Of late, I have been running into a major problem when purchasing fine gemstones set in beautiful settings be it sterling silver or 10K Gold, 14K Gold, 18K Gold, and yes, when it is out there 22K gold.  Unlike the generations of our grandparents, and parents, most of our fine jewelry was made in this country.  It was backed by the store where they purchased it, and their word was as good as "Money in The Bank".  Not so today.  I purchased a beautiful gemstone ring set in 14K white gold from what used to be an old Jewelry Store in the Roanoke Valley Area.  Upon having it sized down one size, I learned it was not made in this country, had a rhodium finish on it that made it difficult to size.  It was sized, but I was not happy with the end results.  I mentioned this to the manager, and was told this was the best they could do with jewelry made in China.  It was not created by one of the major designers we see so often when looking on the different E-bay sites.  Most give you all the information you need if you ask the right questions.  The end results were that this store had been bought out by a National Chain, and their home town policies were not the same.  We seem to have only three fine jewelry stores still run by family members; however due to foreign trade, and discount pricing, they are hurting.  I do not see but one of them lasting into the next generation,.

Personally, I have never ever had doubts in any jewelry I have purchased from England, Italy, and a few other countries, as their Gold seems to be of a higher grade or at least it seemed that way in the late 1970's through the 1980's.  Since those years, I have been too busy raising a family to think about jewelry.  It was not until the death of my Mother that I started thinking about selling some of the jewelry I purchased in the day when we knew what we were buying.  It used to be when our grandparents bought a diamond ring made of platinum, white gold or yellow gold from a family owned store, they could trade it in on a higher quality diamond ring and setting.  That is not the case today.  There is only one store that does this anymore, and the ring has to have been purchased from them.  This was the case years ago.

Unless you know what you are buying, know who made it, and know how to take care of it, it is useless to think in terms of a safe purchase of fine jewelry in retail, or discount stores.  I purchased a ring in a discount store, and had to take it back as the stones started turning black before I had a chance to wear it.  The store never questioned me as to how this happened, they were nice enough to take it back, give me my money back, and sent the whole shipment back to China.  We seem to be concerned about our food coming from China, that started with Dog Food, then Peanut Butter, Now mixed salads.  Should we be now concerned with the quality of the finer items made there since it seems they have no checks and balances on the quality of items leaving their country?  I honestly believe if we would bring back some of our trades' (jobs) to this country, we may see a better quality made, not to mention some form of understanding about the quality of the item we have purchased.

A few months ago, I purchased a John Hardy beautiful Sterling Silver Citron Cognac Topaz ring.  With it came instructions on how to have it cleaned.  You can not wear it when cleaning, bathing, washing one's hair, spraying it, etc.  It can not be cleaned with anything other than the cleaning cloth it comes with, or best yet have it air cleaned at the jewelers after each month of wearing.  Not being a person not to enjoy my jewelry, I have never purchased a sterling silver special designed ring not to be able to enjoy it.  Upon thinking about all the things I could not do in this piece, it had to go back, as I really could never enjoy it, as I have the Cini Designer Sterling Silver rings I have and have had in the past.  When I compared the two, I learned the Cini had more detail, plus was of a higher quality of sterling silver than the John Hardy Piece.  Before you purchase a Designer brand of sterling or gold, please ask questions as to where one can wear it, under what conditions, and how to keep it up.  If it is just too much trouble, my advice is save your money, and buy something you will have years to enjoy.  Believe me you will not regret it.