News

Fantastic Deals on Chocolate Diamonds February 28, 2017 11:36

Chocolate Diamonds At Chimera Design
We have some great deals on chocolate diamonds.
We brought some in for Todd & Brenda - they picked one.
These are left.
The big 2.30 ct radiant $2,315.00
1.02 ct trilliant $1,150.00
1.07 ct heart shape $1,195.00

1, 2, 3, Sale at Chimera Design February 1-14th January 31, 2017 10:09

Jewelry Sale At Chimera Design in Lowell

Jewelry Appraisals From A GIA DIamonds Graduate March 3, 2016 13:15

We ALWAYS recommend that people insure their engagement, wedding, or partnership rings. There are two reasons we do this - first, generally these rings are worn 24/7/365 and weird things can happen. Secondly, having all risk coverage on your jewelry is not very expensive. It Michigan most insurance companies charge somewhere between $10 to $15 per thousand dollars of value to insure it against loss, theft and even damage. So it would cost $40 to $60 per year to have a $4,000 ring insured.

Speaking of costs - many area jewelry stores charge $150 to $250 to appraise ONE piece of jewelry. We just had a lady in and she told Cliff that the chain store where her husband bought her wedding set wanted to charge $300 for an appraisal on the two pieces.

Here at Chimera we charge $75 for the first piece and $45 for each piece after that. 

$75 Appraisals From GIA Diamonds Graduate Cliff Yankovich

Cliff earned his Diamonds Graduate certification from the Gemological Institute of America in 1998 and he is celebrating his 20th year in the jewelry business this year.

If your appraisal needs to be updated, most insurance companies want them to be less than 5-7 years old - stop in and Cliff was get you all squared away for a lot less money than the mall stores. 


Valentine's Day Specials At Chimera Design February 6, 2016 14:25

We just loaded our cases back up. We put over 30 new pieces in our display from the Oliver Weber Collection. This line of fashion jewelry is made in Italy using Swarovski crystals - great look at an affordable price. 20% off all Oliver Weber for Valentine's Day.

Oliver Weber Collection at Chimera Design

We have been representing the Strellman's line of jewelry for a decade now. We have a nice display of their Lighthouse Lens rings in sterling silver with every birthstone - plus we have another dozen pieces in stock. If we don't have it - they are made just across Lake Michigan in Minnesota! We can call them up and have a piece made to your specifications. 20% off all Strellman's jewelry.

Strellman's Jewelry at Chimera Design in Lowell, Michigan

 

Another great American artist is Michael Michaud. His designs are all inspired by the timeless beauty of nature. The picture below shows his hydrangea along with some real hydrangea brought in by one of our friends. We have a nice selection - all of which is 20% off for Valentine's Day.

Michael Michaud jewelry at Chimera Design 


Bring Your Ring in For a Day at The Spa - $15 January 30, 2016 11:52

Your rings work hard to glamorize your hand - give them a Spa Day at Chimera Design.

We will start with an inspection of the ring. We will make sure the tips, prongs, channels, and bezels are in good shape for keeping your diamonds and gemstones secure in the mounting.

The it is off to the back room for an invigorating 2850 rpm session with our Handler Buffer. This will remove surface scratches and return your precious metal to a nice shine. Our jewelers rouge is especially formulated to clean and polish.

Chimera Ring Day Spa starts with an invigorating buff

From there your ring will be transferred to our Branson 2510 heated ultrasonic where any dirt and debris will be gently shaken by the soothing 40kz sonic waves.

Your rings day at the Chimera Design spa includes a warm, ultrasonic bath

Then it is a short hop over to our 1300 watt Steam Dragon steamer for a purifying blast of vaporized distilled water at 90-125 psi. This will remove any residual jewelers rouge and gra-do!

Your ring will finish with a blast of steam at Chimera Design

A day of luxury for your ring - including a FREE inspection - is only $15.00 per ring.

Ideal Cut Diamonds Without the Huge Price Tag At Chimera Design December 9, 2015 15:00

Did you ever notice how some diamonds sparkle a whole lot more than others? Well, it could be because of the way they were cut. A round diamond cut deeply causes the light to go out of the bottom - we call extreme cases of this Nail Heads. If the cutter shapes it too shallow - then the diamond can appear lifeless - we call them Fish Eyes.

A diamond cut to ideal proportions will return light like nothing else. No other gem can take light in and shoot it back at you like a diamond.

Learn about ideal cut diamonds at Chimera Design

A couple of years ago we met Michael. He is a diamond cutter from New Jersey and is a master of his craft. When he stopped in the shop to show us what he could do, we bought one of his diamonds on the spot (Cliff never does that!). Since then we have introduced couples to his sparkle-fest diamonds. Laurie was so impressed, she wanted two of them for earrings!

 

Ideal cut diamonds at Chimera Design

 There is one company that has been marketing ideal cut diamonds by showing customers the hearts and arrows visible in their diamonds using a viewing device. Te result is the heart shape patterns (above left) seen from the bottom of the diamond and the arrow patters (above right) seen from the top down.

.50 ct ideal cut diamond engagement ring at Chimera Design

The diamonds Michael cuts are done so well, you do not even need a special viewing device to see the arrow patterns! The ring above is set with a .50 ct VS2 I diamond Michael cut and the one below features an .81 ct from Michael.

.81 ct ideal cut VS2 I diamond ring at Chimera Design

Ideal cut diamonds at Chimera Design - all the sparkle for less money!
Please come in and let us show you what a well cut diamond looks like -
we love to show off Michael's skills.

