Diamonds And Natural Stone: 2010

Jewelry Insider's Top Ten Blingy Bits of 2010

It's been a year full of surprises my fellow jewelry hounds. From diamond dentures and bug jewelry to gold parties and Gaga, the "Year of the Tiger" was nothing if not 'unusual'.

So as the last days of 2010 take their final bow, it's time to do what we media folks love to do best: Look back. And make lists.

Here is a smattering of some of my favorite jewelry moments combined with some of yours - because without you guys, I'm just all alone in the universe writing about Lindsay Lohan's jail jewelry and diamond dog collars as if it actually MEANS something.

So my heartfelt thanks to you all for joining this shiny place of jewel-filled sarcasm, schadenfreude and joy for yet another year. Here's to more days of diamond diversions!

10. The 'Ears' Have It

If 2009 was the year of the statement necklace, 2010 brought the sentiment to the ears. The trend started with the smashing success of Courteney Cox's Golden Globe teardrop triumph and continued throughout awards season. Look for swinging chandelier shapes and shoulder dusters to continue to shine well into 2011.

9. Baseball Bling

In the year's 4th most popular post, I got to the bottom of those weird rope necklaces all the baseball players were wearing last season. I was surprised as anyone to know that jocks not only get emotional about jewelry - they believe it has super powers. And I thought I had issues...

8. Pink Diamond Shatters Price Record

So. There's this dude, Laurence Graff. And he has piles of money. What does he do with it? He gobbles up the world's most valuable diamonds like pints of Chunky Monkey. His latest acquisition was a 24.78-carat piece of pink perfection that sold for a record-breaking $46.16 million. And now back to our regularly scheduled budget deficit....

7. Neil Lane - Jeweler of the Year

My jeweler of the year award has to go to Neil Lane. He's always been a red carpet staple but his monopoly on celebrity weddings in 2010 was staggering. He designed Anna Paquin's bridal jewels, Nicole Richie's wedding band, Jessica Simpson's newsworthy ruby rock - along with the bling for the entire Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise. AND he launched a bridal line with Kay Jewelers to reach the mere mortal market. Just call him the Kim Kardashian of the jewelry world: He somehow seems to be everywhere. And he's taking it straight to the bank.

6. Black Diamond Blitz

When Howard Stern awarded his 'Tiger Woods Miss Mistress' winner a black diamond ring for her trouble back in March, I feared one of my favorite stones would be forever branded the 'other women'. But Sex And The City II (despite being one of my biggest disappointments this year - see #5 for more) gave black diamonds a glittering close up - and the stone is now a must-have for red carpet divas and regular folks alike. I'm giving it my 'most likely to succeed' award. Stay tuned.

5. Diamond Disappointments

Not to be all Debbie Downer and all...but there were some MAJOR jewelry/fashion bummers this year.

Exhibit A: The Oscars

When Kathy Ireland's questionable interviewing skills are the only thing worth squawking about - you know you've got a bummer year on your hands.

Exhibit B: Fashion Week: Spring 2011:

Where. Was. The. Jewelry?

Exhibit C: Sex And The City II:

My favorite New York women finally jumped the shark. Aiden? In Abu Dhabi? "I Am Woman" karaoke? C'mon!

Exhibit D: Angelina Jolie.

The world's most stunning actress (a la Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn) can't seem to wear anything but black and diamond studs on the red carpet. And Jennifer Aniston and Julia Roberts are stuck in the muck with her. Help me, Housewives of Beverly Hills. You're my only hope.

4. Where's The Beef?

Lady Gaga wore a meat dress. 'Nuff said.

3. Kanye West's Diamond Dentures

In the third most popular post for 2010, we learned that replacing your teeth with real diamonds might help people forget you're an egomaniac for a week or so.

2. Chelsea Clinton's Engagement Ring

More people read my post on Chelsea's engagement ring than any other entry in the history of the blog. Despite the fact that I (and all of my other fellow jewelry hounds) STILL haven't found a decent picture of the thing. Hat's off to you, Chels, for keeping us all well out of your business. And for making my Alexa rating skyrocket.

1. The Sapphire Heard 'Round the World.

Hey. Did you hear? Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton. Shocker! Seriously, though, you're going to have to endure many a royal wedding post in 2011 - cuz there's gonna be major crown jewels on display. I'm already hyperventilating.

But perhaps the most important repercussion from all this nonsense, is the resurgence of the Lady Di ring silhouette and sapphires as a popular stone for engagement rings. I hope the trend continues, because if there's one thing I've learned in 2010 - you don't have to break the bank to get a great piece of jewelry these days (JewelClub, anyone?). And that includes engagement rings.

OK. I think I hear the champagne calling my name. (It happens.) I hope you all have a safe and shining New Year. In the meantime, weigh in with your favorite jewelry moments from 2010! As always, I love to hear from you. (Janet - that means you!)

See you on the flip side!

The Anatomy of a Custom Order

I realize that many people have no clue what goes into the actual production of a custom job for a customer at Daniel R. Spirer Jewelers. So I've decided to document one that I took in this December. I had an old customer come in and tell me that she wanted one of my handmade 22k gold chains (as pictured). However given where gold prices have gone, I discussed with her pricing and she mentioned that she had a gold Krugerrand that she had inherited from her parents and that she felt strongly about being able to use the actual gold from that coin in the necklace if that was possible. I knew it would lower her cost a bit and I told her that I would be happy to try and accommodate her needs if at all possible. This first meeting took about a half hour to complete. She said that she would bring the coin in for me to use shortly.

