Jack Lewis Jewelers | the blog – We write about what that piece of jewelry means…

Blingfest VI

Blingfest returns to Jack Lewis Jewelers from Friday, March 23 – Sunday, March 25, and it’s once again poised to be the premiere diamond, engagement ring and wedding band shopping event in Central Illinois this year.

To refresh your memory: as a rule, when it comes to how many shapes and sizes of jewelry we can carry in-house on a given day, space constraints force us to draw the line somewhere.

So what is Blingfest? Blingfest obliterates that line.

For one weekend only we’re making space and offering you the following:

hundreds more loose diamonds than normal (which means lower prices)
hundreds more rings and wedding bands than normal (which also means lower prices)
36-months interest free financing, which is a full 2 years longer than normal, and the longest financing option we’ve ever offered…….OR…..10% off your entire purchase of any regularly-priced Blingfest merchandise.

This is all stuff we don’t usually offer in the store, so that’s why it’s essential you flip your mental switch into “Blingfest Buying Mode”…because once the weekend is over, we have to scale back down again.

As if that’s not enough, we’re bringing back these popular offers for Blingfest:

Any engagement ring purchase during Blingfest gets you a free engagement photo session (if you want to take advantage of it)
Any engagement ring purchase during Blingfest gets you free access to our Ring Cam box and/or our Pic Ninja program, should you want to capture your proposal via hidden camera!
Wedding bands will be 15% off.
There’ll be a special section of diamonds and engagement rings priced at 50% off, while they last…

(…oh, and the discount offers can’t be combined. Sorry.)

And we’ll also be resurrecting our Facebook gift certificate giveaways, featuring 10 different winners and $2,000 worth of freebies. The big drawings will happen Friday morning (March 23), so if you’re reading this after March 19 but before March 23, you still have time to go find the appropriate thread on the Jack Lewis Facebook page and comment in it for your chance to win.

So get busy living and get busy Blingfesting on March 23, 24 and 25. Come in ready to make some amazing purchases. If you know it’s time to propose but have been dragging your feet, Blingfest is a good reason to finally come get the diamond. If you’re ready to buy an engagement ring but don’t think you can afford it, you’ll be able to afford it at Blingfest. If you’ve spent months unsuccessfully looking for a specific diamond, or ring, or band, or diamond ring band…you will succeed in finding it at Blingfest.

There’ll be all kinds of diamonds, all kinds of rings, of all shapes and sizes, at all kinds of prices. Blingfest is like a jewelry warehouse exploded in our showroom. Blingfest is when the roof opens up and it starts raining extra diamonds, extra rings, and longer financing in our showroom. Blingfest is the 3-day supercharged, powerhouse, monster truck version of Jack Lewis, ready to hulk smash you right in the face with more bling in our showroom than you can possibly imagine. You think you can imagine it. You’re wrong. You can’t.

Whichever phase of Blingfest grabs your attention most, remember that it’s for one weekend only…

Friday, March 23^rd from 9:30am – 7:00pm

Saturday, March 24^th from 9:30am – 7:00pm

Sunday, March 25^th from 10:00am – 5:00pm

So get Blingfest on the calendar. Snapchat your friends about Blingfest. Text your enemies at 3am about Blingfest. Instagram a #nofilter of you overnight camping outside Jack Lewis waiting for Blingfest. We don’t do stuff like this very often, so we promise it’ll be worth it.

See you at Blingfest!

The Search for the Secret Ruby

On Friday night (Nov. 17), 200 boxes will be stacked inside Jack Lewis Jewelers. Each box contains a prize, but 1 box contains the Secret Ruby…and whichever woman finds it gets to choose & take home a piece of Roberto Coin jewelry…for free!

It’s “The Search for the Secret Ruby,” a uniquely mysterious, fashionably fun, ladies-only evening featuring the jewelry of Roberto Coin, hosted at JackLewis Jewelers. The search begins at 6pm, box selection starts at 7pm, and once everyone in attendance has a box, we’ll open them all at the same time, revealing the winner in one exciting moment!

We’ll have food & ruby-tinis on-hand, plus we’re including a TON of other giveaways & incentives Friday night…so ladies, TAG your girlfriends and bring a crew, because this will be the fun girls night out you won’t want to miss.

Need more info? Check out all the details below:

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First, here’s all the extra incentives we’ll have going Friday night:

Squad Goals – if you arrive in a group comprised of at least 3 women, each of you gets a $50 Jack Lewis gift card. Yep, just for showing up & trying on jewelry with a group of your girlfriends, you’ll each get gift cards. You can use it that night, or you can use it over the next few weeks. It’s up to you. You just have to use it by the end of the year. So tag your tribe, because that’s a pretty cool incentive.

Model Photoshoots – there’s gonna be some legit Roberto Coin jewelry in-store Friday night. We want you to have fun trying it on, so we’ll have a professional photographer on-hand to take high-quality pictures of you as you have fun modeling the jewelry. These pics can be sent to you…or better yet, we can add them to your Wish List File and forward them to whichever special someone might be looking to buy you some presents this holiday season. After all, men don’t always know what to get you. So imagine how much easier their shopping will be when you can show them how great you already look wearing it.

15% off anything you decide to buy that night. Getting pictures taken and completing a Photo Wish List is awesome, but if you love it so much that you need it right now, it’ll be 15% off Friday only. (excludes Rolex and Alex & Ani.)

Food, Drinks & Music. We know this event kinda runs through the dinner hour, so we’re having plenty of amazing food catered-in, along with beverages (including our special Ruby-tini), and a high-energy soundtrack pumped through the speakers. It’ll be a party.

So in addition to the headlining contest, we’re creating an evening full of fun for your squad to get prizes, try on jewelry, and be fashion models at Jack Lewis! But as for the contest…

Here’s how “The Search for the Secret Ruby” contest will work:

We’ll begin accepting contestants at 6pm Friday night. You’re free to arrive anytime between 6p – 7p, but there’s an incentive to arrive early (more on that in a minute). So starting at 6pm, we’ll give you a number based on the order in which you arrived. Once you get your number, you can start ‘searching’ for the boxes that will be stacked in clusters around the showroom. During this period, don’t touch the boxes, don’t take a box, and definitely don’t open a box! This ‘searching’ is a fun time for you to walk around and see where all the boxes are, get the lay of the land (so to speak), so you can identify which one “feels like your lucky box.” Also during this time (6p-7p, as everyone is arriving), we hope you’ll have a drink, shop around, try on some jewelry, get your pictures taken, and make a Wish List! But again, please don’t touch, take, or open a box during this time.

At 7:00, we’ll gather everyone’s attention, and make an announcement that it’s time to start selecting boxes! We’ll dismiss you in groups according to your numbers, and you’ll get to go pick your lucky box at this point. So for example, we’ll start with numbers 1-10, and let those 10 women go choose a box. When they’re done, we’ll release women with numbers 11-20 to choose their box, and so on…until all the women in attendance have chosen a box. Do not open your box! Please just hang onto it and wait until everyone has a box…

Once everyone in attendance has a box, we’ll do a dramatic countdown and you’ll all open your boxes at the same time! This should be a fun way to reveal the winner! If you have the Secret Ruby in your box, you win!

But here’s the fun part. We don’t know how many women will be in attendance. I mean, we hope 200 women show up, but it’s very possible we’ll have more boxes than women…which means it’s possible that during our first round of box-opening, no one finds the Secret Ruby! So that’s where arriving early and securing a low number becomes important. Because the women with the lowest numbers will be the first to choose another box! So we’ll release numbers 1-10 again, then 11-20 if needed, and so on if needed…and during this second round, you’ll open your box as soon as you’ve chosen it! We’ll do this until someone finds the Secret Ruby!

THE PRIZES…

Inside each box will be a prize of some kind. Some boxes will contain Alex & Ani jewelry, while other boxes will contain Jack Lewis gift cards. So even if you don’t find the Secret Ruby, you won’t be leaving empty-handed!

But for the lucky woman whose box contains the Secret Ruby, you’ll then get to choose a piece of breath-taking Roberto Coin jewelry from a select group of 3-5 pieces, which we will have on display. You can pick whichever piece you like best! And it’ll be yours, for free, to take home with you Friday night!

That’s it! Sounds like a fun girls night out, right!

We’ll explain most of that again on Friday night when you and your girlfriends arrive, but we wanted to give you a detailed rundown in advance, so you know exactly what you can expect. The contest portion should probably be wrapped up by 7:30, but after that, we’ll stick around until about 9pm so you can continue to shop, try on jewelry, snack, drink Ruby-tinis, make Wish Lists and buy some jewelry!

See you Friday night at Jack Lewis starting at 6pm for “The Search for the Secret Ruby”!

The Mighty 90

We’re celebrating our 90th birthday by offering you a shopping spree like nothing we’ve ever done before.

