Diamonds - Not Just a Girl’s Best Friend

Never thought I would see it again in my current lifetime. Men are buying diamonds for themselves here on Paradise Island. I know for a fact I have gone close to a decade where I was lucky to make any kind of a man’s ring let alone a man’s diamond ring. That has all changed recently. Diamonds are no longer just for girls, silly!

My shop, up to only recently, has been all about the ladies; for sure, thousands of male customers lavish their loved ones with diamonds. I’m talking stud earrings, big rings, dazzling pendants and glistening diamond tennis bracelets or even diamond belly button rings. Some ladies wear diamonds on other unmentionable parts of their anatomy now and then if they are into that.

Many of my guy customers would occasionally buy a nice heavy neck chain or want to make a statement wearing a heavy gold bracelet, which brings me back to one of the many reasons guys buy nice jewelry - it’s not always for love. It can also be a case of “If you got it, flaunt it!”

I don’t know what has sparked the new interest in men’s rings. During my early years in business in Boston with my uncle Ernest, a jeweler/goldsmith born and raised in Boston’s North End, back in the early 1920s it was predominantly Italian immigrants who lived there; like New York City, Boston has their Little Italy. Needless to say, Ernest went to school or hung out with underprivileged kids and some of them later in the 50s through the 70s became fully fledged “Wise Guys.” And what respectable “Wise Guy” would dare walk around the streets and schmooze around in late night clubs without the required Wise Guy Bling? When these characters came into the shop there was no mistaking them. When I was a kid apprenticing there, it always made me a bit nervous when they were in the shop hanging around in two’s and three’s, especially at closing time, if you catch my drift. Uncle said, “Don’t worry about it, I know these guys!” I found out later none of those characters would dare rob us because Ernest grew up and knew the old bosses besides the new bosses (sons or nephews), and in those days, they bought major bling for their mothers, current wife, sisters, nieces, girlfriends, mistresses, ex-wives, I think you get the picture… Ernest was these Wise Guy’s private jeweler, and business was good!                          

Ernest ran a strictly legitimate business and he refused to get involved in anything underhand with these folks and believe it or not they respected him for that.

I’ll never forget the story he told me that happened in the 1950s, a time he was making a late night jewelry delivery to a certain someone in the North End. Parking was impossible (as it is today!), so he double parked, ran into a three-story tenement building, returned to the car five minutes later and noticed all his hubcaps were missing from his Caddy. He was furious! Back at the shop the next day, he made one single phone call, you can bet it wasn’t to the Boston Police Dept. Ernest was told to park in the same place he parked the night before at the same time, leave it there and take a short walk around the block. When Ernest returned from his stroll all four of his original hub caps had miraculously returned with an apology note under the windshield wiper! Uncle had some juice! 

Back then, business was booming for my uncle and me. We made jewelry for some very famous and infamous people, sports stars, actors and actresses… I dare not mention names for fear they may still be alive, and who knows, they could now be living here in Southwest Florida. They can stay incognito and out of my life as far as I’m concerned. 

Enough about ancient history, I’m infatuated with the here and now, the rings I have created the past couple of months have been spectacular and so out of the ordinary. I admit not all of them included diamonds. I’m proud of the Atocha coin ring I created recently. The diamond rings were totally custom created and one-of-a-kind rings. One of my creations had a large carat center with an additional three carats of round and square diamonds on each side and surrounding the center diamond. This is one eye catcher! The others were classic retro rings with a large single center diamond that were sometimes supplied by the customer; one in particular belonged to a gentleman whose wife had recently passed. He decided to make a pinky ring from his wife’s engagement ring, and he would wear it and enjoy it until he is eventually “pushing up daisies” (his exact words!) He’s going to will it to his daughter. So, Gentleman, bring back the wearing of the gent’s finger ring or the pinky ring, for that matter! It’s also a lasting precious legacy to hand down to the next generation!