Tom B

I was fascinated while watching the Oscars recently by the diamond jewelry, such as the 40-carat diamond necklace from The House of Winston worn by Gwyneth Paltrow. Many of the glitterati were festooned with pieces on loan from various jewelers hoping to curry favor with the beautiful people and their fans, enormously expensive pieces that set the cameras on fire every time they caught the light.

I’ve never had the nerve to borrow anyone’s diamonds, but then again, the most formal event I attend these days is a basketball game. Even there, though, many in the stands (and some on the floor) glitter with diamond simulants.
Glitter, from diamonds and their simulants, I think, is a 20th century contribution to common man. In fact, the notion that the average person could even wear a diamond is recent. For thousands of years, the stone’s primary role was to provide a currency for commerce between rulers, a way of paying favor to military victors, and a method of bartering for fertile daughters. In the 13th century, for example, France’s King Louis IX restricted diamond jewelry to the aristocracy. The stone was worn only by men until 1477, when the Archduke Maximilian of Austria gave a diamond ring to Mary of Burgandy.

The word diamond derives from the Greek adamao, meaning, “I subdue”. Since the diamond is the world’s hardest known substance, it truly does subdue all others. Personally, I favor the Sanskrit name for diamond — ‘varja’, meaning thunderbolt. I like the idea of wearing a thunderbolt on my finger.

In the last hundred years, though, many simulants have been developed that allow any of us, regardless of income, to shine like a movie star.

The first commonly used diamond substitute was glass. Jewelers found that adding lead oxide to the glass made it shine more brightly. Adding foil to the back of these glass gems gave us the popular rhinestone. They didn’t match diamond’s fire or durability, but were cheap enough to use in profusion.

Then, late in the 19th century, the French learned to grow clear spinel and sapphire crystals. These could be faceted like diamonds, wore better than glass, and soon found their place as substitutes in better-quality jewelry. Neither, however, had nearly the light-refracting properties of diamond.

In the 20th century, more sophisticated substitutes were discovered. The most widely known is that star of cable television, the cubic zirconia. CZs are very inexpensive and wonderfully bright stones, used in profusion in faux- bling (the word gaudy no longer has any meaning). However, CZs are not very durable, especially in rings, and the least amount of dirt dulls them.

In the past ten years, an excellent diamond stimulant,the Moissanite, has come into common use. The gem, silicon carbide, was first discovered in the remnants of the meteor that formed Diablo Canyon in California. Over 100 years passed before man learned to grow the crystal commercially.

Moissanite has a number of advantages over other diamond simulants. It is very hard (92% that of diamond), clear, colorless, and approximates diamond’s sparkle. It is also a tenth the price.

So today there is glitter available at any price point, allowing us to indulge our urge to sparkle. That’s a good thing.
In fact, my wife recently asked me, why, if she could get almost as much sparkle from diamond substitutes as diamonds, we should buy a diamond? As I thought about her question, a scenario kept replaying in my head. I saw a young girl opening her mother’s jewelry box, picking up her mother’s engagement ring, or her grandmother’s. The thing aboutdiamonds is, as the hardest substance on earth, they are as near eternal as anything we can ever hold. In the movie playing in my head, I couldn’t envision the girl putting her mother’s ring on her finger and saying to herself, ‘this was my Mom’s Moissanite.”

A diamond is many things; currency, love, glamour, bling. But other stones can stand in for a diamond in those roles. To hold precious memories, though, a diamond is truly matchless.
So shine on, any way you wish. You deserve to sparkle.

Tom B

The modern American celebration of Mother’s Day reaches its 100th anniversary this year on Sunday, May 11th. Its history, however, can be traced back over 2,000 years. The Greeks held a celebration for Cybele, the Earth Mother, “The Mother of Gods”, each year near the vernal equinox. Virtually all cultures included in their pantheon a figure representing the power of the birth giver.

The holiday in this country originated through the efforts of Julia Ward Howe after the Civil War to establish a day on which women could combine their voices in protest of war, the Mother’s Day for Peace. The holiday as a day strictly to honor our nation’s mothers began in Grafton, WV in 1908. It caught on quickly, probably because it was so deserved, and in 1914, President Wilson officially recognized it as a national holiday.
Gifts of appreciation extended on Mother’s Day have traditionally included flowers, jewelry and/or a dinner out. In fact, the holiday is the single largest dining-out occasion in the U.S. each year.

