Jewelry

[Q4u]

One of my biggest complaints about Michael Dawkins jewelry was when I realized (through a jeweler friend I know) that what I thought was pretty much solid sterling silver actually was weighted inside with jeweler's metal.  I owned, at that time many pieces of his line.  It wasn't electroformed or filled with silicone.  I also understand that other metals are needed to make the sterling strong, however my jeweler friend was under the impression that far more jeweler's metal was being used than necessary in order to save on using the sterling silver and still have weight.  He also looked at my RLM silver pieces, which are also very heavy and he also did not consider them to be "weighted correctly"....   It's been interesting ..... and all are marked 925 Sterling Silver.  This was his personal opinion based on years in the business.....  

They're lovely, I love everything I have but am now suspicious regarding value = price....

One more thing.... I purchased a Michael Dawkins watch (nearly $200 at the time).  It was marked "Stainless Steel" on the back of the face and was advertised as having a "Stainless Steel" bracelet.  I made sure of this because base metals and I do not get along.  I will turn them in a week and have a jewelry rash where I wore it.  I started wearing it non-stop and although it took about a year.... the stainless steel outer shell on the bracelet started wearing off!  Seriously, there was another metal under what they advertised as stainless steel.  I'm assuming that it was some kind of stainless steel coating (electroplated?) .... and I'm sure it was legal but I couldn't wear it long term!  Where the plating wore off, my skin started reacting to it.  

I called customer service and complained after all it was advertised as a SS watch bracelet, not an electroplated Stainless over another metal.  They efficiently refunded my money and I returned the watch to them so they could "see" it.

So things are not cut and dry (totally honest?) with some of these manufacturers, who may well have looked at the watch and believed what was stamped on the bracelet and therefore wrote it down in the Description of the item....

But whatever.... we, as customers (who really have no formal education into these things) have to beware..... and it's HARD.   

[Justice4all]

False claims...

[pugsmom]

I could not disagree more with the OP.  I assume that the is referring to the new Taj pieces as the new arrivals.  I ordered all three (the pearl necklace, the earrings and the cuff.)  The quality on all three of these pieces is just what I have experienced and grown to expect from the JAI pieces.  Perhaps the OP is mixing up the meanings of the word "quality" with the word "oxidized."  It is true that these pieces are less oxidized than most of the JAI pieces, but that is because the design of this particular collection is high polished.   I like the fact that the JAI collections are all different and unique.  The Taj cuff is nice and solid, and the carving is beautiful in person.  Often pictures and videos do not show the beauty of the pieces, so the OP would have no way of knowing how beautiful the cuff actually is.  The earrings are  a work of art.  I absolutely love them.  The necklace is a smaller scale piece, but I feel that that was done purposefully.  I love the JAI line, and I feel that the shows are not aired nearly enough.  I hope that anyone who reads this post and has not yet ordered a piece will find a piece that you love, order it, and see for yourself that the opinion expressed by the OP is not fact based.  

[Justice4all]

@pugsmom

i agree that the pictures never do justice to the actual pieces.

[Zefra]

Pugsmom: I was not referring to the TAJ pieces. If you type in JAI under search and then sort the JAI items by "new arrivals and find the new JAI Sterling Bold Sukhothai Ring, item nr. J331248. Design is pretty subjective, but that is a cheap looking design compared to their previous designs of a year or two ago. Just my opinion, but I notice a big change in style. Now to quality. John Hardy, Angela by John Hardy (previous designer on QVC right before JAI came to QVC), and JAI by John Hardy, all made heavy, substantial sterling pieces. Since John Hardy pulled his name from the line not long ago, JAI has not been the same. These new pieces are either very lite weight or heavy because they are electraformed silver, hollowed out and filled with resin to make them feel substantial. It's much cheaper to make jewelry that way, but JAI didn't start doing that until very recently. Some people like the new jewelry based on reviews. I'm glad because the gentleman who presents the line is a genuinely nice guy and I would hate for him to be out of a job. I myself miss the earlier design styles and heft of the sterling pieces, but as other reviewers stated, there are other great places to shop for indonesian / asian sterling.

[sparklestar]

@ms traditional thank you soooo much ... I'm wanting that bracelet so bad.  I'm glad you wrote your review.

[ms traditional]

@sparklestar  it is a beautiful bracelet - i don't tire of it.  i hope you feel the same way if you end up getting it at some point.

[Justice4all]

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@Zefra wrote:

Pugsmom: I was not referring to the TAJ pieces. If you type in JAI under search and then sort the JAI items by "new arrivals and find the new JAI Sterling Bold Sukhothai Ring, item nr. J331248. Design is pretty subjective, but that is a cheap looking design compared to their previous designs of a year or two ago. Just my opinion, but I notice a big change in style. Now to quality. John Hardy, Angela by John Hardy (previous designer on QVC right before JAI came to QVC), and JAI by John Hardy, all made heavy, substantial sterling pieces. Since John Hardy pulled his name from the line not long ago, JAI has not been the same. These new pieces are either very lite weight or heavy because they are electraformed silver, hollowed out and filled with resin to make them feel substantial. It's much cheaper to make jewelry that way, but JAI didn't start doing that until very recently. Some people like the new jewelry based on reviews. I'm glad because the gentleman who presents the line is a genuinely nice guy and I would hate for him to be out of a job. I myself miss the earlier design styles and heft of the sterling pieces, but as other reviewers stated, there are other great places to shop for indonesian / asian sterling.

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I have countless pieces of jai, none of which are electroform or filled with resin.  The back grills are beautiful and show the composition.   Some are quite hefty, if you like that.  Others are more dainty, which I like because I have a small wrist and like the comfort of 'not too heavy'.

[sparklestar]

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@ms traditional wrote:

@sparklestar  it is a beautiful bracelet - i don't tire of it.  i hope you feel the same way if you end up getting it at some point.

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Thanks.  I was waiting for it to go on EZ pay and now all sizes are on waitlist.  I hope they bring in more.

[Debzzz]

I have some recent purchases from a JAI, they are no different quality from from previous purchases. Seems OP likes to be negative, it gets her a lot of attention from the like minded. She also likes to body shame other women and hosts. She has zero credibility.