It is so easy to speak of price; but so often presumed price comparisons are based on imperfect information. Let me presume that you know little of jewelry, this for the sake of looking at the aspects of jewelry excellence. These may be summarized as gem quality, metallurgy, technique and quality control.

All too often the jewelry buyer presumes that the value of any piece of jewelry he buys is wrapped entirely in the value of the diamond with which it is set. Many focus on color, clarity and carat weight in an attempt to understand value; but they do so at their risk. While color and clarity are easy to understand, if not to perceive, and weight is wonderfully concrete, ignoring cut begs the question of beauty – the obvious measure of excellence in a diamond. When a diamond is beautifully cut, that is, cut with full consideration of the diamond’s light handling characteristics, it will out sparkle one with a compromised cut in any side-by-side comparison. Once again, its excellence will be obvious; if only, of course the buyer chooses to make the comparison.

Metallurgy is seldom well understood by the average buyer; so let me suggest that excellent metallurgy has two aspects, physical durability and visual durability. Within this framework for excellence, platinum, within some limits, should be the metal of choice for a “lifetime” piece of jewelry. It resists wear better than the gold alloys common to jewelry manufacture; and it retains its high white color while gold alloys usually do not. Platinum’s sister metal, palladium, has a high white color but its durability is similar to that of most gold alloys. As platinum is softer than gold alloys and palladium, it will scratch more easily; and owing to its softness, most platinum alloys will also bend more readily than gold or palladium. This makes some fragile looking designs just too fragile for execution in common platinum alloys, though there are some expensive platinum alloys that can be employed to get around most of this design limitation. Excellence in metallurgy, then, may be understood to favor platinum but with some design limitations.

Then there is technique. For some incalculable reason people who wouldn’t touch a branded manufactured product because of its known lack of quality very often presume that all jewelry is manufactured to the same standards. In the (scripted) words of Mr. T, “I pity the fools.” Most contemporary jewelry is made using the lost wax casting process; and in one form or another it’s been around since before the birth of Christ. Ancient knowledge, however, is no guarantee of perfect technique. The most common flaw in castings is porosity. This usually stems from deliberately over-heating the metal being cast (a matter of technique). Since hot metal flows more easily, it will more reliably fill the mold cavity and thus reduce the apparent rejection rate in casting. This nickle-dime mentality is dreadfully common in the jewelry business; so porosity abounds in much of the jewelry on the market. It makes the metal more brittle (thus less durable) and it usually prevents it from taking a perfect polish. Excellent casting technique is, then, a matter of dedication to quality as well as science. The excellent craftsman knows what he is doing and will not knowingly let anything inferior leave his shop; and this leaves the jeweler.

Sadly, when consumers focus on price (as many do), quality tends to fall by the wayside. The excellent jeweler knows what constitutes excellence in jewelry; and to guarantee it he works exclusively with jewelry craftsmen who are dedicated to quality. With all that, however, he double checks everything. Knowing the parameters of quality, the excellent jeweler administers a strict regimen of quality control on all he offers for sale. This is the consumer’s best guarantee that he will purchase the quality he is entitled to expect in a piece of fine jewelry.

Of course, no one likes criticism; but some take it as constructive while most take offense. This is as true in the jewelry business as it is elsewhere; so our hard-nosed insistence on quality has earned us only a few who are as dedicated to quality as we are. In the diamond bridal market, our “stars” are Hearts On Fire and Varna. Each is uncompromising in quality; and each is concerned for making the perfect statement. So if you want to tell her you love her, perfectly, only Hearts On Fire and Varna will do. We’re Hursts Berwyn Jewelers, your personal jeweler dedicated to helping you realize your dreams. Phone us at 708.788.0880 for an appointment to select the gift of a lifetime.