Ian Maher

Considerations for Diamond Ring Shopping

While shopping for diamond engagement or eternity rings, many buyers are surprised by the large number of diamond ring options available. Whether you are purchasing a ring from a retailer or designing a ring to be crafted by a jeweler, a number of decisio... Read >

Protect your Jewelry when Traveling

Packing for air travel can be particularly challenging as you attempt to protect your valuable and often sentimental jewelry from harm without sacrificing too much space within your luggage. When you travel with jewelry, you want to ensure that it arrives... Read >

White Gold in Jewelry

White gold is a wildly popular metal for use in all sorts of jewelry, and makes a stylish choice for wedding rings, engagement rings and eternity rings. Yet, if you have ever seen a solid gold bar, you probably noticed that pure gold has a vibrant, deep y... Read >

A Look at the Precious Metal Platinum

The beautiful silver-white platinum is a valuable precious metal that is sought all over the world. Its brilliance as well as its malleability, ductility and resistance to corrosion make platinum a highly popular choice for use in jewelry such as engageme... Read >

Karat vs. Carat – Making the Distinction

Without being a jewelry industry expert, the jumble of industry specific terms you encounter while shopping for engagement rings, eternity rings or other jewelry can make your search for the perfect piece seem daunting. What do these terms mean? How do yo... Read >

The Journey of Gold

Gold has been admired and vehemently sought throughout history, though its evident natural beauty is only one of the characteristics that have made this rare precious metal an attractive commodity transcending geography and time. Its stability, electrical... Read >

Jewelry Making: The Art of Lost Wax Casting

The art of lost wax casting, a technique that yields intricately detailed metal, dates back thousands of years with its true origin lost in ancient history. Lost wax casting is used to mold various types of metal into intricate pieces of jewelry and artis... Read >

Setting Styles for Diamond Rings

The manner in which a diamond is affixed to a ring is referred to as its setting, and several different setting styles are used for diamond rings. Below we examine some of the major setting styles for diamonds and other precious gemstones in rings: Ch... Read >

Jewelry Manufacturing Terms – Explained

If you have ever shopped for jewelry, you have likely encountered numerous seemingly foreign terms which describe the way particular pieces of jewelry are crafted. You have probably heard jewelry industry terms such as handmade, electroplate and gold fill... Read >

Anniversary Gifts

You may have heard over the years that there is a different type of gift that is customary to give on each wedding anniversary, depending on the number of years of marriage. For instance, traditionally the first anniversary is occasion for a paper gift an... Read >

Precious Metals in Jewelry

Precious metals are ideal for creating beautiful jewelry due in part to their resistance to corrosion. Since precious metals have an unreactive and oxidation-resistant nature, they fall into the category of noble metals. Such precious metals with which yo... Read >

The Kimberley Process – Overview

Conflict diamonds, also called blood diamonds, are those diamonds which are mined and sold by rebels for funding to support an invasion or civil war. Conflict diamonds have fetched billions of dollars worth of profits which have been used to fund wars in ... Read >

What is a Carat?

Diamonds are popular for jewelry such as diamond rings, eternity rings and necklaces, but many people are unaware of the factors that contribute to the wide price range that diamonds fall into. The price of a diamond is derived from an evaluation of its c... Read >

Eternity Rings

Eternity rings are similar to wedding rings in that they symbolize undying love. But unlike wedding and engagement rings, eternity rings do not mark a specific occasion, but are rather an expression of everlasting love between the giver and the person rec... Read >

Science of Diamonds

Diamonds have assumed a range of symbolic meanings throughout history, including the historic notion that diamonds bestowed mysterious powers of protection and healing upon the elite few who possessed them. Widely renowned and commercially prevalent today... Read >