Just the Right Ruby

As jewelry-lovers with birthdays this month are happy to tell their loved ones, July’s gemstone is the ruby.

http://www.minerals.net/gemstone/ruby_gemstone.aspx

It’s quite a beautiful stone, with that rich red color (and also pink; more on that in a moment), and has been beloved for centuries.  It is corundum, which is not a riddle but a species of gemstone, and has a well-known family member:  the sapphire.  In fact, all corundum but ruby is sapphire. So we could actually consider the ruby a sapphire that just happened to turn out red.

It’s always a good practice to buy gemstones from a reputable gemstone dealer or someone who works directly with reputable gemstone dealers (at San Francisco Jewelry Doctor, we work with top-notch gemstone dealers, gemcutters, and gemologists).  This is especially important with rubies, as much of the ruby jewelry sold in stores contains stones that have been filled with glass.

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A Love Story

Once upon a time, a young man proposed marriage and his beloved gladly accepted.  The ring he chose featured rubies flanking the diamond and, since he was just starting out in his career, the rubies in question were not the famed “pigeon’s blood” but instead their less-expensive but no less beautiful deep pink siblings. 

Fast-forward 40 years.  By now the man had had a quite a career, including time spent as a diplomat; when he came to the Jewelry Doctor he was the director of a large nonprofit organization.  His anniversary was approaching, and he asked to have a ruby-and-diamond brooch made for his wife.  That ruby, of course, needed to match her engagement ring, and so I spent three days at the American Gem Trade Association (“AGTA”) pavilion at the Gem Show in Tucson choosing just the right ruby.

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Which takes us back to last month’s theme:  choosing what’s right for you (and your loved one). Clearly, the gentleman in question could now afford a “pigeon’s blood” ruby.  But that wouldn’t go with her ring.  It would have no real meaning.  And jewelry, especially when it comes to anniversaries, is all about meaning.

Were you a July baby, or do rubies just make your heart and soul sing?  Or perhaps your anniversary is on the horizon?  Give us a call at 415/796-3969, and we’ll design something beautiful and meaningful for you or your special someone.

©2015 Laynie Tzena.

Quality is a Girl's (and Boy's) Best Friend

Our stone of the month is (drumroll, please): the diamond. Since this is the fourth month let's focus on the four important aspects to consider when buying diamonds, usually called "The Four 'C's": color, clarity, cut, and carat weight.

Let's start with the size of the diamond. Some people think that the biggest diamond is the best--and the stories we read about celebrity engagements feed that belief. But it's not true. The best diamond is the one that's right for you. 
 
Others think all diamonds are really the same, and the work is about finding the best price. Not long ago someone told me that he had been shopping online and at a well-known mall store for diamond earrings. He really liked the prices, especially given the size of the stones he had in mind. And who could blame him?  

Educating the customer, helping people to make sound choices when it comes to jewelry, is part of my job as the Jewelry Doctor.  So I suggested we dig a little deeper.  

I called my appraiser, who is also a gemologist, and we took a look at the gemological certificates (called "certs" in the industry) for the loose diamonds on the dealer website and the earrings on the mall store site. (He mentioned in passing that "off" diamonds--i.e., lower-quality diamonds--that don't sell in the showroom are sometimes unloaded online, as the customer is seeing them from a distance.) 

In both cases, the diamonds were not good choices.  Either the cut was different (a cushion cut "matched" with a princess cut, for example), the color was off--meaning the diamond in one earring didn't match the diamond in the other--or the clarity was different (one was an SI2 and the other an I1. These designations ["slightly included," and "included," respectively] describe inclusions in the stone, which determine how much light passes through the diamond).

"So what?" some might say. "It's on her ear."

Some people see it that way. But even setting aside the question of brilliance (where color, clarity, and cut all come into play, since it's not just a cushion cut, but the way it's cut) that people love in a diamond, don't you think that when you're choosing to buy a gift for someone--especially diamond jewelry--it's a good idea to focus on quality?

We think so, too.  So if diamonds make your heart sing, call us at 415/796-3969, and we'll find something wonderful just for you.  

San Francisco Jewelry Doctor.  The real deal.

©2015 Laynie Tzena.

The Jewelry Doctor Offers A Little Holiday Comfort (And Great Gifts)

"Yikes! I'm doomed! Chanukah is almost over, and Christmas is four days away! _______ is going to kill me!"

Now, now, honey. That would only be true in a world without the San Francisco Jewelry Doctor. Fortunately, such a world does not exist. 

Also, people do not usually commit crimes over missing a special occasion. There might be a little frost outside your freezer, though, if you know what I mean.

