Jewelry Buying Guide

It is often fairly easy to purchase precious gemstones, diamonds, and precious metal jewelry. Diamonds have a quality grading scale, the famous 4 C’s, 14K gold has a price that can be found on many websites, and the weight of the gold is often quoted in grams. Even some semi-precious gemstones, Tanzanite in particular, have quality rating scales. It is, somewhat, easy to see how a 230 carat Amethyst bought from a dealer in India is of drastically different quality from something bought from your local jeweler. The stone may be poorly cut, too dark, have inclusions, or any one of a number of flaws, lowering its value. Costume jewelry isn’t quite so easy.

Cubic Zirconias are not all alike

Not all cubic zirconias are created equal. There are quality grades of these, too. From the extremely inexpensive grade, often found at big box retailers, to the higher end ones found at “look alike” jewelry stores, there is a wide variety of quality within cubic zirconia.

So, how do you know what you are getting? Well, its simple. Ask. I must admit, once upon a time, when I was much younger and a poor college student, I had a cubic zirconia that I “thought” looked like a real diamond. The truth is, after just a couple of wearings, on my hand, it became very cloudy. It had lost all that sparkle that is expected of a diamond simulant. On the other hand, I also had a ring made up in Russian diamonds not too long after that. These were, essentially, very high end cubic zirconias. Since that time, natural Russian diamonds have come on the market. Before about 20 years ago, though, when someone said Russian diamond, they usually meant a high end cubic zirconia. 

Those Russian diamonds were beautiful, and sparkled like the real thing. I could have them tested, to see if they are actually a diamond simulant, and not a cubic zirconia. A diamond simulant has all the EXACT same chemical and physical properties of a natural diamond, it is just grown in a lab, instead.

The stones used by Sandy Eulitt Stellar Experiences in my line of astrology, astronomy, and space jewelry is of the highest quality cubic zirconia. It does not cloud after wearing. I have owned a few pieces for quite a while, and have been very happy with them. They have definitely withstood regular wearing, and still look beautiful, and just like the real thing.

Astronomy is for everyone

Cubic zirconias were used in the creation of these pieces for one simple reason: cost. At Sandy Eulitt Stellar Experiences, we believe that astronomy is available to everyone. Now, maybe not everyone can step outside their door at night and have clear, light pollution free skies, but, assuming you have clear skies, everyone can enjoy astronomy. All you need do is look up. It doesn’t even need to be expensive. But, more on that elsewhere. For that reason, we wanted our astronomy and space jewelry to be accessible to everyone, too. We did not want to create a line of jewelry of semi precious, precious, or diamond gemstones, and set them in 14K gold or platinum. That would have made the pieces only affordable to the very wealthy, and we want everyone to be able to display their love of the night skies any time he or she wants to. So, we opted for stones, settings, and metals that resulted in a far lower price point. 

14K gold, diamond zodiac and astronomy jewelry

We did, however, make an option, to have ANY piece made up in 14K gold, gold filled, and with diamonds or other semi precious or precious gemstones. You may supply your own stones, to our specifications for the fit, or we will provide very high quality stones. This option is created by a Gemological Institute of America (GIA) certified jeweler, one whom I have used for several years, and trust. If memory serves, she also holds the Graduate Gemologist designation.

Jewelry mountings

Have you ever lost a stone out of a ring? I have, and I was pretty irritated when it happened. It turns out that the mount had broken, causing the stone to fly out. As luck would have it, it was the center stone of a diamond ring. Yes, I was not pleased.

And that illustrates the importance of getting good mountings in your jewelry. Even if it is a pendant, and not subjected to the wear and tear of a ring, mountings break or bend, causing stones to fall out. At Sandy Eulitt Stellar Experiences, we use the highest quality sterling silver mountings available. Yes, there are qualities of the mountings, too. A few years ago, I dabbled in jewelry making, and ended up getting a catalog of jewelry findings. Thereupon I found prices for a wide range of mountings, in every metal, from the very inexpensive “snap tight” gemstone castings, to the more expensive, professional grade, castings. The latter is the quality used at Sandy Eulitt Stellar Experiences. Yes, it causes the cost to be higher. We would rather provide you with a high quality casting, professionally mounted, the first time, than have you bear the cost, aggravation, and lost pleasure of losing a stone, having to send it in for repair, bearing the cost of a new stone, the labor, shipping charges, and time away from enjoying your piece. We like to think we did it right the first time.

Made in USA

All the jewelry at Sandy Eulitt Stellar Experiences is made by a small business, sometimes even a local one. We pride ourselves in being Made in America. It means your piece is very easily repairable, should anything unforeseen happy, and that you are supporting a small business and the local economy by purchasing from us. These are not stamped out on a mass production line in a foreign country. The jewelry at Sandy Eulitt Stellar Experiences is hand crafted by a local artisan, or a professional gemologist.