Our showroom’s new location in Lower Manhattan has given us unique opportunities to see New York through the eyes of a tourist this year.  DeNatale Jewelers is located only blocks from the Freedom Tower -  now the tallest building in the West Hemisphere. Each day before I arrive at work, my eyes look up to the newest height of this magnificent building. I am inspired to dream  – knowing how lucky I am to have freedom in this country.

As I enter the historic Trinity Building at 111 Broadway, I am struck with awe with the architect of this landmark building. The lobby is designed in elaborate, old world charm and makes me feel so special to work in this beautiful atmosphere.  Our showroom has high ceilings with huge stained glass windows that overlooks the Trinity Church Courtyard. Watching the seasons change in this park-like setting has been breathtaking! Over the last few weeks,  I reconfirmed my belief that Spring is definitely my favorite season when the trees and flowers were ablaze in color!

The spotlight is definitely on Lower Manhattan these days. On a daily basis, tourists walk through the Trinity Church Courtyard or stop to eat lunch in this peaceful environment.  Many visitors of the city come downtown to view the 911 Memorial, the atrium in the Financial Center or hop on the Staten Island Ferry for one of the best views of the Statue of Liberty. We invite you to come into the Trinity Building as a tourist attraction and see its beautiful architect. For sports fans, the Heisman Trophy is on view at the rear of the lobby.

While in the building,you are welcome to browse our showroom to view excellent timepieces from Raymond Weil, especially their new 88 Rue du Rhone collection, as well as Baume Mercier and Tag Heuer. If you plan to get married in New York,  we offer a large selection of engagement and bridal jewelry to fit your budget! You may also want to pick up a gold charm that represents your favorite New York site as a keepsake memento! 

We look forward to meeting you and providing you with watches, gold charms or wedding bands or another piece of jewelry to take home symbolizing your memorable trip.  Shop here for more of what you love … for less!

The Great Gatsby has been adorning our subway stations, magazines and has been causing a buzz with its release on the big screen this month.  Everyone has been talking about the film but even before seeing it, one thing has been apparent … the jewelry is going to leave us looking for ways to recreate it…but maybe a little cheaper!

The jewelry for the film was designed by costume designer Catherine Martin, and the 13 show-stopping 1920′s inspired period pieces were created to be known as the Ziegfeld Collection – a collaboration with jewelry brand Tiffany & Co.

There are few films that can boast that the jewelry is inspiring trends,  but The Great Gatsby Collection Savoy Headpiece ($200,000) is something that we predict will feature in bridal trends for the summer.

So how can you create your own Great Gatsby inspired look?  There are several simple ways.

PEARLS, they are used throughout the film to create a soft balance against the diamonds and add a 1920′s edge. Earrings featured in the film, like these Honora Drop Pearl Earrings, are easy to wear and can be used night or day to finish off your outfit.

Equally, a Honora Freshwater Pearl and Onyx Cuff Bracelet, which sits delicately covering your wrist, can bring a look together adding that final statement.

DIAMONDS AND GEMS are seen in rings of different colors and appear in the Great Gatsby Collection.  Two that we love to use to recreate the look are a Color Story Manhattan Pave Ring and an Armadani Blue Sapphire and Diamond Pave Mosaic Ring.  How can you say no to these exquisite rings?

1920′s ONE OF A KIND PIECES – You can’t miss out on our constantly updated Antique and Estate Collection of jewelry – several pieces date back to the 1920′s!  These are perfect for those who love to dress up and  want to accurately reflect history.  You will confidently be able to say that you have bought a piece of jewelry from the correct era – which is very on trend!

Be Inspired and fall in love with the 1920′s.

“Can’t repeat the past?…Why of course you can!”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

May is so exciting as it is the month of rebirth! For those living in similar places to us in New York, flowers are blooming with color and greening is everywhere. We come to life leaving our cocoons of winter behind as we turn into butterflies enjoying the spring sunlight.  However, there is something else really exciting about May this year -  Emeralds – the birthstone of May and the official color of 2013.  We have been waiting in anticipation for May to come around to celebrate this color. 

So what can you wear to make your friends green with envy about your birthstone?  We have a couple of great ideas that we want to share with you, which can be worn separately or would look INCREDIBLE together:

Emeralds are the Color of the Year 2013 and the Birthstone of May. We have pulled together a gorgeous look for you to enjoy for May.  What do you think of combining it with silver to complement the diamonds too?  We also have several stunning emerald jewelry pieces online and in the showroom at 111 Broadway, New York and would love to share them with you.

For a long time new diamonds have been the center piece of every girls engagement ring.  However, we are now seeing a new trend picking up speed – creating a ring out of a family heirloom to keep the family history alive.

I can speak of this from experience, after choosing to have my great grandmothers diamonds reset into what is now my engagement ring.  It was a treasured moment when I could marry together my new life with my husband, with my history and the diamonds that have been passed down through four generations.

It’s never an easy decision to dismantle a family ring, or piece of jewelry, but to think that you are turning it into a new ring that will hopefully be passed down again through more generations, makes it all worthwhile. The great thing is that you already have your diamonds or gemstones which will never change and then it is just a matter of choosing a setting that works for you or designing one for the jeweler you are working with to custom make.

This is the fun part because you can choose a setting you love, the metal you want and possibly other gemstones to complement the antique gems. This will give you a sense of excitement because you are breathing new life back into gems from the past.

DeNatale Jewelers are experts in redesigning jewelry.  We regularly work with estate items and custom engagement rings to give you peace of mind.  We will make your lineage proud and give you a reminder everyday of your past and future coming together.

This is the time to come in to our Lower Manhattan showroom and discuss how we can make this a reality. Feel free to contact us with your questions. We look forward to custom designing your heirloom piece into a setting you will love!

