FULL TRANSCRIPT – SEASON 3, EPISODE 6

Jessica: Are you divorced or getting divorced and wondering what to do with your engagement ring? You don’t have to just sell it. Believe it or not, there are actually a lot of different ways you can repurpose it and still enjoy it. That’s what we’re talking about today in our episode of the Divorce etc… podcast. We’re the exEXPERTS, Jessica and T.H. We focus on helping you navigate your divorce and successfully moving on with your life. Please follow us on all social media at exEXPERTS, and check out www.exexperts.com for tons of free divorce-related resources. Let’s bring in today’s guest.

T.H.: Today’s guest, everybody, is Stephanie Gottlieb. She is the founder and CEO of Stephanie Gottlieb Fine Jewelry, properly named. We’re really happy to have you here. I know for me, I held my ring for…it’s got to be 12 years. I was like, “What am I going to do with this?” In the end, I sold it and put the money back into exEXPERTS. But I think about what I could have done with that ring. We’re really excited to have you here. Welcome to our show.

Stephanie: Thank you. I’m so excited to be here.

T.H.: So tell us, did you just always love jewelry? Why fine jewelry? What got you started in this?

Stephanie: I have always loved jewelry. I didn’t always plan to be here working in fine jewelry. For me, I always wanted to do something in the luxury space. Accessories are definitely a passion of mine on a personal level. Certainly, some of my fondest fashion memory moments did incorporate some pretty wild accessories. I always had an accessory for every occasion, whether it was pumpkin earrings on Halloween or a red, white and blue necklace bib for Fourth of July. I’m someone who just likes to dress for a theme. You can see I’m pre-planning for Valentine’s Day with my shades of pink. I would consider myself an introvert in many ways. And so jewelry is one way that I feel really confident showing my personality. When I started this business, really the intention behind it was that people could wear things that made them feel a certain way, made the outside world look at them a certain way and say, “Wow, what a cool piece. Tell me about it.” And so for me, jewelry is a conversation starter. I didn’t land here on purpose, but I’m so grateful that I did.

Jessica: Obviously, a huge part of your business seems to be bridal, right?

Stephanie: Yes.

Jessica: We’re unfortunately on the other side of that. Like T.H. said—

T.H.: Fortunately. We’re fortunate.

Jessica: Well, for us, fortunately, but not to scare anyone off. But I think it’s pretty common that a lot of people have their rings, and many times, it has a negative association to them at a certain point. They really do just want to sell it. Or they don’t necessarily want to keep it for a daughter or for future daughter-in-law. Again, because it’s like where it kind of came from. I’ve actually been married twice. I did end up selling back both of my rings. But with my second ring in particular, it was spectacular.

T.H.: Oh my god, it was so gorgeous.

Jessica: It was so good. I really wanted to keep it, but I was like I really don’t know what I could possibly do with it. And so I did end up selling it back because I just couldn’t envision what possible ideas there were. One of the things I want to ask you to start off is, when it comes to people having engagement rings and thinking about what they can do with it, are there certain sizes that you think lend themselves to certain pieces? Because I wonder if there is a point at which a stone might be too big to make a solitaire necklace or things like that. I think that’s an important distinction to make.

Stephanie: I agree with you. I think it first depends on the person, right? Five carats to one person is very small, and five carats for another person is completely acceptable for their day to day. If you’re someone who’s in sweatpants all the time, or loves to be at the gym and wearing gym wear, maybe a five carat necklace doesn’t feel so appropriate. But if you’re getting dressed every day and going somewhere where people are also dressed for the occasion, I think there is a place for a five carat stone on your neck. Taking into consideration what your lifestyle looks like, I think is a big piece of it. That being said, a bigger stone can also be suited for something that’s more special occasion, and maybe it does only come out of the safe a couple times a year. It’s still getting worn and loved, versus turning it in. But I think at the bottom of all of this is like, where is the emotional attachment? Can you stomach wearing it? Will it still feel special in a new piece if it has that new life? Or does it have too many strings attached to it?

