All That Glitters

All That Glitters

Where to find baubles, gems and jewels in the East Bay, from birthstones to “push presents.”

When I was getting married in my early 20s, I thought a sparkly engagement ring just wasn’t my style. They’re too expensive, I told myself. Too flashy. Too married. (You see the problem.) Undaunted, my husband-to-be found a lovely ring with an understated, semi-precious stone that has served me well, lo, these 15 years. But after more than a decade with the guy, I’ve not only gotten over my ambivalence about marriage, I’ve also gotten over my shyness about all that glitters. Lately, I’ve been hankering to add a bit of bling to my set. What’s a girl to do?

I set out on my gem quest with Marilyn Monroe’s sultry voice playing in my head: “Men grow cold, as girls grow old, and we all lose our charms in the end. But square-cut or pear-shaped, these rocks don’t lose their shape. Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.”

Are diamonds still “a girl’s best friend”? East Bay jewelers say, “Yes.” Women still love diamonds in all of their sizes, settings and colors.

In the rough: Shibumi Gallery offers alternatives to traditional gems that include this natural diamond crystal ring. Photo by George Post.

Jon Moriarty, owner of 14 Karats on College Avenue, says you can’t beat diamonds for durability. In 50 years, a diamond is going to look pretty much how it looks today—which is not the case with most other gems. He says East Bay shoppers are still buying diamonds, though news reports and movies like Blood Diamond that revealed the horrifying consequences of diamond mining and trade in war-torn Sierra Leone in the 1990s have prompted buyers to be more particular.

This political awareness has inspired an interest in brand-name diamonds from companies, like Hearts on Fire in Boston, that assure consumers that the gems are “conflict-free” from rough crystal to finished piece. (In 2002, a coalition of governments, non-governmental organizations and the diamond industry worked together to establish the Kimberley Process Certification System, a United Nations–backed method intended to eliminate trade in “conflict” diamonds, especially from African nations. Check out www.diamondfacts.org for more information.) Moriarty, who has bought diamonds from the same sellers for 25 years, says his customers trust him to know the origin of his stones.

Multidot diamond ring from 14 Karats. Photo courtesy 14 Karats.

“The jewelry industry is not perfect,” says April Higashi, owner of Shibumi Studio and Gallery on Fifth Street. “There are a lot of roads you can go down. As an ethical person, you start thinking about your own response.”

Higashi offers many natural or raw diamonds—some of which were recycled after use in factories that require strong stones for sanding and other purposes. She says the raw diamonds can be a more affordable and unique alternative to traditional diamonds. She also uses pieces of diamonds that were “cleaved” during the “faceting” or cutting of traditional diamonds into the V-shape. The top of the diamond is lopped off in that process and can make for an interesting shape.

Many jewelers are now selling diamonds in different colors including canary yellow, golden orange, pink, green, blue, even black. Higashi says the coloring happens naturally when certain elements (carbon, in the case of black diamonds) mix with the stone as it is formed.

Customize it

Rosecut diamond ring from M. Lowe & Co. Photo courtesy M. Lowe & Co.

Aline Aghababian, a second-generation jeweler at Solano Jewelers, the business her father opened in 1977, says women are choosing jewels without waiting for a mate to choose for them. “In the past few years, we’ve noticed that women are buying substantial pieces for themselves,” Aghababian says. This may be a trend inspired by DeBeers (the diamond purveyors and cartel), which launched a campaign in 2002, urging women to invest in a “right-hand ring” with slogans like, “Your left hand says ‘we.’ Your right hand says ‘me.’”

Women are asking for unique designs and that often means custom work. “We actually don’t have much time to stock our cases, because we’re doing so many custom pieces,” says Aghababian, who estimates that half of her business is custom.

Reworking or augmenting an old favorite is popular for milestone birthdays or anniversaries, says jewelry designer Leanne Arbelaez of Pavé Fine Jewelry Design on College Avenue in Oakland. “A couple might come in looking for an additional band for the woman’s wedding set to mark a special anniversary,” she says, “or the next part of a collection they’re building for her, say, diamond stud earrings or a pendant.”

Working with a client to develop a piece of jewelry is satisfying for both the jeweler and the client, says Pavé owner Michael Endlich. “People think they need to know exactly what they want before they come in,” he says. “But that’s not the case at all. We work with our clients to create a design that they love. It’s a collaborative process. We ask them about their lifestyle and help them consider their skin tone and their hair and eye color, so that the finished product is a really personal piece of jewelry that reflects them.”

Higashi, who opens her gallery on Saturdays, works by appointment during the week so that she can provide individual attention to her clients. She, too, encourages buyers to think about what appeals to them instead of what is popular. “It’s nice if people can have a little more casual approach and not put so much pressure on themselves,” says Higashi, who says people forget that they can replace a setting after 10 years to fit new styles or their own changing tastes.

Jewelers say the occasions to buy jewelry haven’t changed much over the years: weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, graduations and births top the list. But Peggy Casey, who has owned Bill’s Trading Post and Gem Gallery since 1968, says buyers don’t pay much attention to the traditional lists of which stones to buy for particular anniversaries or birthdays. She says customers simply buy the gift they think the recipient will like. Casey says watches are still a popular graduation gift—maybe to encourage the graduate to be on time for her or his first real job, she speculates. “When I was young, that was the graduation gift everyone wanted,” says Casey. “But we didn’t have the $9.99 Timex then, either.”

All the rage now are so-called “push presents,” special pieces of jewelry given to commemorate the birth of a child. One of Pavé’s clients created a delicate ring encircled with diamonds and garnished with an amethyst for his wife after the birth of their daughter, Violet; some women might collect a set of slim stacking bands, adorned with the birthstone of each of their children.

