Jewelry

[smarty]

On 4/6/2014 LuckyPeach said:

On 4/5/2014 smarty said:

On 4/5/2014 LuckyPeach said:

On 4/5/2014 ennui1 said:

On 4/5/2014 LuckyPeach said:

In short, it's AN ART THING!

Yes. The art of the deal.

Ripkanistas: This quote was taken out of context from post #105 where I was speaking in detail about Judith's artistic creativity and use of materials, not business. ~Peach

Lucky Peach, I find the "ignore user" button to be priceless...and I might add, that I can only see this particular user when they are quoted in a response (like yours here within). I have found this thread far more pleasant to read without all of the usual obnoxious commentary. I have a few more users who I have ignored because of this thread. I do find it comical that people who profess to dislike Ripka and her jewelry spend an awful lot of time making commentary to that fact. Me thinks they protest too much....a little green goddess envy, in my opinion! Peach, keep on rocking your Ripka and take the high road!

Smarty, thank-you for the perfect and very sound advice. And on your last line, will do! Same to you... I even enjoy keeping a couple of her pieces out here next to me on the computer desk as art objects, and rotate them often. Best regards~Peach

PS~I see from your reviews that you are also a JR pearl lover. I wanted to let you know that when the recent flattened, rounded Baroque pearl toggle necklace was introduced, I was entranced but waited as usual. Your review helped me put it at the top of my JR Wishlist and I finally received it last week. OMG, what a stunner!! I haven't reviewed it yet (major, major backlog) but hope you'll consider copying your informative product page reviews to the monthly all review thread. Such a unique, outstanding necklace...!

Thanks! I adore that necklace...it is a real bargain in my humble opinion...the pearls are OUTSTANDING and the toggle is so fun. My other new love is the three "pillow" station black spinel cuff...I will look up the item number. ETA item#:J284980. It was a lunchtime special, now on clearance. The finish is rather matte and looks fresh.

[BesottedwithEskies]

Wonder why someone from Ripka hasn't posted on the boards.

[samigini]

Because nothing has changed. Judith Ripka still will be designing/making her jewelry for her own site and for for the Q. She still owns her stores and her website. That part is not going away. You can still order (if you have her recent catalog of items) from her reps or purchase from one of her stores/online at Judithripka.com.

She just sold her "name" to expand her "line". I remember when some Ripkanistas said Judith should make sunglasses, purses etc. This deal is going to let her do just that. That's why she's only getting $22.5 million for this right now plus some more cash down the line. Don't forget she also is receiving 551,000 common shares of Xcel stock.

Not sure why everyone is in such a dither over this. I suppose how this was reported was just very confusing.

Hope this helps everyone relax a bit.

[motherinlaw]

Having just placed an order for some JR2....I can truthfully tell you that only what is currently in her latest catalogs can be ordered. Nothing from last Fall's catalogs that have not transferred over to the current catalogs can be ordered. This was asked again and again by my retailer and the answer was the same. Only items in the recent catalogs (SS and l8K) can be special ordered.

Thanks for the clarification, samigini. This helps very much.

[judyakm]

On 4/8/2014 tk1234 said:

On 4/5/2014 Favorite Son said:

I have read some of these posts again and though I am not surprised at some of what I see, it is a little dismaying. Judith created this line and worked very hard at it for over 30 years. She made some really great jewelry, made a lot of us very happy with what we bought, and over the past several years we've probably been less pleased with far too many pieces from the line.

But that doesn't mean she owes any of us anything. Despite all of the idiotic, mean spirited things that have been said about her on these boards over the past year every time she came to QVC, it is pretty obvious to someone who would look at her objectively (not with the jaded eye of someone who envies her success or is unable to buy at current prices), that Judith really values her customers. But at the end of the day, SHE did the work. We just bought the product. I don't really believe there is anyone else in her family who has the artistic talent to carry on the line as she has created it. So it makes sense for her, financially and personally, to step out now in a manner that enables her to stay on and work with a design team that might, just might, be able to carry on with the brand. She is entitled to enjoy the fruits of her labor. It is a business, not an indentured servitude.

