethical discounting, but the cold hard truth is that the FTC simply doesn’t have the manpower to police the jewelry industry.
I was on vacation in Key West recently and saw a ring in the window of a jewelry store. The store carries fine jewelry and is a large chain in the Carribean. The ring was from a well-known designer and our store carries that exact ring. Their regular price was $1,800 and the sale price was $1,080. Our everyday price is $800. How would you like to be the person who thought he was saving 40%, and found out he was paying 25% more than what we would have sold it for?
9) The prongs on my diamond ring need to be repaired. I would like to get it done while I wait, but I can’t seem to get it done that way. Why?
There are actually places that will do repairs while you wait, but, unfortunately, those types of places tend to be very concerned with time and production and less concerned with quality and craftsmanship. Cleaning of the jewelry before repairing is an extremely important step that must be done thoroughly in order to prevent catastrophe. Cleaning times vary depending on the repair, but a minimum of three hours is required for the jewelry to clean. If the piece is not completely and totally clean, and the jeweler proceeds to do the prong job, the dirt can actually burn into the diamond; taking away its brilliance. A good repair shop is usually in high demand, so it is going to be busy and, if they are not busy, you should be wondering why. At Highlands Jewelers, repairs are done on the premises by a Certified Bench Technician, who is experienced in all jewelry repair procedures. It is worth the wait to have your repair done professionally.
10) Unfortunately, because of arthritis, my knuckles are significantly larger than the back part of my finger. This makes wearing rings very difficult because they spin around the finger and get in the way when I do things with my hands. I have a few friends who have special mechanisms on their rings to prevent this problem. Do you know where I can get this product?
Highlands Jewelers has several different varieties of these “adjustable shanks” available. In order to determine which type is right for your individual needs, you will need to see one of our trained, professional sales people. It is true that the adjustable shank has helped many people solve the knuckle problem. It makes wearing your rings much more enjoyable, and protects them from damage. When your rings spin around on your finger in the manner you described, the stones and prongs take terrible abuse that leads to chipped or broken stones and prongs.
11) I have a 14 karat gold necklace and a 14 karat gold pendant. They are 14 karat gold, but one is a deeper color of yellow than the other one. Why is this?
Different manufacturers of gold jewelry use different alloys. These are metals mixed with pure gold to make a given karatage (14KT). Depending on the combination of the alloys used, the color will vary from one piece of jewelry to another. Some manufacturers, especially Italian, gold plate the jewelry with an 18 karat gold plating to give it a deeper, richer color that Italian gold is known for. Most American manufacturers do not use this process, so there may be a color difference between American pieces and Italian pieces.
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