Jewelry gifts for Mother’s Day traditionally commemorate her children. Especially popular in this fashion is the mother’s ring, a ring set with birthstones representing each child. Unfortunately, such mother’s rings have a couple of shortcomings. Some birthstones such as blue topaz and opal wear more quickly than rubies and sapphires. The color of these gems is often not complimentary when set close together, either. These problems can be offset by a wise choice of ring design, though. Some gold designs, such as those emulating ribbons or flowers, provide recessed areas in which these more fragile stones can find shelter.

Setting the stones in a pendant, perhaps a nugget made from family gold, solves the wear problem nicely. An intricate design can also help disguise the color clashes, as well. Women with one or two children often choose jewelry with their children’s initials. Script letters in particular make attractive pendants. A signet ring engraved with the children’s initials also makes a lovely and very durable gift.

Mothers of abundant families often enjoy charm bracelets with which to remember their offspring. A good strong-linked charm bracelet can also provide space for charms registering grandchildren and special accomplishments. Most women don’t choose to wear these daily, but keep them nearby whenever they need a memory fix.

Lockets are also popular Mother’s Day gifts, allowing her to share the visages of her loved ones with her friends. Make sure, though, to use an appealing photo– no Alfalfa hair, punk night out, or spinach on the teeth!
Those with unlimited budgets have even more options. How about a hand-carved cameo? One can set you back a few thousand dollars. An engraved or enameled family crest ring (you do have a family crest, don’t you? Me neither) is not a small investment, either.

This Mother’s Day, I’m sure mom would appreciate a little bauble from her children, and jewelry is always a good choice. It won’t substitute though, for what she really wants – remind her that you love her, for crying out loud. And set aside some time to spend with the one that spent so much of her life making yours possible.

Tom B

As my wife reminds me, there is no such thing as a bad piece of jewelry. But, just as some people were not meant to wear lime-green stretch tights, some jewelry may not match your lifestyle. Picking pieces that fit the way you live will guarantee your new bling won’t spend most of its life buried in your jewelry box.  For example- some people love to wear flat herringbone chains to bed. Granted, you may look fetching when a certain someone wakes you during the night for a little snuggling, but the next morning you may find the chain is a mangled mess around your neck. The sad truth is a flat chain that has been twisted is very difficult to return to its original shape. So if you intend to make a flat chain part of your nightwear, steer clear of the paper-thin variety. Invest in a thicker chain, or one specially constructed to avoid kinking. That way, it will look as good in the morning as it did when your head hit the pillow. 

While we’re talking flat chain, here’s another piece of advice; flat chains and sliding pendants don’t play well together. If you looked at your chain under the microscope, you might be surprised how its edge resembles the teeth of a saw. And sawing is just what it does to the bail of your pendant. Every time you move, the pendant bail will rub against your chain, carving away a little more metal. For pendants, a rope or box chain will extend the life of the bail. If you really want to wear a stone with your flat chain, consider having one soldered in place. One last suggestion about chains; match the length to your wardrobe and your features. Nothing diminishes the impact of a chain more than having it tangle in your décolleté. If you favor scoop-neck tops, consider an 18″ chain that will lie nicely above the hem. If you favor turtlenecks, a 20″ would fall neatly below. With a plunging neckline, a 24″ chain will have plenty of room to drape attractively. 

Are you shopping for a gemstone ring? Again, you’ll be happier if you match your selection to your lifestyle. For example, if you are an avid golfer, you are aware of the stress golf puts on a ring. Sun, sunscreen, sweat, and swinging are all hazardous to delicate gems such as the opal. For a great sports ring, consider the bulletproof end of the gemstone spectrum– diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and tourmaline all wear exceptionally well. An additional caution: if you wear a ring on your glove hand, be especially careful when removing the glove that your ring doesn’t come along with it. Somewhere in the golfing world one of my wedding rings jumped ship.  Also, choose the proper the stone mounting for your lifestyle. A four-prong setting is marvelous for opening your stone to light from all directions, thereby maximizing the sparkle. But it does have the potential to snag, so if you do a lot of gardening or other hands-on work, think about a bezel or pavé setting, where the stone is securely held around its entire periphery. Another great choice for a bulletproof sport/hobby ring is a simple gold signet ring. As my wife again points out, a well-stocked jewelry chest holds not just a variety of pieces to suit each outfit, but pieces appropriate to various activities. The next time you shop, buy in accordance with your life style, and you’ll enjoy your purchase to the max.