Thank you for the sanity check! I wondered if I were the only person who had these thoughts.

Not alone; ditto for me....I don't care at all about it. I love my "stuff" and find myself gravitating toward JR2 on ebay or outlets or personal selling because the price differential has shrunken so much with the Q pricing so high. If the Q continues to bring out new things and Judith continues to sell them, I will look but not likely buy much. If more stuff comes out with her name on it, I will buy what I like, if any, and not buy if I do not like....just fine with me.

[samigini]

On 4/9/2014 motherinlaw said:

Having just placed an order for some JR2....I can truthfully tell you that only what is currently in her latest catalogs can be ordered. Nothing from last Fall's catalogs that have not transferred over to the current catalogs can be ordered. This was asked again and again by my retailer and the answer was the same. Only items in the recent catalogs (SS and l8K) can be special ordered.

Thanks for the clarification, samigini. This helps very much.

You are very welcome Motherinlaw! )

The silver collections available boil down to Estste, Ambrosia, Classic, Dark Nite, Bright Nite, Mercer, Gothic, Candy, Arabesque, Downtown and a smattering of La Petite and a few others. No price increases for now either it seems. Authorized retailers and clients can only special order from the current catalogs.

Toodles

[Squirrel Lover]

My favorite Judith collection is her JR2 Fontaine collection. I have several pieces from this collection and it is what I where the most. I just bought another JR2 Fontaine heart enhancer in green quartz. I already have the enhancer in blue topaz and canary crystal. It is large with lots of gold and real diamonds on it. I just love it. I got it on ebay for $160!

[Maxine49]

On 4/5/2014 Favorite Son said:

I have read some of these posts again and though I am not surprised at some of what I see, it is a little dismaying. Judith created this line and worked very hard at it for over 30 years. She made some really great jewelry, made a lot of us very happy with what we bought, and over the past several years we've probably been less pleased with far too many pieces from the line.

But that doesn't mean she owes any of us anything. Despite all of the idiotic, mean spirited things that have been said about her on these boards over the past year every time she came to QVC, it is pretty obvious to someone who would look at her objectively (not with the jaded eye of someone who envies her success or is unable to buy at current prices), that Judith really values her customers. But at the end of the day, SHE did the work. We just bought the product. I don't really believe there is anyone else in her family who has the artistic talent to carry on the line as she has created it. So it makes sense for her, financially and personally, to step out now in a manner that enables her to stay on and work with a design team that might, just might, be able to carry on with the brand. She is entitled to enjoy the fruits of her labor. It is a business, not an indentured servitude.

Very well said, FS, I completely agree!

[TerriManz]

No surprise to me! The QVC prices have gone up considerably and the quality has gone down. She is a multi-millionaire and it's all business to her. She has made millions from QVC and she will stay on the Q for the next 5 years until she gets all of her money. Case in point, when Christine Carlino of Philosophy sold the company to Neutrogena. She stayed on and then when Coty purchased Philosophy she was on air maybe once or twice and then bye bye Christina!! Ripka will do the exact same thing! Mark my word!

[Maxine49]

On 4/9/2014 TerriManz said:

No surprise to me! The QVC prices have gone up considerably and the quality has gone down. She is a multi-millionaire and it's all business to her. She has made millions from QVC and she will stay on the Q for the next 5 years until she gets all of her money. Case in point, when Christine Carlino of Philosophy sold the company to Neutrogena. She stayed on and then when Coty purchased Philosophy she was on air maybe once or twice and then bye bye Christina!! Ripka will do the exact same thing! Mark my word!

And she will be 77 years old by then---and your point is what exactly? Should she stay until YOU decide it is time for her to retire? Seriously?!