REVIEWS Please post Judith Ripka December 2014 REVIEWS here... :)

LuckyPeach · ‎03-09-2010

Another slow start...for those of you who are aware, SoCal has been in a serious drought situation for years and we had a monster rainstorm the beginning of this month. Had to really batten down the hatches. Rain here is not like rain in the Chicago area where I lived most of my life; it is more like a monsoon, relentless and damaging, especially since the terrain isn't flat like the Midwest and the rain doesn't soak into the ground very well. And buildings here are not well-built for the most part, so they don't stand up to the weather like they should. Anyway, we survived and really needed the rain.

The premise of this thread is simple: REVIEW AFTER REVIEW AFTER REVIEW. And everything Judith Ripka counts, not just JRQ designs. This means in addition to JRQ new designs, older pieces, TSV, OTO, Lunchtime Specials, Insider, Last Clicks, clearance, "As Is," Limited Quantity and While Supplies Last, included are Judith Ripka couture from her New York boutiques and Long Island outlet (see her website for details) and JudithRipka dot com. Also elite retailers and their websites including Bloomingdales, Saks, Neiman Marcus and Last Call dot com. Plus independent jewelers and their websites. And if you can find anything left at Sam's Club...and other websites including RuLaLa, Gilt, Bluefly and Ideel. Finally, Over There (major auction site) for more than 6,000 listings and Ripkanista-to-Ripkanista trading.

Photos are VERY WELCOME!! And if you are reviewing a JR design from the Q, please include the Q's J-number. With Judith's Q inventory evening out around 3,000 J-numbers, it is becoming very hard to be positive which piece is being reviewed by description only. This also allows the Ripkanista to open a second window to the product review page for more info., hopefully a video presentation and additional reviews.

So, please share your JR experiences, great, good and not-so-fantastic. And if you find something nice which goes with JR, please add that review, too. Sometimes it is nice to bump up a JR piece by mixing it with a cool find. Thanks~Peach

lovemyroses · ‎03-10-2010

Dear Lucky Peach, Glad that you are getting much needed rain, hopefully it will continue, but in a more gentle way. Last week I purchased J-290958 the aventurine bead inserts, J290953 the clad status link inserts, J-290959 the chalcedony bead inserts and J-290957 the lapis bead inserts to go with the clad pearl system necklace I purchased last spring. All are beautiful and good quality. The colors of the lapis beads are intense with pyrite throughout. The chalcedony and aventurine are both translucent with the chalcedony being a deep rich green and the aventurine being a softer lighter green. All work well with the system and are a blast to try all of the new looks with. These were great deals at the new clearance price. I also purchased J-295371 14k 18" byzantine necklace on clearance, a good price, good quality and looks great on. With the Ripka shows next week coming up, I may just be watching, but so glad to have all of the great inserts for my necklace. Enjoy next weeks shows. Smile

donnaluby · ‎03-10-2010

Hi LuckyPeach, hope you are doing well inspire of the drought in S. Calif. Hope you enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday.

I recently received the beads for the interchangeable pearl necklace -- j290956 in green chalcedony. It is a very pretty deep green and looks great with a retired JR green chalcedony bead necklace. It also looks great with my green goddess pieces so I think it is very versatile. Glad I got it on clearance. Did you get anything new from JR. Hope you enjoy the holidays. donna

LuckyPeach · ‎03-09-2010

REVIEW: J290957 Clad Lapis 10mm bead inserts, two inserts (meant to be used with J290468, JR's convertible pearl necklace but the two 13 3/4" lengths of beads can be used alone by connecting them for a length of about 27")

Grade: B-

Yea: adds to versatility of the convertible necklace; small necks/wrists can wear as single choker or double-wrapped bracelet.

Boo: quality issues of Lapis, tons of Calcite rings, roughness; pricey.

Value (1=low;10=high): 4

I really, really, really wanted to love this set of two Lapis 10mm bead inserts (approximately 13 3/4" length each) with push-open clad links on the ends to add to Judith's FANTASTIC convertible pearl necklace set (J290468). Not only could it play with the necklace set, but also could be worn on its own with the two inserts linked together. And, for those who have thin necks and small wrists, an insert could be worn as a choker (my 12 1/2" neck *just* makes it so the clad links sit in the hollow) or worn doubled as a bracelet (5 1/2-3/4" inch wrist).

Alas, the Lapis beads themselves were not as expected. Lots of whitish Calcite everywhere on each bead, some ringed even! And a couple of beads had globs on them and lacked polish in those areas. I was unlucky in that I received only one length of Lapis beads and they weren't as expected. I have returned for exchange in hopes of receiving two lengths of beads without all the white Calcite. My beads also had some of the very desirable gold flecks but those were heavily outranked by the white. The Lapis was a beautiful rich deep blue, however. I did notice in the newest JRQ inventory there is a Lapis bead necklace on its own. If you enlarge it, you will see the whitish Calcite I am describing. I think for the pricing, the beads should be solid blue with only gold flecks. If I am able to receive a replacement (95 percent of the time, this works out), I will review again. ~Peach