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Legacy, Lamb Cakes & the Secret Jeweler
61 Plays1 month ago
This week, the sisters dive into the idea of legacy—from heirloom lamb cake molds to meaningful graduation gifts. They swap stories about baking blunders, busted molds, and the ink-stained mysteries only teenage boys can create. Then, they welcome special guest Sarah Riley, a private jeweler (aka “the secret jeweler”), who shares thoughtful, timeless ways to mark life’s milestones—like graduations and Mother’s Day—with jewelry that tells a story.
They cover:
- Gift ideas for boys and girls that don’t break the bank
- Why gold prices are sky-high (and how to turn old earrings into cash)
- The truth about lab-grown diamonds
- And how to season your cast iron lamb cake mold so your sheep comes out whole next year
In What’s For Dinner, it’s all about comfort and ease with a classic baked ziti recipe—perfect for feeding the family or stashing leftovers for a busy week. One dish, minimal effort, maximum satisfaction.
https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a11688/baked-ziti/
Legacy isn’t just what we leave behind—it’s what we pass forward. Jump in.
To contact Sarah sarahmriley@comcast.net
We want to hear your comments and questions! Send an email to 3lfpod@gmail.com or leave a comment on our Instagram @3lfpod and be sure to follow us on our YouTube page www.youtube.com/@threelilfishes
Monetization ID: RPQ16FXRJDG9LJME
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Transcript
Jewelry Concierge Role
00:00:00
Speaker
and I generally go and visit people. Sometimes they want to change things that they have. Sometimes they want new. I'll take them things that they've asked for.
00:00:10
Speaker
Or um sometimes they have repairs. I kind of do a little bit of everything. So you're kind of like a jewelry concierge. Yeah, that's a great, yeah Yeah, that's a really great term. I love that. I think I'll use that. Thanks, Liz. That's a good one are Are you helping them with old jewelry or can you also connect them with new jewelry?
00:00:32
Speaker
can do both. So we can, if they have a piece that they want to recreate, maybe it was their grandmother's ring and it needs repair. It's been well loved and worn for years. Maybe it needs to be built up again. We can do that.
00:00:49
Speaker
And then also i can, if they wanted to take stones out of that ring and make it into something new, I can do that too.
Podcast and Hosts Introduction
00:00:58
Speaker
Welcome to Three Little Fishes.
00:01:00
Speaker
We're three sisters who grew up in the Midwest together, but have since spread across the country. i live in Los Angeles. I'm in Nashville. And I live in Philadelphia. We are all married with children, have all had careers, but now we stay at home with our families.
00:01:15
Speaker
Join us as we share secrets and stories about being women, wives and mothers. We welcome you to laugh along, learn something new, reach out and join our conversation.
00:01:28
Speaker
So let's jump in. What's up, fishes? What's up, fishes?
00:01:37
Speaker
Do I sound like a sick fish? You i do not sound good What's going on? I do not sound well. I've been trying to get over this cold and it's not going well. So maybe...
00:01:48
Speaker
I need to go get checked out, but I didn't want to miss our dedication. i love it. Yeah, that is. With my horse voice. So how's everybody doing?
Easter Lamb Cake Stories
00:01:57
Speaker
Doing good. I um wanted to say, ah you know, over the weekend was Easter and we talked about this last week. I had these lamb molds that i we've all used for years and years and I have two.
00:02:13
Speaker
So my oldest was home from school. She made a lamb. And then I made a lamb. And they did come out of the molds.
00:02:23
Speaker
Mine stuck like a little tiny bit at the bottom. And then her little ears came off. So we had to like do a little surgery with the ears. But they turned out. And so it was kind of cute. And maybe our listeners saw on Instagram we had like a little voting on that.
00:02:42
Speaker
But anyway, mom called me on Saturday. And she was out with her friend Cheryl. And they were in Havana, Illinois, and they were um antiquing. And mom called me and said that Cheryl saw lamb mold at this antique store and totally insisted that mom buy it. And she was like, if you don't buy it for her, I'm going to buy it for her. So thank you, Cheryl, for having my back. I love that.
00:03:09
Speaker
So now if you've been listening, i have three lamb molds and I have three children. So I have legacy gifts. for my kiddos. And I'm so grateful. So thank you, mom. Thank you, Cheryl, for looking out for me and my kids. Great.
00:03:25
Speaker
Well, i made a lamb cake as well, and I did not have as much, much success getting it out. And I thought I had really buttered and oiled it well, but the bot, the, the, the main body came out And the ears came out, which I was like, because you guys told me the ears are hard.
00:03:46
Speaker
But the bottom did not. So did your cake like separate in half or how's that? How did that work? was just like the bottom was super thin and it wouldn't like stand up. So I had to lay it down like it was resting.
00:04:00
Speaker
it's you Did you fill it? Did you fill the base with with the cake mix the whole way? I did, but I i buttered it and I didn't oil it and Did you flour it?
00:04:14
Speaker
I did, but maybe I didn't use, like, tell me, do you think I didn't use enough flour or should I have used a different oil? Did you use a pound cake? I did. her Is this the first time you use your mold? Yeah, because, and I'm wondering if it's just not as, like,
00:04:32
Speaker
oiled as much you know it needs to be seasoned maybe when i store it if i should put oil on it to store it so it like soaks in more well kathy those cast irons like there's a you're supposed to season them every so often so you have to like oil them really well and then you put them in the oven and let them bake with the oil So maybe yours needs to be like seasoned. Oh, well, you should have told me I needed to do that.
00:04:58
Speaker
Well, I didn't realize that this was the first time you were using it and you didn't season I didn't realize it either. I feel like you left out important information about that. Yeah. My lamb cake, however, I feel like turned out really well and I had no troubles.
00:05:13
Speaker
Of course. Okay. Brag, Nancy. I know. Yeah. um We did put up all three lamb cakes. And if you want to vote to whose lamb cake you like the best, they're up on Instagram.
00:05:28
Speaker
So go ahead and vote and tell us which sister made the best cake. Not that we're competitive at all, but check it out. Well, you know, mine did not also have coconut.
00:05:39
Speaker
Mine was winning. I don't if you guys noticed that or not, but 67%. Well, I just want to say one thing. Mine did not have coconut on it either because my husband does not like coconut at
Meaningful Graduation Gifts
00:05:53
Speaker
all. Kathy, do you like i i like coconut? Yeah, I do.
00:05:58
Speaker
But I was trying to be thoughtful of him. so think it's fine. You did swirls for the fur or whatever. Yeah, textured it. I think it's fine. It doesn't have to be coconut. It's just...
00:06:10
Speaker
Makes it extra, but you don't have to be extra. So anyway, I feel like another year has gone by We've had some success. We're just going to keep on trying and get these lambs.
00:06:24
Speaker
Out of their homes. Yeah, out of their homes. It is tricky. It hard. It is tricky. I'm impressed that you tried and you have and you have one. Good job.
00:06:36
Speaker
um What else is going on, girls? Kathy, you had you said that you found a secret. You said that you learned some secret that Carson has forced you to find. What's the secret? And what did your sweet baby Carson do to make you have to find something?
00:06:53
Speaker
Well, over the weekend, he had a dance at school. So, you know, they wear nice clothing, like he wore a sports coat, tie and a dress shirt.
00:07:03
Speaker
He looked great. He looked ah adorable. And then the next morning, his coat is like on the floor. I go to pick up his shirt and I was gonna just, I was either gonna take it to the cleaners or just wash it. But as I pick it up, I'm like, what is on this?
00:07:22
Speaker
It looked like tar or something at first. I was like, did you roll around in the yeah driveway or something? Like, what is this? Then he's like, I have no idea, mom. I'm like, I did not send you out looking like that.
00:07:40
Speaker
And then i thought about it for like ah day because I was like, is that ink? I said, is there anything in your pockets? And then the next morning I went and looked at his jacket.
00:07:51
Speaker
And for sure, there was a pen stuck in the inside pocket of his jacket that had leaked out and then got on the shirt. So the secret I found...
00:08:05
Speaker
to getting that ink out is if you spray hairspray on it, it like helps lift it out. So then you spray it and blot or you spray it and put it in the washing machine. And you blot it That's what I kept doing because there was so much.