Tom B

Are you a romantic? Does it please you to know that your diamond was forged millions of years ago deep in the heat and pressure of the Earth? The traditional diamond industry fervently hopes so, because that’s the pitch they intend to use to fend off the growing availability of gem-quality man-made diamonds.

At one time, the notion of a man-made gem diamond was a pipe dream fit only for con men to use in prying loose cash from those with more money than knowledge of science. Now, however, we stand at the beginning of a huge transformation in the diamond industry, as companies such as Apollo Diamonds, Chatham Created Gems and Gemesis have begun selling gems grown in their labs. These stones are no muddy brown lumps, either; they match the best naturals for clarity, color and size.

To make these, the industry has perfected the chemical vapor deposition method. In this process, a seed crystal of diamond is placed in a chamber in a 1300ºF plasma of hydrogen and methane. This provides the carbon that allows the diamond to grow, an atom at a time, until it reaches up to 10 carats in size. With this process, a carat stone can be grown in 12 hours.

As you can imagine, the prospects of such diamonds swamping the market has caused a controversy in the gem industry.

The first issue of contention is just what to call these gems. The Federal Trade Comission has declared that selling them without mention of their source would be considered deceptive, but have remained mum about their favored sobriquet. The Gemological Institute of America has adopted the term ‘laboratory grown’.

Apollo, on the other hand, has adopted the word ‘cultured’, no doubt hoping to equate their process with the widely-accepted cultured pearl market. The mined diamond industry, however, prefers the word ’synthetic’ with its more pejorative ring.

The second controversy is one of identification. While both man-made and mined diamonds are mostly carbon, mined diamonds usually also contain some nitrogen, while man-mades don’t. The lack causes man-mades to appear more transparent under UV light, a differentiation jewelers can use to separate the two. De Beers, the 900 lb. gorilla of the diamond industry, has also developed testing equipment to identify man-made gems.

The manufacturers so far are trying to work within the system by laser engraving stones over one-quarter carat, and pricing them only slightly under mined stones. De Beers has also taken to engraving I.D. info on the girdles of their natural stones.

The real battle will take place in advertising, however. Expect De Beers and the mined diamond industry to spend big bucks to convince you, the consumer, that mined diamonds remain more valuable that manufactured ones.

They face an additional hurdle in this campaign, though — the specter of blood diamonds. Public unease about the conditions under which their gems were mined and sold has driven some to seek out man-made diamonds.

Given that diamonds were a $143 billion business in 2006, the stakes in this controversy are huge. Last year, 400,000 carats of man-made gem diamonds hit the market, versus 130 million carts of mined stones. If this increases to the point that man-mades flood the market, causing the price of diamonds to plummet, everybody in the industry loses. I’m curious to see if De Beers is able to stem the tide. I’m curious to see how much you’re willing to pay to own a natural diamond.