After she left, I realized that while I knew that Kruggerands were gold, I didn't really know what they were composed of. I assumed (mistakenly, as it turns out) that they were simply pure gold. So I then spent a half hour on the phone with my primary gold supplier who proceeded to tell me that in fact Kruggerands were 22k gold. At first that sounded great because I need 22k gold to make my chains in, but he then informed me that the only alloy they used was copper. Not only would this not produce the color I need, but I knew the metal wouldn't behave properly when I went to fuse the links (I don't use solder in these chains; I simply heat them until they actually are almost at melting point and then fuse them together). We then got into a long discussion about how I would get it to the alloy I would need and I soon realized that it was completely impractical as I would need to get about 3 more ounces of pure gold, alloy it only with silver and then mix her coin in. This was impractical because I only needed a little over an ounce and a half of gold for the chain and I then would have a lot of her metal mixed in with my own that I would have to sit on until I had a need for it (plus she wouldn't get all of her metal back in her chain).

So I realized that I would need to find a refiner who would take her coin and alloy it to pure gold and then send it back to me. It took a few phone calls but I found a guy I bought some other materials from who agreed to do it. Once I got the pure gold back, I could add only the quantity of my own pure gold so that I could make up the specific 22k gold alloy that I needed for the piece. Basically I had now spent about an hour on the phone clarifying all of this.

About a week later, my customer came in with her husband and the coin and the order was placed, with the understanding that, despite the late starting point I would try and have it ready for Christmas (the order was actually placed on December 9). I then had to call and confirm with the refiner that I was sending the coin in to them and to spend a few minutes begging that they would get it back to me as quickly as possible. The piece had to be packed up and shipped overnight to Los Angeles. In the meanwhile, I also had to call my regular gold supplier and order the balance of the 24k gold I would need. I didn't actually get the pure gold back until December 17 (one week before Christmas). Now I had to actually make the chain itself.

In order to make the chain, I first had to melt all of the 24k gold together with the silver and copper that would alloy it down to the 22k gold mix I needed. This is basically taking a really huge flame on my oxy-acetylene torch and heating up a huge mass of gold until it melts, and then sticking a wooden stick in to stir it around until the alloys have blended properly. The stick, of course, catches fire but you just have to kind of ignore it for awhile and try really hard not to singe yourself. With the molten metal in the crucible, while keeping the flame on it the whole time, you have to lift up the crucible and pour it, all at once, into an ingot mold that creates a 3" long extremely thick rod of round wire.

The next step is to roll the rod down to a much thinner gauge wire. A rolling mill is used, the wire is fed into it, and each time you roll it through you crank down the gap a bit to make it smaller. Eventually you have to use smaller and smaller holes to roll it through. After every three or four runs through the mill, the wire has to be annealed (heated until it is red hot) in order to soften it enough so that the metal isn't being stressed as it keeps getting smaller and smaller. But the rolling mills we use actually make square wire not round wire so, eventually, I have to start pulling the wire through a drawplate. This is a bit more complicated. I have to first file the ends of the wire into points and then grab it with a large pair of tongs and physically pull it through progressively smaller holes. Again it has to be annealed regularly, and inevitably it breaks and I end up having to file the ends of, and pull, multiple pieces of wire. Usually in the larger sizes this isn't too hard but as the wire continues to get thinner it eventually reaches the point where the filed ends are so thin that they routinely break off before I can actually get any of the wire through.

Eventually when I reach the point where I have wire the size I actually need I anneal it one more time and then proceed to actually making the chain. Please note that I have now spent about 2 hours with the customer, on the phone with various people, shipping the package, etc. plus about 4-5 hours making the metal and wire. In tomorrow's posting I will continue describing the process.

Valentina Zelyaeva by David Burton for Elle Russia

Jewelry Libations for New Year's Eve

Cocktails and jewelry - what a winning combination. As I was recently pondering what jewelry to break out for my favorite champagne-drenched holiday this Friday (wait for the Carrie Bradshaw moment...), I couldn't help but wonder (there it is...): Why is it that jewelry and luxury libations have such a glittering partnership?

First, there's the cocktail ring. The jewelry category emerged in the roaring 20s during Prohibition at illegal, booze-filled ‘cocktail’ parties. Women went big with fashion statements at these underground soirees, flashing their oversized, colorful baubles along with their newly exposed knee caps.

Cocktail rings generally have an oversized center stone of 3 carats or more and are typically worn on the right hand (any finger will do). But as we jewelry hounds know, there are plenty of costume options out there that won't break the bank.

But there's another drinkable jewelry look emerging from the shadows lately - champagne diamonds. From light champagnes, to burnished browns and rich cognacs, these natural diamonds offer a selection of tones and hues to compliment every style, taste and tolerance level.

An informative piece in the New York Times reports that the stone made its debut in the late 1990s when it was discovered in Rio Tinto's Argyle mine in Australia, but is only now gaining a strong following - including from yours truly and a bevy of Hollywood's leading ladies.

If you really want to tie one on, how about a double shot with a champagne diamond cocktail ring like this one for almost $400 off retail? 'Tis the season!

And be sure to check out the champagne diamond treasure chest on Jewelry.com for more bubbly bling - it's jewelry that's perfect for teetotalers and the tipsy alike!