DIAMOND & GEMSTONE RINGS - REAL BLING BLINGS!

Shown Above: Offers considered on this incredible large EMERALD and diamond ring appraised over $10,000 at VINTAGE JEWELRY SHOWCASE at RUBY LANE and VIANVI JEWELRY at RUBY PLAZA.


When it comes to REAL bling bling, you can't beat the real thing i.e. real diamonds and real gemstones. Sure, costume jewelry is often super pretty, nicely designed, and if it's vintage, generally of high quality when it comes to the crystals and rhinestones used. But let's face it: that costume jewelry takes a beating over time. Unless you keep it all in a box and never wear it, sooner or later stones chip, become cloudy or discolored or fall out altogether. And those old crystals are often hard to replace: after all, the pieces were made 20 - 50 years ago. Finding the perfectly matching crystal can be an impossible job, even more so if the designer is a famous one like Sherman.

But of course, costume jewelry is so much more affordable than real diamond and gemstone jewelry. So while many of us dream of owning a gorgeous emerald and diamond ring like the one at the top of this post, dream is all we can do ... unless we consider buying "used", "second hand" or what sounds nicer "pre-loved". Let's stick with pre-loved as often, that's exactly what the original owner probably felt: love for that special ring. She may not have worn it every day. She kept it boxed and put it on for special occasions. Being real diamonds and genuine gemstones, it wouldn't go cloudy or discolor. Being real diamonds and gemstones, chipping was much less likely as the stones are so much harder. Oh sure, they can be chipped or scratched, but if your seller is honest, they'll disclose any flaws. Even flawed, a diamond or gemstone still retains value. And if a stone does fall out and is lost, replacing them isn't anywhere near as difficult, though it is more expensive.

These are some of the reasons we like selling genuine diamond and gemstone jewelry at VINTAGE JEWELRY SHOWCASE and VIANVI JEWELRY. We try to give a buyer the chance to own truly valuable and beautiful rings, necklaces, brooches or bracelets at a fraction of what they would have paid had they bought it brand new. We go all out looking for quality items. We avoid chipped stones. We steer clear of diamonds with carbon deposits or poor clarity ie.. the diamonds look cloudy or milky. (If we do happen to have some that don't quite meet our criteria, you can count on us to have priced it according to its lesser quality). You might not know it, but many of the rings being sold in retail outlets today, if they seem affordable, are often of a diamond quality we won't touch! It sometimes shocks us looking at new rings in modern retail shops with price tags of $2000 - $3000 ... and offering diamonds we wouldn't want! But folks buy them because they're new. The little pinpoint lights make them twinkle in those glass displays and the buyer thinks they're awesome. We don't. The ones that are awesome, if new, are many thousands of dollars more!

So that said, feast your eyes on some of the diamond/gemstone rings we currently have in our VIANVI shops. These are true quality ... and the appraisals we have done back that up. No, they are not cheap. But we're selling them at a fraction of their value. What a way for you, our buyers, to afford quality jewelry!

Above: RARE natural ALEXANDRITE & diamond cocktail ring appraised at $8950. Our price: ONLY $3795! CLICK HERE TO SEE & LEARN MORE.

Above: Stunning cocktail ring feartures 1/2ct of diamonds set around a brilliant pink TOURMALINE. Fabulous ring at fabulous price during our 50% OFF SALE. Only $350!! CLICK THIS LINK TO SEE & LEARN MORE

Above: Appraised at $3800, it doesn't get much prettier than this RUBY and Diamond dinner ring, on sale now for only $1079. CLICK HERE NOW!

Above: Unheated, natural SAPPHIRE and Diamond Ring, appraised at $8850 is set in platinum. Only $3299. Rare gemstone! LEARN MORE HERE!


There are so many more gorgeous diamond and gemstone rings available in our shops, and right now, with our 50% OFF SALE in full swing, you can't get much better for so much less. Be sure to drop by and look for those items marked 50% OFF. Necklaces and bracelets too! Lots of real BLING BLING!

OUR EBAY EXPERIMENT: RESULTS & WHAT WE'VE LEARNED

Well our little experiment with selling at auction on ebay, after not having done so for months, is nearly finished. We still have a few auctions running but it's easy to project already how those will end up i.e. dead. Here's our conclusions:

1) Ebay will bring lots of page views and even bidders  ... IF the auction starts at 99 cents or less!

2) Ebay will bring few page views and almost no bidders if the auction starts at what an item is worth, unless it's worth very little

3) Lots of "watchers" doesn't mean lots of bidders. Now we know that's not news but in general, if you have 50 watchers, you're lucky to have 10 real bidders.

Of the 13 items I had listed, 5 were sold. Three of them went for between $30 - $46, at the opening bid price! The other two, higher end pieces, went for less than 1/10th their appraised value!! I let a $6000 Jabel ring go for $650! There were 13 watchers. Only one person bid. What were the rest doing? I suspect the rest were probably other eBay sellers just curious to see if that Jabel with one carat of diamonds (worth more than the entire ring!) would sell at all before they list theirs.

The other item that sold for 1/10th its appraised value had actually been previously "sold" on Ruby Lane for twice what I got on ebay ie.. $395. The original buyer never paid up. But here's the rub: either she or her relative bid on the eBay auction and got it for half price! Well good for her you might say ie. smart bidding and smart shopping. True. But for me as a vendor, it sucks.

Then there's my daughter's auctions. Several of hers finished yesterday and she still has several to go. The ones that started at 99 cents all sold. Did she get her money ie.. what it was worth? Well on one ring she got back her cost. But since ebay fees come out of that, she's down. On a second ring which miraculously she had priced with an opening bid of $475, she got all her money back but didn't make anything. Interesting that that one did gets bids and didn't start at 99 cents. The gorgeous diamond cross pendant shown in my previous blog post? It went for less than $100. Then take off ebay fees. It started at 99 cents. Now what if she'd paid $200 for that in the first place? Ouch!

Of the items still at auction, only one, a semi-mount for a ring, has any bids. All the others are high end items with the bidding starting where she must start or lose her shirt. On all those items there have been very few page views and just about no-one has a "watch" on them.

So final conclusion as far as we little sellers go: don't sell on ebay unless you can afford to start your auctions at 99 cents!! And don't complain if item sells below what it's worth if you do list there: that's the chance you take when you sell on ebay.

Our auction items are now back in our shops at RUBY LANE and RUBY PLAZA. If you're reading this and are a vendor or buyer, we're open to offers on all items, even when it doesn't state "make an offer". As summer sets in, sales slow down so we're a little more flexible, especially when we're overstocked. So why not drop over and take a look. Don't be shy. We'll listen :))

We have the gorgeous original set by STANLEY HAGLER (shown below) that's a real collector's item: Make us an offer!

Or how about this recently added sapphire/diamond brooch and earring set (below) that we've just added this past week. It's incredible!