She would train the new people in selling and gaining more prospects. Then they would go out to lunch and on their return she would bring them into our store. I would check her ring and clean it for her, as well as the new Merrill Lynch trainees. This took a few minutes, so the gals would walk around the store and lust over various items they felt they could not afford.

We would take it out of the case and let them try it on. The trainer would say “Make that your goal. I mean it. Set a goal for 30 days or 90 days to get however many new clients and then when you reach that goal come down to Schatzley’s and buy a nice piece of jewelry to reward yourself.”

That is what jewelry is all about. A celebration.

Set a goal, reach that goal and reward yourself. Jewelry will be the best reward because it will last for many years and it costs so little to maintain. Unlike a car.

We frequently have customers tell us that a ring was given to them by their husband when he got a new promotion or when they paid off the mortgage. Obviously, when a child is born we celebrate with a charm or pendant or earrings.

Events such as these are what memories and inheritances are all about.

Jack Schatzley

Graduate Gemologist  and Connoisseur

One of the questions Unity Marketing asked respondents to agree or disagree with was “Luxury is defined by the brand of the product, so if it isn’t a luxury brand it isn’t a luxury.” Well, do you agree or disagree?

Webster defines luxury as “the enjoyment of the best and most costly things”

From my perspective, brand names in the jewelry business are not always the finest quality, hence not ‘best’, but they can be ‘costly’. Take for example the many diamond engagement ring designers who have created a brand name recognition. When I have an occasion to inspect these I am shocked at the lower quality of workmanship and diamond quality of many of these brand name designers.

Naturally, I am comparing to the workmanship and diamond quality we use in our original designs. Take a look at the designs we have done.  We are always working on more, primarily for the customer who wants her own look.

www.schatzleys.com and www.schatzleycustomjewelers.com our newest website.

I am not talking about Tiffany & Co. or Neiman Marcus both of whom maintain a high degree of quality standards. But many other retailers use diamonds just below the color and clarity used by fine quality independent jewelers. In addition we make our jewelry in the United States, not China or India or Thailand  like so many brand name designers.

Nothing wrong with items made out of the country, but consider this. We pay a diamond setter $5 to $10 to set small diamonds. In the Far East the setters are paid .50 to .75 cents per diamond to set. Mulitply that times 28 diamonds in a typical diamond engagement ring and you have a labor cost range of $14 to $280. Our rings cost the retail buying consumer less. How can that be? You are paying for advertising in all the major magazines to make it a brand name. Is it the best? Is it luxury? Is it value? Is it what you want? You decide.

Jack Schatzley

Graduate Gemologist/Appraiser/Connoisseur

As you have read, there are slight variations in cutting which have a slight effect on brilliance and sparkle.  Some want the ultimate and to others, who can see very little difference in the sparkle, opt for a very fine cut just short of ultimate. Hence a savings of 10 to 20%. I would never suggest an average or poor cut. Nothing to be proud of.

Likewise, there are slight variations in the color grades of diamonds. Few diamonds are pure white (colorless). Most are in shades of yellow, brown or even grey. And some are influenced by the presence of blue fluorescence. Diamonds with a strong or very strong fluorescence may appear hazy in sunlight. Faint or medium and some strong fluoresecence will have little or no effect on the color of the diamond. Except in the mid to lower range of I to M, which are improved with the presence of fluorescence. Stay away from diamonds that fluoresce yellow.

Diamond clarity is one of the most controversial grades in the trade. Particularly in the SI1, SI2 and I1 range. You need to see the diamonds and know what to look for. A certificate, even from the GIA, will not show these finer points of concern.

I have been doing this for over 50 years and I would NEVER buy a diamond sight un-seen. There are too many minor characteristics that simply do not appear on the certificate but do appear on or in the diamond. And these can be game changers.

I just did a ‘search’ for a 1ct round diamond, F color and SI1 clarity in the ultimate cutting quality and found a range of diamonds I could sell for $8300 to $12,000. If I did not fine tune the ‘search’ for finest cut the range was $5000 to $12,000. GIA graded diamonds only. There is a reason for this wide spread that is NOT apparent on the certificate.

Are you buying a diamond or a certificate? Correct answer……Diamond

Do you need assurance? Get a GIA certified diamond from a qualified Jeweler Gemologist and study the diamond under the microscope with the gemologist who will guide you.

Call me at 419-535-8888 or send an E-mail to jackschatzley@bex.net if you have any questions.

I flew back to my customer and we walked around the house, inside and out in all kinds of light, and were mesmerized by the color change in this gem and the clarity, as well.

This was 1/2ct larger than the one with a gun metal color outside in the shade.

Now my customer wrote a check for $150,000 and was most pleased to do so, because it was slightly larger, better quality and the same price they had been asking for their stone, after discounting it from $200,000.

