The Smiling Jeweler

When you spend thousands of dollars on a piece of fine jewelry, you expect to be able to enjoy it for years. This year in Alaska, many visitors are finding that this is no longer the case. Francis McDermit, who has visited Alaska 4 times in the last ten years says, “I purchased a lovely ring from what I thought was a reputable store, and I didn’t even make it back to the ship before it had completely melted.” She holds up her hand, with what appears to be a diamond fashion ring missing the center stone. “I wanted to show Harold my new Glacier Ice ring, and it was just completely gone! I noticed that my hand felt moist as I was walking, but I just thought I was sweating.”

Francis, much like the newly endangered Alaskan Polar Bear, is the victim of alarmingly warm temperatures. Alaska, which is generally well below freezing year round, has been experiencing thaws this year in places where it has never thawed before. “I might have to get some wheels for my sled this year.” jokes longtime Sitka resident Kristian Fergusson, nodding towards his dog sled. “My team just wants to lay around when it gets hot like this.” His wife Heddy agrees, “We might have seen a few days of thaw in July or August before, but never in May. Not like this.” Heddy has been leaving her Glacier Ice jewelry at home since March, afraid of losing it to the unseasonable warmth that is claiming the purchases of many cruise visitors this year.

The alarming trend of melting Glacier Ice jewelry has begun to take it’s toll on the jewelry industry in Alaska, which has long relied on the cost savings of using frozen water as a gemstone replacement. “It’s been tough, no question.” says Glacier Ice cutter Jason Christnor. “Seems like it’s melting almost as fast as we can cut it this summer.” And with the glaciers receding around the state at an unprecedented rate, the rise in the wholesale cost of loose Glacier Ice has been equally alarming. “Before, I could hardly keep it in my cases it sold so fast.” says jewelry retailer Beau East. “People were like, ‘Wow, it’s so beautiful, and so much cheaper than back home.’ Now, I can hardly afford to have a full case of it-and the cost benefit of using Glacier Ice instead of diamonds and real gemstones is almost negligible.”

While the consensus among Alaskan jewelers is that times are tough-most agree that there will continue to be a market for Glacier Ice jewelry. “You can’t make this stuff at home in your freezer.” says a salesman at one of the 65 jewelry stores in downtown Ketchikan. “It takes hundreds of years and the intense pressure of thousands of tons of ice to create a specimen that will have the color and optical clarity to even be considered gem-quality Glacier Ice.” He pauses before adding, “Put an ice cube on your finger and see how good it looks. See how long it lasts.”

Some jewelers are taking a proactive step, replacing their entire Glacier Ice inventories with natural stones. “Hey, the writing is on the wall.” says jeweler Sam Vapcedic. “It’s warming up. I used to think Al Gore was full of hot air, but then he won that Pulitzer, and that makes you think twice.” He continues, “I used to offer a full 1 year warranty for my local customers. Now try reading the small print at some of these places. ” he says, gesturing out the window toward a street lined with shops. “Three day warranty against melting? 24 hour warranty? It’s obscene. Who’s gonna buy that?”

Jewelers like Chris Fondell of Alaskajewelry.com have led the charge in replacing their melting inventories with real gems. “Folks walk into my store and say-hey it’s warm in here! How do you do it?” Well, it’s simple-my Glacier Ice is natural Blue Zircon. It doesn’t melt. Ever.”

While you’ll end up paying a higher price for this new breed of Glacier Ice, the ability to wear it in all seasons seems to have struck a chord with visitors and locals alike. “The days of wearing my favorite jewelry only in the dead of winter are officially over.” declares Juneau resident Kiera Sexton who has replaced all her traditional Glacier Ice jewelry with Glacier Ice Blue Zircon. The new stone boasts the same deep blue color and brilliant sparkle, without the risk of melting.

Wearing her recently upgraded Glacier ice Blue Zircon proudly, Francis is happy with the replacement stone-which as of yet has shown no signs of melting away. “Harold doesn’t mind spending a little extra money on me, do you Harold?” she says while nudging him gently in the ribs. “I wouldn’t argue with you dear” he replies, “It’s like arguing with the weather.”

…sitting in your jewelry box at home. You promised yourself you’d get around to wearing/fixing it again one day, but we both know that won’t happen.

How long has it been sitting there?
When was the last time you wore it?

If the answer to either of those questions is “I don’t remember”-it’s time to part ways. Why? Because you aren’t using it, and you could be. I don’t mean that you could be wearing it in its current form, because its current form is the reason it has sat neglected this long. It may be broken, or ugly, or carry emotional baggage. To demonstrate the solution mathematically:

SV=G@600oz

Or, “Sentimental Value is equal to $600 per ounce of gold”. According to this indisputable truth, you’ve been hoarding your gold for approximately two years too many. Gold has been worth more than $600 an ounce for a long time now. Broke $1000 an ounce Feb, 2008. Yep, sure did.

You’re ashamed.

It’s OK.

