Caution about Bank Vaults

As many of you may already know, the Midwest has been hit by some of the worst flooding in decades, with many lakes and rivers cresting well above flood stage, and many homes, businesses, streets and property left underwater, some for weeks. Our heart goes out to all who have had these problems, but this article goes a little beyond, to add a warning for the future to think about so that there is not a greater harm done to those that have been unfortunate enough to have property and homes ruined by these floods. Most people believe that if you put belongings in a bank vault, you're safe, protected, and insured by the bank, but this is mostly UNTRUE! If you believe that your belongings are insured, I suggest that you go ask your bank about this. Bank vaults are designed to be secure, and this is mostly true, but not necessarily in the event of a disaster, such as the horrific flooding that we have had in the Midwest. There is an article in the Chicago Tribune, dated April 26, 2013, written by Lisa Black that brings a very powerful point home. She reports that a bank in Northfield, Illinois, among others, had the unfortunate mishap that their safety deposit box room ended up under water. Think about what we keep in a bank vault that needs to be water free! Many of us keep our important papers in a bank vault, some keep money and jewelry, others keep mementos and keepsakes, but what happens when these are ruined by a natural disaster, such as the rank smelling water that ended up in the vault of this bank? Yup, you guessed it, you're not insured. The banks do not carry insurance, and most people, believing that that are covered and completely safe, do not carry supplemental insurance as a rider on their homeowners or renters policy. This is a disaster waiting to happen; the contents of a safety deposit box as a general rule are not insured by the bank. It is highly recommended that you take out insurance on whatever is in a safety deposit box. Of course this coverage is not very expensive because the perception is that it is in a secure and safe area, and will not be handled very often, that's the good news. Now think about the jewelry that you keep in your safety deposit box. Can anything be ruined by the flooding or other natural disaster? You bet! Most jewelry is probably fine if it gets wet, but not all. Soft stones and natural materials may be ruined by chemicals in the water, such as the ink that may run from the papers in the vault, ruining pearls and such. This brings me to another thought. Not too many people are told this, but never leave pearls or other materials that need moisture in a bank vault. Not only are they susceptible to damage from a flooding disaster because of running ink and chemicals, but normally, without the disaster, bank vaults are highly de-humidified to keep papers and other valuables in good shape, but what does this do to jewelry that needs moisture? You got it, it dries them out, and pearls and opals, just to mention a couple of popular types of jewelry need moisture, so a bank vault will ruin them without the disaster!!

Wishing You All a Wonderful Holiday

All of us at Windy City Diamonds join together to say thank you for kindness and to send you our very best wishes for the coming year

World Record at Diamond Auction

Recently, a new world record was set for a famous diamond. The well known Archduke Joseph Diamond fetched a fantastic price at Christie’s Geneva Auction held on Nov. 12th. The price? A cool $21.5 million, a world auction record for a colorless diamond.

This diamond weighs 76.02 carats, Antique Cushion cut, is D color, the rarest top white color, flawless clarity and was originally expected to sell for $15.0 million. The stone’s mystique stems partly from its origins in the Golconda mine in India, the source of other legendary gems such as the Koh-i-noor, the Hope, and the Regent.

The Archduke Joseph is the largest and most perfect Golconda stone to ever appear at auction, and it is named after one of its former owners, the Archduke Joseph August of Austria.

Stolen Wedding Dress made it to the wedding on time!

Imagine finding out that your wedding dress is gone because someone stole your fiancé’s car and your wedding dress was in it at the moment it happened! It sounds like a nightmare or something taken out of a movie doesn’t it? Well this happened in real life to a couple here in Chicago. A couple from Iowa drove into Chicago preparing for their upcoming wedding, which was going to be held in Chicago. They arrived late Friday night and stayed with friends for the night, parking their car on the street. Rather than bringing everything for the wedding into their friends home, they left their suitcase and the wedding gown in the trunk, and unfortunately for them, the next morning they discovered their car had been stolen! Fortunately for this couple, the Chicago police noticed a broken window on a car as it passed them by, ran the plates and found out that it was a “fresh steal”! When they pulled the driver over, the police discovered the luggage and the wedding gown in the trunk and contacted the owner that day. “Is the dress still in the car?” asked the groom? “It’s my fiancés wedding dress; we’re supposed to get married in the morning.” The dress, described as a white, full-length, strapless gown, which “boots out at the bottom” and has pearls along the top, along with the veil were all found and returned to their owner in time for the wedding.

