What to Consider When Requesting Custom Jewelry Work

I get requests for custom work every week, and, of course, sometimes there are fiscal surprises on the part of the customer.  I might quote $250 just for labor, not counting silver, gold, or a gem.  Here are some things that help avoid the surprise and let you calculate ahead of time, starting from the least labor intensive to the most.

Using a finished piece and popping in the gem: a number of my jewelry pieces are actually finished as is and hold a specific size stone.  All I have to do is have it set.  My stacking rings are an example, so are many of the gold pendants with a fixed bail.  This is the cheapest you can do in terms of labor, because I just call in the casting or buy the finished piece.  Minor and doable modifications are changing the bail, adding one in a different place, soldering posts onto earring settings, or switching out ear wire.  With these jobs, I can charge very little for labor.  But major modifications, including changing the gem size, are impossible.

Rose Gold and Silver Castings

Basic assembly: many of my other rings use finished stone settings and silver wire, which comes in almost any mm size, square, flat, or half round, and sometimes with patterns (you can also get rings with 2 settings for side stones and an opening in the center for your main gem, so all you do is solder one setting).  Some of my dangly earrings are the same.  I buy settings and components (like ear wire, or basic metal shapes) and solder them together.  I pickle and tumble the piece, pre-polish it to get rid of soldering spots or smooth over seams, then I have the gem set and pay out for a final polish under the large wheels of a professional service (which includes ultrasonic and stem, plus rhodium plating for white gold).  My basic ring charge is $70 (without the stone), in silver this includes the materials unless they’re heavy, it includes all my labor, or hire out for, setting and final polish.  I often don’t have time to do the assembly myself, so then I put the materials needed, i.e. wire clipped to size, setting, stone, and any instructions in a jewelry envelope and drop it off with my jeweler (and then setter and then polisher).  But when I do them at home, figure on an hour to make a piece, not counting other labor (convos, photos, shipping…).  One limit to these designs: it is nearly impossible to solder together several parts.  Adding the gold balls is tough, soldering settings side by side between ring shanks nearly impossible without it looking uneven or the settings being in each other’s way (the setter still has to get in there, too).

Silver Wire and Settings

Wax design: my melted rings and flowers are made from wax, and I usually charge $90 for one of those if I make one from scratch.  My wax work is not precision work, it’s done by hand with sheet wax which is then passed over a candle for a melted look.  The wax then gets cast and pre-polished.  I can then add beads, or prongs, or even a setting.  Then I have the gem set and final polish done.  By contrast, making a gemstone setting in wax requires a different technique, using burrs and wax files, and it takes a lot of practice and time, possibly all day.  (Nowadays all that is done by computer.)  I love wax work, but often no two items come out the same.  The rings have to be made to size, though some of my flowers are now castings (why do the same thing over and over?).

Bezel making: settings for odd shaped rose cuts, pieces of rough or cabochons often have to be made, the commercial settings don’t come in that many sizes and only fit rounds or ovals.  For this, the bezel wire has to be shaped around the gem, soldered, then refitted (to make sure it still fits) or reshaped, then soldered onto back plate, the plate cut and filed down, then a bail or ring soldered on, filed again, pickled, pre-polish, then stone setting, … If I am very fast I can make 2 in an hour, but usually I set aside an afternoon to make 5 or 6.  I usually charge $70 plus materials.  And for gold, I hire out, because periodically I still botch a bezel, and you need to be very precise to cut down on metal waste.

Bezel Set Emerald Ring, Made from Scratch

Advanced metal-smithing: channel setting, and more elaborate ring designs in gold require metal-smithing techniques beyond my expertise.  Also, the channel setting requires lazer soldering, and a lazer machine is about $40,000.  A good channel setting job takes about an hour, but you also pay overhead and machine use, so the jeweler I use charges anywhere from $50 to $120 – my cost, for channel setting, not counting ear wire, jump rings, or other materials.  He charges anywhere between $80 and $200 for a ring. 

