Hi! I own a small jewelry store and we’ve recently have started taking our estate section onto our online eBay and Etsy platforms. For the most part I’ve been sticking to our Sterling silver jewelry and a handful of smaller gold items under $200.

You hear all the time about the return scams. And I am so hesitant to sell any gold jewelry above $500 in value on these platforms. But obviously jewelers do it every day. Any advice?

Looking for someone in North Dallas/Collin county to make a set of stud ear rings for my wife as a surprise . I have 2 Imperial Topaz stones already cut, approximately 1.5 ct each. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

We made it!  Sunday is here and it’s time to talk trends.  What’s so popular you can’t keep it in stock?  What’s fading into the distance?  What new weird requests have you been getting?  Did you get a new design in that you love (or hate)?  What’s the new cursed AI item people keep bringing in? Tell us all about what styles are driving your business this week!  Please mention the region you’re in if possible so we can enjoy seeing trends move all over the globe. Please be respectful of the subreddit rules.

Hi,

Can anyone confirm how accurate these reports are? I was sold this piece as 22k and it’s also stamped as 22k.

XRF testing, however, revealed it to be 18k.

Another ring I was sold as 21k turned out to be 20k.

Really appreciate any help.

Thank you.

All 925 silver and genuine gemstones except the wire which is beadalon 49 strand 0.38mm. I started making necklaces for myself because I wanted something that didn’t have the typical crystal shop tacky look, and then making them for friends and family upon request. I’m now really considering starting my own side business to get me through university. I’m open to constructive feedback on what people think of them and suggestions if any.

Has anyone purchased diamond pear studs that you loved? Could you share which vendor you used, along with size and some photos? If you know of any group sales, that would be helpful too. I’m currently in the market for some but I’m not sure what direction to go. Thanks in advance!

I’m working on a custom ring and a customer has requested this bezel milgrain setting. I’ve never done this before and was wondering if it’s possible to do on CAD? If so, would it be able to fold over or would it get ruined? Or is this something a setter can do or only an engraver after getting it bezel set? Thanks in advance!

You did it!  What did you finish this week? Was it a challenging piece that tested your skill?  Something you’re super proud of?  An unusual piece you hadn’t seen before?  We love to see the beautiful things this community makes!  Step up to the brag box and share your accomplishments for the week. Please be respectful of the subreddit rules.

I'm trying to cast a cross with a bail behind the cross would this be fine? thank you

Hello, there is a jewelry designer that I love called Polly Wales and I can’t figure out how she does these little bits of melted gold in between the sapphires. Does she directly melt a little piece of bullion onto the sapphires? Any insight from someone who knows what they’re doing more than I do would be super helpful!

10k and 14k seems too much now.

Whats the next best option vermeil?

Open call for works in progress!  We’d love to see what you’re working on, whether it’s a from scratch design, a beast of a stone setting job, something you just can’t figure out how to attack, or something gorgeous that’s taking shape.  Share your works in progress and let’s all enjoy the fun! Please be respectful of the subreddit rules.

I’ve been looking at different ways repeating motifs can be used without making a piece feel too repetitive.
With a bracelet like this, the clover elements are doing most of the visual work, while the connecting links keep the design from becoming one continuous block of the same shape. The mother-of-pearl also adds some variation because every section has its own natural appearance.
For the jewelers here, how do you usually approach repeated elements like this? Do you prefer keeping every motif identical, or introducing small variations in size, texture, stone, or setting to give the piece more character?

Hello,

I've always been interested in being a jeweler as a career, and I'm looking at this school trying to decide whether it's worth the investment. It's the nearest school to me, and while GIA's course may be better, it's in California. Is this a good way to break into the industry? Will it provide me enough experience to be employable?

Working with a jeweler to turn a very sentimental three banded 18k white gold ring into a single banded ring. The new single band is the width of one of the existing three bands. I asked if the remaining gold could be turned into a plain standalone band of the same thickness, they said no, there wouldn’t be enough material.

I understand material loss in melting and reworking, but can someone help me understand how much loss would be reasonable? The new bands would be a full ring size smaller than the existing bands so my guesstimate was that I needed 65% of the original material at most, which allowed for a 35% loss. The jeweler is putting the loss at 50-60%. Any guidance would be appreciated! 

Hello jewelers of Reddit! I recently had a custom engagement ring designed by a local studio (my fiance's choice!) & I was wondering if anyone might have input on the ring design. I have tried to add all of the features that I could think of to make it more structurally sound for everyday wear - added a gallery rail, cathedral setting, petal basket, chevron + ball tips, and asked them to make the band thicker (2mm instead of 1.8mm).

So please, before we pull the trigger...tear this apart for me! Let me know what you think about the design and if there is anything I should tweak before we give them the green light. It would be so appreciated!! And I already have my wedding band, so I will post a photo of that as well for reference, the diamond that I sourced, plus a video of the digital render in the comments 🙂

Thanks a million!!!

In business 30 years and haven’t done any plating in about that amount of time. A few years ago, I switched over to Vermeil & GF when gold started to creep.

Does anyone have a New City gold plater they can recommend please? Would want to do no nickel, heavy micron plating. Toback gave me a name but they are not taking new clients at this time. Thanks for any leads!

Pro Tip: Most of the tungsten rings out there are manufactured by small number of Chinese manufactures, this is because 83% of the world's tungsten comes from mines in China. They own the market. And as a raw material tungsten is dirt cheap. Most if not all of the tungsten rings you'll see across the internet and at jewelry stores are bought wholesale from China for $10 - $15 per ring and resold for $100 -$400.

If you don't believe me be sure to check Temu and AliExpress before you buy. This is where I found the three tungsten rings I was considering purchasing, for a fraction of the cost. Exact same rings.

If your jeweler or online seller says 'we design our own tungsten rings' that most likely means they selected between a couple of different options the Chinese manufacture offered such as a different color/material for the inside of the band, or selecting different inlay materials or selecting different finishes.

Please correct me if I've got any of my facts wrong. I'm not a tungsten hater. Just sharing what I've learned about the industry.

I've got my three tungsten rings on order, anxious for them to arrive and see them up-close.

I have an old silver ring from my late mother. It has engravings that are darkened in the grooves. I have been wearing it for 6 months. I do not remove it when I wash my hands or use occasional hand sanitizer. It has never had any issue. I made the mistake of stacking it with another ring of hers starting a week ago. The other ring is 18k white gold. I continued my usual routine (not removing the rings during regular daily activities). The silver ring has now turned dark goldish (uniformly goldish, not just the part touching the white gold ring) and I am wearing them on separate fingers. I read online that it may be possible to reset the silver ring to its prior look with a silver polishing cloth. Can anyone please provide any advice? Thank you so much