Monthly Archive: August 2025

Pick of the Week – Volume 83

August 29, 2025 by Joden Girl

Joden Girl

Baubles, Bling and Curious Things

The term “disco ball” brings to mind a myriad of thoughts, images and perhaps even a melody or two. I was surprised to discover that mirrored balls were first used in ballrooms in 1897 – long before the disco craze of the 1970’s. In 1917, an inventor by the name of Louis Woeste filed for a patent for his interpretation – the myriad reflector. Woeste and his partner, Stephens, advertised their wonderous creation in an advertisement with this descriptor…

“The newest novelty is one that will change a hall into a brilliant fairyland of flashing, changing, living colors – a place of a million colored sparks, darting and dancing, chasing one another into every nook and corner – filling the hall with dancing fireflies of a thousand hues.”

Not even AI or ChatGPT could have done a better job describing this three-dimensional, spinning orb and its effects. Utilized in dance halls, jazz clubs and skating rinks, the 27-inch magnificent globe created a novel, dizzying effect as it turned. Over the next few decades, other companies made their own variations of what is now known as the disco ball while Stevens & Woeste faded quietly into the background.

These earrings instantly reminded me of the famous disco balls of the 1970’s. Made entirely of 18-karat white gold, these dazzling diamond dangles measure a smidge over 1.5 inches in length. Though I cannot fathom the task, some poor soul counted each and every diamond contained within these showstoppers… 1,338. That’s quite a lot of diamonds – a whopping 8.50 carats worth! The quality craftsmanship is unmistakable. Each fully faceted tiny stone is held in place by four individual prongs. Each earrings snaps shut with an audible click and requires a strong tug to release the catch.

These earrings have been on our site for longer than I would like to admit; they’ve been part of our inventory for even longer (more than sixteen years!). There are several details that could be contributing factors like style, physical size and price. When purchased as stock for the store, Joe broke one of his own rules. He fell in love with the inventory. So far, no one has been tempted enough to take them home. We’re hoping to change that!

Shown on the ear, you can truly appreciate the size and presence of the earrings. The International Gemological Institute of America evaluated these earrings and appraised them at $15,115.00. We’ve have been offering them for $11,800. Now, as a featured Pick of the Week, we are dropping the price to just $9,700. With 14 dwt (21.7 grams) of 18-karat gold and 8.50 carats of diamonds – it’s quite a deal! If you’ve been ogling these showstoppers, it’s time to press the buy button. For more details, check them out on our site.

“You can go to a museum and look, or come to us and touch.”

Written by Carrie Martin

Photos by Dana Jerpe

Joe’s Special Box – Volume 169

August 25, 2025 by Joden Girl

Joden Girl

Baubles, Bling, and A Collector’s Things

When I first started working at Joden Jewelers in 1995, Joe kept a small cardboard box in his desk. There were just a few small pieces inside. He called it “Joe’s Special Box”. Now, thirty years later, the name is the same, but the box has changed. There are currently three much larger boxes, each one stuffed full of jewelry that caught Joe’s eye. In March of 2018, Joe decided to share some of his treasures – and I began blogging about one piece each week.

Today, seven years later, I still select unique and charming jewels from those boxes to showcase. Today is one of those days – this little ring was simply too sweet to pass up. In the midst of the lab-grown diamond era, it seems like all the twenty-somethings are getting engaged with bigger and bigger bling. When my husband and I were getting engaged in our twenties (even now, to be blunt), a three-carat diamond wasn’t in the cards. We selected an Art Deco beauty that I have worn for twenty-six years. I have never felt like I wanted or needed an upgrade.

Pretty and petite, this vintage ring is from the Retro era. Made from both white and yellow gold, this 14-karat beauty boasts a European cut earth-mined diamond that weighs approximately .52 carat. Set in fishtail prongs, the sparkle is undeniable. On each side of the center stone are a pair of milgrain-edged navette shapes. There is a small single-cut diamond in each one. Combined, these two diamonds have a weight of .04 carat.

This demure darling has a price to match… just $2000.00. This isn’t the kind of ring that looks like a spotlight from across the room; it’s the kind of ring that makes you glow from within. This isn’t a lab-grown gem that’s available on Amazon or Facebook Marketplace. There aren’t thousands more in stock. Here, at Joden, we have one. Just this one. And it’s perfect. ♥

“You can go to a museum and look, or come to us and touch.”

Written by Carrie Martin

Photos by Dana Jerpe

A Memory Memento

August 22, 2025 by Joden Girl

Joden Girl

Baubles, Bling and a Really Good Ring

Memories are a funny thing. It’s bizarre, the snippets that our brains choose to squirrel away in a dusty corner of our head and the things that are immediately disposed of. Why do I remember my phone number from 1979, but I cannot seem to recall what I needed from the grocery store. I have to make a list. Then, once I get to the store, I realize I have forgotten the list. By the way, that phone number is 354-3502. I may be revealing my age, but, notice it’s just seven numbers and no area code? We had to commit it to memory, not program it into a cell phone. Those were good times.

I have worked in the jewelry industry for nearly half my life. Even before then, as a child, I took note of special pieces of jewelry. Their memory is still branded in my mind’s eye, decades later. My grandma wore a plain gold wedding band stacked with her mother’s ring. All five stones of the mother’s ring were synthetic, their hue almost too bright against the muted yellow gold that held them. I remember her hands so well; incredibly soft and a touch that spoke of love. I can still see those two rings spinning around her finger as she quilted. Thankfully, my mother has them now. ♥.

As I got older, two additional pieces became a constant in my mind; they belonged to my childhood best friend’s mother. She seemed so elegant and refined to my unsophisticated ten-year-old eye. The ring finger of her left hand boasted a very wide yellow gold band. No diamond ring, nothing else. Just a polished gold band. She also wore a sizable gold medallion pendant with an “M” on it. Though I can still picture the silhouette of the pendant, it was the ring that really struck me. Since then, I have loved the simplistic refinement of a really good band ring.

This beauty is exactly that… a really good band. Measuring nearly twelve millimeters in width, it’s a bold statement. For those interested in dainty, “barely there” wedding bands, this is not for you. The high-polished, deep golden surface screams “married”. Having just celebrated twenty-five years of wedded bliss, I can attest to the fact that this band is for lifers, like me. Those of us are still smitten after all these years. The right band doesn’t just look good, it feels good. It glides over the knuckle and settles comfortably at the base of the finger. This one is weighty (17.2 grams), offering strength and stability. For me, it feels like wearing my husband’s hoodie – it’s cozy and comforting, like his bear hugs.

Shown on my hand, the presence of the band is clear. At a size 6.5, it’s a bit too big for my ring finger. This band is like Cinderella’s slipper; it has to fit. It cannot be sized. The outer surface features a quilted pattern. It is a dead-on match for the Chanel Coco Crush, although there is no signature in the band. It has a singular mark, “750,” a number that notes the fineness of the gold. Maybe you have a jewelry memory that we can help you realize. Perhaps you’ve dreaming about a little piece of heaven on earth like this. If you have, it can be yours for just $2,750.00.

“You can go to a museum and look, or come to us and touch.”

Written by Carrie Martin

Photos by Dana Jerpe

Baubles, Bling and Curious Things

Baubles, Bling, and A Collector’s Things

Baubles, Bling and a Really Good Ring

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