Channel Set Diamond Pendants

CAD design: do you like the halo rings that I now have?  Those are made in CAD, computer design software.  You can scan in the gem you want to use, or enter the dimensions, and you can make just about anything.  (Imagine someone carving the tiny prongs for diamonds out of wax, or worse, soldering them all together – it’s just about an impossibility).  For CAD designs, I have to hire a designer.  It can involve a lot of back and forth, but the results are often perfect.  3-D printing gives you a piece of plastic, which then has to be cast.  The cost is $200 minimum for design and plastic.  All the other steps, and costs, still follow (casting, pre polish, setting, etc etc).  But if you want the perfect ring, this is the ideal way to go, of course.

6mm Cushion Halo Ring, in Production

The Confusing World of Garnets: Varieties and Availability

Garnets, to me, are some of the most “disorganized” gems available on the market today.  Their sheer variety, but also their names, can be very confusing to the uninitiated, leaving the connoisseur not far behind.  Here’s an attempt to cut through the confusion.

“Garnet” really refers to a variety of gemstones that are related but not identical in their chemical properties.  In terms of their chemical “species” (if that’s a good name for it), there are Andradite, Almandine, Grossularite, Pyrope, Spessartite, and a couple of others.  Different websites (and books) group the chemical varieties together in different ways.  I.e. Sometimes Grossularite is listed under Andradite, sometimes they’re separate.  Many garnets are actually mixtures of these different chemical compounds (meaning the molecular structure is not exactly one or the other), so what goes with what seems to be more of a matter of how you like to group (and market) your gems.  So let’s sort them by using the names you would most commonly encounter when the gems are marketed to you (in a store, on a website, etc.):

1.      Red: yep, just “red”, I don’t know another name.  Those are usually a mix between pyrope and almandine, or either.  The “Ant Hill” variety is found only in Arizona.  It’s a pretty variety that’s a little more bright red, but like all red garnets, it can appear sooty in evening light and has to be cut well so it’s not blackish.  Any red garnet is easily available on the market and very inexpensive.  The lowest wholesale price I’ve seen is about $1 per carat.

2.      Rhodolite: also a mix between pyrope and almandine, it’s less common, especially in larger sizes (over 10mm).  Rhodolites are any form of pinkish and purplish garnet, and sometimes appear under names such as “cranberry”, “raspberry”, or “rose”, depending on the whim of the gemdealer who sells them.  Rhodolites come from just about anywhere in the world, with Tanzania producing some of the nicest ones.  It’s also readily available in smaller sizes but carat prices are more like $10, wholsale, sometimes more (and on occasion less).

3.      Spessartite: chemically it falls under Andradite, but the name comes from the Spessart forest in Germany, where it was first found.  Nowadays spessartite comes mainly from Tanzania and Nigeria.  It is a brownish orange, with the cleanest and brightest, most orange stones usually termed “Mandarin” garnet.  Spessartite, especially larger pieces, can be quite expensive, and it is almost never as clean as rhodolite and the reds, both of which should be totally without inclusions.  Prices are anywhere from $20 per carat for tiny sizes to $1000 per carat for huge chunks.  Or more.

4.      Tsavorite: a grossular subvariety, which also falls under andradite, tsavorite ranges from yellowish green (which is less expensive) to a dark rich almost emerald green with secondary hues of blue.  It is named after Tsavo national park in Kenya, but the mine is on the border to Tanzania, so the latter mines Tsavorite as well.  Gems over 3 carats are extremely rare, and in recent years Tsavorite production has decreased drastically, so you are going to see an increase in price.  Last year I was getting small stuff starting at $40 per carat, that price is long gone.  Large pieces are a few hundred per carat to a few thousand.

Tsavorite, Merelani Mint and Color Change Imperial Gernet

5.      Merelani mint: also a grossular garnet, and really a light colored Tsavorite without any secondary yellow, Merelani’s are named after the Merelani mine in Tanzania, the only place in the world where they are found.  Production is extremely small for this reason, and as of late I’ve hardly seen them on the market at all.  Prices have skyrocketed accordingly, whereas a year or two ago, nobody cared about this minty color.  Prices are all over the place, and since they’re nearly unavailable, it’s hard for me to say anything concrete. 