Jessica: I actually want to ask you about that. People who come to you to repurpose their rings, I’m curious if the overwhelming majority are people who are coming out of a very amicable divorce, where they’re like, “I’m totally fine to continue to wear this stone in some capacity.” Or is it people who are really just like, “I just love the stone. I’m just going to make sure that I can still use it.”?

Stephanie: I think it’s probably 50/50. But most of the time, if you’re keeping the stone, it’s because you’ve left on some good terms. I think it would be really difficult for anybody to wear a stone that represented a really bad ending. But it might be a representation of the children that came out of that marriage, or other happy things and still holds good memories for you. I think most people want to get the stone off their finger. That’s the most obvious answer. There are a lot of great ways to do that, but of course, a bigger stone does usually lend itself to a ring. There are ways around making it feel very different. Adding color, adding new side stones, turning the orientation of the stone, it really can take on a new life.

T.H.: Let’s go into that. When it comes to an engagement ring and repurposing, especially the center diamond, what are your go-to recommendations for people?

Stephanie: There are a lot of things you can do. One of my favorites, I’ll show you a couple pieces, and hopefully you can see, but one of my favorites is our Marley and Paloma tennis necklaces. Tennis necklaces are very much trending right now, and not in the traditional formal sense, but layering them, wearing them all the time, every day to the gym, to the office, going out on a Friday night. Here, taking a traditional oval solitaire and now making it the center of your tennis necklace, this is something you can wear all the time. It elevates the very basic tennis necklace and makes it a little bit more special.

Jessica: If someone has a tennis necklace, is that something you can do to add it in?

Stephanie: You could. You could also make it an addition so they wear it as a pendant on the tennis necklace. That way it’s not something they have to wear every day, but something they can add for more dressy occasions. This is a choker, but can also be worn double wrapped as a tennis bracelet. Now you’re getting two purposes out of it.

Depending on the size of the stone, usually you want the center stone to be the focus of the piece. Now it’s just how do I make it not feel bridal anymore? A necklace is a good way to do that. Obviously, if you’re going with earrings, you’re going to be looking for a set.

T.H.: I don’t know…I see some women just wearing two different earrings, like one is a stud and one is hanging.

Stephanie: You can do that.

T.H.: But I do really like the idea of it being a pendant because I wish I thought about that. Because I have two girls and they could just wear—and you can wear it with anything. You can wear it on any kind of a necklace. They might fight over it, but anyway, it’s a moot point. But I do like that idea. That’s a good transition before you’re really going to sell it. Try it in your every day and see how it feels. You can still sell it without compromising the value of the stone. I really liked that idea.

Stephanie: I think if you go with just a simple pendant, even if it’s something like this one, this is a smaller stone, but if it’s just literally a solitaire bezel set or prong set, that’s a pretty inexpensive way to test it. Maybe you spend $800 to see if you’re going to wear it, but in the scheme of things, I think that’s a small dollar amount to make sure you’re ready to commit to getting rid of or repurpose that piece.

T.H.: Yeah, it’s worth it. There’s that too.

Jessica: How common is it for your clients to come in to repurpose? It seems like I do see on your social media a lot of really original new things and ways that you’re doing it. What percentage of that are actually people coming in with former engagement rings? Is it a common practice?

Stephanie: I would say former engagement rings are a smaller part of the business currently, only because we are only a 10 year old business. Most of our clients are growing with us over the years. We’re just hitting that 10 year threshold. That’s when I think is the obvious stage in a marriage where either things are working, or maybe you’re just ready for a change in terms of your ring, not the person. I do think over the next few years, we’ll start to see that phase of life. But a lot of people have jewelry at home, it doesn’t have to be an engagement ring necessarily, but maybe it’s a piece that somebody gave you 10 years ago and it doesn’t suit your style anymore. Or maybe it’s an heirloom piece that you’ve inherited. Again, Grandma loved yellow gold, but you’re not such a fan. How can I make it work for my everyday and still honor the original piece, but make it something I can really feel like I own?

