History of Engagement Rings

With all of the recent engagement parties and weddings I have been attending lately, it never really struck me until now. Why does the guy go out and pick out a ring that the girl is suppose to wear for the rest of her life and doesn't consult her first? This is a very odd request if you think about it. Would a guy where the same shoes or shirt a girl picked out for him for the rest of his life? What if he didn't like it? What if she didn't like the ring? She is suppose to wear a ring she doesn't really LOVE for the rest of her life. That's a big request. So I went in search of some answers....

The earliest form of the engagement ring came from the Egyptians with the Romans following suit by "claiming' their woman with a ring. The Arabic culture gave puzzle rings that were so difficult to put together, the men would know if the women took them off while they were away, as the rings would fall apart. Americans gave thimbles during colonial times, where the tops were removed to make rings and the addition of diamonds came around the 14th or 15th century when royalty started adding gemstones to the beautiful bands.

It wasn't til the 1920's and 30's that the DeBeers company started advertising that a man should spend 2 mths salary on a diamond ring. This later caused problems for the company when people started holding onto heirloom pieces and passing rings on instead of purchasing new ones.

Whatever the ring, after reading about engagement rings and learning the 'true' meaning behind the ring, I think if someone is blessed enough to find the right person to spend 'forever' with, they are lucky enough, and a certain style shouldn't matter. Star Sosa, owner of Spectrum Art & Jewelry, is an expert jewelry designer that can make any of your ideas come true! Stop in today to get your one-of-a kind engagement ring created for your special one and only!

Chosing the Right Artwork....

by Nicole Wilkinson

How do you know if what you choose will 'fit' your home? Many decorators will have different answers to this question, but ask any artist who lives in a beautifully decorated home and you will always get the same answer; buy what you LOVE!

4 Myths Debunked:

1. "But it doesn't match the couch." No, it probably doesn't. Everything in a home shouldn't be matchy-matchy, just like shoes, belt, earrings and purse shouldn't all be the same color. Its overkill.

2. "But my style is traditional." Its ok. Mix it up. Many beautifully decorated traditional homes have contemporary pieces of artwork. Even beach cottages have serious thematic pieces of art. It is ok to mix and match styles.

3. "Beach scenes belong in beach houses". WRONG! I recently started dating a guy who has a boars head, YES, a stuffed boars head on the wall. I have mixed in my paintings of floral still lifes, contemporary pieces purchased in NYC, coastal paintings, and WOW! It looks sharp! We look like professional art collectors. You don't have to keep the Boars Head in the Lodge, and the Beach scene at the beach house.

4. "Think Think Think about it". For some this may be true, but you should have an AH-HA or WOW! moment when looking at a piece of artwork. You need to have an emotional response to the piece. Whether it reminds you of something from your past, a place you have visited, or something personal, it should be yours! Scenes or images that resonate with your emotions are what the artist is trying to achieve. Don't pass these pieces up! Do what you can to make them yours!

Happy art hunting!

Did You Know: We have Layaway!

Yes! That's right! We understand that raising a family, building a home, starting a business, and the daily toils of life are hard, BUT...it doesn't mean you have to sacrifice a smile! Art, jewelry, home decor, and gifts make life worth living...they provide plenty of opportunities for us to smile and make us feel good!!

Spectrum offers a 3 month payment plan, where you can take your jewelry or art home with you on the first month's payment. 2 additional payments will be run on your credit card the following 2 months. It's that easy! One lump sum divided into 3 easy smaller payments. What could be better??? Not much!

Spring Fling at the Forum a Success!~

Many of our gallery painters, Jane Faudree, Phil Meade, Ann Hair, Kristin Gibson, and Nancy Noel May participated in live gallery painting sessions. Each finished a painted piece that is now hanging in the gallery! These demonstrations allowed other painters and art lovers to have their questions answered about application techniques and different painting styles. We encourage you to stop by and see the new creations! There is something for all tastes and budgets!

Selling my gold – how does it work?

Nowadays you’ll see promotions on the TV, in the newspaper and in magazines, advertising businesses that will buy your old gold. Everyone claims to pay the most, but how do you really know? There are several factors involved.

Gold is a commodity and has fluctuating prices based on the daily market. The past few years have seen incredible volatility in gold prices from day to day.

Remember when you are selling your old jewelry as scrap that it is only as valuable as the precious materials it contains. You will not receive any value for labor or the markup you originally paid when it was purchased.

The other confusing aspect is that most jewelry is made of 10k, 14k or 18k gold and none of those are pure gold. Each of these types or alloys of gold includes a certain standardized percentage of pure gold and the balance of the volume is made up with other metals. The other metals serve to make the gold a particular color or give it specific strength or malleability characteristics. For instance 14k gold, one of the most common alloys in use in the U.S., is 58.5% pure gold and the balance is made up of various metals such as copper, silver or nickel.