6.      Demantoid: the most famous of the greens, it’s another andradite garnet.  It is a very clean stone with a high refractive index, and usually has an olive color (though more apple green ones have been noted for their extraordinary beauty).  It traditionally came from Russia, but now it is also mined in Africa.  Demantoid is very scarce.  Price per carat: if you pay $100 for tiny sizes, you are lucky.

African Demantoid Garnet

7.      Mali garnet: this is a mix between grossular and adradite, a very clean stone, medium priced, and comes in yellow, brown and reddish brown, with the most expensive color being a light green.  It is named after Mali, where it is exclusively mined.  Right now it’s not nearly as pricey as Tsavorite and less than Spessartite also, but not as cheap as rhodolite (think between twice and 4x as much).

Mali Garnets

. 8.      Umba or umbalite garnet: a red or reddish pink garnet named after the Umba valley in Tanzania, where you also find the Umba sapphires.  It’s not too expensive yet, it’s basically a fine quality rhodolite garnet.  But I’ve also seen it cost 2-3 times as much, depending on cut. 

9.      Malaia garnet: the name (I looked this up) is Bantu, and the name is usually reserved for any light pinkish, peachy and peachy orange color garnet (sometimes also orange, which makes it confusing because spessartite is also orange), mostly of African origin.  It is mined in Tanzania and Madagascar at present.  Malaia garnet can have various chemical compositions, so I’ve not seen it classified except in a thread on Pricescope, where it was deemed as a mixture between pyrope and Spessartite.  Some Malaia garnet can be expensive, but I think that’s just hype.  The pricing should be more or less like Mali garnet, except for larger stones.  I’d personally say the rosy and peachy colors (imperical colors, or padparadscha colors) are the most unique and interesting.  I’m not sure about prices.  I’d say somewhere between Mali and Spessartite but it really depends on the piece and on the seller.

10.   Hessonite: this garnet is also orange brown like Spessartite, but usually not as bright.  It belongs with the grossular family and is neither particularly beautiful nor expensive.  Lately I haven’t seen it marketed much though.  So perhaps other names for the variety have superseded it.  Small sizes are cheap, like red garnet.

11.   Color change garnet: first of all, color change is observed in almost any variety of garnet: red, orange, pink, green, and blue.  In other words, some rhodolite, some malaia, some umbalites and some pyropes all change color (but tsavorite, spessartite, and demantoid don’t).  If you have a nice garnet of this variety, try looking at it under different lighting conditions, perhaps you see a change that you never noticed before.  The most expensive color changing variety, by far, comes from Tanzania and Madagascar, and it is blue, blueish green, or green in color (though dark green, not like Tsavorite), with changes usually from the blue or blueish green varieties to purplish and pinkish tones, whereas the green ones change to red.  I’ve only seen a red-green changer once, though.  It was cool.  Many of the blue and dark green color changers are dark in color, especially the larger sizes, and they can have grey mask.  Over 1 carat, they are nonetheless very expensive (think Tsavorite for comparison).  But they are largely very clean stones, and when you have a bright blue one, you have a real winner!  Prices can be $100 starting if you are lucky, but anything over a carat is more like a few hundred.  Anything over 2 carats is very rare.

Tanzanian Color Change Garnet 1+ Carat, Blue and White Light

Gemstone availability changes constantly, keep that in mind when you collect.  A simple rule is that larger stones are rarer than small ones, and that you want as clean as stone as you can get for the variety you are looking at.

Jewelry Insurance

I’ve been wanting to write about this topic for a while.  I often get asked why I don’t have insurance when I refuse to set a customer’s stone because  - as I explain – I’m not insured for it.

The hard truth is I can’t afford it, and most people I know on 47^th Street can’t either.  Jewelry stores have insurance because (I think) they’re required, but this does not apply to gemstone dealers and small shops that don’t have retail traffic. 

