Jewelry in New York City

Jewelry: New York hosts some of the world's most famous jewelry stores (Tiffany's, Cartier), jewelry designers, discount jewelry stores, and the famous Diamond District.

TYPHint on Sidewalk Vendors: Basically, don't buy expensive jewelry, cameras and watches from sidewalk vendors unless you want to take home an expensive souvenir. There is a saying: "If the bargain looks too good to be true, it's not true." Most "designer" watches are counterfeit or stolen, gold jewelry is plated silver, and diamonds are zircons. Cameras come without warranty or are packaged wrong.

Sidewalk vendors offer good bargains in inexpensive handcrafted jewelry, imported silk scarves (but never designer) and leather goods, books, and they often offer a good buy in an umbrella or inexpensive watch.

Jewelry Measures:

Sterling silver = .925 silver, a mark used in the USA and the UK, along with various "hallmarks" stamped into the silver (and better silverplate) to identify the maker.
Much silver from India is 900 which means 90% silver. Much antique European silver was 825 or 82.5 % silver.
Sheffield silver plate is a special thick silver coating on a base of copper alloy.

12 karat = 50% gold content
24 karat = 100% gold but is rarely used for jewelry or coins because it is too soft.
Gold-filled = substantial layer of gold over a base metal. Difficult to scratch through gold.
Gold-plate = very thin layer of gold over a base metal. Easy to scratch through gold. Found in better quality watches, tableware and costume jewelry.

Measures of gem stones:
Diamonds and gem stones are measured by weight in "karats." Most jewelry has individual diamonds below a quarter of a karat. The price of diamonds rises almost exponentially with size and quality. 1/5 of a karat of a Grade A diamond costs only $900 at wholesale, one karat costs between $9,000 and $12,000. Don't be fooled by the statement: "More than 1 karat of diamonds" - this statement usually refers to the total weight of all the diamonds in the piece of jewelry.