Get In Shape!

I’m filling in for my daughter, Lindsay, who tells me she’s been suffering from a bad case of writer’s block. I know from experience, being the author of “All That Glitters” for the better part of 25 years, and the block would happen to me on occasions, I just had to wait a day or two to gather topic material from the experience I would have with certain people who entered the door. A certain part of her absence has to do with being exhausted, now that she is pretty much in charge of running the show at our family-owned jewelry business.

In between my retirement travel sojourns, I pop in and out of the shop to complete certain intricate custom work or near-impossible jewelry repairs my daughter will accept because like me, for in the past 55 years, I hated to say no to a customer without at least trying! Now the shop is a place where my presence is a bittersweet experience; I’m old school, my daughter… not so much. It’s kind of a darned if I do and darned if I don’t show up relationship. I still love the jewelry biz, only now I control when I come, when I go, and especially what I will or will not do. Lindsay will save impossible work and tell the customer she will show it to me. If Dad can’t do it, it can’t be done. I still love a challenge because I’m still alive and kicking… Now let’s get in shape!

We are always asked what the most popular shaped diamond is, but this depends on current trends. What is popular one year (or that month?) can turn on a dime when some diva, celebrity, or movie star shows up on the tube or social media sporting an enormous ten-carat+ engagement ring on their finger.

Currently I’m told by Lindsay AKA “The Jeweler’s Daughter” that the oval cut is the shape of the year and is popular here at our shop on Marco Island. I personally thought it was still the modified cushion cut (a rounded oblong rectangle) here on the island, but she begged to differ. It’s not the case.

Before that, a year or so ago, it was the radiant cut (a multifaceted rectangle cut with or without sharp-angled corners). Of course, you have all heard of the princess cut (a multi-faceted square cut). Both were not your grandmother’s emerald cut!

Back in the good old days, ladies had the choice of a round (brilliant cut) oval, marquis (football-shaped) heart shape, the Asscher cut (my favorite, a square cut with a hall of mirrors effect), and the once popular emerald cut (a basic rectangle cut with minimal facets).

Nowadays, you can buy either a natural or lab-grown diamond in the profile shape of Elvis or a 3-D horse - even an elephant - you name it. I’m not kidding. Besides the ridiculous, there is the triangle, shield, and even kite shape, pretty much whatever floats your boat. And yes, you can even get a diamond boat shaped too!

One thing about the hottest trendy shape is that they tend to become more expensive. For a really short period, the marquise shape exploded into popularity when Selena Gomez debuted wearing a massive eight-carat rock. The problem was that it was not popular for decades and there simply were not a lot of rough diamonds being cut into marquise shapes. At one point, I could not give them away if I wanted to; the next thing I knew, everyone wanted one and my suppliers had none to supply. Prices for large marquises were astronomical! Now that the marquise trend is passé, the prices have dropped considerably.

In my opinion, the round or brilliant cut is the best bang for your buck, because it is always in style. Currently in the shop, large carat-sized lab-created diamond ovals are our best-selling shape and not just for their shape being the cat’s meow. It’s the price. It’s always about the money, folks! Lindsay’s custom-made collection of oval and radiant cuts in rings, pendants, and earrings has been flying out of the shop. In all my years as a jeweler on the island, I have never seen anything like it. It’s a fact here that the lab-created diamonds out-sell the natural diamonds. For many folks, it’s a no-brainer; $2,000 won’t buy you a quality natural one-carat diamond, but choosing a round lab-grown, you could be sporting close to a three-carat ring! (Fancy shapes in labs tend to be a little more money)

Many years ago, before the advent of lab-created diamonds, I remember this disappointed young man who balked at the price of a natural one-carat diamond engagement ring. In the 1990s, a decent one could run you 6K to 7K! “Why couldn’t my girl just be happy with a granite ring?” I told him I would be happy to put one together for him, just don’t expect her to be thrilled with it and it’s a no-return, no-refund deal. Jeez, if I presented a piece of granite to my wife as an engagement ring, it better have room to engrave my epitaph.

It all comes down to different strokes for different folks; people fall in love with all shapes and sizes. I certainly won’t suggest you choose granite or marble or some other mineral that’s for sure.

Today, you can go big if you go lab-created for less than you could imagine. Come in and see for yourself. You will be amazed at the beauty and brilliance for a whole lot less than a natural diamond.