How To Remove A Stubborn Ring

It has happened to all of us at one time or another. We have put someone else's ring on our finger and when we went to take it off, realized it was stuck. Do to the specific shape of some finger joints, it may be easier to get a ring on than off.

I can remember a time as a child when I went snooping through my mother's bathroom, upon finding a small ring that looked like it would fit my finger, I stupidly slipped it on. After only a second, I went to take the ring off and realized that it was stuck. getting caught trespassing in my mother's bathroom was one thing but getting busted wearing her jewelry was not going to be good. After numerous attempts at pulling the ring off my finger I did what anyone does in this situation. I went into panic mode. Pulling and yanking on the ring only left me sore, exhausted and even more distressed. I had pulled my finger raw and placed it in my mouth because it hurt so bad, little did I know that this would be my salvation. When I went to pull the finger out of my mouth, the ring just slipped off onto my tongue.

Now that I am grown, I thought I would impart some knowledge to those who find themselves in similar situations.

• Don't Panic: If you panic you are going to increase your heart rate and your fingers may swell. If you are in a state of panic, you will be unable to think clearly.
• Relax and Breath: In your state of calm you can think of a plan of action, maybe pulling up this blog to read a quick tip or two.
• Lubricate and Rock the Ring: Use saliva or soap and begin to rock the ring back and forth on the finger. Pushing the ring from the bottom and then the top repeatedly should help you work the ring off your finger.
• Be Gentle: If you are gentle you will have better chances of removing the ring. When you are aggressive you stimulate blood flow and cause the finger to swell.

If you are not having any luck removing the ring after you have followed the steps above, I recommend that you hold your hand above your heart and place a cool ice pack around your hand. Both these actions will decrease the amount of blood and fluid inside the hand. After 20 or so minutes of this, try removing the ring using the above mentioned steps.

At this time, if you are still not having any luck removing the ring, you should seek medical attention. Don't panic, a ring can be easily removed by a doctor with little to no discomfort and a ring can be easily mended by a good jeweler. Never let a jeweler try to cut a ring from your finger as their tools and skills are not suited for this task.

Best of luck to you and your fingers!

Communication is Key

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.

Why We Love Laser Beam Welding

I would like to talk about lasers for a while if you don't mind. Remember when lasers were really cool? For a while, our technology was driven by lasers. CD players revolutionized how we listen to music. They were put in everything from super market scanners to eye surgeon's hands. Lasers even became the favorite weapon of advanced civilizations in outer space, thanks to movies like Star Wars and Star Trek. But if I had to pick a favorite movie with lasers? It would be "Laser Beam Welder".

Below is a video of laser beam welding in action:

Laser Beam Welding and Associate Jewelers:

For the last few years Associates has been one of the few jewelers in the NW to own a laser beam welder (LBW). We made the investment because the benefits were numerous. When working with traditional torch and solder, it is difficult to make all the precision welds one wants, without risking damaging the surrounding metals or gems. And although torch tip technology has progressed since we have been in the business, it is still impossible to do more advanced welding without total control of what is being heated and how long it is hot. Laser beam welding gives us that control.

Because a laser beam by nature is extremely focused, when we use an LBW, we are only going to be heating the exact spot that we wish to weld. Yes, the surrounding metals get hot through conduction, but it is by far less intense than if we were using a traditional torch. Also, when doing repairs on jewelry that was created using a LBW, it is sometimes necessary for us to use our lasers because the original work is so precise. Another great advantage to using a LBW is that the effected metals do not stay hot for as long. However, if the metal being worked on is carbon steel, LBWs should not be used, as the short heat time will cause them to crack.

Obviously we still use the original torch and solder method when making our jewelry, but we are fortunate enough to have two lasers on site, to use at our (or your) discretion. If you have projects that require the precision of a laser beam welder, please do not hesitate to give us a call for a quote.

How to care for your precious pearls.

The earth has given Jewelers many materials to work with. We use gold, silver, diamonds, wood, gems and precious stones of all kinds. One Precious stone we love to work with is the Pearl.

A pearl is a delicate and beautiful, little, irritant. Irritating to the oyster that is (we love pearls). Typically when a pearl is made naturally, it starts with a little grain of sand. Somehow a grain of sand might get stuck inside of particular species of oyster. As a defense mechanism the oyster will start to secrete a fluid that hardens around the sand spec. After about 5-10 years, if the oyster was fortunate to live that long, it will have created a precious pearl.

Since Pearls are not created like many other precious gemstones, millions of years and thousands of pounds of pressure; they are often easier to damage than other stones. Due to the softer nature of Pearls, they are easier to scratch or be damaged in chemicals. If not cared for correctly, a pearl can quickly lose it’s luster or be lost forever.

Tricks and Techniques to care for your pearls:

Due to the nature of pearls you should always remove a pearl ring or bracelet when preparing food. Some foods contain acids that could eat away at your pearls. Also, if you are going to go swimming, we recommend removing your pearls so as not to be lost or damaged by the chlorine and chemicals in swimming pools.