Starting at 11am each day, you have 90 minutes Friday (Sept 15)…and then another 90 minutes on Saturday (Sept 16). During those 90 minutes, 90% of our store will be up to 70% off. Seriously.

The “10% exception” is Rolex, but everything else…if it’s out in the cases, it’ll be part of the celebration, which means it’ll be somewhere between 50% – 70% off. All of it. Every visible piece.

But only this Friday & Saturday. And only for 90 minutes each day (from 11am – 12:30pm). So make plans to be in line….we’ll open at 11am sharp Friday and Saturday.

Additionally, just for coming out, you’ll be able to pop a balloon for a chance to win a pair of diamond studs, Jack Lewis gift cards, or extra discounts! (While balloons last)

It’s our 90th birthday, but you get all the presents. The Mighty 90 happens this weekend at Jack Lewis!

More info:

The store will not open until 11am each day (Friday & Saturday). So if you’re outside waiting to get in, please form a line that wraps toward the bank (in the opposite direction of the bread store, so we’re not getting in their way.)

When you get in line, you’ll receive a colored index card which guarantees your entry into the celebration and places you in a group that determines the order in which our staff will assist the next customer in the event of a busy rush or a confusing situation about who’s ‘next in line’ to be helped.

As long as you’re inside the store (or, depending on the crowd, outside the store but in line waiting to come in) at 12:30pm, we will still honor the 50% – 70% off discounts on your purchases, even if it’s, for example, after 1pm by the time you get to the checkout counter.

No rainchecks. Nor can we hold things for you on Friday so you can come back and buy it during the Saturday block.

Also, just for super extreme clarity, as mentioned above, the 50% – 70% off discounts only apply to whatever non-Rolex jewelry is out in the cases on the days of the celebration. If we’ve decided not to make certain pieces of jewelry part of the celebration, we’ll just leave them in the back and won’t bring them out front during these 90 minute periods. But don’t worry. We’ll still have plenty of amazing jewelry out in the cases, and lots of it.

Blingfest V

Blingfest returns to Jack Lewis Jewelers from Thursday, August 24 – Sunday, August 27, and it’s once again poised to be the premiere diamond, engagement ring and wedding band shopping event in Central Illinois this year.

To refresh your memory: as a rule, when it comes to how many shapes and sizes of jewelry we can carry in-house on a given day, space constraints force us to draw the line somewhere.

So what is Blingfest? Blingfest obliterates that line.

For one weekend only we’re making space and offering you the following:

hundreds more loose diamonds than normal (which means lower prices)
hundreds more rings and wedding bands than normal (which also means lower prices)
36-months interest free financing, which is a full 2 years longer than normal, and the longest financing option we’ve ever offered…….OR…..10% off your entire purchase of any regularly-priced Blingfest merchandise.

As if that’s not enough, we’re bringing back these popular offers for Blingfest:

Any engagement ring purchase during Blingfest gets you a free engagement photo session (if you want to take advantage of it)
Any engagement ring purchase during Blingfest gets you free access to our Ring Cam box and/or our Pic Ninja program, should you want to capture your proposal on video via hidden camera!
Wedding bands will be 20% off.
There’ll be a special section of diamonds and engagement rings priced at 50% off, while they last…

(…oh, and the discount offers can’t be combined. Sorry.)

And starting Monday, Aug. 21st we’ll also be resurrecting our Facebook gift certificate giveaways, featuring 10 different winners and $2,000 worth of freebies. The contest post will go live on Monday, Aug. 21st and the big drawings will happen Friday morning (August 25), so if you’re reading this after Aug. 21 but before Aug. 25, you still have time to go find the appropriate thread on the Jack Lewis Facebook page and comment in it for your chance to win.

So get busy living and get busy Blingfesting on August 24, 25, 26, and 27. Come in ready to make some amazing purchases. If you know it’s time to propose but have been dragging your feet, Blingfest is a good reason to finally come get the diamond. If you’re ready to buy an engagement ring but don’t think you can afford it, you’ll be able to afford it at Blingfest. If you’ve spent months unsuccessfully looking for a specific diamond, or ring, or band, or diamond ring band…you will succeed in finding it at Blingfest.

There’ll be all kinds of diamonds, all kinds of rings, of all shapes and sizes, at all kinds of prices. Blingfest is like a jewelry warehouse exploded in our showroom. Blingfest is when the roof opens up and it starts raining extra diamonds, extra rings, and longer financing in our showroom. Blingfest is the 4-day supercharged, powerhouse, monster truck version of Jack Lewis, ready to hulk smash you right in the face with more bling in our showroom than you can possibly imagine. You think you can imagine it. You’re wrong. You can’t.

