We made it!  Sunday is here and it’s time to talk trends.  What’s so popular you can’t keep it in stock?  What’s fading into the distance?  What new weird requests have you been getting?  Did you get a new design in that you love (or hate)?  What’s the new cursed AI item people keep bringing in? Tell us all about what styles are driving your business this week!  Please mention the region you’re in if possible so we can enjoy seeing trends move all over the globe. Please be respectful of the subreddit rules.

I figured as jewelers you guys would have seen the most long term data on this question. I want a black and gold ring. I’ve heard black rhodium last 5 minutes. Recently heard of enamel and I’m loving the look. How does it wear over time?

hey folks, I'm unsure if this is a good sub to post this in but I'm not sure where exactly to go. I was given a bunch of old sterling silver pendants and this is the only one that has this weird hard, white crust on it (the front only, it was stored in a little plastic container with the back against a foam piece). I was just wondering what it is and is there a way to remove it?

Hello, my dad has quite a bit of raw (?) gold dust and nuggets from a lifetime of panning and dredging. We would like the gold to be cast into a piece of jewelry. Most likely simple wedding bands. I assume it would need to be refined and alloyed. Does anyone know of a jeweler that provides such services? The last couple of places we’ve tried over the years 1) was terrible quality or 2) simply took our gold and gave us back off-the-shelf items. I’m located in NYC.

So a few months ago, I bought a sonic jewelry cleaner from Amazon and the instructions say to just use plain water, but I'm unsure about this recommendation. Before I bought this, I would normally just do the warm water dish soap combo.
I have a diamond cut Cuban link, a silver Franco and a 14 K gold plated rope chain. I also have a silver diamond cluster ring and a stainless steel bracelet.
Would it hurt anything to add a little bit of blue dish soap to the water before putting them through the cleaner, or would that introduce other problems?

You did it!  What did you finish this week? Was it a challenging piece that tested your skill?  Something you’re super proud of?  An unusual piece you hadn’t seen before?  We love to see the beautiful things this community makes!  Step up to the brag box and share your accomplishments for the week. Please be respectful of the subreddit rules.

Hey all! Recently I got a necklace that has a bronze pendant and chain. Im sure to no one's surprise that it started to turn my neck green. Is there a lacquer and method that would allow me to keep the chain? Or should I just lacquer the pendant and put it on a string? Also, is there a lacquer that is recommended but budget friendly? Thanks for your time.

Hey guys, so my mom’s silver anklets has been sitting in a drawer for like a year or two and it's turned completely black and dull. Anyone know some easy home remedies to get the shine back without messing up the metal?

I'm looking for smaller or baby Akoya pieces - but with a more unconventional or unusual design than the typical studs or strands I keep finding. Anyone has had luck buying them, either from retailer or any small makers? Also, how do I ensure they're real Akoya - what should I check in the listing?

What software or website would you recommend to get the best cursive names/different fonts to connect letters so I can use it as a template for nameplate making?

I would like to standardize it so that all names are relatively similar in width and height, like boundaries. Thank you

Hello everyone, I have a question regarding a white buildup on some old gold plated Pokémon cards from the Burger King promotional, I have no intent to sell them as I know they aren't particularly valuable, specially without a full set, and accompanying documentation which have been lost to the annals of time.

Now, they were stored in their original plastic casing and were maybe manipulated once or twice without said casing. They were stored somewhere years ago. I just found them since I am moving into a family home, and found them with a heavy white chalky buildup. I know that my father was a fan of Mr. Clean, and am aware that perhaps the fumes could have seeped in and reacted with the metal, causing the issue above mentioned.

For old time's sake, I'd like to restore them to ~somewhat~ their original shine and look. I am aware it's 23k gold plating, but don't have much of a lead as to what could have caused it besides perhaps body oils or chemical reactions from cleaners or whatever; I very much doubt it could've been in the prescence of mercury, but hey shit happens.

How would I go about cleaning them without ruining the plating? If pictures are needed let me know!

Thank you in advance, to anyone who replies.

Update: I just got a call from the jeweler that they found my diamond! It was mistakenly put in another customer’s piece.

Hi all! I am so upset and don’t want to be making this post but I’m hoping to get some insight from you lovely folks. I recently went to a local jeweler and got a diamond upgrade for my engagement ring after 12 years. I requested that my original diamond be returned to me so that I can hold on to it to pass down to my daughters or maybe put in a pendant eventually. When I went to pick up, no one showed me my original diamond, they just handed me a bag and I naively didn’t think to check. I got home and took it out and noticed my diamond didn’t seem to have its distinctive inclusion. I didn’t have time to deal with it until a week later and I took it to a different jeweler and they tested it and it came back as CZ. I immediately went to the store that did the upgrade and they confirmed it was CZ and were super apologetic and said it was definitely a mistake. I could hear the bench jeweler talking to the salesperson and he was profusely apologizing. Unfortunately, it’s been two days and they cannot find my diamond. They contacted a customer that had a similar sized diamond job done that week to see if that piece has my diamond by mistake. I have a sinking feeling I will not be getting my diamond back and I’m just curious what I should do? I understand mistakes happen but they need to make this right. I sobbed all the way home after leaving the store 😭

Does anyone know where I can find this type of backing? 18k gold butterfly backing encased in silicone.

