BMJ Blog

How to Remove a Tight Ring

Posted on July 03, 2014 by Mary Hood | 0 Comments

Removing a ring from a swollen finger doesn’t need to be painful and frustrating. Here are a few tricks for sliding off a stubborn ring.

I. The Twisting Method: (This is the best method to use when you're trying on a ring in a store and--opps!--it's stuck. We've all been there.)

1. Place your index finger and thumb on opposite sides of the ring.

2. Gently twist back and forth

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Posted in help, how to remove a tight ring, Informational, jewelry, jewelry care, stuck ring, tight ring

How to Untangle Chains with Olive Oil and a Pin

Posted on June 08, 2014 by Mary Hood | 0 Comments

Untangling your jewelry doesn't have to be be a chore. Next time your necklace has a knot, try this simple trick - Even the most careful among us find ourselves with a case of the dreaded tangled necklace chain. (Doesn’t it seem that our most delicate jewelry likes to tangle itself as soon as we look the other direction?) Initially, the problem may seem near impossible—no matter how nimble our fingers. Even a small, simple knot on a single chain can try our patience.

Fortunately, there’s an easy DIY solution to this common issue.

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Posted in DIY, jewelry care, Natural solutions, necklace, Olive Oil Tricke, solution, tangled chains, untangle chains

Nickel Allergy Solutions

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Mary Hood | 0 Comments

Nickel allergies are fairly common—in fact, one in eight people will experience an allergic reaction to white gold alloyed with nickel. Although nickel is non-toxic, the body mistakenly believes it’s a harmful substance. Often inherited, the allergy appears more in women than in men—but this may so because women tend to wear more jewelry than men. Usually, a reaction occurs 12-48 hours after prolonged exposure to the offending metal.

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Posted in Informational, jewelry care, jewelry solutions, nickel, nickel allergy, palladium, rhodium, rhodium plating, white gold

Gem Hardness

Posted on April 16, 2014 by Mary Hood | 0 Comments

If you’ve ever watched a minute of TV in your life, you’re probably familiar with the famous “A Diamond Is Forever” campaign. It isn’t just clever marketing—there’s some truth behind that catchy phrase. Combined with their beauty, the hardness of diamonds makes them a natural choice for investment and everyday jewelry.

All minerals vary in hardness and are measured on Moh’s scale. Hardness refers to the mineral’s resistance to being scratched. The softest mineral, talc (think eye shadow and baby powder), is one moh. At 10 mohs, a diamond is the hardest mineral and can only be scratched by another diamond. Apatite—the stunning blue-green stone pictured below—is 5 mohs. It could be scratched by harder minerals like diamond and quartz (7 mohs), but softer minerals like talc won’t scratch it.

What This Means for Selecting a Gem - Despite its hardness, a diamond isn’t always a girl’s best friend. We’d miss out on so many beautiful gems if we only wore diamonds. Nonetheless, it’s important to keep hardness in mind when selecting which gems to set in which types of jewelry. Apatite, for example, would fare best in lightly used items like earrings or pedants—as opposed to jewelry that takes more abuse like rings and bracelets. Just think about how much a bracelet bumps your desk while you clack away at the keyboard! Not ideal for maintaining the beauty of softer stones.

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Posted in Diamonds, gem durability, gem hardness, Informational, jewelry care, mohs hardness, Mohs scale

White Gold - Isn't that an oxymoron?

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Barbara Polinsky | 1 Comment

Yes, in fact it is. The use of white gold was first embraced after World War I as an alternative to the more expensive platinum. There truly is no such thing as white gold since gold in its purest form is yellow.

Hoover and Strong commercial casting grain

White Gold is achieved by alloying pure gold with at least one white metal. There are numerous white gold alloys but most commonly pure gold is mixed with nickel, manganese or palladium. Because the metal mixture contains pure gold which is bright yellow, the resulting white gold alloys have a yellowish tint which is not very pleasing to the eye.

It is common practice to plate white gold jewelry with Rhodium to offset the yellow shade of the alloy, adding brilliance and a more refined finish to the piece. Rhodium is a bright white precious metal in the Platinum family. It is actually ten times more costly than gold and even more expensive than platinum. Rhodium is hypoallergenic, has a great resistance to corrosion, tarnishing, scratching and abrasion.

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Posted in Informational, jewelry care, plating, rhodium, white gold

Caring For Your Jewelry

Posted on February 17, 2010 by Barbara Polinsky | 0 Comments

Fine jewelry is often an investment which should be worn and enjoyed. Proper care will ensure that your treasures will last longer than a lifetime.

Here are some general guidelines for basic care to keep your valuables looking brand new and the stones secure. If, for any reason, you are uncertain about a piece after reading this, consult us or a local jewelry professional. Always remove jewelry before doing manual labor and when coming into contact with chlorine especially in common household cleaners.CHECK-UPS: Check settings periodically (at least once per year) professionally for any damage to prongs or bezels. Contact me or bring the piece to a professional jeweler for repair immediately if you observe any of the following: