The Top Drawer

New York’s Firenze Jewels is pleased to announce the addition of the famous designer line, Ritani to its exclusive designer jewelry collection

Ritani, most noted for their beautiful branded collections, such as Endless Love, Ritani Setting, and Romantique, design each and every piece of fine jewelry for its maximum beauty and character.

“Ritani is a very established name in jewelry design, and we are excited to have the opportunity to work together.”, says Gabrielle Guzman, Director of Ecommerce at Firenze Jewels.
Designed and hand crafted in their state of the art New York workshop, Ritani combines the most current, high-tech computer generated design and manufacturing processes with traditional, old world setting, hand finishing and fine craftsmanship.
All of the pieces within Ritani’s fine jewelry collection feature the world’s most beautiful diamonds and gemstones, hand selected by Ritani’s in-house, certified gemologists. Distinctive finishes in the finest grade platinum and 18k gold characterize their jewelry, ensuring long lasting, durable, and high quality products that can be passed from generation to generation.
To learn more about Firenze Jewels’ vast collection of diamonds, or to view their collection of engagement rings and settings, please visit www.firenzejewels.com.

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.

Rosy Blue, an industry leader in the world diamond market, said that growth in sales to the Gulf Arab region increased by $120,000,000 last year. This is a 57% increase over 1996. For this year, the firm is looking grow $250 mm.

Most people know the (UAE) is a rising star economically, particularly Dubai city. In an age where China and India take the spotlight for the massive size of their growing economies, smaller countries and regions can get overlooked. The UAE economic story is remarkable from every angle. The Emirates’ luxury goods sector is expected to grow to $100 billion by 2010. It is the market for diamond jewelry that is clearly most responsible for the rising sector.  “Diamond jewelry sets are particularly important to the region,” DTC Gulf Markets marketing director Jonathan Chippindale says. “In addition to being unique to the Arab world, sets represent a 55 percent value share of all diamond jewelry sales there and, at an average price of $6,000 per diamond jewelry set, they signify an important growth area for the Gulf market.”

Much of the increase in disposable income is due to the dizzying heights crude oil prices are maintaining. Diamonds have a premium over gold in the Dubai emirate state, as consumers believe they make better investments.

Right Hand Rings are a flamboyant and a smart way to show off nicely manicured hands.  When set with semiprecious stones they fit well with multicolored spring fashion items.

Classic Pendants are in for the 2008 Spring.  Look for heart ornamentation.  Christmas trees stay up for a month after December 25th in some homes, and this year many women aren’t quick to forget February 14.  Spring clothing is more loud and full of detail, and the classic heart pendant is a simple look that provides a nice contrast and keeps the love alive from Valentine’s day.

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.