As much jewelry as there is in the world today to choose from, many people looking for a special piece of jewelry, such as an engagement ring, want to add their own touch to it.  That’s when the process of custom design comes in to play.  When a customer walks through the door and asks to see engagement rings, I have a wide variety to show them.  But many times, they like a certain part about one ring and another part of another ring and want to be able to have it all in one ring…and they can! My master goldsmith has been working with us for 13 years and is a true artist.  The process starts with a wax model that he hand carves and is made to replicate the future ring.  Then, the wax gets cast in to the desired metal such as gold or platinum and the stones get set in the gold…and it only takes about 2 weeks!  Even if someone already has an engagement ring but needs a matching wedding band, we’ll make it for them!  Below is one example of a custom ring we made for our customer.  

I’ve had women who have just been proposed to with a custom design from me make a special trip back in to my store to tell me how much they LOVE their ring and that they never could have imagined how beautiful it would turn out!

It’s such a fun process and hopefully I will have a video to show the actual process live.

I wanted to share with everyone one of the most interesting designers who I have come across in the last year, Alexis Bittar. Now, if you have never heard his name or don’t know anything about his collections, I am here to tell you, it’s time you know! Eventhough Bittar has been around since the late 70′s, I first discovered him in West Palm Beach at Neiman Marcus. I saw a translucent, gold link lucite necklace and I just had to have it. After I found out Bittar was the designer of my new bauble, I did my research and realized he would be a perfect fit for Hiller Jewelry and our new, hip, re-designed store on Metairie Road. Alexis does a collection for each season with a different color pallette and theme consistent throughout. For example, this years Spring/Summer colors are turquoise, gold, coral and lavender. Check out some of his collections on our site here:http://www.hillerjewelry.com/alexis-bittar/.  And, if you are reading this, we are offering 30% OFF his current collections (and he NEVER has SALE prices on his pieces). So, my point is, if you want to be on the cutting edge in the world of designer fashion jewelry, you MUST have at least one piece of his.. and, once you either buy a piece for yourself or receive a piece of Bittar as a gift, I gurantee that you can’t just have one!

I recently returned from Las Vegas where my dad and I were attending one of the largest jewelry shows in the country. We were there for 5 days, which in Vegas time is equal to 5 months! This was my first time attending the show but dad has been going for at least 10 years, so he was showing me the ropes, and let me tell you, I had NO idea what to expect. I thought we were going to go to Vegas, meet some vendors, buy some jewelry and go to the pool the rest of the time…well, boy was I wrong! The jewelry show is in the Venetian convention center on 3 floors that spans about 20 football fields…and we walked every inch of it looking at all the jewelry and new gadgets in the industry. One of the cool new toys we bought for the store is a microscope camera. What this does is allow us to zoom in like a microscope on customers jewelry so we can show them, for example, a broken prong or an inclusion in their diamond. It allows us to give better cusotmer service than we already do and higher quality photos as well. I also tried on a 35 carat, fancy yellow pear shape diamond with baguettes on either side that cost $2million! It was the largest diamond I have ever seen in person, but stunning. Let me know if I have any takers. I also learned a lot about social media and viral marketing..in other words, I need to get better at blogging and updating our website! SO, from today forward, I will be blogging, tweeting and Facebooking much more. Share your thoughts and ideas with me and feel free to e-mail, tweet or Facebook any jewelry questions or ideas you might have.
Talk to you soon,
Lisa

How do you choose whether or not to buy a ring in platinum or gold?  There are characteristics of both metals that will ultimately help you determine the best possible choice for you when purchasing a ring.  14-18 karat yellow gold is a classic, timeless metal that used to be the staple choice when buying a ring.   Today, specifically with engagement rings, 14-karat white gold or platinum are the popular choice.  Here are the main differences between the two: white gold is an alloy of gold usually with one white metal such as nickel.  The advantage of white gold is that it tends to be stronger than platinum.  But, over time, the yellow gold alloy will start to show through.  When this happens, the white gold ring needs to go through a process called rhodium plating, which will restore the ring back to its bright, white color.

Platinum, on the other hand is a pure metal, white in color but malleable.   The advantage of platinum is that it will always stay white in color and is more valuable than white gold.  But, platinum can tend to scratch, and dent easier than white gold.  Therefore, if you are an active person who uses their hands a lot, platinum might not be the best choice.  Also, platinum will be considerably more expensive than white or yellow gold.