00:08:23
Speaker
It's like unbelievable. I spilled an entire garbage can full of paper towels blotting this ink. Oh my gosh. And I actually got, I think the shirt, like almost 99% of it out.
00:08:35
Speaker
The jacket still had one little small spot that I actually took to the cleaners because I'm like, it's too expensive of a jacket to like... Yeah. You know, say that. Yeah, you don't want to throw it out. Right.
00:08:47
Speaker
But it really did a good job. I mean, honestly, I was I was impressed. So that's a little secret. If you get, you know, some ink on a shirt. All right, y'all, before I move on, I just want to mention one quick thing that I
Papal Conclave and Legacy Gifts
00:09:00
Speaker
wanted.
00:09:00
Speaker
Our Pope just passed away. The Pope just passed away. Very sad. Yes. So I just feel like I wanted to mention that. And so we just, they had that, you know, movie.
00:09:11
Speaker
Conclave. I know. Well, we even talked about this on our podcast before. Yeah. I mean, the conclave, I mean, to me is fascinating. And I kind of reread about it because I was like, what?
00:09:25
Speaker
I mean, it's a big deal. There's like cardinals all over the countries. The world, yeah. Like for this. And they show up at the Sistine Chapel in Rome.
00:09:40
Speaker
I think there's 135 of them that And then they can't have any contact with anyone. They have no phones, no TVs, nothing for the entire time that they're there, why they vote. And they vote like a couple times a day. And then they ah have to have a two thirds majority vote.
00:10:01
Speaker
And then they send out a signal. Like if it's black smoke, that means no, they haven't decided who's going to be the next pope. And if it's white, that means they decided. They have a new pope. Yeah. Yeah.
00:10:12
Speaker
I mean, if anybody saw that movie, i think it it I do visualize it. Like, they all stay in these little rooms. They all have their own little rooms. Right. And they all are sort of basically sequestered.
00:10:28
Speaker
They eat there. They sleep there. They don't leave. They have these discussions. It seems like they have some politicking that goes on about who's going to be nominated or whatever. Right.
00:10:41
Speaker
And then they have these like ballot votes, and then they decide who the next pope is, which is... I mean, I'm not Catholic, but I do think it's an amazing process that they go through. and this person becomes the leader of the Catholic Church, which is an enormous responsibility globally. So, right I mean, it's sad that he passed and it is sort of fascinating to watch the whole process sort of
00:11:15
Speaker
matriculate. And i think it starts like 15 to 20, the voting 15 to 20 days after the previous Pope passes away. So, yeah you know, it's something to, you know, we're watching history unfold.
00:11:30
Speaker
yeah So it's kind of amazing. So today, you guys, we're going to be talking a little bit about legacy on the show. We've been, but we talked about our lamb cake moles and about how it's had history for us and how we want to pass that tradition on to our kids.
00:11:45
Speaker
We have a lot of kids graduating. We have Mother's Day coming up. And so it got us thinking about legacy pieces of maybe some jewelry. And we have a fun guest that's going to be able to come on today.
00:11:57
Speaker
Her name is Sarah Riley, and she's going to give us some nuggets about maybe passing on some legacy jewelry pieces to your kids. but But before we jump into it, I just want to remind everybody to please rate, review, follow, and invite your favorite of fishes to jump in and join our conversation.
00:12:19
Speaker
So let's jump in. So, you know, something that's really happening in my house is getting ready for graduation. i have a high school graduate student. Next year, I have a collegiate graduate and um I'm thinking about gifts.
00:12:36
Speaker
Like I'm thinking about gifts for the graduates. And then to Mother's Day is coming up. So we've been kind of thinking about what to get our mom.
00:12:47
Speaker
Um, and some of the ideas that I've had for the high school graduates are these like monogrammed leather catch-alls because there's a lot of boys, like my, my graduate's a boy this time.
00:13:03
Speaker
My girls, we got them pieces of jewelry we had made for them. Um, but like these leather catch-alls that you can have engraved I think is an idea I've had. And then I've also had ideas of some, um like if I know what school they're going to, maybe like a little piece of like collegiate wear, like a blanket or a pillow or a sign or something like that to kind of like get them in the groove
00:13:38
Speaker
Um, what do you guys think? What, I mean, Kathy, you and I are in the same boat. Like we both have boys graduating and we have big parties happening. Like, what are you thinking? Well, I remember for my oldest, he got a lot of really nice, um, collegiate gifts like pillows.
