hollandsjewelers.com Blog

An older white haired man walkes into a jewelry store on a Friday afternoon with a beautiful young gal at his side. He tells the jeweler that he is looking for a special ring for his girlfriend.

The jeweler looked through his stock and brought out a $5,000.00 ring and showed it to him.

The old man said, “I don’t think you understand, I want something very special”.

At that statement, the jeweler went to his special stock and brought another ring over to the old man. “Here’s a stunning ring at only $50,000″, the jeweler said.

The young lady’s eyes sparkled and her whole body trembled with excitement.

The old man seeing this said, “We’ll take it.”

The jeweler asked how payment would be made and the old man stated, by check. “I know you need to make sure my check is good, so I’ll write it now and you can call the bank on Monday to verify the funds. I’ll just pick the ring up Monday afternoon”., he said.

Monday morning, a very teed-off jeweler phoned the old man. “There’s no money in that account!!!!”.

“I know”, said the old man, “but can you imagine the weekend I just had?”

Sorry, there aren’t many jokes about jewelers.

Say hello to the best looking, newly engaged couples in town.   We hope and pray that all your endeavors and plans go smooth.   Have fun and make memories, cause it’s all about the journey.

If you’re thinking about what to get your sweetie for Christmas and you want a “one of a kind” like she is, then now is the time to start the process. Typically custom jewelry design takes around four weeks from start to finish to complete but as the holidays get closer the timeline gets longer. Around the 15th of November will be the cut off date for “made from scratch” jewelry. Don’t loose heart!! We will still be setting and making jewelry up till the 24th of December for those last minute guys. I hate to beat a dead hoses but I’m gonna do it anyway. Men send your wife, girlfriend, daughters, moms, heck anyone into the store and we will help them fill out a wish list. If you don’t use it for Christmas that’s o.k., there are roughly 2 occasions a month that ladies expect gift for. Also we guys screw-up, ALOT, it is nice to have a get out of jail free card up your sleeve. I know, the economy is in the c#@&er so this year, included in each Christmas catalogue we send out, there will be a $50 gift card to use in the store. On anything $200 and over!! If you don’t currently get our mail see the last blog for details on how to get onboard. The sooner you start the easier it is.

O.K. real quick.  How would you like to win your Christmas gift this year?  Got your attention?  I know this is early but starting the week of Thanksgiving we are having our annual gift give-away.  This year there will be more from the “Lorenzo” collection as well as some “hidden” gifts in our Christmas tree.  I can’t tell you what they are, you’ll have to come see.  Also our year end, color newsletters have been sent out with all the details about our OPEN HOUSE.  If you aren’t getting our newsletters you can sign up three easy ways.  Email me at: hollandsjewelers@hollandsjewelers.com (linked from our site), stop by the store and fill out an info card, or subscribe on our website (coming soon). The dates this year are Dec. 5th from 9am till 8pm and Dec. 6th from 9am till 4pm.  Food and drinks will be abundant.  I have opted out of cooking for this event.  I make jewelry better than I bake.

AMETHYST!!!  North Carolina is known for many things: Krispy Kreme Donuts, Biltmore Estate, Pepsi Cola, the first airplane flight and gemstones.  The 20 largest Emeralds ever mined in North America were found right here in the mountains of our state.  WE’RE #1!!  Also, the largest, finest Amethyst ever mined in North America came from a mine in Iron Station, N.C., near Grandfather Mountain.  The gemstone was two feet long, two feet wide, a full foot high and weighed over 165 pounds.  The Amethyst was super unusual in the fact that it’s deep purple body color wasn’t commonly found.  Most of the stones coming out of the area mines were medium to light in tone and much smaller.  North Carolina has been a great resource for several precious gemstones ranging from tourmaline, aquamarine, agate, sapphires, rubies, moonstones, Rhodolite garnets and many more.  To see more info on the gemstones of North Carolina check out the links listed to the side or come visit us at Holland’s for some gems “up close and hands on”.

