Katherine Huang. Private Jeweler. Personal Jewelry Consultant.

I have put together a grouping of reference cards that may be useful to you when you are looking on your own, or during our work together. If you are just starting the process and would like this information, please send an e-mail to katherine@personaljewelryshopper.com with your mailing address and I would be happy to send them to you within one week’s time (within the contiguous United States, of course).

You may also want to consider reading the Executive Summary archives or signing up for the monthly e-mail here: http://personaljewelryshopper.com/wordpress/?page_id=142.

I wish you much luck and smooth sailing in your search. Congratulations on finding the right person. That is the hard part!

I found Katherine through random selection on the internet. What a find she is!!! I wanted a very special ring to remind me of someone who has passed. Katherine helped me to create the perfect masterpiece of a ring. The quality if flawless! I can’t take the ring off I love it so much.

Katherine went out of the way to help see this project through. She answered all my questions and went above and beyond to ship me samples to see what it would look like.

I highly recommend Katherine for any of your jewelry needs. She listens to what you want and delivers the product amazingly! I cannot praise her enough!

Thank you Katherine!

Diamond Ring Shopping – The Executive Summary

Everyone’s heard of the four C’s – clarity, cut, color and carat weight. But if you’re shopping for an engagement ring, there is an unspoken fifth C, cost. At heart, every man wants to buy something that his beloved will be proud to wear for the rest of her life.

He also doesn’t want to be “that guy”. You know him – the one who didn’t know that he was buying a style she would never put on her finger (and had to start the process all over again), who didn’t really understand the tradeoffs between the four C’s and ended up buying a stone that didn’t sparkle, the guy who bought a beautiful ring but paid too much and went to the poor house.

What’s said “guy” to do?

1) Do your research on her style or have someone do it for you. This is a one-time event with a big impact. A little detective work will pay big dividends.

2) Find someone who knows his or her stuff. If the person you’re working with can’t explain fluorescence without getting flustered, you need to go somewhere else. If they say it doesn’t matter, then definitely go somewhere else. GIA-certified diamond specialists are typically the most qualified because they have undergone the most stringent and extensive training.

3) Of all the four C’s the most complex is cut. Research and understand cut, or find someone who really understands it and can explain it to you. Cut is not just about the shape of a stone – it’s about the dispersion of light and the amount of brilliance and fire that a stone emits. For those who are physics-minded, it’s about the angles of reflection and refraction created by each facet within a stone.

4) Understand the different certifications for stones. Any stone worth its weight (pun intended) will have a certification. But not all certifications are created equal–some have more authority because those laboratories grade much more stringently. Did you know that an EGL certification can be up to two color and clarity grades higher than a GIA certification for the same stone? That means that you could pay a big premium on a stone if you don’t understand that an EGL-graded stone should be discounted more than a stone graded by GIA. I make one exception to this rule, and that is for Old European cuts, which are so hard to come by, especially in the large sizes, that it isn’t worth it to wait for a GIA-certified stone.

5) Get access to custom design. You may have something very specific in mind, or ideas from different pieces you have seen in the past. Find someone who can lift the ideas out of your head and make them come alive.

I help busy professionals make smart jewelry acquisitions. My mission is to provide a luxurious, fun and personalized shopping experience that gives my clients exceptional service, quality and value. I strive to give honest guidance and fantastic pricing so clients can trust they are making astute choices when buying fine jewelry pieces. My expertise is backed by GIA education and certification, specializing in diamonds.

If you find yourself in the market for a fine jewelry piece – be it an engagement ring, pair of diamond earrings, or a new bracelet, we can arrange private showings (by appointment at your home or work) with pieces specifically catered to your budget and the styles you are interested in. All the options that I bring are already pre-selected to be within your budget and have already been negotiated to the lowest prices that dealers are willing to sell at, so you can rest assured that you are receiving the best pricing possible for that piece.

I also have experience designing custom pieces for people who would like to use heirloom or existing pieces to create a fresh, new piece that fits their style. These pieces are custom cast from scratch so that you know your piece will be unique to you.

Below (and in the Custom Designs section, link is to the right) are some samples of custom pieces that I’ve designed with and for my clients. Feel free to look around!

If you are interested in my services or would like to know more, please contact me at katherine@personaljewelryshopper.com You may also telephone me directly at 617.335.7617. I look forward to serving you!

Each month, a portion of all profits goes to benefit the Children’s Hospital of Boston.

April’s piece is a pair of one-of-a-kind diamond cufflinks, especially created and chosen for her partner as an engagement surprise. The cufflinks are cast in white gold and sport more than one carat of VS2 clarity, F color stones. It is so difficult to find beautiful women’s cufflinks these days – even the men’s are so sadly common.

What a privilege to work on something so beautiful, and a project so unique.

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January
• Garnet

February
• Amethyst

March
• Aquamarine

April
• Diamond

June
• Pearl
• Moonstone

July
• Ruby

August
• Peridot

September
• Sapphire

October
• Opal
• Tourmaline

November
• Citrine
• Yellow Topaz

December
• Blue Topaz
• Blue Zircon
• Turquoise