No Diving, No Horseplay and No Gold in the Pool!

Did you know that your gold jewelry can be weakened or even broken by being in your chlorinated pool? Bleach and chlorine can turn your gold black, and even more importantly, the chemical reaction can actually break down your gold's strength. Depending on how highly chlorinated the pool is, the damage can happen over a long period of time or be nearly instantaneous!

If your gold has tarnished (turned a different color) we can clean it in our store, either by chemicals or by the jeweler using a buffing machine.

If the damage is severe, where the gold jewelry literally has fallen apart (yes, it CAN happen!), in some cases the piece is a total loss! That's serious!

Soooooo, no running around the pool deck, and NO gold in the pool! :)

Tim Gunn loves pearls for spring!

I just got next week's issue of TV Guide (yes, we still subscribe!) and there is an article about Spring fashion trends. Flats are back in, thank goodness!

The list was made by Project Runway mentor Tim Gunn, who hosts his own show "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style, and he listed PEARLS as a must-have accessory for the spring season.

Whenever you come into Masterpiece, you can see that Tracy and I also love pearls! We have the largest selection of diverse genuine pearls in the area- in all colors and styles, from single strands to multi-strands to intricate patterns to illusion necklaces... the list is nearly endless.

So if, like Tim Gunn, you love pearls as much as Tracy and I do, please come in and check out all the beautiful and affordable designs just perfect for making you look stylish!

"Real" Gold Can Tarnish and Discolor!

Many folks believe that "real" gold, meaning karated gold like 14k or 10k gold, should never discolor- that is a sign that your piece of jewelry is "fake." This is NOT TRUE!

In fact, karated gold can and does discolor at times. We call this "tarnish." Gold can have definite chemical reactions to everyday items. In my experience, bleach or chlorine can make your genuine gold jewelry appear dark or even black in areas. Perfumes, colognes, hairspray and hard water can make your gold look coppery or orange in color. In most cases, using liquid Tarnex will remove this discoloration- but PLEASE read the Tarnex directions carefully. Stubborn tarnish can be removed by the jeweler.

Oppositely, costume jewelry and gold-plated jewelry "turns," (as opposed to tarnishing), which in my vocabulary means that the plating has worn off, and no amount of cleaning with Tarnex or anything else is going to make these pieces look new again. Generally speaking, seeing the color green on any of your jewelry isn't a good sign! How quickly a piece "turns" after you begin wearing it often has to do more with your own body chemistry than just the piece itself!

So as you are sorting through your jewelry box to trade-in old gold for new jewelry at Masterpiece, please bring in anything that "appears" gold and let us determine if it is "real" karated gold. Due to tarnish, some gold items may look fake! We can tell right away- for free!

Coming up next: Ring Rot!

The Booming Gold Market

This morning I woke up to talk radio 1150 WNDB, like I always do, and the top of the hour news was talking about how now is a good time for people to get rid of their unwanted gold jewelry. That newscast is less than 6 minutes long (including commercials) and so I found it impressive that this tidbit made it into their tight schedule.

Of course, at Masterpiece Tracy and I have been encouraging our customers to trade in their gold for brand new jewelry for over 2 years now- ever since the climb upward began! It's worth THREE TIMES what it was just 2 years ago! (And sorry about YELLING but I wanted to get my point across!)

We have been trading with customers on a daily basis now for months, and people sometimes ask me what we do with all the old unwanted jewelry we take in. We have a few options: 1) recondition the piece and resell it as a great value in our Estate Jewelry showcase; 2) use the piece for parts in our jewelry repair shop (gold shanks on rings can be used as sizing stock) or 3) it is sent to the refinery to be recycled into new gold.

Like all commodities, the gold market is volatile and can drop at any time, so stop procrastinating, go through your jewelry box, and trade your old gold in to us at Masterpiece!