You can see this fine gem on our website www.schatzleys.com under ‘Colored Stones’.

Over the years I have had the pleasure of working with other customers who appreciate rarity and high quality. I have especially enjoyed the many Alexandrite sales I have made from 1/2ct to this 7.30cts gem.

There are synthetic Alexandrites and the most prevelent stone that imitates Alexandrite is a color change synthetic Sapphire which is sold abundantly in such places as Egypt and Mexico City, but were made by Union Carbide in Chicago, IL. There are also natural color change Sapphires and Garnets and Zultanite.

All rare, very durable and a pleasure to own, but none have the aura of the Alexandrite.

Jack Schatzley

Graduate Gemologist/Appraiser/Connoisseur

Legend has it that Alexander the Great was presented a ring containing this very rare gem from the Ural Mountains, obtained by the Royal Jeweler. Alexander observed it first in the cloudy daylight. A lovely grass green with a slight hint of blue. Then upon entering the castle with only candle light he noted the color had changed to a lovely reddish violet color reminiscent of raspberry. He instantly assumed the gem was evil and had the jeweler be-headed. As legends go, who knows the truth. But this illustrates the phenomenon of fine Alexandrite. Lesser Alexandrites have very little color change from one light source to another and some will have a combination of both greenish-blue and raspberry at the same time. Most will be cloudy due to inclusions.

Therefore, to be considered World Class quality it MUST have that profound color change and free of eye visible inclusions. Anything less will downgrade the value.

My customer had seen an Alexandrite in her newly adopted city since retiring and enjoyed the lovely raspberry color inside the store under incandescent light. Outside it appeared to be the color of gun metal grey. Not a lovely color for sure.

She then asked me to find a gem quality Alexandrite, like she had seen before. A week later I called her to say I found a 2.87cts gem Alexandrite with a profound color change and I would fly down to her home that weekend to show it to her.

Once she saw the profound color change from her dining room to her patio to her kitchen light she wrote me a check for $38,000. Then she dropped the bomb on me saying that if I could find a larger one she would be most interested. I sat down at her dining table breathed deeply and asked just what she had in mind. As it turns out the gem she saw was 6.80cts.,  much larger than this Alexandrite.

to be continued………

Jack Schatzley

Graduate Gemologist/Appraiser/Connoisseur

One might have an inclusion in the center, another will have an inclusion deep into the diamond near the pavilion(point on back side) and another will have a cluster of numerous tiny crystals off to the side, another will have a black speck and another will have a feather type inclusion. The latter is a breakup in the molecular structure.

All are SI1 but viewed under 10x magnification, each of us will find one that suits our taste better than the others. And chances are all would agree that one is just not as desirable as the others. For this reason it makes buying on the internet a challenge. The same goes for SI2 in clarity and this gets even more critical in the range of acceptable clarity.

There is a range in each grade and that range must be viewed under the microscope to appreciate the difference. We recently had a customer with very demanding parameters and we had to compete with what he was finding on the internet. Ultimately we made the sale because he could see our SI2 was almost and SI1 whereas the ones on the internet were almost I1. Other than having to pay sales taxes, the price was the same.

We refer to the GIA graded diamonds because we have great confidence in the GIA being strict and consistent. We find EGL, IGI and a few lesser labs grade for the benefit of the seller. These labs tend to be soft on color as well as clarity. One of their VS2′s will be more like a GIA SI1 or even SI2. Likewise, their SI2 will be more like I1.

The AGS and PGS are also very dependable labs. So when comparing diamonds be sure it is from the GIA, AGS or PGS, to make sure you are comparing apples to apples.

GIA is Gemological Institute of America

AGS is American Gem Society

PGS is Professional Gem Sciences

EGL is European Gemological Laboratory

IGI is International Gemological Information

Jack Schatzley

GIA Graduate Gemologist/Appraiser/Connoisseur

On the GIA scale a diamond with no inclusions visible under 10x (power) magnification is considered Flawless. That same diamond magnified to 60x or 100x might have some spots, but under 10x none. 

Is a flawless diamond any more beautiful than one that is graded VS2, four grades lower? No it is not. Not even SI1 which is the next lower grade, because we are still using the 10x magnification standard. Yet a VS2 is 30 to 40% less expensive than a Flawless diamond. Great savings and no loss in beauty.

The greatest controversy comes when a diamond is graded as SI1 or SI2 or even I1.

Years ago, an I1 in clarity was thought to be a diamond with a visible inclusion to the un-aided eye, but an SI2 in clarity did not. However, many SI2 diamonds do have a visible inclusion, when viewed from the back side, but are more difficult to find from the top view.

Even an occasional SI1 in a larger diamond will have a visible inclusion. SI1 is the most popular clarity grade because it maintains a high degree of beauty, no visible inclusions, and costs much less.

Rarity is a factor but when it comes to diamond clarity we tend to look for value.