Tom B

One attribute that differentiates humans from other animals is our ability to understand symbolism. Symbols have been an important aspect of jewelry virtually since the first proto-human put a string and a shell together, and symbols remain an important motif in today’s ornamental wear. One symbol often used in rings, earrings and pendants is the Claddagh — two hands holding a crowned heart between them. This Irish symbol has come to represent a range of affiliations, from friendship to marriage. Jim Morrison, legendary singer of the 60’s band The Doors, helped popularize the design as a wedding band. The elements are said to represent love, friendship and loyalty. While the design originated in the 1600’s, it is no doubt an extrapolation of earlier motifs. The name comes from the Irish village of the same name.
Another popular design is the Celtic knot, either as a raised pattern on a sold background or as intertwined gold threads without backing. The design can be traced back at least as far as monk’s illuminated texts such as the Book of Kells dating back to the 8th century.As you might expect, the knot motif has always been associated with attachment and devotion, and therefore is often used in wedding bands. Artisans continue to enjoy pushing the boundaries of intricacy with the knot design. A favorite extrapolation of the knot theme is the ribbon and bow, a festive design that is particularly appropriate for holiday wear.
Continuing on the Irish theme, another design often given in friendship is the clover, or shamrock. The three-lobed design hearkens back to St. Patrick’s conversion of the Irish in the 400’s, when it is said he adopted the shamrock to represent the Holy Trinity.
A design that transcends any single country is the heart, familiar to us all as the ultimate symbol of love, as well as a container for fine chocolates. The heart as the foundation of human qualities, both good and not-so-good, can be traced back to the earliest passages of the Bible, and plays an equally important role in other ancient religions. The fact that our heart symbol does not really resemble the human heart has led some to propose that it represents Eros, the love bound with fertility. A less complex interpretation suggests it derives from the outline of a kissing couple.
Religious symbols have always been popular in jewelry. In the west, the cross has been cast and forged into innumerable variations. Other symbols such as the yin-and-yang of Zen Buddhism, representing the harmony of the male and female principles, are also common themes for rings, pendants, bracelets and earrings.
Finally, we see a number of designs based on nature. Flower rings, with the delicate petals of roses often reproduced in pink gold, are particularly attractive. Interwoven vines or wheat berry designs are the perfect ornamentation on running designs such as bands or bracelets.
The joy of symbol jewelry comes from the understanding that the giver intends the recipient to understand that his regard, devotion, friendship and/or love is as immutable as gold. Quite a message from such a small but pretty gift!

Tom B

Of the classic four C’s of diamond grading (cut, clarity, color and carat weight) the hardest for buyers to get their minds around is cut. The weight of a diamond is a simple matter for a scale. Color becomes apparent when the gem in question is set alongside a grading set that shows the range of hues commonly found in diamonds; lighter than that one, darker than this one. Under a microscope, the tiny inclusions that interfere with a stone’s clarity stand out like a blond hair on the suit coat of a man with a red-headed wife.

Cut is much more complex. A modern round brilliant diamond has 58 separate surfaces or facets, each of which has an ideal proportion and orientation to the others. Because of this complexity, there is not a clear-cut rating of cut to match that of color and clarity.

However, the ideal of a well-cut diamond is simple- One cut to guide light through it that produces the most brilliance and fire possible.

Think of this analogy. Suppose you lived in the desert and wanted to heat a tank of water to do laundry. If you had a bunch of mirrors, you could set them around the tank, arranging them so that sunlight was reflected directly on the tank. Enough beams of light and you could have that water boiling merrily away.

If, however, some of the mirrors slipped, sent light into a sandstone rock face or into the sand underfoot, the water may remain tepid. There are a lot of ‘tepid’ diamonds on the market, flat and lifeless.

To continue with the mirror analogy, the ideal cut for a brilliant diamond arranges those mirrors perfectly to bounce light from facet to facet and produce flashes of light as the stone is rotated.

A round brilliant that is cut to ill proportions might show a fish-eye-like ring inside, or a dark spot in the center of the stone, or other detracting flaws.

You might ask, if a diamond cut to modern proportions is so appealing, why aren’t all diamonds cut this way? The answer is cost. When the cutter sizes up a rough diamond, he is looking to get as much value from it as possible. Often, the crystal will have inclusions (carbon spots, crystal feathers, and the like,) that would end up in the middle of a standard-cut brilliant, ruining the fire of the stone. To cut around these to reach the clear areas from which a brilliant cut can be made could require wasting a large portion of the stone. However, by fudging on the proportions, by, for example, cutting the gems a little wider and a little shorter, two or three so-so stones can be produced. As long as customers are willing to pay for such stones, and aren’t willing to pay the difference to buy a diamond with ideal proportions, this method maximizes producer profit.

There are dozens of other ‘fancy’ cuts of diamonds, such as the rectangular emerald, the marquise (like a cat’s eye), the pear and the oval, all of which also have ideal proportions for maximum fire. However, larger stones in these styles are less popular and therefore not as prevalent in your local jewelry store.