00:13:57
Speaker
Um, he got like sweatshirts, I think a hat, um, I think he got like a Yeti cup, you know, that they take to class.
00:14:09
Speaker
That's a really good idea, I think. um You know, a lot of people gave him money, which I think he loved because he could, help you know, just put it in the bank and use it this year or used it last year for school. um Yeah, I think, you know, it just depends on like how much you want to spend. Like this year, we have so many people to buy for.
00:14:31
Speaker
I feel like my son. I feel that way too. Yeah, he he is super social and he has a lot of friends. And we're like, Whoa, what are we going to do? It's kind of stressing me.
00:14:42
Speaker
i I feel that way too. I want to do a meaningful gift. But it's like, at the same time, it's like, but I think it just depends of where of where you are. and how close you are to people and what your circumstances are. you know like I think a lot of these kids get excited even to have just a little bit of money, like 20 bucks, to like you know it adds up with all these cards like to have some spending money to like get ready to go. think whatever's comfortable for you.
00:15:12
Speaker
But we started thinking about our parents. um my mom Our mom and dad really thought legacy gift for us of, I don't know if because we're particularly because we're girls, our mom loves jewelry. And I think we all kind of have a love of jewelry from our mom.
00:15:31
Speaker
Um, and they always bought us just a little trinket of something. And mom and dad, when they gifted it to us to be like, keep this forever, here's a remembrance of this was this day in your life.
00:15:43
Speaker
And I always thought that that was such a cool thing that they did. Yeah, they did. And so it got us thinking about legacy gifts. And Kathy, you have this friend who's a jeweler. Her name is Sarah Riley. And she why we invited her to jump into our conversation.
00:16:00
Speaker
And maybe she has some nice nuggets of some ideas for your graduate or somebody special in your life, expensive or not expensive, of just trying to figure out what a special gift could be for you.
Jewelry Redesign and Maintenance
00:16:14
Speaker
yeah I mean, I, I was, um, talking with Sarah, I think at a lacrosse game one day, and that's kind of when I found out that she was a jeweler and I was talking about our mom, how she was in the jewelry business as well. And she has her gemology degree in colored stones.
00:16:33
Speaker
And so, like you said, she'd always buy us some really nice pieces. And I think that's why we always love it too. um And yeah, I mean.
00:16:45
Speaker
I'm excited to hear what Sarah has to say about a boy because like the girls are so easy. Boys are a little harder. I know for our son, I'm not buying something new, but we are giving him a nice watch that we've had that we're having like.
00:17:04
Speaker
you know, cleaned and tuned up and all that stuff for him. But it's interesting. It will be interesting to see what Sarah has to say about male gifts as well.
00:17:14
Speaker
Cause like, to me, that's a little harder. All right, you guys, let's have Sarah jump into our conversation. I would like to welcome Sarah Riley, who is a good friend of mine and happens to be, I think one of the best kept secrets in Philadelphia.
00:17:31
Speaker
I call her yeah a private jeweler, secret jeweler. She, um, She is amazing. So welcome to Three Little Fishes, Sarah. We're excited to have you. Thank you.
00:17:44
Speaker
What's up, fishes? What's up? Welcome. Oh, I've been wanting to say that. Well, we just wanted, first of all, to just tell us a little bit about yourself and like what you do as a jeweler.
00:18:01
Speaker
Well, I've been in the jewelry business almost 25 years now in just about every capacity of jewelry, ah retail, wholesale, auction.
00:18:13
Speaker
And just like you guys, I wanted to be home with my children when they were little and still now. So taking all the experiences that I had before kids and somewhat during kids, i managed to create what it I think is sort of the best of both worlds and being able to help people privately and, um you know, just be able to do everything that I love, be home with my kids and my love for jewelry.
00:18:45
Speaker
So I love that. That's a great balance. yeah Great balance. That So like, tell us like, What do you do? Do you, do people come to you? Do you go to them? Like how does, how does this whole thing work?
00:19:00
Speaker
like Okay. So that's a great question. through it Since the kids are a little bit older, they're both in high school and, um, one's almost done. I generally have most of my days free to, um, to go and I generally go and visit people.
00:19:17
Speaker
Now that we have just moved out to the country, it's a little bit easier for me to go to to them. Sometimes they want to change things that they have. Sometimes they want new.
00:19:28
Speaker
I'll take them things that they've asked for. Or um sometimes they have repairs. I kind of do a little bit of everything. Right. So you're kind of like a jewelry concierge.
00:19:41
Speaker
Yeah, that's great. Yeah. Yeah. That actually is a great. I think I'll use that. Thanks, Liz. That's a good one. so So how do they find you? Like if somebody was thinking, oh, I would like to get this ring reset or um is it are are you helping them with old jewelry or can you also connect them with new jewelry?
00:20:06
Speaker
can do both. So we can, if they have a piece that they want to recreate, maybe it was their grandmother's ring and it needs repair. It's been well loved and worn for years. Maybe it needs to be built up again.
00:20:21
Speaker
we can do that. And then also i can, um if they wanted to take stones out of that ring and make it into something new, I can do that too. So right maybe they want to take stones out of the ring and make them into earrings or make it into a pendant for ah present for their granddaughter or their daughter, you know, things like that.
00:20:43
Speaker
So are you also a designer? Like, will you come up with the sketch and like take it take it to somebody to make it? Yes. Yeah. I wouldn't call myself a designer, although I've been in the business a long time that I've seen a lot of designs and very often I can find pictures of things so we can work together to find what works for them um and kind of create a vision for them, which is really fun.
00:21:09
Speaker
And there are computer programs now so you can um make what's called a CAD design and they like a computer generated design that will show you what the piece will look like when it's completed. Oh, wow. That's neat.
00:21:26
Speaker
It's a neat way for people to visualize it if they to. Like how, I don't understand. So like you have, you purchase things, you purchase, you purchase gold and gemstones and all that?
00:21:38
Speaker
And so you have that and then you give it to somebody that you work with that kind of creates it because you don't have like a little workshop in your house. your house I'm yeah not a bench jeweler.
00:21:50
Speaker
Absolutely not. And I don't pretend to be, nor do I have the skill for that. But I have someone that I work with who makes all the jewelry for me if it needs to be handmade or custom made.
00:22:02
Speaker
And then I also have um resources that I use for things that are already done. So yeah, a little bit of both. Yeah. So I, um you know, I've been married for a while and I have a diamond ring and I actually just got it re-tipped because it's a princess cut and it kind of gets knocked around a lot.
00:22:24
Speaker
And i was shocked at how expensive it was to get it re-tipped because gold is so expensive right now. Gold is out through the roof.
00:22:35
Speaker
I was hoping you would talk about this, Sarah. So tell us what we tell our listeners, what retipping is and how often do people have to do it? So retipping is, um, generally done on engagement rings.
00:22:51
Speaker
That's the where I see it the most. And the prongs that hold the diamond or whatever stone that you may have in place, um, the prongs, then hold the stone in. And then the tips of those can wear down over time.
00:23:07
Speaker
So they should look almost like little bubbles in the corners of your stone. and Sometimes they can tend to look flat. So you just want to get those built up so there isn't any ah safety issue where you might lose your stone or you can bend a prong or something like that. And when we wear something like that every day, i would say,
00:23:29
Speaker
I've never had mine done. We've almost been married 20 years. So every, you know, 20 years or so, but I take my engagement ring off a lot too. Some people never take them off.
00:23:41
Speaker
So it really depends on how physical you are as well. And then like the cost of gold right now, are you feeling that with your business Absolutely. Do people use gold still or is platinum still the thing? Like I happen to have gold engagement rings and gold rings because I've been, I don't know, I guess I've been married a long time. But I mean, do people use gold or do they use platinum still? like Because that was such a trend for so long.
00:24:13
Speaker
It was a huge trend and um things go up and down. So I think people use gold and platinum for sure still. ah Gold is so high right now. I checked it this morning. It was over $3,400 an ounce, which is just astronomical. Yeah, that's unbelievable. yeah unbelievably Wow. Unbelievable. So I've been helping a lot of people actually sell their old gold that they don't want anymore and and get money for that. and But on the on other hand, if somebody wants a gold bangle for a present for their wife, it's it's pretty pricey right now.
00:24:48
Speaker
Yeah. yeah Yeah. I mean, do a lot of people, like, is that still a thing to bring you old gold to have it melted down? Absolutely. Especially right now.
00:24:59
Speaker
Yeah. Right. Yeah. You can make a lot of money. Yeah. People, i have a lot of people do that. I'm actually thinking about that because I have some old gold that I don't wear, but it's still my jewelry box.
00:25:10
Speaker
Yeah. maybe I should melt it down and like have something made from it. I don't want to necessarily get rid of it, but like- I mean, I have two daughters. It would be kind of fun to make some sort of like legacy piece or something for them out of that.
00:25:27
Speaker
Does it matter if it's like some is 18 carat, some is some is twenty four Like, can you just kind of marry all of that together? and Well, no, not really, because each one is worth a different amount. So you want to, you would get a certain amount for, most people have 18 and 14.
00:25:48
Speaker
So the 18 is more valuable than the 14. And what a lot of people do is, even though they they want to make, let's say, like a wedding band out of their grandmother's old necklace or something, right?
00:26:02
Speaker
Yeah. very often you really just scrap the old stuff and start fresh with something with new gold. Okay. Because sometimes when it's broken down and and melted down, there are different alloys that are in it.
00:26:19
Speaker
And sometimes it can be recreated and sometimes it can't. so I see. i think a lot of people right now are selling, you know, old big 80s earrings and um broken...
00:26:33
Speaker
little chains that they've had or things like that. They think they're not really wearing this right now. So may as well repurpose it or get some money for it.
00:26:43
Speaker
You know, I have a graduate this year. Kathy has a graduate. do you have a graduate this year? i do. Yep. Yeah. So um now all of our our graduates happen to be boys.
00:26:56
Speaker
But when our girls, we have two girls, when the girls graduated, we got them pieces of jewelry for their graduation. And, you know, didn't spend a gob of money, but like $600 or $800 or something for something for them to have forever kind of thing.
00:27:13
Speaker
Are there some gift ideas that you are seeing sort of commonly for the girls and even for the boys for high school and college graduations right now?
00:27:24
Speaker
I am. Right now I'm working on several um high school graduation things. My parents always do for high school graduation for all the grandchildren, um gold signet rings.
00:27:37
Speaker
And whether it be for a boy or a girl, that seems to be a big hit. for them. And then I also do a lot of gold signet rings for girls too.
00:27:48
Speaker
So I brought a little thing here. I don't know if it can be seen, but yeah like something like this, you know, this is that their initial on it?
00:27:59
Speaker
Yeah. This is actually mine from high school. ah Oh, really? Oh, yeah. like Oh, that is such a cute idea. And then, you know, and still wear it even though it's my maiden name.
00:28:10
Speaker
all my cousins and I all have them. It's really fun. That's cute. I love that idea. That's like such a good, like legacy idea, like something that you perpetuate throughout the years and the generations. That's such a cute idea. I love that for boys and girls.
00:28:29
Speaker
That is such a good idea. I know, Sarah, we talked about you had some other gift ideas as well, right? I did. I brought a couple other little things here in my little stash. i did um I was telling Kathy that Blake's been invited to several girls' graduation parties. And I thought, oh, my gosh, what do I do? And then I thought, wait a second.
00:28:52
Speaker
This is my job. yeah so i got like little paperlip Paperclip bracelets. Those are bracelets for girls, which are so cute. And I love a bracelet because ah i can look down myself and see it and enjoy it on my wrist. yeah I love earrings too, but I can't see them on me.
00:29:19
Speaker
So I feel like bracelets you can wear many as you want. Sometimes the girls wear you know six or seven and they can enjoy them too. So I thought, well, that's a nice way.
00:29:31
Speaker
and you are yeah You also said something about a beaded. Did you bring the beaded? Oh, I didn't bring the beaded one. But um I did bring one that the boys like that's kind of like a leather um with the magnet closure.
00:29:46
Speaker
Yeah. Yes. Oh, that's cute. And the boys like these. and i And they're not super expensive, right? It's an affordable gift and it's fun and it's trendy, right? Yes. Yeah. And they can wear it and I have one son who loves the bracelets and one who is like, man it's not really me. So, you know, mean, you just have it's, you know, and then I also brought what I think is another neat one for college too, is like ah a gold charm bracelet for a girl. Oh, that's pretty.
00:30:19
Speaker
Yeah. That is really pretty. It's just the bracelet part without the charms on it, but it's fun to collect along the way. And then you always kind of have, um something in your back pocket to celebrate, you know, if there's a, um like a wedding or a you what I mean? There's always a charm for something.
00:30:38
Speaker
Yeah. That is such a um consistent trend here in the South too. Like all of my girlfriends here have their charm bracelets from when they were growing up.
00:30:50
Speaker
And, um you know, the solid gold charm is amazing. you know worth a lot of money now. need to get mine out. I have too. I have one too. i just haven't added to it recently. Is there anything, just one last question or maybe two last questions. Is there anything that people should be weary of when they're trying to buy like a simple piece of jewelry
Choosing Diamonds: Lab-Grown vs Natural
00:31:19
Speaker
anything?
00:31:19
Speaker
didn to know something that will stay try and true or don't get caught in a trap of a sales trap? um So I always, kids, you have to go to someone that you trust.
00:31:32
Speaker
And that's where I think it's so important. I always kind of relate my job to when I go to a mechanic for my car, because If that mechanic says I need my old changed or I need new breaks, I think, okay, well, I trust you. So but i guess you're telling me the truth.
00:31:54
Speaker
Because I feel like oftentimes people feel like they can't trust a jeweler. So I think the best thing to do is go to somebody that you trust. So how do you find that person? Like, how do we find you?
00:32:06
Speaker
or how do we find that person to trust? Oh, that's a great question. I would say talk to your friends and see if they've had good luck with people Um, you know, I do say a lot of the big retailers, uh, that are, you know, obviously that's not what I do, but you go to somebody that's reputable. And, and I think a lot of times people kind of know in their gut, if it's not quite right, and maybe, right maybe play the 24 hour rule where you think about it for a little bit, you know, before you pull the trigger, if it's a big purchase.
00:32:43
Speaker
Those are good tips. Well, that's my, yeah my other question for you was, you know, there's a lot of um like lab grown stones now. And like, what is your feeling on it?
00:32:55
Speaker
Well, so lab grown versus naturally mined diamonds are relatively new still, you know, in the lifespan of a diamond being a hundred million years old, the lab grown is very new. So um They do have to, you know, a good reputable jeweler will disclose the fact that it's a lab grown diamond.
00:33:17
Speaker
The price is going to be much lower than a naturally mined diamond. And um now they also come with certificates. So the GIA where I went to school, which is the Gemological Institute of America, um is now doing certificates for lab grown diamonds. And they're also etching certificate numbers on um on the stone.
00:33:39
Speaker
So do they hold their value? A naturally mined diamond will always hold its value. It does go up and down, just like the price of gold goes up and down. and the lab-grown diamonds really, i can't say that they hold their value.
00:33:57
Speaker
You can have it appraised and you can insure it if you were to lose it, but There's really no intrinsic value to the stone after. So like you couldn't sell it 10 years later for the same amount.
00:34:12
Speaker
I doubt it. Yeah. You know, they still haven't even really been out long enough to discover that, but I kind of feel like lab grown diamonds are really good for people like travel jewelry, or if someone wants a really big look,
00:34:32
Speaker
And they just don't want them to pay the price. The cost, yeah. Yeah. um I don't think it's something that's going to be passed down from generation to generation and have the value that a natural diamond, naturally mine diamond does. So it's ah it's an interesting thing and we'll see where it goes.
00:34:54
Speaker
should be. Yeah. But it has driven, it has definitely disrupted the diamond market for sure. Right. But there's other gemstones that are also lab grown, right? So like what I'm seeing with my older children is like they're there's engagements happening because everybody's kind of graduated from college and moving on. And there have been a few engagements and um weddings happening.
00:35:19
Speaker
And it is sort of interesting to watch this younger generation try to figure out how to a pay for you know a piece a fine piece of jewelry and um you know and put value on it. So I think I've seen some smaller like genuine diamonds and then some lab-grown stones too.
00:35:49
Speaker
it's yeah there is kind of a trend with that well you're concierge so you probably like the people that want the real stuff i mean i i'll help anybody i just love um um i really love just making people happy with their jewelry i mean because it's such a happy time it's usually celebrating something so yeah to me that's the best part of it but um it It's a very different, you know, mean, if somebody wants a big four carat stone, but they don't have, you know, $80,000 to spend on it, you can get a lab grown diamond for, you know, probably $5,000 under. So depends the person.
00:36:32
Speaker
yeah That's sort amazing. Oh, yes. Wow. You know, two completely different worlds. Yeah. Some people want the look and...
00:36:43
Speaker
We don't, you know, maybe they don't necessarily want to spend that or, you know mean, especially with engagement rings with couples just starting out and they want to buy a house and they want to, you know, maybe they're helping pay for their wedding and there's so many expenses now. It's hard. Yeah, there are. yeah can you yeah Can you spot the fake like lab grown diamond just by looking at it?
00:37:04
Speaker
know. It is very hard. They are, they they have the same properties as ah as a naturally mined diamond. So it's something... Yeah.
00:37:15
Speaker
they Well, because technically they are real. They have the same properties and they're made out of the same material, but they are just made in a lab versus found in the ground.
00:37:28
Speaker
It's fascinating. and It is fascinating. yeah Well, Sarah, out this has been amazing. You have so many given us so many little nuggets and things for us to think about. it sounds like you have a really cool job and how fun to be able to play with all those stones and It really is great.
00:37:45
Speaker
I can't, I could not ask for a better dream job. I just love it. So, yeah. And I've had so much Now, I mean, i hate to even ask this question. We can edit it out if we need to, but like, do you carry around like a little safe or do you strap it to your body when you're out? Like, how do you do that?
00:38:06
Speaker
This is why I don't have an Instagram page and I don't have a website. So, Yeah. um When Kathy calls me the secret jeweler, I kind of feel like yeah it's true.
00:38:18
Speaker
yeah yeah Yeah, it's best. so if Somebody wanted to get something from you. That was my question. How would they reach you? Should can we post like your email? Yeah, my email would be great.
00:38:30
Speaker
And even my phone number. That's fine. Yeah. but Okay. Well, we'll post those in the show notes. So if somebody wants to talk to you, that'd be great. I would love that. I've had So much fun seeing you guys. and I mean, this is like your busy time a year, right? is This is super busy.
00:38:46
Speaker
This is busy Mother's Day, graduation, anniversaries. It's a very busy time of year. This is just... I kind of feel like, Sarah, you might have to do like a little field trip to Nashville. I'll have like a little cocktail party.
00:39:01
Speaker
going like a little jewelry party. That would be so fun. Have you ever done that? In the jewelry business. i I have not, but I have other friends in the jewelry business who... um are interested in doing that one friend who who um has her own business um selling vintage jewelry and um she's a good friend of mine I was talking to her last night another good friend so I'm always up for that sounds like a really great yeah um but yeah i really feel like a Nashville field trip is in your I've only been in
00:39:34
Speaker
I mean, let me tell you, girl, you will love it. It's awesome. Get all my girlfriends over, crack some champagne. Let's do it. Okay. That works for me. I love it.
00:39:47
Speaker
Thank you so much for coming on. We really appreciate your time and expertise. You gave us so much to think about. It's just incredible. Thank you. um well, I love listening to you guys. Thank you guys.
00:40:03
Speaker
All right, y'all, what's for dinner?
Culinary Segment: Baked Ziti Recipe
00:40:06
Speaker
So I think this week um we're going to post a baked ziti recipe. um It's great for a family dinner. You can have some leftovers. It's a great reheating kind of one pot dish.
00:40:20
Speaker
So baked ziti this week. We want to thank you for listening to our podcast and letting us sisters jump into your day. Please make sure to follow, rate, and review us. Have a wonderful spring weekend.
00:40:32
Speaker
Sisters out.