Margot Lowe, owner of M. Lowe and Co., is a new mother herself, and although she does see many clients choosing special jewelry to mark a new baby’s arrival in the family, she herself did not. “My husband bought me power tools instead,” she laughs.

What’s old is new

As for ring settings, the classic four- or six-prong solitaire will always be in style. But if you’re interested in other options, consider a bezel setting, in which the gemstone is set into a gold tube that is then burnished and smoothed around the girdle of the jewel (the stone juts up off the band of the ring as in the prong setting, but the sides are smooth and enclosed by gold). White gold bezel settings can make diamonds look bigger, as the outer edge of the bezel appears to be the edge of the diamond. Another option is a burnished setting, in which the band metal is the bezel and the gemstone is flush with the band.

The market was dominated in the 1920s by platinum and by palladium in the 1940s, says Moriarty, before giving way to yellow gold in the ’60s through ’80s (remember those gold chains?) and coming back to white metals in more recent decades. But metals such as platinum can be much more expensive than gold at $1,300 per ounce versus about $700 per ounce for gold. White gold is a more affordable option, but it’s alloyed with nickel, which can cause an allergic reaction for some.

Higher karat gold—18, 22, 24—is fashionable now, too; its rich color suggests an Old World charm and the metal gains more depth or character the longer it’s worn. Jewelry designers are hand-beating and hand-embellishing this high-karat gold for a textured, Byzantine appearance. Some are using gold that’s been alloyed with other metals to produce different colors like rose, peach, green and even purple.

Mixing and matching metals and gems is a recent design trend that creates a delicate, layered look for rings as well as pendants. Jeweler Lowe says engraving on the surface of a ring, often with tiny diamonds to create an antique feel, is also in vogue these days.

Lowe stocks an array of estate jewelry and takes pride in offering pieces with what she calls a “modern ethnic” feel: One example is an Indian aquamarine ring of more than 20 carats set in white gold with diamonds and a leafy engraving pattern; the other is a pair of earrings made in Portugal that include 75 tiny diamonds in a filigree setting. Lowe also carries high-karat gold from India that has a matte rather than a shiny finish. “It’s different than gold that’s made in America,” Lowe says. “It looks quieter.”

At Golden Oak Jewelers on Fourth Street, the semi-precious strands from local designer Enamorata are popular, says sales associate and designer Leslie Hyman. She says customers love the high-karat gold combined with dazzling quartz, amethyst and peridot.

Enduring gems

You’ve done your research, worked out the design, and now you’re the proud wearer of a beautiful piece of jewelry that, every time you look at it, reminds you of a special person or moment in your life. How best to take care of something so precious? The basic advice: Let your jeweler do it.

“We encourage our clients to come in any time to let us check and clean their piece,” says Aghababian. Pearls, coral, porous stones like opal, and emeralds require extra care; all can be negatively affected by sweat, lotion, perfume, hairspray, even water (in other words, don’t wash dishes wearing your pearl or opal ring). It’s wise to talk to your jeweler before using an at-home jewelry cleaner like ammonia-based solutions or even ultrasonic machines. You want to take care of your pieces, of course, because one of the gifts of special jewelry is that it can last, even to the next generation.

Taking good care is also important because in the high-priced Bay Area, most people make only a few select jewelry purchases over their lifetimes. Moriarty says that because of high housing costs locally, people need to spend their money on the mortgage and often have to give up on extras. “What do you think you’re going to have left?” asks Moriarty. “Not a lot to buy baubles with.”

Casey, of the Gem Gallery, offers something old-fashioned in our society of easy credit, big debt and instant gratification: a lay-away plan. She provides an interest-free way for customers to buy their merchandise, little by little, over several months before taking it home. She says regardless of economics, people will always love jewelry as a form of self-adornment and because some people think certain stones have particular effects on us. “I think any beautiful stone has an effect on us,” she says.

Other local jewelers say people continue to buy fine pieces because the symbolism of unbroken circles and beautiful, long-lasting gems can become a touchstone of memory. “Jewelry carries emotional impact,” says Arbelaez. “You remember who gave each piece to you, and what the occasion was.” l

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Writer Kate Madden Yee lives in Oakland.


Quick primer:
The word carat is derived from the Greek word keration for carob beans, which were used as counterweights on scales for small measurements because of their uniformity of weight. A carat is equal to one-fifth of a gram, or 200 milligrams, and there are about 140 carats in one ounce. The word karat, on the other hand, measures the percentage of pure gold to alloy. One karat equals 1/24th part; thus 24 karat gold is pure gold.

Local Gems

14 Karats, 2910 College Ave., Berkeley, (510) 644-1640; www.14karats.com.

Bill’s Trading Post & Gem Gallery, 2945 College Ave., Berkeley, (510) 841-1615; www.bills-tradingpost.com.

Golden Oak Jewelers, 1778 Fourth St., Berkeley, (510) 559-7885; www.goldenoakjewelers.com.

M. Lowe & Co., 1519 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, (510) 486-0613; www.mlowejewels.com.

Pavé Fine Jewelry Design, 5496 College Ave., Oakland, (510) 547-7000; www.pavefinejewelry.com.

Shibumi Studio & Gallery, 1402 Fifth St., Berkeley, (510) 528-7736; www.shibumistudio.com.

Solano Jewelers, 1895 Solano Ave., Berkeley, (510) 526-1100; www.solanojewelers.com.

Faces of the East Bay