Freedman Jewelers 10th annual wedding band & engagement ring trunk show.

Save the Date: March 22-24, 2012

Early Preview Begins Saturday March 17th

Sign up on Facebook here!

Highlights include:

• A wide selection of ladies and men’s wedding rings in all types of designs and metals.  Designers include Coast, Lieberfarb, Novell Design Studio, Jolie Designs, F. Goldman and more!
• Rings can come in 14kt & 18kt white & yellow gold, platinum, palladium & tungsten carbide
• A variety of engagement ring settings and a large stock of loose diamonds in all shapes & sizes.
• Champagne & Hors d’oeuvres Thursday night.
• Food & drink provided by Off the Vine catering (Saturday)
• Save $100 on any individual wedding band purchase over $500 ordered at the show.  Coupon is valid on any single ring over $500 purchased from March 15- March 28, 2012
• Raffles:  Enter to win a $100 gift certificate to the Back Bay restaurant group.

Extended Store Hours:

Thursday March 22^nd : 9:30am-8pm, Friday March 23^rd: 9:30am-6pm and Saturday March 24^th : 9:30am-5pm.

Where:  At our store: 333 Washington St. Ste 408, Boston, MA 02108

Validated Parking at the 33 Arch St. Garage.

If you are driving in, enter this address into your GPS:  19 Hawley St. Boston, MA 02108

Call 617-227-4294 or email (info@freedmandiamonds.com) to set up an appointment.    We look forward to seeing you!

Freedman Jewelers has been selling jewelry to the public since 1945.  Did you know that Freedman Jewelers buy jewelry items from the public as well.  Below are two lists breaking down what we buy and what we don’t buy.

What we buy from customers:

• Diamonds – modern cut styles
• White &Yellow Gold (10kt, 14kt, 18kt and anything higher than that, 20k, 22k, 24k)
• Platinum
• Estate Pieces
• Tiffany pieces
• Gold jewelry (any kind, rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings etc)
• Diamond engagement rings
• Wedding rings

What we do NOT buy from customers:

• Gemstone Jewelry (such as topaz & quartz)
• Costume Jewelry
• Silver jewelry

What you need to do:

Contact us via email or phone (info@freedmandiamonds.com or 617-227-4294) to discuss more and set up a consultation.  We are happy to assist you and recommend setting up an appointment in advance.

What to bring with you for an appointment:

• The jewelry items you want to sell or insure or have questions about
• If you have any paperwork on the jewelry such as old receipts or appraisals, bring it in, any & all information helps

Freedman Jewelers is open Monday-Friday 9:30am-5:30pm, Thursdays 9:30am-7pm and Saturdays 9:30am-4pm.

We are located in the historic jewelers exchange building in downtown Boston.   Our address is 333 Washington St. Ste 408 Boston, MA 02108

Valentine’s Day is less than a week away! Wowza.

Have you figured out your gift yet?

Here are some of  Freedman Jewelers Gift Recommendations for Valentine’s Day:
Andrea Candela’s 18kt yellow gold & sterling silver diamond heart pendant necklace.  (Pictured on the right)

This pendant has a unique & beautiful double heart shaped design.  A very appropriate gift for Valentine’s day!

Click here for more information on this piece:

stainless steel heart bracelet with diamonds

Yellow gold plated stainless steel & diamond bangle bracelet.  Always a great gift.

A great piece to wear alone or stack with other bracelets! $100 and available in black, rose, silver & yellow colors.

Click here for more information on this piece:

Red is the color of love and valentine’s day.  These two following pieces would make great gifts to symbolize your love, thoughtfulness and compassion.

Andrea Candela red agate clover necklace

I love this Red Agate clover style necklace.  Set in sterling silver with 18kt yellow gold highlights and diamonds, this pendant sparkles and will lead to many compliments!

Click here for more information on this necklace:

Maya J’s Vermeil bangle bracelet is a mixture of silver & gold with 4 carnelian gemstones spread throughout.  Available in many other colors.  Great for casual stacking and a great price too!  $75 each.

Click here for more information on the bracelet:

Carnelian bracelet

Garnet information:

January’s birthstone is the glowing, deep red gemstone;  the garnet.  Garnet’s can come in several other colors, such as orange, yellow & green, but the darker red shade is the most common.Garnet’s are a fairly strong gemstone, rating a 7 – 7.5 on the Mohs hardness scale ( 1 is the softest, 10 is the hardest, ie: diamonds are rated a 10)  Garnet’s are nesosiciliates;  which is the largest rock forming mineral class.  Nesociliates make up almost 90% of the earth’s crust!  Garnet’s are mostly found in Africa, however large deposits have been found in Canada, United States & India.

(Pictured on the right, a sterling silver cushion cut garnet ring)

Garnet history:

Garnet’s use in jewelry has been traced back to the ancient Egyptian times, beginning in 3100BC when Egyptians artisans used garnet’s in all types of jewelry they created.  The word garnet comes from a 14th century Middle English word gernet which means “dark red”.

