J.R.Dunn's Jewelry Blog » Diamonds

Shifting Towards Green | Positive Change in the Jewelry Industry

sean — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:58:13 +0000

A couple of years ago I attended a presentation put on by Martin Rapapport about Fair Trade. He truly captivated the audience with his vision of how the jewelry industry could act in a more socially responsible manner. I remember him encouraging the attendees to visit his booth after the seminar to check out a few examples of some fair trade jewelry products so i stopped by. To be perfectly honest, I loved the idea but there really wasn’t a large selection of socially responsible jewelry products to view.

Fast forward a few years and we are starting to see a nice increase in the offerings of sustainable jewelry. Companies like Hoover and Strong and Columbia Gem House are leading the way with recycled metals and fair trade gems respectively. Celebrities like Russel Simmons are raising awareness and pushing the jewelry industry to do more when it comes to giving back. If you haven’t heard about his Diamond Empowerment Fund you should really check it out at www.diamondempowermentfund.org. The D.E.F is a non-profit international organization with the mission to raise money to support education initiatives that develop and empower economically disadvantaged people in African nations where diamonds are a natural resource. What Russell is doing goes along really nicely with overall trend in the diamond industry towards benefication. Retailers and suppliers alike are getting impassioned and sharing their enthusiasm with blogs and new product creations. There is a great article on the momentum of the green movement in the jewelry industry over on the Fair Trade Jewelry Blog by Marc Choyt. The J.R.Dunn crew commends Marc on his in depth coverage on ethically sourced jewelry. It looks like the jewelry industry is getting a little more focused on heading in the right direction going into 2009!

Engagement Rings in South Florida | J.R.Dunn Jewelers

sean — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 02:24:38 +0000

You’ve found someone you want to spend the rest of your life with and you need to know the right place to buy an engagement ring in South Florida – I’m not talking about any old ring , I’m talking about the one that will make her heart flutter! We know you’re excited and also a little bit nervous too. This is the first time you have bought a diamond engagement ring before. So what are you gonna need to know in order to make an intelligent purchase?

Well the oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffet, probably said it best “If you don’t know diamonds, know your jeweler”. In this little blog post we are going to do our best to try to point you in the right direction on both! First for the jeweler part, I am the second generation of J.R.Dunn Jewelers and like my parents, I absolutely love what I do! My parents have been in this business for almost forty years and we would be honored for you to read the history of J.R.Dunn Jewelers to get to know us a little bit better.

As far as the shopping part goes, we are unlike most of the other stores selling engagement rings in South Florida. We want you to shop around and that includes online. In fact I have even written an article and done a podcast on how to buy a diamond made simple to make your comparison shopping a breeze. This should give you a pretty good head start and hopefully show you we are serious about competing on price and earning your business!

If you’d rather cut right to the chase, you can start browsing our huge selection of diamonds and designer engagement rings on J.R.Dunn’s website or just visit either of our two convenient South Florida locations below. We earnestly await you arrival!

LIGHTHOUSE POINT

4210 North Federal Highway
Lighthouse Point, Florida 33064

Open Monday to Saturday
from 10am to 6pm
Sunday from Noon to 5pm

tel: 954-782-5000
fax: 954-782-6904

Take I-95 to Sample Road East
Turn North (left) on Federal Highway US-1
Drive about 1/2 mile, we are on the right.

LAS OLAS BOULEVARD

401 Las Olas Boulevard, Suite 100
Bank of America Plaza
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301

Open Tues, Wed, Thurs and Sat.
from 10am to 6pm
Friday from 10am to 8pm
Closed Sunday, Monday

tel: 954-463-1799
fax: 954-463-6355

Take I-95 to Broward Blvd. exit East,
Turn on Andrews Ave South (right)
to Las Olas Blvd East (left), drive 1/2 blocks to the BANK of AMERICA Tower, Across from Timpano’s Restaurant.

South Florida, We’ve got the engagement ring for you!

Best Regards,

Sean

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Unique Engagement Ring Settings | Robert Pelliccia Designs

sean — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:39:20 +0000

Do you know exactly what you want in an engagement ring but haven’t seen it anywhere? – Unique engagement rings are a huge passion for us here at J.R.Dunn Jewelers. We are one of a handful of jewelers in the country who are actually able to design and manufacture platinum engagement rings from scratch right on our premises. Our studio team headed by award winning designer Robert Pelliccia utilize artistic ability, state of the art technology and old world craftsmanship to create the ring of your dreams.

How does creating the ring of your dreams work?

It all starts out with a beautifully rendered sketch to bring your ideas to life. The next step is to recreate the sketch in 3 dimensions on our sophisticated CAD software program. We then export the CAD file to our RTM machine which creates a wax model of your uniquely designed engagement ring with unmatched precision. If the model passes our strict quality control standards we then proceed to create the ring using lost wax casting methods. Once we have the rough casting, the engagement ring is hand polished, assembled and last but certainly not least the diamonds are carefully set by our artisans.

We look forward to making your dreams become a reality at with a spectacular engagement ring setting at JRDunn.com.