So when you bring your old gold jewelry into Spectrum Art & Jewelry to sell or trade in the following occurs:

I will sort through the pieces, looking for carat stamps indicating if it is 10k, 14k, or 18k. Federal regulations require that karat gold jewelry must have a karat stamp and a maker’s hallmark stamp to verify it is what it is being represented to be.

Sometimes I will be unable to locate a stamp on the piece. In that case, I use my best judgment (along with my experienced goldsmith’s) to estimate what I believe the item to be. Knowing the provenance of the piece is very helpful. Sometimes the stamp is worn off or was removed when a ring was sized. We can usually tell if something is gold plated or another metal all together.

Then I’ll weigh the different collections of 10k, 14k or 18k. We measure gold in Troy ounces. There are 20 pennyweights (or dwt) in a single Troy ounce.

As I mentioned before the different alloys contain different percentages of pure gold. I have formulas that help me estimate the amount of pure gold.

Most of the time we do not melt the gold down ourselves to make into new pieces. Only simple, solid pieces lend themselves to this practice. Pieces like elaborate cocktail rings or chains don’t melt well and the end result risks being unsatisfactory. We usually send the scrap gold to a professional refining company. Typically the same place we buy our gold supplies for making jewelry.

The refining company melts the gold scrap and performs an “assay” to determine the percentage of pure gold. They charge a percentage for this service and a fee based on the amount we submit. Once they have estimated the gold content, they consult the market price on that day to determine what to pay. Then they deduct their percentage and fees and send the balance.

When I take in your gold scrap I am assuming certain risks. I will give you a price based on that day’s market value and my formulas and the fees I expect to pay the refiner. However, it is only worthwhile to submit the gold for refining when I have accumulated enough to offset the fees. So I wait and accumulate the scrap. Fluctuations in the market value can improve or dramatically decrease the money I receive in return.

So there you have it. This system applies to everyone who takes in scrap gold, no matter what they tell you. We are all subject to the same market variations. Most refiners offer a very similar percentage and fee schedule. It is just a matter of how much does any vendor give you from the money they expect to receive when they resell your gold. All of us perform this service in order to profit from it to some degree.

I find the best system for me is to encourage people to trade their old gold toward store credit or a new jewelry project. That way I can afford to offer a higher price for their old jewelry. The reason you don’t see me running big ads in the newspaper and attracting 100s of people to the gallery to sell their gold is that I don’t want to take the risks that come from a volume of gold trade. I prefer to keep each transaction personal and sort out the best possible way for someone to get the maximum value (be it money or acquiring something new and beautiful) from their old treasures.

The single most important consideration when selling your old gold is to deal with someone you know and trust and who will be there in the future.

Starlight Special: 40% OFF!!!

Stop in today before they are gone! Dana David earrings and star necklace are 40% off! Also included is an engagement ring set by Placer Gold and works by Christi Franz-Sugarman and ring by John Petet. The sale only lasts for a limited time, so come on over!

New Doublecreek- Perfect for Spring Weddings!

Just in time for all of those Spring weddings! Whether it is taking place at Airlie Gardens, Carolina Yacht Club, Hanover Seaside Club or your own backyard, these new pieces make the perfect statement: unique, chic, and artistic! Each is hand painted in their much loved heart, floral, or fish theme. Stop in today to see the new serving bowls, wine/utensil holders, and mint dishes! Beautiful gift wrap is included!

Spring Fling at The Forum!

Celebrate Spring with a weekend packed with activities, promotions and sales at the wonderful shops at The Forum. For our part, Spectrum will have a three day art festival featuring five local artists working on-site in the gallery. Come see your favorite painter in action! The schedule for the event is:

Fri 3/20, 11am-1pm: Jane Faudree

Fri 3/20, 2-4pm: Phil Meade

Sat 3/21, 11am-1pm: Nancy Noel May

Sat 2/21, 2-6pm: Ann Hair

Sun 3/22, 12pm-2pm: Kristin Gibson

We will be having a canned good drive and many other Forum giveaways! Stop by to enter for your wonderful prizes!

Southern Living Article Created a HUGE Buzzzzzz*~*~*~*~

Since the publication of the article on Spectrum in Southern Living magazine, we have had people jump in their cars and drive from places as far as Charlotte and Myrtle Beach just to see our store! What a great compliment! If the photos of our gallery inspired others to drive from far and wide, get in your car you local yocal and come on over! To see the previous posting of the article, click HERE.

Business is GREAT!

Despite economic forecasts, business is booming at Spectrum! Current trends we see are in custom design jewelry. People are digging into their old pieces, pulling out the broken and less popular jewelry choices and having Star re-design their gems into glamorous pieces of art! Michael Chapman, our master goldsmith, is busy pounding away in his studio creating all of these beautiful pieces for you! Stimulus or not, this economy is stimulating us!! Call today to make an appointment for a jewelry restyle!