When the red fades from your cheeks and you’re able to make eye contact again, give us a call or send us an email. We can make something out of your scrap metal and shame that will set your heart a’flutter and your feet a’dancin’.

For our local customers, we’re also buying scrap gold at spot price with cold hard cash, or giving 125% store credit. Want to get in on that deal? All you need to do is fly to Sitka, Alaska with your luggage full of gold and walk it into the store. Not only will you be able to get top dollar for your gold or $1.25 in store credit for every $1.00 of gold, but I personally guarantee that you won’t be bitten by a king cobra or suffer sunburn while visiting.

A customer reached our site this morning by typing “forgot present wife angry” in google search. I’m quite glad I don’t feel his pain. However, a lot of people either forget completely, or partially (think airport and gas station gifts) to appropriately celebrate occasions that are dear to at least 50% of their union. Of course, there are completely irrational parties who feel that anniversaries should be celebrated in the smallest time increments possible: “It’s 4:23! Remember?! We < --fill in the blank-->for the very first time at 4:23! (attacks forgetful individual with hot iron-or 9-iron) But I digress…

The point is, while one can be excused for forgetting to commemorate hourly anniversaries, there are some occasions that due to their scale cannot be safely ignored. Like, for example- birthdays. Or wedding anniversaries. Or Christmas. Yes, people forget to buy Christmas gifts. Not completely forget-just forget for long enough that they may as well have forgotten completely. It’s not because they don’t know Christmas is coming. It’s not because they forgot the date. It’s just that they have delayed to the point where they are reduced to the equivalent of an airport or gas station gift. “Wow. A magazine, a lighter, and quart of SAE 10W-30 Motor Oil-you shouldn’t have.”

Timing is just as important as the gift itself. For example; I’d love a new toaster-but I wouldn’t want it tossed to me while in the bathtub.

So, here it is: Be thoughtful. Be generous. Be timely. Know what your loved one wants and make plans to buy it for her (or him) BEFORE the day before you need it.

Don’t be the next one to reach our site by typing in the search engine “forgot present wife angry“.

Now that the US dollar is worthless-oops, I mean worth less- many Canadians are ordering from our site. So, I thought I’d officially welcome our Easterly neighbors:

Canadians, we welcome you.

We ship jewelry to Canada, (always have) and even have one Canadian supplier who’s products have been quite popular on our site-Korite Ammolite. We offer UPS Express shipping to all our Canadian customers for a flat rate of $25, though our cost is closer to $50. Hopefully this will serve to offset the costs you incur by importing from the US.

Canadians, Please place your order via phone (907) 747-5744, if the toll free number doesn’t work for you.

It used to be that Canadians would call and ask if they could get the prices listed on our site in Canadian dollars instead of American. For the moment (until the US dollar is worth more again) , I’d be happy to honor that request ;-).

I have quite a bit of experience with ignorance. As such, I feel qualified to relate a few little known facts about engagement ring shopping to my fellow underinformed. Ignorant may not be the right word to use, but I don’t know of a better one.

Someone recently reached our site via a google search on “which hand do you wear an engagement ring on?” and it brought me back to the days when I was beginning the search for a ring to give my now wife. I asked her what kind of rings she liked, (which may or may not be a good idea depending on multiple variables) and she replied “Something in Platinum with Diamonds.” Armed with this information, I went to my local jeweler and relayed the specifics, after which he showed me a platinum ring with diamonds. “Great, I said, can I send her a picture? And I did. And she wasn’t thrilled. And I thought this was strange because as far as I was concerned, this ring satisfied not one, but BOTH of her criteria. It was Platinum. It had Diamonds. Without going into details, I ended up having a custom ring made after she sent me about 15 pictures of styles she liked. Along the way, I learned a few things:

The Engagement Ring Is The Big One
I thought the big ring would be the one she got for got for becoming legally bound to me, not just saying she would. No, the woman gets the (big) engagement ring first. The (little) wedding band you’ll slip on her finger at the actual wedding ceremony is just the coup de grâce after the battle has been won by the giant diamond ring. This seemed counter intuitive to me at first, but I’ve since realized that I don’t have intuition.

Finger Size Matters
Scientists agree that people come in many sizes. Research shows that these size differences are not restricted to height, weight and foot size, but can actually manifest themselves in the form of differing finger diameters. Perhaps this was obvious to everyone else. In any case, when shopping for a ring, you must know your intended’s finger size. And not just ANY finger size. This led me to my next revelation:

Wedding And Engagement Rings Will Be Worn On The Left Ring Finger
It is critical that you obtain the correct finger size, and to do so you must measure the correct finger. Fingers on one hand may be larger than fingers on the other. So, measuring a ring that she wears on her right ring finger may not give you an accurate size for her left ring finger. Most rings can be sized, but if you want a ring that has inlaid stones in it, stones set all the way around, or designs/engraving that go all the way around, it will probably have to be built in the correct size.

Hopefully, you haven’t learned anything by reading the above. If you have, remember: never attempt to make toast while blow drying your hair in the bathtub.