Whichever phase of Blingfest grabs your attention most, remember that it’s for one weekend only…

Thursday, August 24th from 9:30am – 7:00pm

Friday, August 25th from 9:30am – 7:00pm

Saturday, August 26^th from 9:30am – 7:00pm

Sunday, August 27^th from 10:00am – 5:00pm

See you at Blingfest!

Made for Mom Workshop

Psst… hey Dads. You need a Mother’s Day idea. We have one for you. Check this out.

Thursday through Saturday, we have little assembly stations set up around the store where your kids can come in and make a piece of jewelry for Mom. There’s cords, beads, stickers, cardboard, crayons…all the fun stuff that goes into awesome kid-made jewelry.

And when they’re finished, we’ll wrap it up in a Jack Lewis box and make it look official.

Imagine Mom’s face on Sunday morning when she’s given a Jack Lewis box, and she opens it to find a little bracelet or necklace handmade by her kids.

Admit it, you’re getting misty-eyed just thinking about it. It’s pretty much the greatest Mother’s Day gift idea in the history of ever.

And it’s completely free. Seriously. No games. No purchase necessary. This whole Made for Mom Workshop idea is totally and absolutely free. The piece of jewelry they make with the beads and cords will be free. The official Jack Lewis box we’ll wrap it in will be free.

Just bring your kids in and have some fun creating a card and a piece of jewelry for Mom.

Honestly, there’s no combination of gifts in the world that can adequately reward a Mom for all she’s done. But we hope these inadequate gifts can bring a smile to your Mom’s face because of the loving spirit behind them.

Happy Mother’s Day from Jack Lewis Jewelers!

Erica Courtney

Erica Courtney, jeweler to the stars, will be in-store at Jack Lewis Jewelers this Thursday thru Saturday (May 4 – 6)! It’s a free opportunity to meet a world famous designer, admire her incredible creations, and take a selfie with her like you would if you met any other celebrity!

Plus Thursday night, May 4th will be a special Ladies’ Night Event starting at 6pm. And you’re invited!

Erica personally travels the globe to find the finest colored stones and makes them the centerpieces of her amazing designs. Every angle of every piece is carefully planned and every detail is hand finished. You will simply be amazed.

Her jewelry has graced such stars as Sandra Bullock, Jessica Alba, and Sofia Vergara. Her pieces have starred in The Academy Awards, The Golden Globes, America’s Got Talent, Dancing With The Stars, and American Idol so…she’s kind of a big deal!

Put the 4th, 5th & 6th on your calendar and come meet one of the most talented jewelry designers in the world!

Cut to the Chase (part 2)

by John Carter

Buying finished jewelry is so different than buying loose diamonds, mainly because our diamond buying is a year-long process. We are constantly searching for diamonds, whether it be something specific that a client has asked to see, or just something that we need to meet our day-to-day inventory needs.

Because of this never-ending search for perfect diamonds, our ability to spot the good ones remains pretty sharp. I’ve always said that a really well-cut diamond has a sort of “it factor,” meaning after you’ve seen enough of them, you just know the special ones with a glance. When it takes your breath away—right away—that’s the one.

When I closed Part I of this blog, I promised you that we would discuss exactly what goes into making a diamond an AGS Ideal® cut. How do you tell the difference? And is it worth the extra money? I stressed out so much about living up to my promise that I reached out to my good friends at American Gem Society Laboratories to make sure I kept it all straight. So here we go:

What exactly is “cut” as it relates to diamonds? The American Gem Society (AGS) and AGS Laboratories say, “The cut of a diamond refers to how well the facets of a diamond interact with light, the proportions of the diamond, and the overall finish of the diamond.” (Source: americangemsociety.org/en/diamond-cut)

Facets, light interaction, proportions, and finish may seem like small things, but their influence on the beauty of a diamond is enormous. AGS makes it really easy to understand with their 0 to 10 grading system, with zero (0) being the highest cut grade (ideal) a diamond can receive and 10 being the lowest. However, this apparent simplicity is deceptive because it requires very careful analysis of all things that make up that diamond.

It used to be that diamonds were “cut graded” primarily by their proportions, but AGS revolutionized diamond grading in 2005 when they released their long-awaited Light Performance Cut Grading System.