So what can you do to assure the diamond you’re considering is well cut? Ask your jeweler to show you a well-cut stone. Note how the facets are symmetrical, the girdle (the outside edge) is neither fat nor knife-thin and uniform, how the proportion between the upper part and lower part of the diamond is roughly one to three. Most importantly, though, look at it face on. Does it fire?

For my money, I’d rather buy a smaller stone with excellent conformation than a larger one with goofy proportions. Regardless of what some in our bling bling world would have you believe, size and beauty are not the same thing. And proportion is the key.

Tom B

Gold is gold, right? A rich yellow, the color of a field of sunflowers or a bottle of Chateau d’Yquem sauterne.

But have ever compared the color of you wedding band against 24-carat gold artifacts from ancient civilizations? Then you many not be surprised that the world gold encompasses a wealth of hues, from green to rose and even purple.

Of course, pure, 24-carat gold is always the same color but we rarely encounter 24-carat gold jewelry. Pure gold is a very soft metal, capable of being stretched into amazingly thin foil sheets, even to the point that it becomes translucent. In a ring, it would very quickly lose its shape.

Therefore, most gold jewelry is made from gold alloyed with other, more durable (and usually less expensive) metals. Since gold is the only yellow metal, any alloy will change the color of gold.

The most common form of gold, 14k yellow, is a paler shade of yellow due to the addition of silver and a bit of copper. The same metals are added in lesser amounts for 18k gold, more common in European jewelry, and 10k, often found in men’s bands when heavy wear can be expected.

The most common alternate color for gold is white gold, an alloy that became popular first in the 1920’s when a shortage of platinum coincided with art deco’s enthusiasm for white jewelry. White gold can be made with several different recipes. The most prevalent has been copper/ nickel/zinc, which yields an adequately white gold that is relatively easy for jewelers to work with.

However, some people have an allergic reaction to the nickel in white gold, so other alternatives have been developed. The most popular of the non-nickel alloys for white gold is a palladium/silver/copper/zinc mix, which makes a fine white gold, albeit harder to work with and more expensive, since palladium is even costlier than gold.

Goldsmiths have found ways to extend the color range beyond these two, however. Red/pink/rose gold, produced by bumping up the copper content in the gold alloy, while not truly red, has a distinct cast in that range.

By deleting copper and using only silver as the alloying metal, gold takes on a striking pale green hue. The combination of yellow, green and rose gold is often used in tricolor chains and rings that intertwine the three gold hues.

Other unusual forms of gold include purple or amethyst gold (gold and aluminum), blue gold (gold and iron), and black gold (gold and a variety of additives). However, each of these has shortcomings in durability and workability, so I wouldn’t recommend them for use in rings or chains.

If you have a taste for the unusual, why stick with yellow when there is a rainbow of gold waiting for your display?

Tom B

What do you associate with the color pink? Femininity? Tenderness? The fist of a baby? A mohair sweater? If you’re like me, like most Americans, pink is the color of love. And since love and jewelry are so inexorably intertwined, we’re fortunate to have so many pink gemstones from which to choose.

The queen of the pinks is the diamond, unmatched for fire and durability. However, the color of most colored diamonds, including pink, yellow, brown, orange, blue, and green, aren’t pure. Only the rarest are free of hints of gray or brown that muddles the hue. Diamonds with any amount of red are the rarest of all diamonds, so a fine pink is among the priciest stones in the world. If you find a pink diamond at a reasonable price, be very wary. It could have been be treated, or even coated to produce the color.

Happily, there other great gems with more satisfying color at a more reasonable price. One of the prettiest is the little-known kunzite, a pink gem with a hint of violet. Kinzite wasn’t discovered until 1912, but quickly became popular when Tiffany & Co. began using it in art deco pieces. With kunzite, the depth of color changes depending on the viewing angle. In a well-cut stone, the deepest saturation appears with the stone face-up. The jewel is, however, somewhat fragile, and its nickname, "The Evening Stone", refers to its propensity to fade if exposed to strong sunlight.