A couple years ago Ginny and I were looking for something different to make for our store.  It was around the time when all these multi-colored sapphires were popping up and the supply was fairly abundant.   We called a gemstone cutter and made an appointment to check out what he had.   We found 11 natural fancy colored sapphires that matched in size but with widely different hues.  Now how do we set these beauties to keep them together in one piece of jewelry?  We came up with a simple line bracelet design that was made with a place for a diamond to be set on both ends of each sapphire.  The bracelet links were made in 18 karat white gold (super strong) and the sapphires and diamonds were set.  The finished piece was the most vibrant bracelet I had ever seen.  One of our favorite guest eyed the bracelet and could not get it off her mind.  Her husband called us out of the blue one afternoon and said “If that bracelet is still there my wife wants, please hold it.”  We did and she got her bracelet.  Every time she comes by to visit our store I clean her jewelry and still “drool” over that bracelet.  Unique, one-of-a-kind jewelry is always fun to make and even more fun when you get to wear it.

Have you ever wondered why a rose is red, the grass is green or the sky is blue?  Why do we have a love affection with bright, stunning colors?  You never appreciate color until you see something that you may not have seen before or see things in a different light.  Last Christmas I received a new T.V., my 14 year old “big box” t.v. died so I needed a new one.  Now I thought my old set looked pretty good but when I installed the new one and turned it on for the first time, I was amazed.  I couldn’t believe the difference.  All those colors.   Diamonds are kind of the same way.  We’ve all seen dazzling white diamonds but when you see a natural colored diamond, it’s hard to believe all those colors.  These rare beauties have very familiar colors that can be seen in other gemstones.  The major difference is the diamonds ability to hold a polish and redirect the light that is around it and going into it into a myriad of flashing colors.  Nothing is quite as captivating as the “play of light” exhibited by diamonds.  Something new and different, that’s what makes jewelry exciting.

There here!!!   Endless diamond hoop earrings and they are HOT!  These earrings are  chocked full of diamonds and sparkle from every angle.  You can wear these hoops with confidence, they don’t fall out.  Gabriel has designed a stationary screw back that ensures your hoops stay on all day and all night.  They come in all shapes and sizes, the bigger the better.  Bold and beautiful they look great with jeans as well as your sexiest outfits.  We have sizes from 1/2 carat up to 3 carats in white gold and yellow.   Over 50 new collections have just arrived.  Come by and make your “wish list” for Christmas early this year, we’ll do the rest.

Last weekend Ginny and I were in Philadelphia for our annual jewelry buying trip. This Fall jewelry show is the big one that usually has some of todays top designers in house. Sara Blaine, Frederick Dlclose, Robert Klein, and Sherie Dori, just to name a few. After a day of seminars on Saturday, we filled Sunday with shopping. This is where my wife shines. I don’t mind bragging on her, but she has an eye for beautiful jewelry. We plan our route, to keep us from getting sidetracked, and go! Time is short and there is lots of ground to cover. I will have to say that the highlight for me this year was meeting Sara Blaine. She is a designer the specializes in silver and gemstones. Her multi-colored necklaces, bracelets and earrings combine hues and tones that not only compliment each other but are bold and stylish. There was also a big announcement on the final day of the show. IJO, the independent jewelers organization we are a member of, has teamed up with one of the largest diamond mines in the world. This “marriage” will allow us to have access to rare and beautiful naturally colored diamonds. Reds, Blues, Champagnes and yellows just to name a few. There is lots to say about this so I will save it for next time. Come back for more.

For some reason computers hate me. I’m not sure why, I treat my computer like one of the family. I clean it when it’s dirty, spend time with it, even give it routine check-ups. Yet, it still crashes for no reason. The computer system at work, where most of my life is stored, has been on its final leg for the past two weeks or so. Appraisals are backing up, as well as other important things, so I finally called in some tech support. After two hours the problem was solved!!! Don’t ask what was wrong, I don’t speak computer, but for now all is well. We have been busy around the store and already have Christmas on our minds. Our trip to Philadelphia was eventful and our cases will soon be bursting with lots of new “goodies”. I’ll tell you about it soon. Long live virus protection!!!!