40th Anniversary Year - June Special for Newsletter Subscribers!  

Mention our newsletter and
throughout the Month of June,

take 25% off  

ALL KJ Select Watches!*

 

Please join us in celebrating the 40th anniversary of Karen's Jewelers!

 

*Offer only valid if you mention that you saw this in our newsletter  

at the time of purchase.

 

Silver Restoration Event - One Day Only!

No appointment necessary.  

Call for more information. 

June is Wedding Month

Fall and holiday weddings gain in popularity every year. Still statistically, June stays at the top of the list as the most popular wedding month. December comes in first as the most common month for engagements in America. It takes a lot of planning and dollars to put a dream wedding together.  

Here are some more interesting facts and figures compiled about American weddings:

99 percent of grooms do the proposing.

Every year an average of 2.4 million weddings are performed in the U.S.

88 percent of Americans marry at least once in their lifetime.

There are 23 million bridesmaids and groomsmen each year.

The average number of wedding guests is 165.

$19 billion is spent on wedding gifts, with the average amount spent on a wedding gift being in the $70-$100 range.

$28,671 is the average cost of a U.S. wedding, honeymoon not included!

For those who opt to go out-of-town for their wedding, Las Vegas tops the list of destinations.

Many times we need special gifts for the extraordinary people in our lives. June in particular, we think of Dads and Grads!

Reminder

If you're feeling patriotic this summer for the many events and picnics that are upcoming, come in to see  

our selection that will  

leave you sparkling! 

June Birthstones: Pearl and Alexandrite

Pearl  

From one of the humblest of life forms, the mollusk, comes the pearl. Ancient civilizations had many stories to explain the origin of pearls, such as the Greek belief that pearls were the hardened tears of joy cried by the goddess of love as she was born from the sea.

The scientific explanation for natural pearls is almost as mystifying as folklore. When an irritant lodges in the flesh of an oyster, a protective substance called nacre is produced. Over years, layers of nacre coat the irritant, creating the pearl.  

Natural pearls are rare, so a process evolved to create pearls in which a piece of shell was placed inside the mollusk to stimulate the production of nacre which results in a cultured pearl. Cultured pearls account for about 90 percent of the pearl industry.

Alexandrite

Alexandrite is naturally brownish green to aqua in color. This gemstone has the unique characteristic of changing color to a reddish magenta hue in certain types of light, such as candlelight. The gemstone is often referred to as "an emerald by day, a ruby by night."

It is a rare and expensive gemstone, symbolic of joy and good fortune.

For more information about these gemstones and caring for them, come in and see us!

June Gems of Wisdom

The birthstones for June are pearl and alexandrite. (Please see the birthstone article.) The moonstone is also considered a June birthstone by the American Gem Society. The moonstone is part of the feldspar family of minerals. It is considered sacred in India and it is said to bring good fortune to one who wears it. Moonstone comes in a variety of colors such as blue, green, champagne and peach and is most known for its milky appearance and play of light.

The birth flower for June is the rose. One of the world's most beloved flowers, its symbolism and beauty rivals no other flower. Love, honor, faith, friendship, loyalty, wisdom, passion and devotion are just a few of the meanings of the rose and to some, the color of the rose is said to represent different meanings.

Special Days in June

June 5th is World Environment Day, as established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972.

June 6th is National Yo-Yo Day, as that is believed to have been Donald Duncan Sr.'s birthday, who popularized the yo-yo in the U.S.  

June 14th is Flag Day. It was officially proclaimed by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916 to fall on that date.

June 21st is also the Summer Solstice, the first day of Summer!

June 30th is National Meteor Watch Day. Search the sky to catch a shooting star.

Legendary Gemstones: The Hope Pearl

The Hope Pearl is a white drop-shaped saltwater blister pearl weighing 1,800 grains (450 carats). It is one of the largest natural saltwater pearls ever discovered. The pearl is so named as it was owned by banker Henry Philip Hope, a patron of the arts and connoisseur and collector of gems, who also once owned the Hope Diamond. Hope acquired the pearl sometime around the beginning of the 19th century. It was Hope who had the pearl set in its attractive pendant setting, in which it still exists to this day.

After having been on display in the South Kensington Museum for many years, it was sold at auction in 1886. In 1974, it was then offered for private sale for $200,000. It has since been sold again to an anonymous private collector who has placed it on loan for display at the British Museum of Natural History.