ask Dave West: The Jewelry Expert

Rare Diamond Inclusions

“I inherited my father's diamond ring and am having it re-sized (in this case made smaller). In the examination of the diamond by the jeweler it was noted that there was an inclusion centered in the diamond. This is what appears to be a cloud inclusion with a very distinctive cube shape. My question is, do inclusions ever increase the value of a diamond based upon their rarity? This is about a 1 carat diamond.”

Keith

 

Great question Keith!

 

The size, shape, number, type and placement of inclusions or clarity characteristics (some times called “flaws”) are unique to every diamond and are often referred to as the stones “fingerprint”. While most diamonds will have one or more different types of inclusions the possibilities for nature are endless.

The distinctive clarity characteristics of diamonds are always fascinating to me and there are always collectors and scientists interested in such things – so the potential for an extremely rare inclusion(s) to increase the value of the diamond exists – but that in of itself would be rare.

 

A couple of years ago Sotheby’s had a 3.05Ct. heart shaped fancy yellow diamond with an cross shaped inclusion at it’s center. Apparently this diamond generated quite a bit of interest, especially among Christian groups, and was expected to sell for more than it’s asking price. Although I never did find out what the diamond actually sold for – it is a great example of an inclusion that is both rare and unique enough to be the determining factor in the value of the diamond.

 

Being both a Blake Edwards and Peter Sellers fan I cannot not resist bring up the

wholly fictitious pink diamond that has an inclusion that looks like a leaping panther.

This video clip doesn’t directly relate – but its’ my favorite form the series.  

 

 

 

David W. Nytch CGA  www.westandcompany.com       

Lost or Stolen Jewelry

I received this comment the other day and the writer asks a good question about what to do if your jewelry is lost or stolen. The following is the readers comment and my response.

“My wife and I recently returned from Phoenix and after a couple of days she realized her jewelry bag that she was traveling with was nowhere to be found. She believes the jewelry was in her bag up until we got to the rental car return. She had in the bag a vintage platinum and diamond necklace, platinum and diamond bracelet with heart shapes, 2 platinum rings(one with a floral pattern and the other here wedding band with filigree work on the sides) and several pearl necklaces not to mention some random costume jewelry. Does anyone know how best to track down lost/stolen jewelry? Any recommendations on who to call in Phoenix and or Dallas to track down such items? Regards”  

The first thing I would do is check with the hotel and car rental company to see if the jewelry had been turned in by anyone. If you believe that the jewelry was stolen – I would contact the local police department and file a report so that they can begin to investigate. It has been my experience that the police do a very good job of contacting local jewelers and pawn shops to see if anyone has tried to sell, or to keep an eye out for someone attempting to sell, jewelry that has been reported stolen. I would not recommend that you contact jewelers and pawn shops yourself as the police know how to deal with these situations. You can also try the Jeweler’s Security Alliance stolen jewelry web site. 

Unfortunately jewelry that is stolen or simply lost (sometimes referred to as mysterious disappearance) is a relatively common occurrence – and one I always hate hearing about.
Here are a few thought on how to keep these situations to a minimum.

First and foremost – have your valuable jewelry properly documented, photographed and insured.
This won’t stop you from being robbed and you still may misplace your jewelry – but you will have proper technical descriptions (that can help to identify a specific piece) and photos which make the search for and replacement of much easier. 

When you take off your jewelry at home always put it in the same place – at home my wife and I have a little dish on the kitchen desk. You would be surprised how often jewelry is accidently thrown out, put down someplace odd and misplaced to be found years later, or ends up falling in the disposal.

If you are traveling keep the jewelry you are not wearing as close to you as possible - a purse or a carry on that does not leave your side is best. Don’t put jewelry in a bag that goes in the overhead and never pack anything you care about in a suitcase that is headed for the luggage compartment. If you are driving never leave jewelry in the car when you pull over at a rest stop or get a bite to eat.

When at a hotel don’t leave jewelry in your suitcase pocket or around the room – they are not ideal - but the little safe in some rooms or the hotels safety deposit boxes are better than nothing.

Never Ever – take off your jewelry in a public place and lay it down – it is downright depressing the number of people who will “seize the opportunity” before you even know what happened. 

David West Nytch CGA  www.westandcompany.com   

  

Designing Jewelry Part 3

As I was saying in my last post – every designer and artist has a unique way of approaching a project. I believe that this individual interpretation of inspiration creates an artists core "style". No matter how varied an artist’s work may be – I have always found that there is a recognizable "style" underlying what may appear to be unrelated aesthetics.

I recently became acquainted with a designer whose work I admire – Ji Hwang.

