Every business owner -- not to mention every stock broker -- knows about diversification. It's the best way to weather the whims of a fickle economy. But in the middle of this economic downturn, how does a luxury-oriented business diversify? Facing high gas prices, steep food prices and the continuing aftershocks of the mortgage crisis, jewelry might be the last purchase on anyone's mind.

Last week the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) brought some attention to John Christian, a small custom-jewelry company in Austin, Texas. Originally geared toward big-ticket rings, pendants and charms priced at $599 and above, the company found that skyrocketing gold prices were putting them in a sticky spot. "People are still going to get married and love their kids and celebrate special times in their lives," said Wes Weaver, John Christian's CEO. "But the jewelry's going to have to change."

The solution? A portmanteau: Platanium -- a unique, stainless-steel alloy that combines the luster of platinum and the strength of titanium. The company's executives, including John Waugh -- a 50-year jewelry veteran who used to run class-ring titan ArtCarved -- and his son Turner Waugh considered the downside of such a move. John Christian had spent years developing its high-end brand, and providing a cheaper line might confuse current customers and tarnish the company's image. But, at a certain point, it wasn't a matter of choice. "I was fighting to survive," Mr. Weaver told the Wall Street Journal.

Weaver and Waugh decided to "isolate and protect" their higher-end products while marketing the cheaper jewelry on a separate platform. It started a new brand called Carved Creations, selling Platanium and sterling silver products for less that $200. Some customers were wary of Platanium, but according to Weaver, once "you explain what it is they pick it every time."

Today, almost half of the company's orders come from the less expensive line.

B. Brandon Barker can also be found here.

For every parent appalled by the thought of their child getting a tongue piercing, the results of a recent study in Israel with come as welcome support for their argument against. Dr. Liran Levin of Tel Aviv University discovered that 15-20% of young people surveyed are at increased risk for tooth fractures and gum disease.

File this as news of the obvious; tapping a metal tongue ball against your teeth might cause tooth fracture. Duh. The study concluded that, while severe periodontal damage in teens is normally very low, those with mouth piercings can suffer premature loss of their front teeth and dangerous gum infection.

For those to whom this and other dental warnings have come too late, another recent story might be glad tidings. The Japanese town of Fukuoka has launched a false teeth recycling program. Around $28 of precious metals, including gold and palladium, is used in the construction of dentures. These metals are extracted, and the proceeds are donated to UNICEF Japan and other charities.

When my mother died, my father gave me her engagement ring, largely in the hopes that I might one day pass it on to another woman. Sure enough, a few years later, when I proposed to my wife, the diamond that I gave her was the one that my father had given me.

This isn't to say that I just passed the ring on; in fact, I spent about a month working with a jeweler friend and a goldsmith. Ultimately, the three of us created a truly distinctive ring that said a great deal about my wife, myself, and the family that we eventually formed.

If I hadn't gotten my mother's ring, I don't think that I would have given my wife a diamond. To begin with, buying a new diamond would have more than doubled the cost of the ring. Beyond that, however, I'm not sure how I feel about diamonds; apart from the human misery that is attached to their mining and distribution, there is the fact that the damned things just aren't that beautiful. Given a choice, I'd pick a sapphire, tourmaline, ruby, garnet, or even a helenite over the more traditional chunk of carbon.

It's always a good idea to have insurance on your personal belongings, either with renter's insurance or home owner's insurance. Ask anyone who's ever had a disaster like a fire, and they will tell you how important the insurance was. Imagine having to furnish a house from scratch and to purchase an entire wardrobe? The cost of that is huge, while the cost of insurance can be relatively low.

If you're a lover of fine jewelry like I am, you also need to make sure that you have adequate coverage for your valuables. Many insurance policies offer very limited coverage for those items. For example, my policy only offers standard coverage of $1,000 per piece of jewelry, up to a maximum of $5,000 total.

I have a rider on my policy that covers additional jewelry, and I highly recommend it. The rider has an increased limit on the total payout. Individual pieces are also covered under the rider, and whenever I get a new piece that is over a certain dollar amount, that piece is added to the policy.