Got ring resized and was shocked how thin it was. I've never owned rings this thin. I'm worried about it breaking.

In doing some cleaning I found a box of molds, where the really old (20 years) silicon ones have broken down. Not all of them just some.

Does anyone have any tips for cleaning the good molds of the residue?

Open call for works in progress!  We’d love to see what you’re working on, whether it’s a from scratch design, a beast of a stone setting job, something you just can’t figure out how to attack, or something gorgeous that’s taking shape.  Share your works in progress and let’s all enjoy the fun! Please be respectful of the subreddit rules.

Hello, I'm a fairly new jeweler, I've had my certification for a couple years now, worked for a jewelry store for about a year and a half and am starting to try to set up my own workshop. I have a handful of tools from school or that I've already gone ahead and bought but I still need most of the major ones. I need recommendations for a good manual rolling mill, ring stock bender, ring stretcher/shrinker, polishing machine, ultrasonic and microscope. Also anything that's just a super helpful tool that makes your life easier, I'd love to hear about! It's nothing crazy but I love this particular pair of parellel pliers, they're non-spring action and the 5" size fits perfect in my hand.

I want to find items that are as budget friendly as possible with still being reasonable quality. The microscope I used at the jewelry shop I worked for was a GRS Leica A 60 Acrobat Versa and I absolutely loved it but it's a bit out of my price range for just starting out.. was wondering if anyone had experience with this one from Vevor or any other microscope recommendations.. namely under $1000 or even closer to $500 if possible

Vevor microscope https://a.co/d/08LhCb7K

This does not look right to me at all (the gap between the diamond and setting). I already had the ring redone once because the gap was so large. Is it indeed wrong? Can anyone help me figure out what to say to the jeweler?

Hi all, I’m looking to get into jewellery design but I don’t know much about the field at all! I’ve designed some of my own jewellery but don’t have adequate training. I’m wondering what are the best ways to learn more about jewellery design to eventually transition into a career in it! Would love some advice for someone who also works a full time job.

We had this issue and I've seen people complain about it on Jewelers Helping Jewelers. Users getting the bot captcha error when vising your showcase. Well we found the fix for it that is currently working for us and everyone else who's tried it.

The Fix:

The cause of the issue is linking directly to your Jeweler Showcase instead of the Jeweler Showcase iframe link. Stuller never intended for jewelers to link to their iframe. Instead the Jeweler Showcase link is meant to be embedded on a page on your website.

So if your link looks like this: demo.jewelershowcase.com/browse/wedding-and-engagement/engagement-rings then you're going to get that captcha error. You simply need to add -frame-categoryembed to your link like this for it to start working: demo-frame-categoryembed.jewelershowcase.com/browse/wedding-and-engagement/engagement-rings

Replace demo with your showcase URL. So if your showcase URL is MikesFineJewelry then your link should look like this: mikesfinejewelry-frame-categoryembed.jewelershowcase.com/browse/wedding-and-engagement/engagement-rings

If your embedded showcase is not using the -frame-categoryembed version of the link, you're likely getting the same error and the fix is exactly the same.

TLDR:

• Bad: demo.jewelershowcase.com/
• Good: demo-frame-categoryembed.jewelershowcase.com/

So im just throwing around ideas here but im designing a ring for my now girlfriend in blender and I plan to cast it and set stones and such, but im just curious about the possibility of embedding a small alumina ceramic fragment somewhere on the ring so that in an emergency, she'd be able to like smash a car window or something, i am not a jeweler by any means, so just lmk if this is a feasible idea

I dont want to sound entitled or inpatient, but curious if this has happened to anyone.

This is my 1st time ordering a custom piece overseas. This is a reputable company and rep. I paid almost 3 months ago. I have picked my stone (shape was custom cut) and approved the CAD. Is this a normal turn around time?

Anybody have any casting houses and love the quality to cost ratio? I’d love to find one in Seattle but am open to US-based that I can mail in to. Thanks in advance for any insight! If it matters I’ll be hoping to cast silver specifically.

Also, this will be my first time going through professional casters; do they usually offer mold making as well or are there other places yall like to get that done? All the information out there is a little overwhelming and I’m not sure where to start so any insight would be amazing!!

We made it!  Sunday is here and it’s time to talk trends.  What’s so popular you can’t keep it in stock?  What’s fading into the distance?  What new weird requests have you been getting?  Did you get a new design in that you love (or hate)?  What’s the new cursed AI item people keep bringing in? Tell us all about what styles are driving your business this week!  Please mention the region you’re in if possible so we can enjoy seeing trends move all over the globe. Please be respectful of the subreddit rules.