Communication Is Key To Success

We have recently touched on this a bit on our website, but we thought it would be a great idea to reiterate again here in our blog. Associate Jewelers, Inc. has a very large customer base which is comprised of many different components. We have the walk in customers who grace us with surprise visits. We have many different clients that are wholesalers and many who ship us damaged jewelry that needs repair. Overall, each component is equally important. It is in our ability to be flexible that we pride ourselves.

Unfortunately and fortunately, we are one of the only jewelry businesses that let’s third parties write instructions about repairs. This being said, we would like to stress how important clear communication is to our success. On occasion we will have clients that have written poor instructions about an item that needs repair. When this happens we are chagrined to say that we may be forced to do repairs that are not what the customer of our clients wants.

Help Us Help You

To prevent errors in repairs do to miscommunication we would like to encourage each of our clients to take extra care when writing out repair instructions. As much as we would like to be, we are not mind readers. Our work starts by looking at your instructions and should your instructions have strange symbols or sloppy hand writing it could make deciphering the text hard. Please take your time when writing instructions. Bulleted or numbered lists are often the most efficient means of communicating these types of instructions.

1. Repair filigree on both sides of ring. Must match exactly. $300 k

2. Supply and set two matching sapphires. $50 k

3. Remove old white gold tips and repairs. $55k

4. Retip (laser) platinum tips. $65k

5. Repair places where the old repairs were. $67k

6. New shank, size 8, make shank round $135k

This would be a great list because it not only has mention of what you need to have done, but also the keystone price that you have given the customer. If these numbers don’t match ours then we know that we need to work out different arrangements. We understand that you are here to make a profit, information like this is helpful for us to give you the best service possible.

INDIAN WEDDINGS: GOLD PRICES INCREASE YEARLY

Every year the price of gold gets higher and higher. There are many factors for this; inflation, the economy, civil unrest in major gold producing areas, natural disasters and Indian Wedding Season. Yes, it's a fact, Indian jewelers buy up as much gold as they think they will need for the upcoming wedding season which in turn makes gold prices spike globally. The upcoming season goes from November to December. Because of the time it takes to manufacture the intricate wedding jewelry, statues and garments traditionally worn in Indian weddings we are seeing the spike now.

Actually, it's quite incredible how much gold India buys each year. It is well known that over 20% of all gold purchased annually is purchased by India. Even more impressive, it is thought that 12% of all Gold refined in the history of the world is in the households of India. Over the past decade, gold has risen by an average of 10.1 percent from September through to December.


To understand why India has such a love affair with gold, one would have to delve deep into India's illustrious history and pick apart religious beliefs and texts.

Here is what the Bombay Times has to say about the matter:
"In India, it always was and still is, much more than just a precious metal. It is part of the fabric of our culture and an inseparable part of our belief system. It is the essence from which the universe was created. In a dark and lifeless universe, the Creator deposited a seed in the waters he had made from his own body. The seed became a golden egg, bright and radiant as the sun. From this cosmic egg of gold was born the incarnation of the Creator Himself - Brahma. From the root word Hri meaning imperishable, comes Hiranya, the ancient name for gold. Brahma is referred to as Hiranyagarbha - the one born of gold" -Bombay Times

No-matter the reason their love of jewelry, their insatiable need for gold is both a bless and a burden on the worlds jewelry culture. The beautiful things they create are some of the many wonders of the world and have been inspiration for many of our jewelry designs. On the other hand, the effect they have on gold prices touches every single person who goes to buy jewelry.

Is Growing Jewelry the next big "Green" fashion trend?

"Growing Jewelry is a redefinition of modern values. It is a clash of jewelry and gardening; couture and organism. The collection of this hand jewelry is designed for people in metropolitan cities and is an experiment in drawing nature toward man, as nature being the presupposition of life."

Growing Jewelry could be the next new and exciting niche in the jewelry fashion world and Hafsteinn Juliusson is the creative mind behind the idea. Juliusson is a creative engineer of Icelandic origins who wanted to bring something special to all of us who live inside of the city, a little nature.

By combining stainless steel and a specific Icelandic moss, Juliusson has created something completely out of the standard jewelry box and into a new realm of "Green" fashion. By taking micro gardening to a wearable level, he has breached the gap many fashionistas have with the whole green movement. When a client who may not appreciate gems like diamonds or sapphires wants somethings other than the standard inlays, they may jump at the chance to purchase Growing Jewelry.



Growing Jewelry, like all living things, needs water and a possible trim once in a while. The moss will live for an average of 6 months, but I have not heard anything about replacement moss.



The jewelry is on display at Reykjavik Art Museum, where it is watered and kept alive with the help of grow lights.

A Little About Burins

Burin is a french word meaning "cold chisel", people may use the word when referring to the most used engraving tool (pictured below).
An engraving burin is mostly used by engravers, but is implemented in other professions, like print making. Burins usually are shaped like a pencil with an exaggerated eraser. The larger, "eraser head" fits snugly into the palm of an engraver's hand while the sharper metal end is used to carve lines, shapes and designs into metals.

There are an infinite amount of shapes that an engraver can turn their burins into. The large variety of shapes give the engraver the ability to find a tool for every use.

• A tint burin consists of a square face with teeth, enabling the creation of many fine, closely spaced lines.

• A stipple tool allows for the creation of fine dots.

• A flat burin consists of a rectangular face, and is used for cutting away large portions of material at a time.

840-pound emerald back in court

Right now in the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department sits one of the largest emeralds known to man. The Boulder sized gem has been held prisoner here as a legal dispute over who actually owns the gem is hashed out in court.

