After decades of working on precious jewelry in Metairie, one truth has stood firm: jewelry may sparkle, but it is not indestructible. Gold bends, gemstones crack, pearls panic at the sight of chemicals, and silver tarnishes faster than a Louisiana sidewalk after a rainstorm. Half the repairs that come into the shop start with the...
by Ken Bowers, Owner — KenWorks, Metairie, Louisiana Jewelry has a funny way of becoming part of life’s story. Some pieces mark big moments. Others are inherited from relatives whose personalities still shine through every scratch and dent. And then there are those mystery pieces hiding in drawers—gifts from years past or impulse purchases that...
There’s a certain poetry to the ticking of an old Rolex. It’s not just a sound—it’s a rhythm, steady and patient, like the heartbeat of craftsmanship itself. In a world where watches can light up, talk back, and tell someone to stand up every hour, a mechanical timepiece that simply tells time feels refreshingly human. But lately,...
Every jewelry box has them—the quiet residents pushed to the back of the drawer. The single earring without its twin, the tangled chain that’s been in “temporary storage” for a decade, the old ring that hasn’t seen a finger since the Clinton administration. These forgotten pieces once sparkled at weddings, birthdays, and Sunday brunches. Now...
Jewelry is funny. It spends half its life being admired and the other half being neglected—tangled in drawers, sitting on bathroom counters, or tossed in purses to rattle around with car keys and coins. The irony is that most damage to fine jewelry doesn’t happen while wearing it. It happens when it’s sitting still. A...
There’s something magical about fine jewelry. It’s small, shiny, and—if treated right—built to outlive just about everyone who ever owned it. But here’s the thing: jewelry might look timeless, yet it’s far from invincible. Those sparkling gemstones, precious metals, and intricate clasps all work hard behind the scenes, and like anything that works hard, they...
Every jeweler has seen it happen. Someone walks in, proudly wearing a sparkling necklace picked up on a whim or during a vacation cruise, and wants to know what it’s worth. The sparkle’s there, sure—but the story usually ends with disappointment. The truth is, most jewelry that looks valuable isn’t, and the pieces that quietly...
Precious metals tend to stir up more debate than family politics at Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone has an opinion, everyone has a favorite, and each one comes with its own story. Most people think of gold first because it has been the poster child for wealth and luxury for centuries. But metals like palladium, platinum, and...
Diamonds and watches are funny things. On the surface, they may look simple — a shiny rock in a ring or a ticking bracelet on your wrist. But anyone who has spent time behind a jeweler’s bench knows better. These items carry not only financial value but also layers of craftsmanship, sentiment, and, sometimes, family...
Over the years, I’ve handled everything from simple gold bands to elaborate heirlooms with generations of history behind them. Each time a piece of jewelry comes across my desk, the same question lingers in the mind of the owner: what makes this valuable? The truth is that value is never determined by one single factor....