Her organic jewelry designs are not only graceful but I think what also attracted me to them is that they are so utterly different than my own. Ji’s work seems to "flow" from one shape to another – where as mine tends to be "built". I was quite surprised to discover that Ji’s earlier works where in many ways similar to my own. And while the end results are entirely different there are identifiable consistencies between her earlier and later works - as there are with my own.

Below is an earlier piece by Ji Hwang and a very old piece of mine.

Followed by a recent piece by Ji and one by myself.  

 

   

  

 

 

 

 

David West Nytch CGA  www.westandcompany.com

Octobers Birthstones – Opal or Tourmaline

October has two of my very favorite gemstones for birthstones – Opals and Tourmalines.

  Tourmalines occur in a wide range of colors including some new earth tones.

   

Opals , like many gemstones, occur in a wider array of colors and varieties than are   popularly known. One of my personal loves is fire opal.   
 

David West Nytch CGA  www.westandcompany.com

Octobers Jewelry Design of the Month

October’s design is a pendant with a custom cut red-green bolder opal set in 18k yellow gold and platinum with 0.75Ct total weight of diamond accents. 

David West Nytch CGA  www.westandcompany.com  

Designing Jewelry Part 2

We are all products of our experiences. Our outlook on life, opinions and perception of what is going on around us is shaped to a very great degree by our past experiences and as unique as every individual.

Early in my freshman year at the School for American Crafts the class was given a design exercise to create a vessel using a pyramid. At first I remember thinking this was kind of a simplistic assignment for such a prestigious school – I mean how much is there to a pyramid!

Being nineteen - and stupid as only a nineteen year old male can be - I went storming into my professors office to demand a more challenging assignment. My professor calmly listened to my somewhat righteous tirade and just as calmly told me “I didn’t say what KIND of pyramid – you go think for a while”.

Our class was small – only thirteen kids – and when critique time came I will never forget the lesson I learned and what my professor was trying to tell me – is that thirteen people will have thirteen answers to the same question.

No photo was ever taken of my pyramid vessel – it was only a design exercise – but here is a computer render I made thirty years later from memory.

Speaking about being young and stupid – I ran across this hilarious video of Craig Ferguson on the subject:

Thanks to my blogging mentors Yvonne DiVita (Lip-Sticking) and Tom Collins (Books, Blogs, and Beyond) for pointing me to the video.

David West Nytch CGA www.westandcompany.com

Septembers Jewelry Design of the Month

 

 

This months ring is something a little different – we call it “The Twist”.

The center diamond is a 1.00Ct (one carat) along with 0.40Ct total weight of diamonds on the sides.

 

David W. Nytch CGA www.westandcompany.com

Septembers Birthstone – Sapphire

     

 

It is common for people to associate a particular gem with a single color. A good example is September’s birthstone - sapphire. Blue, a rich vibrant blue, is the color that immediately comes to mind when one thinks of sapphire.

But, as I mentioned in my previous post on sapphire; the gem actually occurs in a wide variety of fabulous colors.

So if your birthday is in September and you love blue – Great. If your birthday is in September and you prefer a different color – well there’s still a sapphire for you!

 

David West Nytch CGA www.westandcompany.com

   

Designing Jewelry

A friend recently asked me a common question in such a profound way that it got me really pondering my answer. Now this question is deceptive – simple enough on the surface and since it is so frequently asked, easy to give a rote answer to. But it’s not a simple question and a rote answer rally isn’t a good answer – at least mine isn’t, now that I think about it.

Every artist and designer is asked this question and every artist and designer has a different answer – as it should be. The question itself, asked in various ways, is – where do you get your ideas from?

I’ve always tended to answer the question with something to the affect of, "I love the interaction of shapes and lines;" (true – I do) or, "I was inspired by ---"(also true) or - and I suspect this is a very unsatisfying answer to the questioner – "It just came to me" - which the damn things do, with no rhyme or reason, at odd times and with no predictability, they just pop into my head.

What my friend was really asking me and what really got me thinking was: how did you develop your style, what are your influences, how do you create something that is uniquely yours?

This next series of posts will attempt to answer my friend along with everyone else who has asked me "Where do you get your ideas from?"

David West Nytch CGA  www.westandcompany.com  

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation 2009

This year marks the 10 anniversary of a donation, in the memory of my children, of a custom designed and handcrafted piece of jewelry to be raffled off at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundations, Rochester NY chapter’s annual gala in early November.

 

Not only does this project have a great deal of personal meaning to me – I also look forward to and enjoy the unrestricted design exercise.

  

  

  

The year’s piece, “The Swirl”, is a simple open helix curve set with forty three diamonds. With a diameter of a little over an inch and 1.25Ct. total weight of fine diamonds – "The Swirl" is truly a circle of light.

 

David West Nytch CGA  www.westandcompany.com