If you have a pearl ring, we recommend you remove it by holding onto the band and not the pearl. The less contact made with the pearl the better, without being excessive. Remember, pearls are jewelry that was meant to be worn and loved on your body. After you remove your pearl jewelry it is always a good idea to wipe the pearl with a (wet or dry) soft cloth. Although your body oils can improve the look of your pearl you might not want the acid from your perspiration to remain on the pearl. If you perspire heavily, you may want to think of using different gems in your jewelry design.

If you have a string of pearls it is a good idea to get them restrung every 6 months. The worst pearl stories I hear are of women who lose half their pearls when their necklace breaks. A break can happen unexpectedly from tension, but it is best to try and prevent pearl loss from weak string.

Cleaning Pearl Jewelry:

As described above, Pearls are more delicate than other precious gems and so they take a different kind of care when cleaning them as well. Below I have created a little list that you may find useful when cleaning your pearl jewelry.

• Wash hands before handling pearls to remove any perspiration
• Never use chemicals on when cleaning jewelry. (chlorox, bleach, ammonia… etc.)
• Clean your pearls with a mild soap.
• Remove pearls when applying lotion or moisturizers.
• wipe with a soft or damp cloth immediately after removal.
• If soap and water do not clean your pearls to satisfaction, consider using a pearl cleaning solution.

Please, if you have any questions about pearls or pearl care do not hesitate to call us.

Diamond and Pearl Earrings for Free!!

Today is the day! We will are excited to announce all the details of our first jewelry giveaway via social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Lucky you!

Pictured below is a pair of diamond and pearl post earrings that we will be giving away to one lucky Associate Jewelers follower. The rules are simple and only require a little bit of social savvy on your part.

To have a chance at winning the earrings, all you have to do is this:

• be the first to get 20 of your friends to follow/like Associate Jewelers on Twitter or Facebook.
• Have at least 20 of your friends leave a comment on our feed or wall saying you should win the earrings.
• Thats it!

A little description of the prize:

• 12 points total weight in diamonds.
• 2x10mm Grey Pearls.
• 14k white gold pierced posts.
• $400.00 retail price.

Make sure you get your friends to follow and like us. Make sure to get your friends to leave a comment saying you personally should win the earrings. don't wait to win the earrings.

Their comments might look something like this:

• My friend @___ _____ wants to win your earrings.
• @_____ _____ wants @AssociateJewel 's earrings.
• @AssociateJewel should give my friend @_____ ______ earrings for free.

Twitter: http://Twitter.com/AssociateJewel

Facebook: http://Facebook.com/AssociateJewelers.com

Good luck!

Protect Your Valuables

I'm always amazed at how many jewelry news stories focus on theft. Like everything, this could be for several different reasons. Perhaps it's because jewelry is a very common thing to be stolen. Being so beautiful, worth so much and being made of precious metals may make them a very coveted item for a thief. On the other hand, there seems to be an added element of drama and suspense to stories about jewelry theft, and they can't help but catch they eye and imagination of many readers. Or maybe the reason there are so many of these stories is because we simply find jewelry heists interesting. No matter the reason, the fact is jewelry theft is very real. Protecting your investments is one of the smartest things you can do to ensure the life, value and ownership of your treasures.

Below is a list of ways you could protect your jewelry investments:

Home Security: More and more homes are equipped with home alarm systems every year. Having a system that alerts the police to a potential break-in can be crucial in ensuring your items are not stolen. In the case of theft, seconds matter and can be the difference between catching a criminal and returning your items to your possession.

Home Safe: A safe is highly recommended if you have small items you want to protect but don't want to keep your house locked down like a fortress. By locking an item into a safe, you can be sure your items will be secure even if you cant keep tabs on every person who enters your home or office. It is important that you secure your safe to something so that it can not be removed and opened in a different location. Most safe companies will provide instructions on how to secure a safe to a floor or wall.

Secret Hiding Places: If you do not have a safe or security system yet, there are tried and true methods of protecting your valuables from being stolen. There are shaving gels with false bottoms or even secret compartments behind electrical outlets. Some people will carve out a book and place their items in there, while others have entire secret rooms in their houses. The options are endless for hiding valuables, but choose wisely and make sure that wherever you hide your items, you can remember how to find them!

Staying Within Budget.

Each project we work on has it's own depth of difficulty, so naturally each project also has it's own budget. Some projects are simple refinishing work while others are more advanced jewelry design, but in the end the budget is determined by the details. Beyond our pricing schema, there are other costs to consider when planning a jewelry project.

1. The customer budget- how much are they willing to spend?

2. Your budget- how much can you spend and still make a profit on the work, even after it is sent to us (time, postage, materials are all costs to consider).

3. Our budget- we also need to make a small profit and have our costs/materials covered.

If your budget equals out to be less than the total costs of the work that must be done, Associates can help you finish the job. We also know times are hard, we are always willing to re-think the work that must be done and the materials that should be used. Another option is to finish a portion of the work that needs to be done and wait to finish the rest of the repairs when the customer has enough money.

It is really a good idea to communicate your budget and your customer's budget with us here at Associates, that way all parties involved know what we are getting into before the actual work starts. This will ensure happy customers and happy employees.

If you have questions about how exactly to plan for a project with Associates, just give us a ring.