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Good Quality Gems- the diamonds and gemstones should be of at least good quality. Poor quality stones can make the best designs look cheap. Good Casting- The metal the piece is made of should be smooth and free of pits. Hand built jewelry may have more imperfections than a piece stamped out by a machine, but overall smoothness should still be seen. If the casting was not good, and has large pits in it, it could fail and cause the loss of stones or a major break of the piece itself. Good Craftsmanship - Finally, you should look at the craftsmanship and finish. The prongs should be substantial enough to hold the stones securely (this is different for each size and location of stones on the piece), the stones should be set evenly and straight, and file marks from smoothing and polishing should not be visible. Experience - If you would like to really get an idea of quality, go to some very high-end places like Tiffany’s. Then go look at lesser and lesser places, you know who they are. You will start to see the differences as you go along. You want to have your jewelry look like it could have come from one of the high end places. It will last longer and be something you can truly be proud to hand down to your heirs. |
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