Boho on the Soho

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She might have been wearing a wardrobe straight out of Desperately Seeking Susan; hippy chick 60 years past the 60s. Eyes were scanning the merchandise. Do you have anything, Alisha's voice trailed off.

Do I have anything that makes more of a statement, Rhea postulated? Wonk keeps pushing me to add one-of-a-kinds. I point out they move a lot slower, but he doesn't mind. I have them in a portable display case; see if anything strikes your fancy.

Alisha felt the first pangs of decision paralysis dancing on her forehead, there was so much to look at. Time to channel Malcom Gladwell's Blink. What's that, she said pointing at a piece with turquoise and leather.

That's Boho on the Soho; imagine this on Berwick Street. Try it on; here's a mirror.

Alisha didn't struggle at all with the brand new bead and loop closure, as if she'd done it a thousand times before. I've got to have it, she said. Would you consider a swap; they say this jacket was once owned by Elvis Presley.

Chocolate Shell South Sea Pearl of Great Price

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Oooh Reah, these are nice, said Shelly Mac, with her deep diving tan linen tunic. Please tell me about them.

Reah nodded and answered, South Sea pearls, go ahead and touch one to your teeth. Authentic? Authentic man made pearl from shell, nice luster, too. These are called chocolate; everybody loves the color; want to eat them too, keep away from children. We also have the matching earrings.

They are gorgeous. I'm scared to ask, murrmmered Shel, what do they cost? A lot, I guess.

Rhea laughed, Bestow does not stock high end pearls, primarily because there really is no such thing. Almost all pearls are dyed, even the very expensive ones. You should never pay a lot for pearls. If I've said it once, I'll say it for the thousandth time. Give a girl a string and have her think they are expensive, she will keep them in a box an maybe break them out every couple years for a "special occasion".

Shelly's face sharpened with that smart buyer look as she digested the tip from Rhea. That puts a new wrinkle on Matthew 13:45.

Rhea gave a knowing look. I've puzzled over that many times. When I go on a pearl buying trip to French Polynesia, I keep that verse on a sticky note to remind me that my boss expects me to buy pearls at a great price, wink.

Glasses holders

Rhea, my glasses holder broke. Too bad too, I get more compliments on them than  I do from most of the jewelry I wear.

Let me have a look, Rhea responded. Oh, we can fix that, let me get my tools. It is really eye catching. I wonder if it could be done with gemstones. Do you mind if I take a photo?

After Karen left, Rhea wrote Jaipur Jewels to see if they would be interested in creating a piece.

Seraphinite

Hey Rhea, I just bought this from a pawn store, any idea what it is?

Looks like seraphinite. It's a trade name for a particular form of clinochlore, a member of the chlorite group that's mined in a limited area of eastern Siberia in Russia.

They say you can see feathers in the stone due to its chatoyancy. It tends to be dark green to gray in color. Let me scratch on the edge, yup, hardness between 2 and 4 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, slightly harder than talc.

Ruby single strand smooth rondelle

Estate Bracelet multi-stone silver

Rhea, do you ever carry bracelets?

Sure, there is a collection in this display case right here.

Those are Son muy bonitos, ¿son caros?

Rhea got up, went into the back, and came back with a canvas role. Jose', when I can, I pick up carefully chosen estate pieces. I can't vouch for the stone, but people don't usually lie about amethyst, though that is a good story, garnet, citrine etc. I can test the metal, so when we say it is sterling silver, that is what it is.

I think they are all beautiful, and since I can sell them as estate, (the code word for used), I can wear them and I do. I think you made a fine choice for your lady and at a reasonable estate.

So  what is the amethyst story?

They used to think it was very rare and valuable. Then they discovered Brazil had it by the cargo ship full. Betting on rare jewels is only slightly safer than BitCoin.

Sapphire multi strand blue dye

Hey Rhea, I bought this string of sapphires on eBay for my girlfriend, what do you think?

Charlie, do the words, "cheap date" mean anything to you? What did you pay, $10.00?

No, it was $12.50, do you think I got gypped?

Nah, you paid $12.50, you got $12.50 worth of jewelry.

OK, OK, but how do you know it isn't worth much?

Well for starters the color of the sapphire's is an unearthly blue and that coupled with the fact they are all exactly the same shade means they are dyed. Perfect matches do not occur in nature. Don't get me wrong, I love blue sapphires, the real ones. Also, look at the stringing. I am guessing this is a trainee piece.  They had to do something with it, put it on an eBay auction and hoped they would get lucky.

And I just happened to come along. What do you suggest I do with it?

Mardi Gras beads?

Seriously, if you are going to give it to her, I would start by laying it on a wet paper towel for ten minutes to see if the dye comes off easily. She will probably scalp you if you turn her blue, ruin her clothes, or give her cancer. Would you like to see the real thing?

Sure.

Here is a multi-strand of blue sapphires,  let's look at it outdoors.

Oh my!

Exactly.