Balboni Custom Jeweler, LLC

You want to buy jewelry on the internet at the lowest price.  Right?  So you plug in wholesale jewelry into Google's search engine.  Your search results bring you pages of companies that are selling jewelry at wholesale.  Awesome!  But are they really wholesale prices?  That's a good question.  Here is where I am going to help you determine that.  It's quite simple and straight forward.

Here is the definition of wholesale found in Wikipedia: 

"Wholesaling, jobbing, or distributing is defined as the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers, to industrial, commercial, institutional, or other professional business users, or to other wholesalers and related subordinated services.^[1] In general, it is the sale of goods to anyone other than a standard consumer." 

In other words wholesale means “a purchase made for personal use by the ultimate or final consumer.”  That's you.  Unless you are reselling the jewelry as a business.  And for now, in most states, you don't pay any sales taxes.  However, changes are coming down the pike and I feel it will not be long before everyone is paying taxes for purchases made on the internet, but that's another topic of discussion.  Again, retail companies that resell jewelry or other merchandise, don't pay sales tax to their suppliers.  You the final and ultimate consumer pay the taxes. 

To buy jewelry or any other item at wholesale you must have a Tax ID number.  If these companies are not asking you to fill out a company information form which requires you to supply your Tax ID Number, you are not buying jewelry at wholesale.

So, what are these e-commerce sites doing?  Are they just selling jewelry at low prices?  That's another good question.  Through my research of checking out hundreds of jewelry websites I have found that they are not even necessarily selling at the lowest prices never mind at wholesale.  Most of them are just selling at competitive e-commerce prices.  Nothing extraordinary.  In some cases some companies prices are high compared to many other jewelry websites on the internet and just as high and sometimes higher than brick and mortars.  Keep in mind that for the most part, e-commerce works just the same as the physical brick and mortar stores.  You just can't see them or walk into them.

So to sum it up, wholesale is really not wholesale. As the saying goes "buyer beware"!  My advice is to treat e-commerce sites like you would the typical brick and mortar store.  Do your research, read reviews and buy from a company you can feel comfortable with.  Buy the item you like if the price is competitive, has the quality you want and fits in your budget.  In the end it is a good deal if you feel the value justifies the price. 

Good luck and happy surfing.

Many extensive jewelry repairs can be avoided by getting routine inspections from your local jeweler.  It is a good idea to make it a habit to stop by your local jewelry store at least a couple of times a year.  Jewelry repairs will be necessary at some point during the life span of your jewelry, however, by getting periodic checkups, more often than not you can avoid costly repairs.

Some of the most common jewelry repairs are due to gemstones coming loose from bent or broken prongs on rings and bracelets and clasps breaking on bracelets and necklaces.  Prongs typically bend or break due to getting caught on clothing or getting hit on a hard object. The clasps on bracelets and necklaces typically need repair or replacement simply from the fact that they have moving parts and can be bent or broken by snagging them on clothing, hair or being pulled too hard, or simply by wearing out over time.

Both of these types of jewelry repairs are fairly inexpensive and in many cases, can be caught in time with a careful inspection of your jewelry.  So make it a point to drop into your local jewelry store periodically to have them do a quick inspection.  It will only take a couple of minutes and may prevent you from loosing valuable gemstones or even the entire piece of jewelry. 

And by-the-way, if it is an expensive piece of jewelry, please make sure you have an insurance jewelry appraisal on each item.  At least if you do loose the item you can recoup your loses.  Make it a habit today.

All the best,

Dan     

When choosing a diamond engagement ring you need to look beyond the 4Cs of diamonds.  One of the things I always like to ask my customers is "describe your fiancee' and her lifestyle".  This is very important because depending on what she does for a living and how active she is should be taken into account when selecting a setting for the diamond.

Some examples would be if she is a landscaper, a surgeon, a nurse or has a cleaning service.  Or is she into mountain climbing, working out with weights at the gym or gardening?  All of these things require heavy use of her hands and in an atmosphere where the ring could get damaged or cause damage to something or someone else. 

If any of these scenarios describes her, I would recommend a ring with a low setting and even a bezel setting.  This would lessen the chances of damage to the ring and the diamond and it would also lessen the possibility of the ring getting caught on anything.

Remember, the diamond is your starting point.  The engagement ring setting is what will protect the diamond and show off its beauty for everyone to see, so be sure to select the a setting style that reflects her lifestyle.  That way she will be able to enjoy her ring for years to come, worry free.

Here are a few simple tips for caring for your jewelry.

1.  Your jewelry should be the last thing you put on and the first thing you take off.  Doing so will protect your jewelry from getting snagged on clothing when slipping blouses, sweaters, etc. over your head and putting your arms through sleeves.  Snagging prongs on clothing is a common way for them to bend and break.

2.  When you get up in the morning, take a small bowl and put some warm tap water in it and some mild dish soap.  Let your jewelry soak while you are getting ready to start your day.  After you are dressed and ready to put your jewelry on, take the jewelry out of the bowl.  Take a soft tooth brush and gently scrub your jewelry.  Be sure not to scrub gemstones such as emeralds or tanzanites.  Rinse under warm water.  (Make sure you close the sink drain.)  Pat your jewelry dry with a clean towel.  Now you are set to face the day.

3.  Periodically stop by your local jeweler to have them check your prongs and the condition of your jewelry.  You want to be proactive to ensure that all of your gemstones are tight and not in danger of falling out.  Your jeweler can also check for other damage such as minute stress cracks that you may not be able to see with your eyes.

If you follow these simple tips and establish a good habit for yourself you should be able to get a life time of wear from your jewelry, and nothing looks better than clean sparkling jewelry.

Today a jeweler no longer has to sketch a jewelry design on paper with colored pencils.  Today the design process is done by the CAD process or computer aided design process.  This makes things much easier for the jeweler/designer to make changes more quickly.  In addition, it gives greater flexibility when making design changes.

After the design is finalized on the computer the next step is to create the wax.  It used to be that the wax was carved by hand from a block of wax.  This was very tedious and time consuming.  If a big enough mistake was made during the process, the wax carver would have to start all over.  Today, the wax is "grown" right on the computer from the CAD design.  This is much faster and multiple waxes can be made.

After the wax is grown, the next step is to use the wax to cast the item from the metal of choice such as gold, platinum, silver, etc.

After the casting is complete the rough piece of jewelry is given a polish to smooth out the surface. 

The next step is to set the gemstones and give the jewelry a final cleaning and polishing to bring the high shine to the metal.

Now you know what it takes to make that one-of-a kind piece of jewelry you have always been dreaming of.  Its time to treat yourself.  After all, you deserve it.

If it's been a couple of years or more since your last insurance appraisal, odds are you may need an update. 

The metals market has been on the rise and it seems as though it is setting record highs almost daily now.  And who knows where it will stop?  I certainly don't.  Since April of 2008, gold has shot up from just under $1,000 per ounce to just a couple of dollars under $1,500 as I write this post today, April 19, 2011.  That is quite a three year spike. 

What does all of this mean to you?  Just that the jewelry you purchased a few short years ago is much more valuable today.  It also means that if you have some jewelry items insured under a separate rider on your home owner's policy that it is time to take another look at your coverage.  You may be under insured.  A very small investment to update your coverage to protect your valuable jewels could save you a lot should a loss occur.
Don't wait until its too late.