Conflict-Free Diamonds, Recycled Rings & Green Jewelry Advice June 23, 2008
Posted by Jill Renee in : Diamonds, Green Weddings, Jewelry, Palladium Jewelry, Q&A from Jill , 1 comment so farI received an interesting set of questions from a concerned gentlemen. I felt sharing my answers would help others who have similar questions about conflict-free diamonds, recycling and other green issues.
Hello, I feel a bit guilty writing to a Diamond jeweler for advice on this subject, but please honor me with a sincere response. I found your contact information on a “Green” wedding site and read a bit about materials and stones.
My dilemma is simple. My girlfriend is very passionate about preserving the environment and has expressed great concerns through out our relationship about sources of diamonds, gold, silver, mining impacts on the environment and every other subject you can imagine on precious stones and metals.
I absolutely do not want to ruin a proposal with a ring which even remotely represents “conflict” in her life. I read a bit about palladium?
Is it manufactured? Mined?
What about alternatives to “true” diamonds? Are other engineered stones appropriate?
Any advise will be greatly appreciated.
Dear Earth Wise Friend,
Your dilemma is not so unusual and I have been wondering what I can do to be a responsible member of our fragile planet in regards to jewelry and diamonds.
Recently, one new option has been brought to my attention. Some jewelry manufacture companies have been using recycled precious metals to make their jewelry. This metal was previously mined and made into jewelry and then remelted and turned back into pure metals to once again be alloyed and used. The challenge here is to choose a responsible refiner who only uses earthwise methods for refining. In the past harmful chemicals were used in this process but now new methods have allowed the refining process to be clean and environmentally friendly.
Palladium is a metal that is also mined from the earth but the company that mines the Palladium that we use is right here in the USA and they are earth friendly. We can also purchase recycled Palladium.
I am making a decision to offer a line of rings that are made from recycled metals only. These rings will require no mining to get the metal. The metal will be totally recycled. I think your girlfriend could feel proud and good about wearing one of these rings.
As far as diamonds go. I am committed to sell only conflict free diamonds from responsible vendors who comply with the Kimberley Process and all of their guidelines.
Another option would be to purchase a synthetic diamond. Charles and Colvard is a company that sells moissanite which is man made silicon carbide that closely resembles a diamond. You can easily research this online. Of course there are other man made options that you could also use.
If you would like to purchase a recycled ring let me know and I can help you with the setting. I only sell conflict free diamonds so I cannot help you with the synthetic stones. Hope this helps you with your decision.
Thank you and Best Wishes, Jill Renee
The Best Times to Propose Marriage June 6, 2008
Posted by Jill Renee in : Proposing Marriage, Romantic Tips , add a commentWhat is the best time of year to propose marriage? Christmas and Valentine’s Day are perennial favorites, but are they really the best dates to ask the bribe-to-be to be whether she wants to tie the knot? It may be better to pick a date that accommodates the bride’s schedule than to pick a date simply because it falls on a major holiday and “everyone else†likes to propose on that day.
Without question, Christmas and Valentine’s Day are safe bets and are sure to be met with a pleasant reaction. But the bride may be expecting a proposal on a holiday, taking the element of surprise out of the equation. Indeed, Christmas and Valentine’s Day have grown so popular as wedding proposal days that the bride-to-be may not even be surprised at all. If you really want to catch your future fiancé off-guard, propose to her the day after a major holiday. It’s highly unlikely that she’ll be expecting a 14K Art Deco Style engagement ring on February 15th.
An important factor to keep in mind when determining a proposal date is the schedule of relatives. Is your fiancé’s sister expecting a baby in June? Then don’t propose in such a way that your announcement takes away from the birth of the baby. Is your girlfriend’s brother getting married in July? Then consider not proposing in the same month to avoid any feeling of one event overshadowing the other. Wedding proposals never exist in vacuums. They ought to be viewed in the grand scope of all family-related events.
Ultimately, you know your future fiance better than anyone; therefore, only you can determine what the best proposal date is. Think about the characteristics of your fiance. Does she love the cold and generally dislike warm weather. Then don’t propose to her on a beach. What’s her favorite season? If it’s fall, then take her on a day trip to an area of the country that boasts spectacular foliage scenes and present her with a white gold designer engagement ring during a candlelight dinner. Maybe she prefers warm weather. If you feel that proposing to her during the winter is necessary, then travel with her to a sunny destination and then surprise her with the ring, perhaps a three-stone engagement ring, which is gaining in popularity every year.
You may wish to consult with your friends or immediate relatives about a proper date. Doing so might put a damper on the idea of calling them to spontaneously surprise them with the news, but if there is any potential future conflict regarding the date of your engagement announcement, it may be worth asking your tightly-knit relatives and friends for their opinions. You’ll likely get a more pointed answer than you would if you asked a random person on an Internet message board, as some people tend to do.
Odds are that any date you choose to propose will be fine in the long run. After all, a proposal is merely an announcement of intentions. The far more significant date is the wedding.
