Natural Diamond Prices – November 2024
At PriceScope, we remain committed to delivering timely and insightful updates on the diamond market’s latest trends. Our expert analysis focuses on the economic and social changes that shape consumer…
My Favorite Things
“The Sound of Music,” one of the most popular musicals in history and a classic movie from 1965 starring Julie Andrews, has many memorable tunes. One that sticks with me, time and time again, is “My Favorite Things” – you know:
Rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things…
Do you hear it in your head? Me too.
“Great… now that will be stuck in my head all day,” you’re probably thinking. And it will be. But that’s not the point of my post.
Paradigm Shift
Over the past 19 months, as hand washing and sanitizing became more necessary, our jewelry wearing and cleaning habits changed. During quarantine some people put jewelry accessories away for an extended period of time. Others continued to wear their jewelry, even when isolated. Regardless of the circumstance, the need for increased sanitizing caused by COVID caused a paradigm shift for jewelry lovers – an increased need to protect “your favorite things” during that process, especially certain metals, colored stones, and organics.
Jewelry Holders
It’s no coincidence that the number of dishes or jewelry stands being produced and sold has increased in the last year. This is terrific, in fact, it goes hand in hand with Step #1 (set up for success) in PriceScope’s suggested “Seven Steps to Sparkle” for cleaning jewelry.
Since jewelry is synonymous with fashion, why not have a fashionable resting place for your jewelry? The coolest thing about “fashion” is that it’s entirely personal. Your jewelry holder can be a classy crystal or a fake cactus. It can be any color, shape, and style you wish.
Plain and Simple
A basic jewelry or ring dish is very affordable. This is a plain and simple example, made to match a variety of kitchen or bathroom fixtures and countertops. This specific piece is pictured courtesy of Santa Barbara Design Studio. Dozens of alternate options can be found in a Google search.
Classic and Classy
You can’t go wrong with Waterford Crystal. If you display your fine china or other crystal – glasses, decanters, etc. – it would fit right in. Better yet, if your guest room and bath feature classic and classy decor, this holder would surely please the in-laws when they came for the holidays. This style elevates your engagement or wedding ring positioning with its raised central post.
Honestly, a Waterford crystal ring holder doesn’t simply proclaim ‘elegance’ – it subtly sets expectations for household etiquette… Do you see this ring holder? There will be no raised voices, arguments about politics, or criticisms of life choices in THIS house while you visit. Can a ring holder really do that? I’m not guaranteeing anything but it’s worth a shot. You can find it at Crystal Classics.
Modern Motifs
Perhaps the formality of crystal is not in your wheelhouse. Do you want to have jewelry holders, but prefer a more casual look? The basic black & white example below, courtesy of Bed, Bath & Beyond, would fit into many modern minimalist settings. There are many more interesting combinations of colors and styles to choose from if you search the web. Some hold only one ring. Others, like this one, support a variety of pieces at once.
Wild and Whimsical
For those with a taste for the unusual, the eye-popping colors of colorful ceramic jewelry holders could be appealing for accessorizing guest areas, kitchens, and masters. The design of this one supports multiple rings at once, and could help you remember to put your jewelry back on, as these will likely catch your eye coming or going. These specific examples are not available at the moment (you can bookmark and check back) but an image search of ceramic ring holders brings up a variety of similar results.
That Cactus Tho…
I mentioned it above. Courtesy of FairyLavie – Enjoy, all of you desert-theme designers!
Matching Sets
If you like uniformity there are matching dishes and holders which can be personalized. You could engrave each with a personal message, a preferred location, or anything you wish.
The Bottom Line
When jewelry is worn it becomes exposed to elements in the environment. This can include dust, pollen, pollutants, and aerosols, and different weather conditions. Even contact with your skin exposes your precious pieces to perspiration, your body’s chemistry, lotions, cosmetics, and fragrances – not to mention buildup over time or knocks which force detritus into nooks and crannies. In that spirit, I hope this post supports your existing jewelry cleaning habits with a bit of fun fashion.
We’d love to see images of your holders on the PriceScope forum. Click “discuss on PriceScope” below.
Written by John Pollard
Feature image credit: sound-of-music.com
What do you think?
Do you sleep in your rings and earrings or take them off? Do you clean your jewelry once per day, once per week, once per month, or on some other schedule? What is your favorite cleaning method? Do you have a secure holder in which to place multiple pieces while cleaning them? If not, will you promise to get one? Do all of your sinks have deep drain traps? How much does a plumber cost by the hour? Does Tesla make trucks that plumbers could use? Should they?
| On Thursday, 18th November 2021, our Educational Advisor, John Pollard was joined by guest Avi Levy, the President of International Gemological Institute (IGI) – North America where they discussed the current status of natural and lab diamonds, consumer consciousness, and buying trends they’ve seen over the last few years, and shared their thoughts on what direction things might take in the future.
Watch it here. |
More Reading
Learn how to define brightness, leakage, contrast, and scintillation on our page Diamond Performance Explained.
Take your diamonds on a brightness, fire, and sparkle test drive: Make Comparisons Like an Expert.
Get fast answers to any question: Ask our community of unbiased independent helpers.
Ready to find your diamond?