This method uses patented software technology to measure the attributes that are most important to the beauty of your diamond: Brightness, Fire (spectral color), and Contrast. The combined impact of these factors is what breathes life into your diamond and makes it sparkle! In other words, they are the secret ingredients of the “it factor” that I mentioned above.

The AGS Grading Scale, based on a 0 to 10 scale, makes grades easier to understand. 0 means the cut grade is the best it can be.

Because every facet is considered, every cutting mistake and design flaw can impact the final Cut Grade. Consequently, the AGS Performance Cut Grade system is the most technologically advanced and scientifically rigorous system in the world and represents the highest standards in cut grading.

These ranges make it easier to understand, but I’ve seen more than my share of clients get caught up in these numbers, and they forget to ask themselves one thing: how does the diamond actually look? Is it bright and sparkly with a lot of life? Yes? Then don’t let one number encourage you to cast a pretty diamond onto the scrap pile.

What’s really cool from a gemologist’s point of view is that the same technology used to compute the Cut Grade also produces a color coded image of the diamond which allows you to understand its light performance.

The above is called an ASET image. ASET stands for Angular Spectrum Evaluation Tool. (There will be a test later, haha.) For customers like you, this is a crucial piece of technology because it demonstrates the way light interacts with your diamond. It’s much easier to see and understand a diamond’s beauty through this image than to listen to a scientific explanation, right? We can show you your diamond’s ASET image right at Jack Lewis, and you can even snap a picture of it to carry around with you or share on social media.

Additionally, The ASET shows the “optical symmetry” of your diamond. For example, in the image above, the eight symmetrical arrows prove that the diamond was cut with a high degree of craftsmanship and artistry.

The simple fact remains that while what we do isn’t the most complicated job on the planet, it really does take a scientific approach and an educated eye to do all of the above. A life spent in the diamond business can teach the right grader, gemologist, or diamond buyer the skills they need to be able to make proper decisions and assign the right grades which determines the right price.

The average consumer looking to find just the right diamond for the love of their life does not have the time to become an expert during their brief shopping experience. They can Google, research, and look at hundreds of diamonds, but they will still need to seek out a properly credentialed and trustworthy diamond professional to help them find what’s right for them. That’s the real dilemma when you’re looking for a jeweler isn’t it….trust?

I once had a client at the diamond counter who told me that Jack Lewis Jewelers was the 15^th jewelry store he had visited! He was so confused and so frustrated with the process that he was almost in tears. I can understand why. One jewelry store will tell you one thing, and then another will explain it another way, and on top of it they are all trying to sell you whatever is in front of them. Just about all of them mean well and are honest, but it can be a lot to process.

I asked if I could give him some advice and he reluctantly said, “Sure.” I said, “Just stop. Stop looking. Pick the place that makes the most sense with as little sales talk as possible. Then trust that person to walk you through the process with an education along the way.” I went on to say that I hoped that was me, but if not, he needed to find the person he could most relate to and trust.

I could tell when I gave him that advice that I had lifted a great weight off of his shoulders. The process can be overwhelming and the diamond grading scale can be a large part of why. I understand that retailers don’t always do a good job of explaining the process, so it is really important to find one who takes the time to do just that. I’ve found it’s the best way to establish a relationship with my clients—and dare I say it—a friendship. I’m happy to say that client did choose me! This occurred over 10 years ago and over the course of a few years, he even sent me several of his friends.

You can see we’ve taken this from an explanation about Cut Grade to the importance of establishing a relationship with someone you can trust. My journey to this destination was no accident. So let’s cut to the chase: at some point, buying a diamond becomes a leap of faith, and Cut is the most complicated part of the buying process as well as being the most essential characteristic in determining beauty. I believe it’s an understatement to say that it pays off to have an expert help you with that part. And at Jack Lewis, we’re ready to walk you through it.

I want to thank my friends at AGS and AGS Laboratories for helping me with this blog. In particular, Jason Quick, who is the Laboratory Director and a mad genius who understands diamonds in ways I can only imagine. Jason and the team at AGS are on the forefront in the jewelry industry because consumer protection is at the very heart of everything they do.

Like the young man in my story, I hope you also choose Jack Lewis Jewelers, but we realize we can’t sell everyone a diamond. If you’ve ever wondered how you can find a jeweler you can trust, start with us if you can…but if not, AGS has you covered. Visit Find a Jeweler at https://www.americangemsociety.org/en/find-a-jeweler, type in your zip code and visit a great store. Every retail member of the American Gem Society adheres to a strict code of ethics that help them remain dedicated to the education of their clients.