Another popular choice is the pink sapphire. While we usually associate sapphires with the color blue, the gem takes on a rainbow of colors, including the red that we call rubies. While natural pinks are uncommon, man-made pink sapphires with deeply saturated color are readily available. This is a great choice if durability is an issue for you, as sapphires are second only to diamonds in hardness.

Morganite is a member of the beryl family, which also includes emeralds and aquamarines. The pink stone was named after tycoon J.P. Morgan. Perhaps because of this, it never caught on with the American public, although the price, durability, and beauty of the stone suggests it deserves more recognition. Morganite is now being marketed under the name ‘Pink Emerald’. Time will tell if this increases its appeal.

‘The great imposter’ is the nickname give to spinel because it comes in a variety of lovely colors that mimic more expensive gems. Natural pink spinel is rare, though, and priced accordingly. However, man-made spinel is readily available, inexpensive, and durable. If you’re looking for great color without a great price tag, a pink spinel could suit the bill nicely.

My favorite pink stone, though, is the tourmaline. This gem comes in a full spectrum of deeply saturated colors, including a lovely pink. Pieces of excellent clarity are reasonably priced, and the gem is hard enough to stand up to daily wear. My wife sports a beautiful 5-carat oval that I mounted for her 10 years ago, and it still looks like new. If you want a large, durable pink, tourmaline is your best bet.

There are still more choices for pink stones; pink topaz, rose quartz and pink cubic zirconium, however, are all on the fragile side for rings.

The color of love makes a great choice for fine jewelry, and the variety of stones available puts a fine pink in almost anyone’s price range. So think pink!

Tom B

For as long as man has been able to craft jewelry, the gold standard for shiny ornamentation has been, well, gold. And for good reason. Gold is reasonably abundant, but not so much as to detract from its value, malleable (one gram can be pulled into a thread almost two miles long), stable, and can be polished to a sun-like finish.

However, gold is not your only choice for, say, your wedding bands. If you prefer white metal jewelry (and many people do), a world of alternatives open to you.

The most prevalent alternative to gold is white gold — gold alloyed with a white metal such as nickel. White gold became popular during the Art-Deco 1920’s as a lower-cost alternative to then-popular platinum. It has remained a popular choice for engagement rings, because it doesn’t threaten to add a yellow tinge to the colorlessness of better diamonds.

The downside of white gold has been the allergic reaction that some people experience to the nickel commonly used to give the metal its white color. The response, nickel dermatitis, is common enough that the European Union does not allow gold/nickel alloys in jewelry. Fortunately, white gold can also be made with non-allergenic silver or palladium in place of nickel.

Silver is another very popular choice for rings. Its greatest advantage is low cost; silver prices are often 5% that of gold. It too is easily worked, and can be cast (melted and formed in a mold) and soldered into intricate shapes.

However, silver is relatively soft, and therefore doesn’t stand up to the abuse most rings experience. Also, typical sterling silver (92.5% silver, 7.5% copper) is prone to tarnish, as you probably know if you’ve ever had to polish the family formal dinnerware. New alloys of sterling silver such as germanium help prevent tarnishing, but do little for the durability question.

Perhaps your best choice for durability, strength and beauty is platinum. When alloyed with a smidgen of palladium, this metal takes a beautiful, long-lasting shine. Platinum prongs (the fingers that wrap around your diamond and hold it in place) wear much more slowly than white gold. Hold on to your wallet, though; platinum is about twice the price of gold.

Many people who are concerned about allergic reactions are drawn to a more uncommon, but excellent jewelry metal, palladium. This white metal also takes a high polish. It is also lighter than platinum, making it a particularly good choice for ornate earrings. Palladium came into use during WWII, when platinum was restricted to military use only.

There are good reasons why Palladium isn’t more widely used in jewelry, though. It is very hard to cast, because it oxidizes, resulting in unacceptable pitting.

For the space-age set, titanium can be an exciting choice. The strongest metal on Earth is better known for use in joint replacements, and as a whitener in paint, paper, and even toothpaste. However titanium rings are virtually indestructible, and can be polished to a high gleam. Titanium can also be anodized (colored by passing an electrical current through it) producing a lovely gray/black finish that is permanent. On the down side, titanium cannot be soldered or cast, which rules out most applications other than bands.

