Any recommendations where to go to have custom earrings made? I know of a local shop where several artists design jewelery, but they're on the pricey side. I have an old ring with a bunch of small diamonds (0.25 c or less) and would love to incorporate some of all of them into something new. Any...

I did shop around at Kay's and liked the people there, but in the end I went with another large 'chain' store (Bailey Banks & Biddle). Since we might move about the country, I wanted to stick to a larger store so no matter where we live we will still be close for the free inspection/cleanings t...

Could you tell if it was shining light into the diamond, or was only the back of the pen blinking?

In my humble opinion, size trumps clarity (I also believe that imperfections lend a valuable uniqueness to any jewelry). I also feel that cut trumps clarity. That being said, I think a good size ring would be anywhere from 0.5 - 1.5 carats. 0.5 is on the small side, but acceptable if price is an ...

For price and simplicity I think you may want to look into copyrights instead of patents. Here's a good place to start http://www.copyright.gov/
Good Luck!