People come up with hiding places for their valuables that they think are clever. Okay, that's cool. Except when you forget where you've hidden your money or jewelry.

It's not so bad if you know your stuff is somewhere in the house and it will turn up eventually. We've all had those senior moments and a few days or weeks later we have an epiphany and remember where our stuff is.

But please... don't forget your hidden valuables when you're giving stuff away. The woman in the below video thought she was clever by hiding jewelry in a can that looked like Campbell's Soup. Until she started donating food to a food pantry and... you guessed it.... She donated a bunch of soup and the hidden jewelry was included.

Let's all learn from her mistake!


Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a short post about the return of gold prospecting; the rising value of gold has inspired would-be miners to pan for the precious metal, file prospecting claims, and generally do their best to re-create California's 1849 gold rush. Gold fever has even worked its way into suburbia, where gold parties have made it possible to convert one's own jewelry into cold hard cash, even as one sips wine and munches on cheese and many people are selling their collections of gold teeth and bridgework.

Of course, the problem with gold parties is that selling one's old gold jewelry by weight fails to take into account the artistry of the metalwork or the value of any jewels, which can greatly increase the price of a trinket. Besides, gold parties aren't all that useful if one has non-gold jewelry. While silver and other precious metals have also increased in value, they haven't enjoyed the amazing inflation that has made gold so precious.

Another problem is the fact that jewelry often has powerful emotions attached to it. We give jewelry during periods of heightened emotion, and the gifts tend to retain a lot of those emotions, even after the relationship has gone south. Good or bad, it can seem a little callous to simply throw away these relics of boyfriends and girlfriends past.

In the wake of record high gold prices, stalled employment figures, reduced retail profits and the worst holiday retail figures since 2002, jewelers nation wide are holding little hope that cupid shall send some love their way this coming Valentine's day 2008.

Gold prices have crested the $900 per ounce mark which has sent jewelers scurrying to find viable options for their potential customers. Given the fact that silver and platinum prices tend to mirror the performance of gold, alternate precious metals aren't giving jewelers much hope.

Pssst, Hey buddy, have I got a deal for you.

Every once in a great while you might get an approach similar to that at your friendly neighborhood resale shop. That can be especially true if it's a shop you're not very familiar with. When a thrift store employee or operator brings out something from under the counter which they have "saved for special customers,"... watch out! The chances are good that you'll be looking at an item from a questionable source.

Take for instance that mint condition collection of Buffalo Head nickels, or a complete set of sterling silver flatware in its own velvet lined case. The sales person may tell you that it came from an estate sale they were at that same morning. Take care about your purchase or you could become guilty of receiving stolen property. It's a dead giveaway when the store clerk suggests that you go outside to look at items they have in their car. Yeah, it's not on the shelves and it's not on the books. Ask them if you really look that much like an idiot.

Charles & Covard, makers of the best diamond substitute on the market, Moissanite, recently hired a brand marketing firm to figure out why the company's product hasn't gained more traction in the jewelry market.

As a former jeweler, I find the Moissanite an excellent choice for those who want the fire and durability of a diamond but don't want to pay the price. Because it can be made synthetically, the Moissanite retails at a quarter or less of the cost of a similarly sized diamond of good clarity.

I made a Moissanite ring for my wife for Christmas a few years ago, and it has worn like iron. The stone, silicon carbide, is a 9 on the Mohs hardness scale, exceeded in gemstones only by the diamond.

So why don't more people buy Moissanites instead of diamonds? It all comes down to cachet, sex appeal, and DeBeers. A century of marketing stands behind the public's perception of a diamond as a touchstone for romance and devotion.

If you can shake free of the brainwashing and see the Moissanite for what it is, a stone as beautiful and durable as a diamond at a fraction of the price, you can save yourself a pile of dough. I think, however, that Charles & Covard is going to discover that very few people are able to take that step. So before you offer your betrothed a Moissanite instead of a diamond, be very, very, very sure she is on board with it -- because regret is forever.