An even more esoteric choice is tungsten carbide. Tungsten carbide might appeal to machinists, since it is the compound used to cut and shape steel. The metal is so hard that one retailer of tungsten carbide rings guarantees to replace the ring should even a single scratch appear. As you can imagine, something this hard is going to be weighty, a concern for some.

Gold, white gold, platinum, and more — choice is good. In the end, though, there is no correct choice, except the one that delights you.

Or, for some of us, that choice could be – one of each?

Tom B

The best piece of jewelry is nothing but a chunk of metal or rock without its partner, light. Its beauty depends on the ability to reflect light, turning it into glitter and fire. The enemy of such beauty is dirt, because dirt swallows light. Taking steps to keep your fine pieces clean and pristine will pay you back in brilliance.

The first consideration in maintaining the beauty of your treasures is storing them properly. Some people (i.e., my wife) store their chains in a tangle, like snakes in a pit. Smooth planes of gold reflect light; when those planes are scratched as the pieces rub against one another, the gold becomes dull. Ideally, chains and necklaces are best stored hanging, to allow them to retain their shape.

Jeweled rings also deserve their own space, whether in a soft-lined slot in your jewelry box (you do have a good jewelry box, don’t you?) or in individual boxes or cloth bags. Pearls are especially vulnerable to abrasion, and a jewelry sachet will help keep them at their best.

The second step to maintaining light is to take care as you put on your jewelry. Wait until after you’ve applied your makeup, hair spray, perfume, hand cream, or suntan lotion, and wash your hands before donning your jewelry. Make jewelry the last thing you put on when dressing and first off when you disrobe, to keep them shining.

The third step in keeping the beauty of your collection intact is proper cleaning. You may have had occasion to have a jeweler clean and polish your diamond ring . Remember the surprise you felt when you saw its original gleam return? You can maintain that fire between jeweler visits.

The main enemy to gems such as diamonds, rubies, and sapphires is grease. In fact, rough diamonds are separated from other stones by tumbling them across a grease table, because diamonds stick to grease, and vice versa. Even the oil from your finger is enough to coat your stone and block light.

To clean diamonds, rubies and sapphires, soak them in a mild ammonia solution (1 part ammonia, 10 parts water) for 10 minutes, then gently scrub with a soft brush such as a toothbrush. Be sure to brush the underside of the gem as best you can, too; much of its brilliance depends on the reflection of light off the bottom facets. And, PLEASE, unless you are fond of taking plumbing apart, don’t work over an open sink. I speak from unfortunate experience.

Other clear stones such as topaz, amethyst, citrine, and peridot can be cleaned with a weak solution of liquid dish soap and water, again scrubbing gently with a soft brush, rinsing thoroughly and drying. Emeralds are an exception; because they are so rare, many that are used in jewelry have pits and flaws that are filled with oil. Soap or ammonia can wash away that oil, and diminish their beauty, so limited your cleaning to swipes of a water-moistened cloth.

Translucent or opaque gems such as opals and turquoise should also receive this delicate treatment. Dry-brush away dirt, then gently clean with a soft, damp cloth.

Gold also is best cleaned with a liquid dish soap solution. To clean a chain, stretch a section over the back of your hand until it is taut and brush it link by link. Dirt and grease often hide within the link. Rinse well, pat dry, and finish with a light rubbing of a gold polishing cloth such as those sold in any jewelry store.

Pearls are a different matter; they actually need a bit of oil to maintain their luster. By wearing them against your skin, the little bit of skin oil they pick up suffices. If they have been stored for a long time, though, a very, very light rubbing with a cloth moistened with olive oil will help them regain their sheen. Never immerse pearls in liquid, as dirt will stain the silk string. If they seem dirty, wipe them carefully with a clean, soft cloth. If the pearls slide freely within the strand, or the silk seems discolored, it’s time to have them restrung.

The reason that jewelry looks so amazing in the store is that jewelers understand about light, and every piece in the case is kept scrupulously clean so that the sparkle is maximized. Keep your treasures the same and light will be your friend, too.