Let me walk you through an insurance quote that I got when I called a broker to obtain insurance for my jewelry business:

1.      Insurance amount: $50,000

2.      Deductible: $5,000

3.      Carrying insurance (that’s when you travel with your stuff) is included but has the same deductible.

4.      Annual premium: $5000 (so 10% of the insured value)

Insurance is calculated at wholesale replacement cost, which can be high at times, but regardless of that, I confess that don’t own a single piece of finished jewelry and not a single gem that can be valued at $5,000 replacement cost.  So no single item I own is insured.  When I carry items back and forth, what I have in my purse never exceeds $5,000 – in fact it is mostly far less because I also don’t like risk.  So if I get robbed I will get nothing.  I don’t do a lot of craft shows, and I don’t bring the expensive stuff.  However you look at it, unless someone breaks into my house and takes everything (everything that’s not in the bank safe!), I’m not covered.  And that non-coverage costs me $5,000 every year!

It gets worse.  Gem dealers are required to make an inventory sheet every time they travel.  If their inventory changes a lot (and it does), then they have to re-tabulate everything every time.  Since they take literally thousands of stones with them, and parcels lose and gain weight from office, online, and mail order sales constantly; and they travel often, they would need to hire someone part or full time just to keep tabs on what items are where, how much they weigh, cost, etc.  This doesn’t pay. 

Why is insurance so expensive?  Essentially it’s high risk insurance because of the travelling inventory, and thieves apparently are under the mistaken impression that gemstones are worth stealing.  If they only knew!  It’s incredibly hard to sell a colored stone at a good value (given the option thieves have, anyway – it’s not like you can open a store with stolen goods), and gem dealers offer pennies on lots that show up in suspicious circumstances, displayed by a seller they don’t know.  Gem dealers know very well whom to stay away from, and they do!  Aside from the legal risk they take buying stolen goods, the gems may turn out to be fakes or of poor value, and even an experienced gem dealer cannot always tell just by looking.  You need laboratory equipment for that.

Probably the only thing worth stealing is gold (which I don’t stock – just in case a potential thief is reading this!) because it can just be melted down.  But these days even refineries are required to hold on to gold they bought for at least a day, in case there’s a claim.  Diamonds can be worth something to a thief but he (or she, lest I be thought of as claiming that women don’t steal) will only get a small fraction of the retail, or even wholesale, value, for much the same reason as with colored stones.  But it is easier to tell a fake, and the market value of diamonds higher; and those are about the only two reasons to go for diamonds instead.

Be that as it may, the theft risk is what makes the insurance costs so impossible.  Add to that the chance of insurance fraud: all you need are some fake invoices for high replacement costs, and you’re in business.  (Not that I’ve ever seen it done, but it doesn’t seem very hard.)

In short, it is actually understandable why insurance costs are so high.  But the downside remains: it leaves everyone in the business vulnerable.

Vintage Diamonds

If you read my blog, you know that I am infatuated with old stuff.  I like old mine colored gems, even though the cutting is often poor, I like antique jewelry, and my own designs often have an antique look.  I love the detail and workmanship of the jewelry work of bygone days.

But I also like bling.  And nothing has more bling than a diamond.  No wonder, then, that vintage diamonds appeal to me the most.  They are also the only diamonds that are truly rare.  Vintage diamonds are a niche market, but lately they have gotten renewed attention, and that has driven up prices. 

There are several different vintage diamond cuts.  Let’s look at “Old Mine”, “Old European” and “Old Fancy Cuts.” 

Old Miners:  The term “old miner” generally refers to stones cut before the modern brilliant cut was perfected.  Old miners were mostly cut before the 1920s (starting in the 1800s).  The true “Old Mine” cut is cushion shaped, so it is a precursor of the modern cushion cut.  It has a high crown, small table, and a deep pavilion.  The culet is open, meaning it is cut flat and not to a point.  This changes the light reflection (and protects it from chipping).  An old mine cut also has fewer facets.  For that reason, old miners have less brilliance than brilliant cut stones.  But they have a lot of fire, that is, a display of different colors.  Some say that old miners perform best in candle light.

Old European Cuts: These are more roundish and flatter than old miners.  They’re also called “Euros.” This type of cut appeared a bit later, in the mid to late 19^th century.  Euros have more facets than old miners, but they also have an open culet.  They are the precursor of the modern brilliant cut, with the same number of facets (58 to be exact).  I also read that both the Euro and the Old Miner can appear lighter than they actually are in color because the open culet lets in more light that reflects around inside the diamond.

Old Fancy Cuts: Like today, vintage diamonds were also cut as marquis, ovals, pear shapes, and trillions.  The way these can be distinguished as old miners is by their facets, which are overall larger, but also shorter and wider than modern cuts.  And the overall proportions are different, i.e. marquis shapes are often “fatter”.  Modern marquis are usually 6x3, 7x3.5 mm etc, so they are twice as wide as they are long.  Old mine marquis might be 6x3.5, and they are not calibrated.

Old Mine Fancy Cuts

One thing that recommends vintage diamonds to me is that most don’t come from Africa because they were mined before the South African (and other African) mines opened.  Some originate in India, many in Brazil.  Overall it is nearly impossible to tell origin with diamonds though.  To date, as far as I know, there’s no sure fire technology available to tell you where a diamond is from.

You should also know that of course it is possible to cut a modern diamond into a vintage cut.  Some companies actually specialize in perfected vintage cuts: they cut old-mine style but with perfected symmetry and faceting.  True old miners, by contrast, often show some signs of wear, though a good re-polish may remove those, leaving only the a-symmetry as a mark of the old miner.  But of course, even that can be reproduced.  For the most part, though, old miners are just that.  Little wonders of the past, reminding us of the beauty of imperfection, of artistry done by hand, not machine. 

Pavillion View of Old Mine Fancy Cuts

Payment Plans: Tips for Small Business

Large department stores seem to be able to offer these amazing payment plans.  They're interest free, with no money down, payments stretched out till the end of the world (and I don’t mean December 21^st), and you can return your purchase up to 12 months, even if you used it.  I’ve often wondered how businesses can afford that sort of thing, but the answer is probably obvious: the costs have already been worked into the price of the item, so that all the customers who buy outright cover the expenses of such a plan.

If you’re a tiny business like me, you have to think differently.  A payment plan that goes bust can get very costly, and it can hurt you, your customers, and your suppliers.

Payment plans are risky.  You have to ask yourself why someone wants a payment plan from you in the first place, as opposed to using a credit card.  Maybe the buyer has bad credit, or is too young to have established any.  In that case, you should protect that person by not offering them a payment plan.  Or maybe the buyer is avoiding interest.  That’s understandable, but a small business has no way of qualifying a customer for loans, checking their credit or their financial stability.  

Also, if your prices are low and your customer base small, you can’t distribute the costs of the buyer who drops out of a payment plan over other items.  And if any of your customers are reading this right now (mine are), they might be asking themselves why their price should increase because someone else doesn’t pay.  Good point, right?

But let’s say you insist on having a payment plan anyway, or you feel bad for the customer who can’t afford something they like.  Here’s what you do.

1. You require a non-refundable down-payment of 10-20%.  Call it a restocking fee (I will get to this below).  This forces the buyer be sure they want to commit and it lowers your risk.
2. Clearly define the payment plan.  If it’s too long, the buyer may lose interest or the ability to pay.  Times are tough.  With a shorter payment plan (2 months is good), you get paid faster and the buyer doesn’t have debt hanging over their head.  That's good for both of you.
3. If you are selling an item that has to be made, don’t produce it until it is close to fully paid.  That way you don’t have to bust your personal piggy bank to pay your suppliers or help.
4. Related to that, never ship the item until it is fully paid for.
5. If you’re selling a one of a kind item that you have to set aside for the customer, you may not have enough cash to make new things until that piece is fully paid, shipped, and the customer is sure they won't return it.  If that is the case, you need to have money in your bank before you can offer payment plans.  If you make new items too soon and too fast, you will suffer a personal loss if your buyer can’t pay.  You could end up sitting on lots of expensive inventory, and lack the spare cash to refund the buyer for a return, or pay your suppliers.  So you need to be very clear about your risks.  Make sure any item in your shop is itself fully paid for!  Debt is common in the jewelry industry, but I strongly urge you not to incur it, even if that means your business will grow more slowly. 
6. Finally, limit the amount of payment plans you give out: 5 payment plans of $500 for already made items are a potential $2500 loss for you, and your bank account should at any time be able to cover that amount.  (If you have a restocking fee, you can subtract out that percentage.)

And now you can probably see why I think the restocking fee is necessary.  If you take back a unique and expensive item that you have already reproduced, then you have two.  And it takes longer to sell two items than one. Remember always that you may have stock that you can’t sell.  If you don’t budget carefully, you’ll have a lot of pretty things but no buyers, and there is no fast way to turn the stock into cash, should you end up in financial trouble yourself.

This is my final piece of advice: if you’re not selling food or clothing, if you’re not in health care or education, then what you are selling is not an essential good.  I know you’d like to make money, but if you entice your buyers into a payment plan, or don’t hold them back if they are about to enter a payment plan they can’t really afford, nobody will be happy in the end.

Converting an Antique Pin

I’ve now converted an antique stick or bar pin into a wearable piece of jewelry several times, and I’ve learned some lessons in case you want to try the same.  Here are the 10 most important ones.

1.      Look carefully at the condition the item is in before you decide to buy.  There should not be any “dings” or other imperfections. It’s very hard to remove or change those.

2.      Make sure you know how much the pin weighs. Figure that half of it, if it’s a stick pin, is the stick itself.  But: sometimes the stick itself is not gold.  It happens that the old pin back has broken off and a new one, silver or even lead, has been soldered on.  This not always easy to tell.  So if you are assuming you can sell the back and get part of your money back, make sure it’s gold.  If you can’t test it at home, look for a stamp.  I’ve had it happen several times that the antique dealer, eBay seller, or Pawn Shop, only tested the front of the stick pin, and not the stick itself (so it might not hurt to ask).  On average, if you can scrap the stick, you will get between $10 and $20.

3.      Assume that if the pin contains a colored stone, the stone is fake.  Many, if not most, of the gems used in that antique jewelry from about 1900-1930 are not real.  So what you pay should not include the stone.  If you do get a pin with a colored stone that was advertised as real, you need to have it tested.  And be aware that not all jewelers are good at this.  I take mine to the lab because even some “jeweler’s tested” stick pins that I bought have contained fake colored stones.  I didn’t complain though because I didn’t bet on the stone, and I know how hard it is to tell.

4.      If you want to replace the center stone, make sure there’s enough prong left to hold the new gem, and choose a flat stone if the original was a diamond, because they are cut more shallow than most colored stones.  Replacing the center stone without the help of a jeweler that can rebuild the prongs, or a good setter, is not really an option for you.

5.      If the center gem is a diamond (and advertised as tested), you can assume it is real.  The easy test is to scratch it with a sharp instrument to double check, but jewelers are usually good at testing diamonds.  I therefore recommend only diamond stick pins.  So far every diamond stick pin I have bought has had a real diamond.

Two pins before conversion

6.      The diamond should be an old miner.  How will you know?  Old miners have a deeper cut, an open culet and different facets (you can find pictures online).  Some old miners are single cut (they have fewer facets) and those have less value.  Some signs of wear are also common.  That means that the facets are less defined. This is ok.  Don’t try to have it fixed.

7.      When you convert your pin into a pendant, you need a bail and a jump ring.  It is best if you buy the parts yourself, that way you don’t get overcharged. 

8.      Converting is best done via lazer solder, not regular solder.  Regular soldering is too hot, and any colored stone will not survive.  Diamonds can take more heat, so those are ok to solder the regular way.

9.      Most antique dealers do not clean old gold, because some customers don’t like it.  I do have it cleaned because it does get a whole lot prettier that way, but I do not get white gold rhodium plated to keep the old fashioned look.  Just a light polish is best.

10.   If you want to have your piece cast, it cannot have too much detail.  Most casting services require 1/3mm depth for a mold to “pick up” any pattern, including an engraving.  Also, the silicone has to get behind and in between all the filigree, and that rules out a lot of pieces. 

After conversion (I added an element)

Hurricanes and Jewels Don’t Mix

With much of Jersey City still without power 5 days after Sandy, the Holland Tunnel closed to regular traffic and NJ-NY Subway still draining, I have time to catch you up on the events.

By last Friday, it was pretty clear this storm would be a biggie.  Dutifully, I filled up my gas tank, my fridge, even my wallet, and loaded up on candles and batteries. But there still had to be time for jewels!  So on Sunday I chanced a trip to the JA show, one of the largest New York jewelry and gem shows before the holidays.  Armed with my check book two packages that had to be mailed, I reached the Javitt’s just when the show opened.  Reduced to one day because of the weather, the line was long, the mood rushed.  There was no indoor mailbox anywhere and outdoor ones struck me as risky, so I shoved the packages back into my purse and headed for gems. 

I had to get my shopping done quickly because the subway system was ordered to a halt by 7 p.m. and although I had brought my car, I anticipated traffic.  Selecting gems, on the other hand, takes time.  I only made it to three vendors, all from NY, and all of them concerned.  The JA show is very expensive to vend at; armored trucks transport the jewels to and from their location, setup takes hours.  One day is barely enough for vendors to break even, and there are no refunds for cancelled shows.  Worse yet, by 2 p.m. police and guards started walking the aisles, quietly announcing an early closing at 3 (so no panic would break out I assume).  I left at 2:30, but got stuck in traffic at the Holland Tunnel.  Clearly, enough Zone A evacuees were taking the situation seriously.

Back in NJ, I circled the blocks to find a street parking away from trees and power lines (there aren’t many, I discovered).  With my college closed due to the weather, I hunkered down and sorted through my new treasures.

Then emails about local evacuation started going around.  Everyone living on the waterfront in first or ground floor apartments had to be out by 7.a.m.  I live about half a mile inland, and on the 4^th floor, but our street is at best 4 feet higher than the waterfront, so that meant a good chance the street could see flooding.  A driving ban was issued for the whole town, and a walking curfew put in place for the at risk areas.

By 5 p.m. Monday, boardwalk was already flooded.  By 8 p.m., water was pouring into the basements of the highrises behind it.  The evacuation pickup point for residents without cars - a McDonalds at the mall about 1/8 mile from here – flooded as well.  The wind was pounding.  My huge skylight no longer seemed very secure to me, not to mention the wooden roof deck right above ….

Newport Promenade Monday Late Afternoon (Lower Manhattan in the Background)

At 9:30 p.m., power went out.  Artificially calmed by 2 glasses of Montepulciano filled to the brim, I decided I might as well go to bed.  I lay awake a little while, hearing the wind howling through the trees.  The leak in my roof (some tiny hole I can’t seem to find), slowly dripped into the catch basin I set up in my living room.

I woke up at 7 a.m. to a slower drizzle of rain and slightly lighter winds.  Things looked ok outside, there was no flooding in the street.  The water was working, but electricity was still out.  So no tea, and no news from outside.  I texted family and friends that everything was fine.  The streets remained deserted through the morning.

By the early afternoon, I decided it was safe enough to poke around outside.  My car was still there and in good shape, though some others had been broken into during the night.  This is typical in my neighborhood even when the lights are on, and even though I live on a nice block.  Around the corner, the French wine store was open, sort of.   Candles were lit inside and coffee was brewing in the French Press.  The owners have a nearby restaurant, also without power, but they owned some gas powered camping cookers for outdoor parties.  So they made free crepes for anyone who came by: the eggs and milk will spoil, she said.  When I looked in on them again later on, there was a small crowd and people texted friends about the hot coffee.

After charging my phone in the car, I went on a walking tour.  On the waterfront, the boardwalk was ripped up and pushed into the grass.  Tourists from nearby hotels were taking photos, trampling down the police tape.  Police was busy elsewhere anyway.  There was lots of exchanging news about who got flooded, who didn’t.  The local Shoprite was running on generator power, with lines all the way out the door.  Free power strips inside had people charging up in crowds.  The rest of the town was totally dark. 

Parts of The Pavonia Promenade After the Storm

I made it over to the “Paulus Hook” area, from which you can see straight south to the Statue of Liberty.  Much of that area seemed intact though generators were running pumps everywhere.  But the apartments further west were hit badly, many flooded almost to street level.  My friend’s bakery, scheduled to open in November, in total shambles.  Furniture from basement apartments was sitting the street.  Two pizza places running on generators were open, again with long lines, as were two Halal stores, cash only, stores dark inside but selling down on what they had until sundown.

We were still in the dark Tuesday night, and my neighbor came upstairs; he couldn’t reach anyone in lower Manhattan because his cell (and their cell) wasn’t working.  AT&T cell towers were without power, and are still only working intermittently.  He used my Verizon phone, found out his office was closed, and we downed more red wine. 

At 2 a.m. I was woken up by bright lights in my bedroom.  I’d forgotten to turn those off when the power went out.  All must be back to normal in Jersey City, I thought, and went back to sleep.

Not so.  Today, Friday, the power is still out in much of Jersey City.  The mall is open, but many stores are closed.  Yesterday, only three restaurants in the food court had anything to serve, and again the lines were long.  The Shoprite is still chugging along, and my neighborhood store served coffee, tea and sandwiches all day Thursday until they ran out.  There won’t be any more deliveries until Saturday. 

On Wednesday I tried to get to a post office.  The main JC post office was closed due to lack of power, as was the one in the Heights.  So I drove all the way to Secaucus, which is a 15 minute drive if there’s no traffic.   This turned out to be a bad idea.  Most of the street lights were dead and the busy intersections directed only by brave cops, or no one at all.  You had to drive very carefully and traffic was bad.  At least the post office was open.  But I found out that the local sorting facility in Kearny was closed due to flooding in the area, so who knows where my packages are going.  Meanwhile, mail delivery in my area did not resume until Thursday.

On Wednesday there was a very limited farmer’s market in my local park.  One farmer came from South Jersey.  They had no power down there, but vegetables don't care about that sort of thing.  Then there were 3 local vendors with food, which got gobbled up quickly.  The farmer sold out of most of his goods.  And there were tons of kids trick or treating.  Word must have spread all around that this was the one and only place to get candy.  The adults were exchanging stories.  The back area of JC was getting restless, I heard from some residents.  That’s our poor part of town, and many residents there don’t have the money to prepare well.  Hoboken, which is a 20 minute walk away from me, is getting lots of well deserved attention, but we didn’t make the news.  Too much else going on I guess.

Meanwhile, getting to NY is a near impossibility.  Not that anything is going on at 47^th Street anyway.  I texted my setter who lives by the GW Bridge – my home phone is working but the lines are constantly overloaded, so you can’t get through.  Avo, the setter, had power but decided it was too much of a hassle to try to get to work.  The engraver made it in on foot (he emailed me), but he said not all exchanges were open.  My friend D., a gemstone dealer, made it from Long Island Thursday for the first.  It took him 4 hrs.  And there were no customers.  He stayed home today.

On Wednesday, I peeked into the windows of the now closed PATH train station, my local subway to NY.  It looked like it must have been a fish tank during the storm.  They were still pumping the water out as of Thursday.  So no way that will be working anytime soon.  The website has no information.  The Ferry port seemed deserted, with people milling about and just an old sign with times that might now be wrong.  There was an ad for a ferry app, but with most people without power, that’s not helpful.

For now, we’re all just sticking it out by staying local.  The driving ban remains in place at night.  I have everything I need – lucky me – all my immediate neighbors seem ok, and the friends I could reach are ok too but I’m worried about some that live further back, still without power.  We will see what next week will bring.  I will attempt a trip to NY on Tuesday.  The buses from JC Heights are working, though they are crowded.  So the trip will be cumbersome, but I have custom orders and my friends on 47th need work.  The jeweler who resizes my rings has nothing do.  My setter, the polisher, and D., none of them made any money this week, and few of them have any money set aside.  The economy in the last few years hasn’t allowed it.  They all work independently and without health or other insurance.  My Etsy shop has brought them a little bit of luck, and I don’t want it to run out.