I was just perusing the Sunday newspaper and the ads for Valentine’s
day.
The big retailers seem to be focusing on silver jewelry with
diamonds.
Now, I know that a long time ago (Victorian era or so), diamonds
were commonly set in silver - a white metal. As long as the metal
remained white, everything was copacetic. Then platinum became the
metal of choice for setting diamonds, followed by white gold.
Soooo. It’s back to silver mountings - no doubt to keep the price
low enough for most folks to afford the jewelry.
What do Orchidians think of this? Are any of you now setting
diamonds in silver? Is it just a cost thing, or are there other
influences at play?
I look forward to responses and comments, Judy in Kansas, where a
wind advisory is in effect, but we feel nothing in comparison to
folks on the East Coast of the USA. I hope those of you affected by
the winter storm are safe and warm.
What do Orchidians think of this? Are any of you now setting
diamonds in silver? Is it just a cost thing, or are there other
influences at play?
It can be a matter of choice too. I have set stones in silver,
because I like silver. I personally don’t like platinum, and haven’t
really gotten the point of white gold. yet.
Setting diamonds in silver? Nah. Well not very big expensive ones.
We usually try to get folks to let us set diamonds in platinum.
Why? Because it will last two lifetimes. With gold the prongs on a
center stone, they will need to be rebuilt every 5-10 years or so.
Silver? I’ve seen it done and it doesn’t hold up to hand wear. Maybe
a necklace or earrings.
Besides, we keystone our materials. Two times $1000.00 is a whole
lot more money for us than two times $50.00.
For a few years now (in the UK), there have been companies selling
silver jewellery with “diamonds” set into it. I guess they’re either
trying to make diamond jewellery more affordable, or trying to sell
to gullible people who think it’s something amazing to have diamonds
set in silver - or both. Some people will buy it just because it has
diamonds in it, and don’t know the difference between a good and bad
diamonds. I have looked at this jewellery, and the diamonds are the
tiniest, most cloudy, and badly included diamonds I think I’ve ever
seen for sale, and yet the prices are about what the lower end 9k
gold and diamond jewellery used to be before gold shot up in price.
Personally, I don’t have a problem in setting lower quality
sapphires, emeralds and rubies (or their decent synthetic
equivalents) in silver, and have done many times, but I don’t think
I’d set diamonds in it. I’d sooner use a good quality synthetic
instead, basically because affordable diamonds are so small and of
poor quality and therefore not attractive enough in my opinion.
White meta l and cost, sterling being the obvious way to keep costs
low and price points down while retaining that white and white look.
Unfortunately, all of it is rhodium plated to keep the silver from
tarnishing, and has that hard shiny rhodium look customers have come
to expect.
I love argentium, still silver but without the tarnishing issue, and
it can be heat treated to harden it, another bonus. It still wears
faster than whitegold or platinum, but with the kind of mass marketed
stuff that will be loosing diamonds quickly with wear, I’m not sure
that’s too much of a problem. Ithink a lot of it is cast-in-place
anyway. My custom customers are still having work done in gold.