In light of that, we can all agree that stepping on it would be an excellent idea. You can still get wonderful gifts* in time for Chanukah and Christmas--as well as Kwanzaa--just by calling your friendly neighborhood** Jewelry Doctor, at 415/796-3969.

*Said gifts being beautiful handcrafted pendants, earrings, necklaces, and bracelets in porcelain, Venetian glass, and gemstones.  

Those who place orders by 2 p.m. tomorrow (Monday, December 22) can also order gold, silver, and platinum jewelry.  One of our favorite sources is Stuller.  (Stuller.com.  Browse away.  Then jot down your favorites, call us at 415/796-3969, and we'll check on pricing and availability, order your gifts, and have them at your doorstep by Wednesday. But remember, we need to receive your order by 2 p.m. Monday for you to have it by Wednesday, so you might want to have a look at the website around--now.)

**If you can read this, we're in the neighborhood.

A Better Number

The telephone is a wonderful thing.  Especially when it's you calling.  But sometimes former phone numbers, like those people we used to date, continue to hope we'll come back.

Now, nobody is more romantic than the Jewelry Doctor.  She still remembers that old phone number fondly.  But some things really are in the past.

So feel free to wave to the old number, if you'd like--it was a perfectly fine number, and chances are it has gone to a fine new home.  But remember that when you want to reach Laynie Tzena Design, home of San Francisco Jewelry Doctor, the number to call is 415/796-3969. (And yes, you can also send an email.  Head to www.facebook/myjewelrydoctor, and say hello.)

Hark! Is that the phone ringing now?  Maybe it's you.

San Francisco Jewelry Doctor.  When you call, beautiful things happen.

A New Life in the Making

Once upon a time there was a box of broken jewelry.  A bracelet cried, "She doesn't love us anymore!"  Some stray earrings slumped in a corner of the box.

"Nonsense," said a nearby necklace.  "She's just been busy.  I heard her say she was going to call the Jewelry Doctor." 

"That's right," said a ring, waiting patiently for its stone. 

At this news, the other jewelry perked up, but it was still broken.

Then one day the phone rang at 415/796-3969.

"San Francisco Jewelry Doctor," said the voice on the telephone.

And the jewelry rejoiced, because it saw the promise of a new life.

San Francisco Jewelry Doctor.  Because everybody loves happy endings.


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©2014 Laynie Tzena.

About Your Mother (No, No Freud. There's No Time For That.)

“Oh, no!  Mother’s Day is tomorrow, and here it is almost the last minute.  My mother will kill me!”

Honey, please calm down.

a.  Reality check:  Good news and bad news.

First, the bad news:  It isn't almost the last minute.  It is the last minute.

Now for some good news:  Our handcrafted jewelry gets rave reviews, and we have lots of wonderful gifts on hand.

"How can I see it?  It's not here!"

Oh, but it is.  Just send us an email, and we'll send you some pictures.  Even better, call us at 415/796-3969.

b.  More good news:  The time you were really in danger of your mother even wanting to kill you?  That time when you were little, or maybe that night when you were 15--

"How do you know about that?"

Honey, I'm a doctor.  We know everything.

San Francisco Jewelry Doctor.  Building happy families, one gift at a time.

©2014 Laynie Tzena.

A Word from Our Sponsor, or Remember Those Cookies and Coloring Books?

Your friendly neighborhood Jewelry Doctor would like to remind you that you are only reading this because someone brought you here, and there is a day devoted to that very person.

"Do you mean Mother's Day?  I already got her a couple of cards and some flowers."

What a wonderful beginning.  A bit like what would have happened if your Mom, say, had given you a nice breakfast but decided you didn't really need lunch and dinner.

"Are you saying I have to buy a gift to show her I love her?"

Absolutely not.  And she didn't have to take you to the doctor with that ear infection, either.  Chances are, it would have healed perfectly fine on its own.

"Ah.  I understand.  Well, does San Francisco Jewelry Doctor have any Mother's Day gifts?"

As a matter of fact, we do. 

"We both hate hearts."

No problem.  We have lots of other gorgeous jewelry.  But how nice that you have that in common.

"Also, I'm in Pennsylvania."

Well, that's wonderful.  Philadelphia and everything.  I understand UPS and FedEx both serve Pennsylvania, and of course you have post offices.  Just don't leave it to the last minute.

"What's your phone number?  I'm calling you now."

415/796-3969.  Oh, there's the phone.  That must be you.  Hello!

San Francisco Jewelry Doctor.  Helping you with great jewelry for every occasion, so you don't spend the next year hearing about how it's not really that big a deal, it just would have been nice.

©2014 Laynie Tzena.