Portia de Rossi’s Engagement Ring | Ellen Gives Her Pink Diamonds

sean — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 19:01:57 +0000

According to an article on People.com, Ellen DeGeneres gave Portia de Rossi a gorgeous marquis cut diamond accented with pink diamonds for their upcoming “dream wedding”. The two have officially set a date but the rest of details about the wedding are still a secret. Portia and Ellen have dating now for over three years. Let’s hope we get a close up of Portia de Rossi’s new diamond ring on the Ellen Show soon!

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Diamond Empowerment Fund | Simmon’s Green Bracelet Headed for TV!

sean — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:22:44 +0000

Russell Simmons is continuing his strong push to raise awareness for the Diamond Empowerment Fund – Starting on Monday a PSA is headed for TV illustrating the good that diamonds can do for the people in Africa who live in the regions where the gems are found. This powerful video portrays a story of a child that begins when he was born, follows him through school and finally show him becoming a doctor a treating a patient because of the education he was able to receive.

To learn more about the Diamond Empowerment Fund please visit www.diamondempowerment.org. To inquire about the conflict free rough diamond green bracelet shown at the end of the video visit JRDunn.com.

Enjoy the Video

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Jewelry Trends 2008 | Final Report on JCK Las Vegas Show

sean — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:55:15 +0000

We’ll finally it’s over. Our team spent an unbelievable eight days on the the trade show floor finding just the right fine jewelry pieces and swiss watches to load up our showcases for the fall.

In my last report I noted organic jewelry as being particularly strong and this definitely was the case. But by the end of the show jewelry featuring black diamonds, black onyx or black sapphires stole the show. The designs were refreshing, avant-garde and even reasonable in price to boot. We started showing this a little bit last fall but this year it is going to be even bigger and the styles are traditional enough to last for some time to come.

Another emerging jewelry trend that we spotted was the combination of rose gold and white agate. I think by the time the New York show rolls around the Italians will be producing this look in full swing. It is so perfect for summertime wear, and once you see the pieces featured on JRDunn.com you’ll know exactly what I mean.

I just can’t wait till we get our new goodies in and hopefully our clients will be as thrilled as we are! And if there is anything else you’d like to see either in store or on our website please let us know!

Warm regards,

Sean

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon Married?

sean — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:36:05 +0000

Mariah was reportedly spotted wearing a 10 carat pink diamond ring with Nick by her side while promoting her film “Tennessee” at Tribeca. If the rumors are true this will be the second time Mariah has married and the first for Nick Cannon. There is a nasty rumor going around that Mariah’s new ring is the exact same diamond engagement ring that Nick gave Selita Ebanks while the two were an item. A close source quickly squashed this rumor and said while the rings were both from Jacob and Co. Mariah’s ring was completely custom created by Nick and Jacob from scratch. We wish Mariah and Nick the best of luck now send us some wedding pictures!

Woohooo! JRDunn.com orders up more than 61% in December.

sean — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 20:27:21 +0000

Thanks to our wonderful clientele and the JRDunn.com team. Great Job!

Press release:

JRDunn.com is pleased to announce a 61% increase in the number of orders shipped over last year for the month of December. The company saw strong growth across the board in all categories and is particularly pleased with the increase in demand for loose diamonds.

“As a whole, our company has not lost how important the diamond and bridal business is for jewelers. There are a lot of brick and mortar stores out there that are giving up on the engagement ring business due to fierce competition,” says Sean Dunn, founder of JRDunn.com. “We refuse to go down that route. We know the diamond business is where we make new clients and if you do your job right they’ll come back and shop with you for the Holidays. And thankfully, that is exactly what happened.”

While the privately held company declines to provide exact sales volume, management said their increase over 2006 was “sizable and seven figures.” Company executives went on to state that they expect to capture more market share in 2008 with continued double digit sales increases.

In addition to loose diamonds, JRDunn.com showcases over 30 designer jewelry brands on its website at www.jrdunn.com. Top brands include Tacori, Scott Kay, Roberto Coin and John Hardy. JRDunn.com offers clients the unique ability to shop top name brand designer engagement rings and purchase competitively priced certified diamonds without the traditional retail markup. For more information about JRDunn.com, visit the company’s website at www.jrdunn.com.

Two Dirtbags Buy $400K in Diamonds with Stolen Credit Card Info

sean — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 18:55:05 +0000

Two men used stolen credit card information to purchase $400k in diamonds according to diamonds.net. The men are from Queens, New York and targeted “Asian sounding” consumers saying they were from national credit services company Equifax. Many people ended up giving their credit card information and the two ended up purchasing about $400,000 in diamonds. The two men would intercept the shipment of diamonds at each card holders address.

New York police arrested the two men and they face 88 counts of fraud and criminal conduct charges.

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New Diamond and Designer Jewelry at J.R.Dunn Jewelers for 2007/2008

sean — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 18:10:10 +0000

Our fall merchandise has just arrived and I have to say I think our diamond and designer jewelry selection has never looked better. The jewlery trends this year were some of the most refreshing in at least a decade. From diamond hoop earrings to stacking 22kt gold bangles by Rhonda Faber Green to big bold gold from SeidenGang, J.R.Dunn Jewelers is overflowing with new baubles. So if you local please stop by and check it out, if not surf on over to JRDunn.com and shop till your hearts content! We earnestly wait your arrival.

Sincerely,

The Dunn’s