The 840-Pound gem was first discovered back in 2001, in Brazil. It was here that a man named Thomas is claiming to have purchased the Gem for $60,00o dollars. The stone is actually valued at $400,000,000 dollars. If Thoma's story is accurate then he made quite the shrewd investment.

Like in most things there is at least on other side to this story. Kit Morrison, Todd Armstrong and Jerry Ferrara and their companies Market Link Inc. and FM Holdings Inc.--claims that in 2008 they purchased the gem and have a valid legal title to back up their claim. They say they purchased the gem for a seven figure price and are willing provide any documentation to prove it. The Gem has been rumored to have traveled through New Orleans, Idaho and Las Vegas before being seized by authorities.

After hearing opening arguments on the case the judge dismissed the court until July 30 at 8:30 a.m.

How To Spot a Fugazi Gemstone

There are lots of fake gemstones in the world. Unfortunately, the ability to make money on fake or edited gemstones is easier than one would hope. Because it takes a keen eye or even a professional opinion to tell if a gem is real, it can be very easy to be fooled by a fugazi. In the hopes of keeping you from making a bad purchase we have made a little list of common things that jewelers do to gemstones that make them look real/better than they are.

Assembled Stones: An assembled stone is a stone that has been pieced together from two or more parts of a stone. Sometimes a gem is pieced together by two complete gems and fitted together to make it look like it is a much larger stone of a much higher value. Other times a jeweler may take a gemstone that has been broken and piece the chunks of stone together so that it looks complete again. If you see a Sapphire or Ruby that looks to be pieced together you are most likely dealing with a shady jeweler because those stones are often assembled to deceive consumers. Opals, on the other hand are often assembled and may not be considered a shady practice especially when the jeweler discloses that he has done so. (Definition of Assembled Stones)

Foil Backing: Foil backing was a common practice in the past, lots of closed backed settings were "enhanced" by placing foil behind the gem. Common foil colors were gold and silver but other colors are used as well. Jewelers will place foil behind gems to increase their depth and color.

Painting: Like foil backing, paint or another substance can be placed behind a gem to "improve" it's color and depth. Placing a tiny dot of paint in an exact place behind a cut diamond can reflect that color throughout the entire stone.

Cracking: This is the practice of blasting a synthetic gem with extreme heat in the hopes of cracking it to make it look more like the real thing. Synthetic gems tend to have less blemishes and so cracking them is defiantly a way to deceive a consumer.

All in all, none of these practices are considered illegal or wrong as long as the person purchasing the gem has been informed by the sales person. Painting and Assembling can be done in the hopes of fixing a damaged ring, painting could have been done at the request of a consumer. Remember that the best and safest way to purchase a gemstone is to go to a dealer you trust. Associate Jewelers, Inc. has been dealing gemstones since it's creation without complaint. We would be happy to walk you through the gemstone purchasing experience.

Read a little bit more about Gem Identification here: Gem Identification Made Easy

Big Summer Giveaway!!

In honor of the beautiful weather that we are having, Associate Jewelers would like to give you the perfect opportunity to pop "The Question" in one of the most magical places not on earth. We have set up a huge summer giveaway where we will give one lucky winner a free ring repair and a hot air balloon ride for two.

Do you have or plan to find an older ring which will be used when you ask the person you love to marry you? Maybe you just have an old ring that needs repair and you have always wanted to ride on a hot air balloon? If so, you may be interested to know that we here at Associate Jewelers, inc. are going to give a lucky person the opportunity of a life time.

Take a minute to type out a quick little blurb about your jewelry that needs repair. Tell us where you got your ring and a little bit of the story behind it. Maybe the ring was your grandmothers old wedding ring that had a broken setting. Maybe your father gave you a ring when you were young and it has since been tarnished and warped? Whatever your story we are interested to know, it's the stories which give life to the ring. After you type of a quick blurb, send us a picture and tell us how your ring was damaged. If you don't know how it was damaged that is okay too.

All entries will receive a free estimate on the repairs so be sure to include your address and a phone number. If you win we will do all the repairs on your ring for free! If you do not win, you can still be entered to win the balloon ride by completing a repair here at Associates.

If you don't happen to have a damaged ring but still wish to have a chance to win the balloon ride, purchase a custom ring by August 13th and you will entered to win the balloon ride for two!

Submit entries here:

Facebook: http://facebook.com/AssociateJewelers

Twitter: http://twitter.com/AssociateJewel

Fax: 503-226-6787

Email: Christina@AssociateJewelers.com

Snail Mail/Walk in:

534 SW 3rd Ave. Suite 604

Portland, OR. 97204

All entries must be received by 8/13/2010 and will be subject to review. We will announce the winner of the ring repair on August 27th and will be announcing the Balloon ride on September 1st.

Maximilian Diamond.

In 1860 Emperor Maximilian went on a journey to Brazil with the hopes of discovering botanical mysteries. On this trip Maximilian purchased a 41.94 carat diamond which he was said to wear around his neck in a small pouch. At the request of Napoleon III, he stayed in Brazil where he became the emperor of Mexico for a time. When Napoleon withdrew his troops from the area in 1876 Maximilian was captured and executed. The pouch that contained the 41.94 carat diamond was not removed from his body until after his remain were sent back to his wife in Austria. Upon arrival in Austria, the diamond was given to his wife, Princess Charlotte.

The Maximilian Diamond went missing for a number of years after his death. There were no reports of it anywhere until it was purchased by Ferdinand Holtz in 1919. The diamond Stayed with Mr. Holtz, a gem collector until his death when it was sold to an unnamed collector. The collector who purchased the diamond had it set inside of a ring. The Maximilian Diamond changed hands a few more times before it was cut to it's original size of 39.55 carats and sold at auction in April.

This sale was one of the most expensive diamond sales ever recorded.