Garnet Fun Facts:

• Garnet is the state mineral of Connecticut
• Garnet is the state gemstone of New York
• Clean a garnet with a soft, dry cloth.  Make sure the gemstone avoids extreme temperatures & harsh chemicals, which could damage the stone.
• Garnet is a very reasonable priced gemstone and gives off a very unique red color
• Garnets are said to have healing powers and aid with blood deficiency diseases, combat depression and give energy and good health  (none of this is scientifically proven, but who knows, the garnet could bring good fortune)

This blog post concludes our monthly write-up of each month’s birthstone as we have now accomplished every month.  I started with the Amethyst birthstone back in February and now have ended here.  Thank you for reading!

Turquoise is the other December birthstone, in addition to Blue Topaz.  (Read about blue topaz here)

Turquoise is a blue (sometimes with a touch of green) opaque gemstone. Turquoise is a hydrous phosphate made out of aluminum and copper.   It is not transparent meaning it won’t radiant and sparkle like other gemstones such as diamonds.  The turquoise gemstones is 5 – 6 on the Mohs hardness scale and is rated “fair” for everyday use.  Because of their fragile composition, turquoise can fracture or break under certain conditions.

Turquoise is found all over the world including places such as Chile, China, Australia and the United States.  The Southwestern United States is an especially common place for Turquoise and Arizona is the leader of the pack.

Fun Facts:

• Turquoise is known as one of the world’s oldest gemstones.  There is documentation going back to 4,000 BC that Turquoise was found at Mount Sinai.
• Turquoise is considered to have mystical & healing powers such as warning the wearer of danger and of protecting the wearing from disease.
• Turquoise is the anniversary gemstone for the 5th year of marriage.

Turquoise jewelry choices:

Turquoise Bracelet

Maya J Turquoise bracelet:

Andrea Candela Turquoise Necklace:

December is upon us.  Get ready for the holiday parties, the egg nog and the daily showings of A Christmas Story.

Freedman Jewelers has partnered up with other businesses in the Jewelers building for a collective event you won’t want to miss.

333 Thursdays

Where: The Jewelers Exchange Building:

333 Washington St. Boston, MA 02108

When: Thursdays Throughout December from 5pm – 7pm

December 8, December 15, December 22

What:

Swing by the Jewelers Building on Thursdays in December for a night full of shopping, food & fun.  Freedman Jewelers will have:

• Complimentary hors d’oeuvres & refreshments
• Enter into a $1,000 gift certificate raffle with a $500+ purchase at participating retailers
• Beautiful & wide selection of jewelry to meet a variety of budgets

This event is open to everyone:  If you are looking for something specific or wanted to set up an appointment or inquire about our selection, please email us at info@freedmandiamonds.com or call at 617-227-4294

Welcome to December!  The holidays are near and winter is coming.  December has two common birthstones, blue topaz & turquoise.  This blog post discusses the blue topaz gemstone, while a later blog post will focus solely on turquoise.  (Pictured on the right: Blue topaz ring)

Blue Topaz:

Blue topaz is a semi precious gemstone ranging from mid summer sky blue to deep ocean blue in color.  Blue topaz is predictably in the topaz family.  Topaz is a silicate mineral made up of aluminum and fluorine.  Blue topaz is a 8 on the Mohs Hardness scale (1-10, 1 being the weakest, 10 being the hardest) . In non-jewelers terms, it’s a hard gemstone and is rated “good” for everyday wear.  Blue topaz is found throughout the world, most notably in Australia, Brazil, the Middle East, Africa, even the United States.  (Texas celebrated finding blue topaz by making it their official state gemstone.)    There are 3 true shades of blue topaz:  sky color, swiss color & london blue.  The sky shade is considered a pale blue, the swiss shade is slightly more blue and the london blue shade is the most intense blue shade.  We use the london blue shade most commonly in our blue topaz jewelry.  Ancient Greeks believed blue topaz had mystical powers and that blue topaz could improve one’s strength and make a person invisible in times of crisis.  (That would be pretty sweet)

Blue topaz necklace

Blue topaz is a very similar gemstone in appearance to aquamarine, however Blue Topaz is more abundant and therefore less in cost.  Blue Topaz looks beautiful in all types of jewelry, it’s bright blue color sparkles and combines to form a dazzling look with white metal (such as silver, white gold or platinum).  We have a wide selection of blue topaz in earrings, bracelets, rings & necklaces.

To see a selection of Freedman’s blue topaz jewelry, click the links:

Blue topaz bracelet

Blue topaz ring

The world is rapidly changing. Up until the last decade, most jewelry was created and designed by jewelry manufacturers and designers.  You wouldn’t have the opportunity to add your own spin on a  design or assist in designing something completely from scratch.