You thought your love would last forever. Your rings were a symbol of that love. And then one (or both of you) changed your mind. And now those lovely diamonds which were "forever" are worthless to you.

That's where I Do...Now I Don't comes in. It's an auction site that helps you sell your engagement ring. The site was started a year ago by siblings Josh and Mara Opperman, and their goal was to help jilted fiances and spouses recover some of their money for their diamonds, and offer shoppers a great deal in the process. Josh has firsthand experience with an expensive diamond engagement ring -- his jeweler offered to refund him 30% of his purchase price after his woman left him.

The site sets itself apart from eBay with its quality. I Do...Now I Don't offers certificates of authenticity with each ring, guaranteeing buyers that their diamonds are for real. And buyers are finding that they can get a great bargain at the site, which gives them an opportunity to own more ring than they thought they could afford.

The site even offers a forum for those recovering from heartbreak to share their stories with one another. Share your romantic horror stories with others on the site which helps you pawn the symbol of your failed relationship.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

A few weeks ago, one of my fellow WalletPop posters argued that one should never purchase jewelry online.

I respectfully disagree. Over the last few years, I've bought pearls, opals, and a fairly large number of set and unset gems from sellers on eBay. I've never been really disappointed; even my less-than-stellar purchases have been a lot of fun and provided me with interesting and unique gifts. As with anything else, it is important to be careful when purchasing from strangers, but if you follow a few simple rules, you can get some fantastic deals on the internet. Best of all, the selection is far beyond what even your most extravagant local jeweler will carry, and is available at a fraction of the cost.

Jewelry is a great gift for the one you love, but you need to be aware of several things in order to protect yourself. Jewelry retailers are in high gear to take advantage of the holiday buying season, and you don't want get ripped off. Use these ten tips to protect yourself and your jewelry purchase this year.

1. Focus on the gem – When buying a colored stone such as a sapphire, ruby, or tanzanite, the key is to focus on the gem itself. There may be small diamonds surrounding it, but your real value is in the larger gemstone. Focus on that when selecting your piece and evaluating the quality.

2. Know the difference between natural stones and lab-created – Gemstones that come out of the earth are more valuable than those created in a lab. However, some consumers prefer lab-created gems because they are often clearer and have a brighter color. Just be sure you know which you're buying.

3. Less is often more – When surprising your sweetie with a piece of jewelry, simpler is usually better, unless she has picked out a specific item. If you're picking something out as a surprise, go for something less unusual. Plainer items generally have wider appeal and are more likely to make her smile. Fancier items generally have a unique appeal, and might not go over as well.

Shopping for serious bling this holiday? The shelves of fine jewelry stores are jammed with jewelry featuring the big four: diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds. The sad truth, however, is that most of these will be second-rate or worse quality stones, meant to prey on those more interested in name than beauty.

Fortunately, there are beautiful, durable gemstones that provide a lot more bang for your buck. Some I'm fond of include:

Instead of diamonds, look at Moissanites. This form of silicon carbide is the only diamond-like stone I've seen that comes close to matching the diamond's fire and durability. Because it is a product of Charles & Colvard, the price is not trivial, but at a quarter of the price of a diamond, you'll get great sparkle and a long life. My wife loves hers.

Looking for a green stone? Bypass those chips of soap that pass for emeralds. Look instead at a tsavorite garnet or my favorite, the chrome tourmaline. Both are available in beautiful greens ranging from grass to Kelly green, with depth that will melt hearts. The tourmaline will wear better when used in a ring setting.

In the market for a ruby? The rubelite tourmaline is, dollar for dollar, a much better choice, while garnets come in a wide range of luscious reds. The Black Prince Ruby in the crown of England is actually a spinel, another red stone that would work well in anything but a ring.

You won't find these options in chain stores, probably, but a good mom and pop jewelry store can hook you up, and will enjoy doing so. The world of gems is so rich, but the public exposure to it, so limited. Go exploring.