Diamonds in Motion - they move with your heartbeat! November 3, 2015 17:20

We have the most fun with Diamonds in Motion - we get them from our friends at Ostbye in Minnesota.

Take a look at this brief video - look how the diamond is constantly in motion thanks to the genius mounting system. The diamond is secured with 4 prongs - it is not going anywhere, but the use of the intersecting rings have such a small point of contact that the diamond moves with your pulse! 

Prices for a .10 ct diamond in a sterling silver pendant start around $250.


Colored diamonds without the million dollar price tag! October 27, 2015 14:49

A big pink diamond is coming up for auction - it is expected to sell for 15 million or more. That is great - if your bank account can handle it.

If you WANT the coolness of colored diamonds without a movie star budget, we have some beautiful examples from Lotus Color in NYC. You can learn about how Lotus uses heat and radiation to turn natural diamonds a host of colors here: Learn About Colored Diamonds.

Lotus has the process down to an art form. Look at the bright, lovely colors in these pictures. These are all colored diamonds from Lotus. The colors will not fade and because they are natural diamonds, they return light and sparkle like no other gem on earth. (They only ones you have to be really careful with are the pink ones.)

Colored diamonds at Chimera Design

 

Lotus colored diamonds at Chimera Design

 

If you like stud earrings and you already own some white diamond studs, how about your color up your life with some colored diamond studs? We have three colors in stock at a fantastic price - they are 1/2 carat total (.48ctw, .49 ctw, and .50 ctw) your choice of yellow, blue, or green color enhanced natural diamonds for only $685.00.

Colored diamond studs at Chimera Design


New Solitaire Mounting for .50 ct, .75 ct. and 1.00 ct Round Diamonds October 21, 2015 14:33

We just received a catalog with some new jewelry from one of our favorite vendors - Stuller in Louisiana. (They are the same ones we work with in providing our Online Jewelry Design App. Try it - it is a blast.)

This one caught our eye. Simple and elegant - the prongs holding the round brilliant cut diamond flow out of the shank of the ring. This setting is available for .50 ct, .75 ct, and 1.00 ct round diamonds in your choice of 14kt white or yellow gold, as well as platinum. 

As you can see from the pictures, there is a nice matching band available as well.

New solitaire mounting at Chimera Design.
Solitaire for .50 ct, .75 ct or 1.00 ct at Chimera Design

Tungsten Bands - Made in the USA $69 with a Lifetime Warranty October 2, 2015 13:44

$69 Tungsten Bands at Chimera Design

We are really excited about our line of tungsten bands. 

  • Made in the United States.
  • $69.00
  • Lifetime Warranty
  • If it cracks, breaks or chips (or even if you gain/lose weight and you need a different size), you get a new ring for $15!
  • Did we mention they are $69.00?
  • We even have Tungsten Camo rings.
Tungsten Camo Rings $69 at Chimera Design
We have many styles and sizes that you can click and buy on our Tungsten Ring Page, but you can take a look at all the models available as well as check the sizes they are available (from as small as 4mm wide size 5 to size 15 8mm wide) by clicking this link:
If you see a style you like, then shoot Cliff and email with the Model number and the size you need and he will get it for you PRONTO!
Cliffy777@comcast.net

Engagement Rings V4 - Jewelry Fabrication September 24, 2015 11:55

We have a variety of ways to provide you with a unique engagement ring or other piece of jewelry. So far, we have shown you our Chimera Showcase online jewelry design app, which allows you the freedom to design your own on your phone, lap top or PC. We have also provided examples of CAD/CAM design with lost wax casting. Over the years we have established relationships with some high quality vendors for engagement rings, too.

Now we want to shine the spotlight on the way Julie makes engagement rings and other fine jewelry. It is called "fabrication"  - instead of cutting a wax and casting the piece, Julie takes metal (gold, sterling and Mokume Gane) and she cuts, shapes, hammers, and solders it into jewelry. It allows you to do some things that cannot be done via lost wax and it gives a more organic or hand-crafted look to the jewelry.

The most popular example of engagement, partnership, or commitment rings that Julie makes are from when she creates two rings from one sheet of metal. Below are images of ring sets she has made for couples over the years - she has made them in sterling, mokume (a combination of sterling and copper that gives a wood grain look), as well as white and yellow gold. They have been just plain bands or set with gems and/or diamonds.

You can see the contours that make it evident that the rings were from one sheet of metal, even when they have a large size difference. Two rings from one piece of metal is her romantic riff on the "two shall become one" .

 
Another popular design for wedding rings - or rings just for the fun of it -
are what Julie calls "Diamond Bubbles" - they are a series of diamonds and/or
other gemstones set in bezels. Here are some examples:
 
Fabrication also allows for other things. Thing engagement ring includes some
yellow gold accents that were taken from a great-grandmother's ring:
Here are a couple more examples of what can be done with fabrication.
If you are looking for a non-traditional ring, we can do that - YES WE CAN!

Engagement Rings V5 - Examples From All Sources September 23, 2015 19:00

We have posted the various ways we can provide YOU with the engagement ring of your dreams. Please allow me to recap the methods.

  1. You can use our online Chimera Showcase App.
  2. We can use CAD/CAM technology and lost wax casting.
  3. We have a variety of great vendors.
  4. Julie can fabricate engagement rings.

In this post, we just want to share some of the engagement rings we have done to give you ideas.