Wearing symbolic and religious jewelry is a very personal way to document religious ceremonies of faith or milestone achievements of loved ones. Fashion jewelry pendants that display crosses and saints, or charms with chalices, the Holy Spirit, the Star of David,  all carry beliefs from places of worship into the glorious world God created for us!  Often these items are given by family members and friends to children who are receiving sacraments and have completed training to deepen their faith or education. Having such a piece of jewelry engraved with the date of the occasion or a unique sentiment from you makes the item extremely memorable and will be treasured by them in years to come. There are interesting designs like KC Designs Sideways Cross Ring or necklace.  It’s a new look for a faithful piece that can be worn across generations!

This jewelry offers an opportunity to gently witness faith to others while being fashionable too! April, May and June are traditionally popular months for Communions, Confirmations and Graduations. So who in your life is celebrating an occasion deserving a piece of fashion jewelry worthy of  your love and spirit? We welcome you to view our collection of symbolic and religious jewelry on our website.  Even better, we would enjoy meeting you in person at our showroom, located in Lower Manhattan adjacent to Trinity Church.

Nancy,

Thanks again for the fine work on Linda’s necklace. She enjoys wearing it and I think it looks great! We will be in this summer to get a little heavier chain. Love your new showroom. You now have a space as classy as the employees and your merchandise!

George

Have you ever wondered about the differences in gold and what it all means when buying new jewelry?  Do you know the difference between 14kt gold and 18kt or even white gold? Well we thought it would be interesting to put together a guide for you so that you can make an educated decision.

The Estate Canary Diamond Rose Brooch is featured in 18kt gold – it really shows the true yellow color of gold.

Gold (Au) is found in it’s purest form as 24 karats and denoted by 24/24.  This is so soft that it is never used for jewelry because it would wear away too quickly making an expensive purchase rather less expensive after years of wear. The main use for 24/24 gold is in financial terms for gold bullion slabs where it holds its value and is very lucrative in the current commodities markets.

Jewelry too is holding its value, but to make it suitable for this purpose, designers blend the yellow gold with copper, silver and on occasions, nickel to give it strength and ensure it lasts over the years. This has created a standard range of blends, like a good whiskey, starting with 9 kt gold which is 9 parts gold and the remainder other metals.  This then increases to 14 kt, 18 kt and 22 kt which is the softest of the range, but the most expensive as it only has 8.4% other metal making it the purest form for jewelry making!  Yellow gold is very popular especially in antique jewelry like this Estate canary diamond rose brooch which features canary yellow diamonds.

Antique diamond and 18k white gold flower earrings make a wonderful addition to an outfit.

Now what about white and rose golds? What gives them their interesting colors? This is a matter for the mixologists adding in a variety of other metals to influence the gold and change it’s color.  White gold is often mixed with nickel, manganese or palladium to create the desired look. However, this isn’t the white gold look that many people are used to seeing as it only lightens the gold color or alters it slightly.  To create the commercial white gold look, the gold is often coated in rhodium plating to give a consistent color and one that can be maintained over the years by having it dipped.

Rose gold is a combination of gold and copper and has gained popularity again in 2013. It is also

Stunning Rose Gold Byzantine Large Round Pendant

referred to as pink and red gold depending on the copper content. Never believe a salesperson who tells you it is pure rose gold because it is always an alloy and there is no such thing!  This Byzantine large round pendant in rose gold is a fabulous example of how the color creates a beautiful feminine look to complement skin tones really well.

Finally, the other factor that may play a part in the cost of your jewelry is the metal combination the gold is mixed with – copper mixes are cheaper than silver mixes which are now more expensive with the increase in the cost of silver.  We hope this helps you understand the karat and color makeup of this valuable metal which is a great starting point for your voyage into gold jewelry buying!

“As every thread of gold is valuable, so is every moment of time” – John Mason

Are you ready for the Spring ahead?  We are as you may have guessed from our recent posts.  To make sure we are all in tune with the colors of Spring we wanted to share this color palette with you.  There are lots of lovely colors to choose from  – Poppy Reds to Lemon Zest and more demure Linen to Grayed Jade.

What is wonderful about these pantone colors, is the way they can work together and complement each other.  This makes working with jewelry fun too – from stacking rings and bangles to mixing cute earrings with different color pendants.

Thistle and Bee makes this easy with their fabulous collection of stackable jewelry and they even include colors in the range from the Dusk Blue and African Violet to the Lemon Zest.  You could be really on trend with these.

Or how about one lovely ring that makes a statement like this Thistle and Bee Sterling Silver and Prasiolite Ring will.  It fits perfectly in with the grayed jade which you could mix with a colorful gemstone bangle like the Bamboo 3mm Bangle Bracelet with Citrine for the Lemon Zest splash of fun.  

What ever you choose to do, be frivolous this Spring time with your colors and choose the ones that work for you and mix it up a little for some fun. You can see the whole Thistle and Bee collection for more inspiration or visit us in Downtown NYC to try them on!

Halle Berry has been seen this week looking radiant and giving the world a glimpse of her neat baby bump.  She can certainly look elegant and she also makes being pregnant look effortless. However, what we love is her short pixie hair style coupled with long dangly earrings which really work well together drawing a focus to her face and neckline without the need for a necklace.  She has also remained true to herself by wearing her colored gemstone engagement ring which is yellow gold and emerald. Although this isn’t in keeping with her outfit, it works well and demonstrates how important her relationship is rather than being swayed my matching white gold and diamonds.

To recreate her look we recommend:

PeJay Cascade Diamond Pave Drop Earrings and this Emerald and Diamond Ring.