Now you can custom design anything! The sky is the limit!

At Freedman Jewelers, we have custom designed jewelry of all sorts for the past 15 years.  From engagement rings to necklaces to earrings, we can do anything you can dream up.   If you have a picture, a really good sketch or anything in between, we can make your dream piece of jewelry a reality.

How it Works

1. Do some research.  Think about what you like, look online and through magazines for ideas.  Or, if you are handy with drawing (unlike me), make a sketch.
2. Contact us or make an appointment to discuss ideas.  Bring pictures, sketches; anything you have with you.  We also have a wide selection of jewelry items we can take ideas from.  We also have an enormous book filled with cutouts from hundreds of jewelry styles & designs in rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings that we are able to take aspects of and use to custom design new jewelry.
   

   Example of a CAD drawing

3. We then take a design you like and make CAD images (Computer aided design).  CAD images are computer generated designs which we use to show you a visual of what the jewelry item would look like.  At this stage, there is a labor charge applied that is taken off the overall balance of the custom jewelry design once we have a price.   Contact us for more information on this process.  Call us at 617-227-4294 or email us at info@freedmandiamonds.com
4. After CAD images are completed (usually takes a couple of days) they are emailed to you for inspection.  Images will include views from the top, side and bottom.  We are able to  make modifications at this stage, so if you do not like the CAD images we can discuss how to create to the images to your liking.
5. Once you approve the CAD images, we make a wax mold.  The wax is made in the exact dimensions of the jewelry we are creating.  So, if it’s a ring you can try it on your finger to get an idea of the look.
   

   wax mold from CAD drawing

6. Once you approve the wax, we can make the ring in the metal of your choice (14kt or 18kt white or yellow gold or platinum)  The entire custom design process takes about 2-3 weeks.

What Else You Should Know

• In many occasions we have incorporated customers diamonds into custom designed jewelry pieces.
• We don’t always need to custom design, if we know what you are looking for we can create it without going through the CAD images / wax mold steps.
• We work with precious gemstones (diamonds, sapphires, rubies & emeralds)
• We also work with semi precious gemstones such as amethyst, topaz and quartz

You have heard of Black Friday (promotion to support larger corporations and department stores)  and more recently you have heard of Cyber Monday (to promote internet sales).  Now there is Small Business Saturday!  American Express is helping out small businesses like ours on Saturday November 26, 2011.

What’s the reward:

American Express is offering a $25 statement credit when you spend $25 or more on any purchase by shopping at any small, local business like ours on  Saturday November 26.  It takes 30 seconds to sign up!  Just register your card here at https://sync.americanexpress.com/sbs2011 and you will get an email confirmation.  It’s incredibly easy.  On your next American Express statement, you will be credited $25 off your balance!

Why it’s beneficial to support small businesses:

• Support the local economy – local jobs , local spending
• Keeping spending in your local area has a history of moving around to other local businesses and therefore helping the local economy
• 64% of new jobs created over the past 15 years were created by small businesses
• Many local businesses are family owned and have been around for generations where loyalty and relationships go hand in hand with products and quality
• It feels nice to support local businesses
• Check out the Facebook page for more information.  http://www.facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturday

What can you buy at Freedman Jewelers?

The timing is perfect:  Get your holiday, birthday, and anniversary presents now!  Here are some ideas for jewelry items that make great holiday gifts.  Click on the links to see our staff recommendations.

• Diamond Stud Earrings
• Diamond Tennis Bracelets
• Fashionable Bracelets
• Dazzling, colorful pendant necklaces

Freedman Jewelers will be open 9:30am – 5pm on Saturday November 26.  We look forward to seeing you then!

Welcome to November.  Fall is in full swing and Freedman’s is getting ready for the holidays.

This month’s birthstone is the Citrine (also known as yellow topaz).  Yellows, Oranges & Browns galore, Citrine is the perfect Fall color.    Citrine is a type of topaz and ranges in color from yellow, orange, yellow  brown and other combos of these colors. Citrine is a sparkling, bright stone that is both captivating and affordable!

Citrine is naturally a pale stone but is given heat treatment to bring out the yellow – orange colors. Citrine is mostly found in Brazil, but also found in Russia, France and Madagascar.  Citrine is a 7.0 on the Mohs Hardness scale.  Citrine is the gemstone used to commemorate a married couple’s 11th and 13th wedding anniversaries.

Here are some jewelry pieces Freedman recommends with Citrine:  Pictured in the top right:  An Andrea Candela sterling silver & 18kt yellow gold citrine pendant necklace.  Click Here for more information on this piece:

Citrine drop earrings

I’m loving these 14kt yellow gold & citrine drop earrings.  Great for adding everyday color!

Fun Fact: (or Myth)  Many people believe that the Citrine gemstone has healing powers and brings success:  For more information about it, Click here: