You Lost One Earring. What Can Be Done With the Other
Lost one earring? A Montclair jeweler on what the survivor can become, what it costs you to find out, and when the honest answer is to leave it alone.
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Guides · Astra Jewelers
Straight answers,
Straight answers,
from the bench.
What we get asked in the studio, written down properly. No sales copy, no invented numbers, and an honest answer where the honest answer is that it depends.
Planning a Holiday Proposal? The Ring Is the Last Step
A Montclair jeweler on planning a holiday proposal: the decisions that come before the ring, the size problem nobody plans for, and what you can do now.
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Custom Jewelry vs Buying Online: The Ring That Exists Before You Do
Every ring online existed before you did. A Montclair jeweler on what custom design changes, what filters cannot ask and the honest answer on price.
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14k vs 18k Gold: The Difference That Is Not in the Color
14k gold is 58.3 percent pure. 18k is 75 percent. You cannot tell which is which by looking. A Montclair jeweler on what the number buys you, why white gold needs upkeep either way, plus how to check what a piece really is before you pay.
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How to Find Her Ring Size Without Her Knowing
US sizes 6 and 7 cover close to half of women's rings, so you are confirming a likely number rather than guessing blind. A Montclair jeweler on which secret sizing methods actually work, why a pavé shank moves half a size while a plain one moves two, plus the two settings where being wrong means a remake rather than a repair.
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How Often Should a Watch Be Serviced? And How to Tell Yours Needs It
Mechanical watches are generally serviced every three to five years and quartz batteries every two to three. The calendar is the weakest signal there is. A Montclair jeweler on the symptoms that mean a watch needs attention, the five things owners get wrong, and when to leave a watch alone.
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Is It Safe to Reset an Old Diamond? What a Jeweler Checks First
Most inherited diamonds reset safely. A Montclair jeweler explains the damage that hides under prongs, what gets checked first and when the answer is no.
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Lab Grown vs Natural Diamonds: Under the Loupe and on the Invoice
Lab grown and natural diamonds are the same mineral, graded on the same scale. Nobody can tell them apart by eye. A Montclair jeweler explains where the two genuinely differ: formation, trace chemistry, price and resale.
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Watch Water Resistance Explained: 30m, 5 ATM and the Word Waterproof
A 30m water resistant watch should not go swimming. The rating comes from a static pressure test under ISO 22810, it is a factory figure rather than a permanent one, and a Montclair jeweler explains what changes the moment a case back comes off.
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Why Diamonds Fall Out of Rings and the Sound That Warns You First
Diamonds are lost from worn or bent prongs rather than from anything wrong with the stone. A Montclair jeweler explains how prongs wear, the tap test that catches a loose stone early, what retipping involves and when to have a ring checked.
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FIND ASTRA IN UPPER MONTCLAIR
We are a second-floor studio on Bellevue Avenue. Appointments get you undivided attention. Walk-ins are welcome during opening hours.
Address
250 Bellevue Ave, 2nd Floor, Montclair, NJ 07043
Hours: Mon-Sat: 10:00am-6:00pm