We here at Windy City Diamonds are sure that tears of joy were cried after receiving the news that the car and all of it’s contents were found and returned in time for the wedding. Preparing yourself for a wedding can be a lot of fun but it can also be a little stressful, so just the thought of a bride losing her dress is not even conceivable. It was a miracle that the police not only caught the perpetrators but were also able to “deliver” the dress back to the bride, literally hours prior to her wedding. Situations like this still prove that no matter what happens in life everything will be just fine.

This is truly the Largest Diamond EVER!!!

There has been a recent discovery by a French and American team of astronomers that in the diamond world is fantastic!! A massive planet, Called 55 Cancri e, has been discovered, and this planet is basically one Giant Diamond! This heavenly body has a radius that is about twice the size of our planet, and is roughly eight times more dense, which means that it will weigh substantially more than the planet earth, but whose weighing a planet anyway? Rotation is so rapid that a year as we know it lasts only 18 hours. Hmmm, I wonder, would we get dizzy on this planet from the sparkle of the diamond, or the constant spinning that we will feel?!! Oh, by the way, Diamond hunters please take note of just a few drawbacks to your diamond mining plans: Surface temperature on 55 Cancri e is approximately 3,900 degrees Fahrenheit, and the big rock is some 230 trillion miles from Windy City Diamonds store! Angelina and Jennifer eat your heart out!

Summer Brides

Summer is here and that also means that wedding season is in full bloom. AS Most weddings are set for the summer time and this is the time where future brides and grooms start looking for the perfect piece of jewelry, here at Windy City Diamonds, we are always prepared to help you to choose just that piece for your very special day.

It’s wonderful that we live in a time where brides and grooms have so many options. Most brides tend to pick pieces that will compliment their dress but at the same time it’s most desirable to have one that may be worn for future occasions as well. Chandelier, tear drop and pearls earrings, are items that are extremely popular for brides, and as gifts for their brides maids! Something extremely classic that a bride may wear on her day is a beautiful pair of stud diamond earrings or a single solitaire pendant, which are also items that can be worn everyday whether you are in casual or dress up attire. Windy City Diamonds is here to offer you a fine selection of diamond stud earrings for you to choose from, and we have them to fit most any budget.

Your bridal party is also important on your special day and most brides and grooms tend to give gifts to their bridal party. Gifts can range from a pair of earrings to necklaces. You can choose items that compliment the color of the dresses or something that matches the bride’s jewelry as well. Grooms on the other hand tend to give cuff links or perhaps even a nice money clip. Once again there are many options to choose from and you’ll be surprised at how affordable these options may be! We’re sure that the friendly staff at Windy City Diamonds will help you to think of interesting and colorful ideas for you and your bridal parties so don’t be afraid to play, you’ll find that you can have a lot of fun, and that’s what it’s all about!!

Hypoallergenic Gold!!

As too many of us have learned, some people seem to be allergic to gold, or are they? The reality is, we are not allergic to gold, rather, some of us are allergic to the alloy in white gold, which is often nickel. Nickel does bother some people, but let me digress for a moment and give you some background.

Put on your miners cap and let’s go digging in our gold mine. As you may expect, in nature, gold is a bright yellow metal, it is never found in a "White" gold version. We need to make it white for jewelry, which is where the alloy comes in. Alloying is simply a mixing of metals for some purpose, which in the case of gold is to make it white appearing and to give it greater hardness as gold is quite soft naturally. Bring on the nickel. For many years, nickel has been the standard alloy used to turn yellow gold into white gold. Nickel is a pure white metal naturally, and adds hardness to the mix, but as I mentioned, some people do have an allergic reaction to this alloy, such as a rash or redness, sometimes itchy or just an uncomfortable felleing, but we now have a brilliant answer to this age old problem, without moving to the expense of platinum. Are you ready for this?? Technology is great, and we've figured out another metal, palladium, along with a few other trace metals, but not nickel, to alloy the gold with. Voila!! We have a white appearing gold, that is harder than the original metal as found in the ground, and remarkably, it appears whiter, and as an added benefit, without the need to constantly "dip" (re-rhodium plate) your jewelry!!

At Windy City Diamonds, we call this new metal "bright White" gold and we've been experimenting with it for over 2 years now with tremendous success. Hypo-Allergenic Gold! So for all of you out there that have some discomfort from your white gold jewelry, bring it in to Windy City Diamonds and let us re-manufacture your jewelry with this newer, technologically advanced, gold and alloy that will alleviate your problems, and without a huge expense!