The Top Drawer

As the summer days come to a memorable end and the crisp fall weather makes its way through the coming weeks, jewelry colors and designs begin to heat up! Expect traditional warm tones in jewelry designs and stones to become a hot staple for most wardrobes this season and well into 2009.

Some trends becoming more popular among designer jewelry aficionados are statement accessories. Whether it’s a stunning cuff bangle bracelet or a gorgeous diamond necklace, one eye catching piece will be enough to create a dazzling signature look.  The “less is more” approach is definitely in right now.

Designer jewelry lovers have a lot to look forward to this coming season, there’s many surprises in store!

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.

As investments in Real Estate and stocks continue on a downward spiral, many are realizing that a girl’s best friend may also be her best investment.  Very high quality diamonds and other gemstones have a lot of investment appeal if one takes into account global trends in the coming years.  The fact is that wealth is being distributed more widely in our global world, but at the same time mines are being depleted of fine quality stones.

Antoinette Matlins is the author of “Jewelry & Gems: The Buying Guide.”  She says “The cost of the finest emeralds has increased approximately 75% over the past 2 years, rubies about 70%, and sapphires over 60%.”  She notes that wealthy individuals in the Middle East and China are increasingly interested in purchasing top quality gemstones, and their habits go a long way in explaining why prices are moving up.

Investing in gemstones requires a tremendous amount of expertise.  Stories of tourists trying to buy gems from individuals near mines in places like the Golden Triangle in Thailand are infamous.  Scores of people have been swindled while outside their home countries because they think their hobby or amateur knowledge is good enough to identify quality when buying from individuals at seemingly immense discounts.

If you want advice on what gemstones are most likely to increase in value, ask one of the experts at Firenze.  Test our salespeople’s knowledge and you’ll see they are some of the most educated in New York when it comes to high-end gemstones.  Our reputation comes from our genuine commitment to each and every person that approaches us for advise.

If you lose jewelry at the beach this summer, chances are it will not stay buried in the sand. In contrast to years past, amateur “treasure hunters” will have a much easier time locating your lost gold necklace or ring. Technology advances, as well as falling prices from higher production numbers, mean the metal detector of 2008 does far more for much less. A “hobby” metal detector ten years ago could help you find tin cans. Today, for a similar price a detector can find small jewelry items, sometimes worth over $1000. Machines today can detect the difference between platinum and gold. Furthermore, the high price of gold and shaky economy makes hunting for gold objects particularly attractive this year.

If you are forgetful, and leave a ring or bracelet under a beach blanket, chances are you won’t find it the next day; regardless of whether it’s still there or a treasure hunter found it after the beach goers left for the day.

There are, however, plenty of stories of good Samaritan treasure hunters who find identifiable items they return to owners. Vietnam veterans have been reunited through finds of their class rings and dog tags.

For $153, you can be the proud owner of the Garrett Ace 150 Metal Detector

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.”

In just eight days, the largest diamond to be seen in any worldwide auction will be offered by Cristie’s “Jewels: The Hong Kong Sale“. It is expected to sell for over $6,000,000. It was cut from a 460 carat rough to create the 101.27 carat stone, was given an F color rating by GIA, and is internally flawless.

It is a telling sign that the gem is being sold in the region where economic growth is moving at a massive pace. “Only 3 colorless diamonds of over 100 carats have ever appeared at auction, all sold in Geneva.” says Francois Curiel, Christie’s Chairman of Jewelry. The May 28 auction will sell 345 lots and is expected to achieve in bring revenue of $56 million.

The spring style magazines covering fashion talked a lot about necklaces, using words like “big, bold, bright, and daring” to highlight the most important trends. Necklaces are statement pieces this spring and going into the summer. There were bold necklaces shown in the Elle’s photo coverage of Fashion week. Vogue also pointed out that the cost of jewelry now looks very attractive compared to the “skyrocketing” prices of clothing. High end jewelry is selling at a brisk pace.