True Colors?

I’m back on the island touching up on second base, so to speak, before my next end-of-summer sojourn to my second most beloved place on earth… Mallorca, Spain. I’m really getting into this semi-retired/almost retired thing. From my recent reconnaissance of the island, the only thing missing here is tumbleweeds and vultures sitting on spiked cacti, way too quiet here for my liking.

My daughter Lindsay and my summer staff have been doing a spectacular job despite the lack of summer tourists; luckily, our thirty-two years of loyal local clients have been keeping the shop relatively busy. The demand for our selection of lab created diamonds has only increased this summer, and the most popular lab pieces are not just any one thing. Stud earrings were originally in demand since the last holiday season, and it has now morphed to large carat rings, tennis bracelets, pendants and in and out lab diamond hoop earrings.

Shop sales records show a dramatic increase in demand for lab created jewelry since January. I’m aware that Lindsay has more than a couple of times mentioned the popularity of lab diamonds in her column “The Jeweler’s Daughter.” I have affectionately nicknamed her “The Lab Queen” due to her prolific sales of them.

Its popularity is not just here on this little island in Southwest Florida; it is exploding all over the world. I will admit I was a bit hesitant to carry them here on the island; after all, my customers have been buying, wearing, and enjoying my natural diamond jewelry for over three decades. Who would want anything but? All it took was a younger set of eyes, taste, and bravado - namely my daughter - who pushed and shoved me to smell the coffee and evolve to what has become the most popular thing since sliced bread. All it takes to convince even the most ardent objectors is to see, compare and wear a piece of high-quality lab diamond jewelry; the look and feel are indistinguishable from natural diamonds. Like with everything in life, be careful where you shop; there is some real trash being sold online and in many tourist trap destinations. Our lab diamonds are hand-set in high-quality 18kt, 14kt solid gold or in platinum ring and bracelet, or earring mountings. When worn with natural diamond jewelry, it meshes perfectly with what you already possess for a fraction of what natural diamond jewelry would cost you now. Most men I have talked to about lab diamond jewelry are astonished about this fact…to make their wife or main squeeze happily ecstatic and save money; it’s a no-brainer for most guys.

It comes down to the individual and the understanding that the reason for labs is not an instrument to deceive the receiver of the gift. It’s a far better choice than sterling silver and cubic zirconia. The cold hard facts are that one is created by nature, so out of the ground or river diamond making it more valuable vs. a manmade mass mass-produced laboratory-created diamond.

The initial debut of the attractive and wearable lab diamond was not exactly welcomed with open arms in the jewelry industry. And yes, the question was what was the reason for their existence if not only for deceit? (The first lab diamonds were being developed in the 1940s and finally created in the U.S. of A. by General Electric in 1954. Problem then was they were highly imperfect and too small for jewelry, so they were only used for industrial reasons, such as drills and grinding and cutting wheels.)

I remember seeing my first example of finished lab grown diamond jewelry at a convention in Las Vegas over twenty-five years ago. I was not impressed; they were small and cost nearly the same as natural diamonds back then and I saw no point in having them.

Fast forward twenty-five years later and they are now bigger, brighter, and way more affordable. The U.S. jewelry industry has had no choice but to finally accept them due to the worldwide acceptance and popularity. They even come certified now!

There are many women who enter my shop who have always wished for diamond studs or want to upgrade their current pair to a larger size. Once they fully understand the lab process, see the beauty, try them on and compare the price to a natural pair of studs that can cost thousands of dollars more, most ladies are astonished by their beauty. They purchase them, add them to their collection, and wear them out of the store not even wanting a box!

I have accepted labs in a way that now makes sense to my old school ways. There are natural diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and tanzanites, to name a few precious gems. In addition to precious gemstones, there are semi-precious gems such as amethyst, peridot and citrine, and blue topaz. There have been synthetic and lab-created gems that mimic ruby, emerald, and sapphire for many decades and are not the least bit expensive, and folks bought them knowing they were not natural (That high school or college ring you have been wearing for years with the red or blue center stone is synthetic, not natural stone). I have in my mind put lab diamonds in the same category as semi-precious, or synthetic. If you look at labs that way, just wear them, enjoy them, and keep the Joneses guessing whenever you are sporting your new spectacular diamond pieces. They will never know unless you tell them at the golf or tennis club or fancy evening soirees. “Don’t ask, don’t tell!” Enjoy the rest of the summer! Adios!

FYI, the Harbor Goldsmith will be closed for vacation from Labor Day on September 1st and re-open Monday, the 22nd of September.