The Top Drawer

At one point, gold wedding rings were the option. But recently platinum has grown tremendous in popularity. Platinum is more precious than gold, and has other advantages over gold as well.
Platinum wedding rings are elegant.  Platinum was often mixed with gold, but today you can find wedding rings of pure platinum. Polished platinum sparkles as much as gold.  Platinum is a durable metal, and your active lifestyle will not get in the way of wearing a platinum ring.

Given that platinum wedding rings have a very modern look, the best styles are elegant, but simple.  A “comfort fit” is curved slightly in the inside, and most men find them a good choice since a ring is worn more then anything else that adorns the body.  Platinum is heavier than gold which is often the main reason men choose them over gold.  Remember that many men love Swiss sports watches for the same “weighty” reason.
You will pay a premium for platinum.  One reason some buyers go with gold is they are concerned they will lose their ring, and want to be able to replace it less expensively.  Do keep in mind that an engagement ring is not like a set of car keys.  You will grow to love it more and more with each passing year, as you do your partner, and will have a magnetic connection to it.  That may mean that IF you take it off, you will have a brilliant system for making sure your ring is never lost.

Antique Styles
For people who are not fortunate enough to have heirloom engagement rings in their family, pieces that are handmade using styles from generations past also provide historic  reverence.  A vintage ring is sometimes made with filigree designs, highlighting a period’s characteristics (Edwardian, for example), and have attention to detail that one would find more often when these styles were contemporary.

Bezel Settings
A lipped metallic ring keeps a diamond safely in place on bezel rings and make sense for women that are on the go.  An added bonus is that the setting makes  the stone look larger, while also holding it firmly in place.

Engagement & Wedding ring combination
Often these rings have many small diamonds which sparkle brightly around a platinum or gold band.  With the emphasis on more stones, they are higher on glitter and lower on cost than the traditional separate engagement ring with a large stone.

Personalized Engravings
This can be as simple as the date of a wedding or as detailed as a phrase from a song or poem.  If you intend to have a ring engraved by hand, do so weeks in advance.

Colored Diamonds
We’ve mentioned before on The Top Shelf that color is very in with all types of jewelry this year.  Expect to pay a significant premium on colored diamonds due to their scarcity.  These are favorites with celebrities.

Do not give a “secondhand” engagement ring to someone! If it was a family heirloom that’s different of course. If you’ve given that heirloom to numerous wives from numerous prior marriages, and your soon to be fiancé will probably guess that, think twice. Engagement rings have far more meaning to most women than wedding rings. Remember that, as girls, diamond rings stand along-side princes in storybooks and represent all that is love.

No one wants to think about the history a ring had on the finger of a former fiancé or wife.

Educate yourself about ring styles and fashion on at least a simple level. “American consumers favor the largest rocks possible, as demonstrated by Hollywood starlets,” Ruth Donaldson, the UK manager of Platinum Guild International says. “British consumers are still living up to their more austere reputation. Ladies like a better class of diamond and lean towards the best metals being used to secure their jewels. It is strongly felt by brides that their fiancés are getting it wrong if they are just selecting the biggest rock.”

Heirloom style rings are always well liked, but the intensity of their popularity is new this spring . These rings typically have intricate metal settings with diamond detailing. We’ve seen a big spike in their sales, and this is also reported industry wide. Color engagement rings are hot, with gemstones such as sapphires, rubies, and beryls being the most popular. Amethyst and peridot are popular with all types of jewelry and match well with the colors of spring clothing.

Diamonds shine particularly strong this spring. The right diamond draws character from its environment. The style now is to have large quantities of diamonds in rings to create a potent sparkle. The added quantity also serves to boost the size of the center stone, or, at a minimum, make it look larger.

We are delighted to announce the launch of The Top Drawer. You will notice a different approach to our blogging as compared to many other eCommerce jewelry sites. Ours is not the equivalent of an offline product sales catalog. Rather, the goal is to give you a new perspectives and education on the world of jewelry. Posts will direct you to relevant products and information on our shopping site when it is complimentary.

A small number of posts will specifically highlight news about our website and we will announce important news related to the company. The Firenze Jewels story will be interesting to new and existing costumers. It’s one that date’s back to 1937. Mostly, The Top Drawer will contain news, advice, photography, as well as insights on the lighter side of jewelry’s place in society.

Today’s websites break the boundary of traditional relationships between merchants and customers. With the new “social web,” often referred to as Web 2.O, the conversation is now two ways. The web of yesterday was brochure-ware that may have allowed for purchases, but was not dynamic or interactive. People expect online jewelers will update their sites frequently with fresh, timely information. Good websites today listen carefully to what their costumers tell them they’d like to see or learn.

We’re known for our service and the time we spend growing relationships with customers off-line. We hope our blog postings will set us apart online as we bring you news you can use on a regular basis.