When purchasing diamond earrings SI1 would be very high, SI2 would be great while an I1 would be very practical in terms of beauty and value. After all, with a pretty face in-between the diamonds no one will notice the clarity. However, an I2 would be a diamond with diminished sparkle and beauty. An I3 is downright ugly.

In an engagement ring romance enters the equation along with a desire for beauty.

Consider an SI1 or possibly a very good SI2 if you are looking for a larger stone. The mall stores tend to push what they call SI3, a grade term not recognized by the GIA. The grade SI3 is used for a diamond that is technically an I1. Be very careful of these and the gem labs who use the term.

to be continued………………………

Jack Schatzley

Graduate Gemologist/Appraiser/Connoisseur

The other factor is the possible presence of fluorescence, which is found, to some degree, in about 30% of all diamonds.  Fluorescence is the effect of energy being created by exposing the diamond to ultraviolet light from the sun or an Ultra-violet lamp. Personally I like diamonds H to M color with medium fluorescence because in daylight they appear whiter. But under incandesecnt light they revert back to the slight tinge of yellow or brown. If the fluorescence is strong or very strong the diamond might look hazy in sunlight. And if it fluoresceses yellow, rather than blue, it will not look as good in daylight. Hence a lower value is assigned.

If you have a high color grade such as G or better with fluorescence there is no benefit. So do not be afraid of fluorescent diamonds but be aware of their effect on color in different light sources.

Moreover, fluorescence is a great identifying characteristic if your diamond exhibits this gentle phenomenon.

White gold and/or Platinum prongs have an enhancing effect on the color of a diamond, while yellow gold prongs or bezels will allow the metal to reflect inside and make the diamond reflect flashes of the metal’s color. However, by contrast an I to M color set in yellow gold prongs will look better than when viewing un-set.

Regardless of the color of your diamond, with or without fluorescence, choose the metal that best suits what you like and only you will know for sure the color of your diamond. Assuming it was properly graded.

Jack Schatzley

Graduate Gemologist/Appraiser/Connoisseur

We are concerned with body color, not the dispersion of colors from reflected light. In order to best observe the color or absence of color in a diamond we turn it upside down and view it from the side in a trough, while comparing to diamonds of known color. We do this because the eye cannot carry the memory of color. With experience, one can look at a diamond in a trough and judge the approximate color but that is not to be depended upon for the actual grade. It needs to be compared in proper light against a diamond of known color grade.

The Gemological Institute of America established the color grading scale we use today starting with D as the absolute finest pure white color. Followed by E,F,G,H etc.

If you compared a D with an H face up you are not likely to see the difference. Turn them over and put in a trough and you should be able to see the difference. Accept the H color and you have saved about 20%.

Now compare that H to a K and face up they look much alike; edge up there is a noted difference. And a savings of 30%. Which reminds me of a customer who was looking at a group of 2 carat diamonds I had for her to select from and she said she understood the rarity of the whiter colors but the K appeared ‘warmer’ to your her and selected it. Plesae be aware that a K color grade is only slightly yellow edge up if properly graded.

Once you get lower than M the face-up color is more obvious, particularly when compared with a whiter diamond. And the M is another 30% less than a K.

Australian diamonds tend to be on the brownish side while African and Russian diamonds tend to be more on the yellow side of the spectrum, if not top top white color.

to be continued…………………..

Jack Schatzley

Graduate Gemologist/Appraiser/Connoisseur

Old Mine cut diamonds date back to the early to mid 1800′s, while the Old European cuts date from about 1850 until 1920.

The former is kind of cushion shape (four sides and four corners) while the latter is more round. Generally both are cut with more depth in relation to the modern cut diamond, but many are very shallow. Apparently because the cutter was trying to save as much weight as he could. And not yet knowing the correct angles and proportions to get the most sparkle.

Once in a while we come across a  very well proportioned cut older diamond and marvel at the effort and love shown the rough diamond by that un-known cutter.

Many of these diamonds end up coming back on the market and get re-cut to modern proportions, thereby losing a bit of history in the quest for perfection.

If an older diamond has chips or abrasions from 100 years of wear, it is adviseable to re-cut to either save the original old style, eliminating the chips and abrasions or possibly to a modern cut. Economics and the jewelers own tastes are the deciding factors.

Until about 1995 the older cuts were considerably lower value in most jeweler’s eyes.

Then the demand for Vintage designs and Vintage diamonds closed the gap. Now you understand why Baskin-Robbins has 51 flavors. To each his/her own.

Previously we spoke of the desire to cut a diamond so perfectly that it has visible Hearts and Arrows precision. Now we speak of the desire to own a piece of history in our diamonds, knowing it has less than perfect proportions, polish and symmetry.

But which one of us are perfect in all respects?

Jack Schatzley

Graduate Gemologist/Appraiser/ Connoisseur