Jessica: Or even at the 10 year mark, let’s be honest, that’s also the time that a lot of people are up—

Stephanie: Upgrade.

Jessica: So they may use their original piece and revamp it into something else, and then get new upgrade.

Stephanie: Yes. Correct.

T.H.: I think it’s really also a nice idea, whatever you’re going to do with your engagement ring, if you’re on the fence about it, I have so many pins from my grandmother’s with so many diamonds and stones in it. I’m not wearing a long peacock pin on anything. I know its worth. It’s got a ton of really valuable stones. That’s another thing. That’s a great suggestion also, like take a slow step into this, gift yourself something that you already have and make it into something you really love. Then maybe incorporate your stone from your engagement ring into an old piece. Then it’s not so glaring that it’s the stone. It’s just now this gorgeous piece that totally reflects you as you want to be.

Jessica: But I think one of the important things though is to make sure that you know of someone like Stephanie where you can go in and they have the creative vision.

T.H.: Well, I’m not saying I’m—

Jessica: Right. Because I feel whatever, I could have gone back to Arthur and he’s just doing the diamonds. He’s not going to be, “Oh, I have a great idea for how to make this into a bracelet.”

T.H.: No. You need a jewelry designer.

Stephanie: That’s why our girl is coming in here, or guy. We’re really inspired by the pieces. A client who is wanting to repurpose a piece usually does come in here and says like, “Carte blanche, you do what you want with it. I’m looking for something different. I want something creative. Here’s what I like. Here’s what I don’t. Go at it.” That’s the best case scenario for us because we get to get creative and have fun, and produce something that we’ve never done before. That being said, we definitely have our go-to revamp styles. I wanted to share one—

Jessica: Yeah, show us one of those.

Stephanie: Two stones are also trending in bridal. We’ve added them to our fashion collection, but a lot of people who had a stone from a former engagement, or even if they’re upgrading now, this is 10 years, like adding another diamond is another way of doing that instead of trading back a stone. Maybe it still holds some sentimental value. You get another stone, and now you’ve got a bigger look for your ring.

T.H.: Wait, bring your hand a little closer and hold it there for a minute. Seriously, look at how gorgeous that is.

Jessica: I know. And they’re different shapes.

T.H.: Yeah.

Stephanie: If you have two kids, and you’ve been trying to come up with a way to gift your one diamond to two kids, this is a way they can do that. One is going to have—

T.H.: That’s a good settling point. 

Stephanie: One is going to have that one, and one is going to have this newer one. There are all sorts of ways to convince yourself that these are good ideas, but this is one of them.

Jessica: I mean I would love to see if you have other ring things, because I think to your point before, at a certain size, sometimes it almost does make the most sense for it to be repurposed into a different kind of ring, maybe a cocktail ring, maybe something that has colored stones around it or whatever it is. Are there styles like that that you’ve done?

Stephanie: Yes, there are. I have two here with me. Well, this one in particular, this is brand new. This is part of our bridal collection, but it actually—

Jessica: I think I saw that on your Instagram.

Stephanie: We made this first for a client using their center stone. They had a stone from an old ring they had upgraded, and she wanted to do something fun with it. Her diamond was yellow, so I came up with the pink Bombay style. This ring isn’t even about the diamond so much as the whole design. We’ve got some rubies and pink sapphires surrounding that stone. Now it’s really a cocktail ring.

Jessica: Right.

T.H.: Yeah, beautiful.

Stephanie: Most people will not look at this and think, “Oh that feels bridal.” We’ve also turned an oval sideways. So that’s a step in that direction. Something like this one, also two stones, but we’ve added a sapphire to it, we turned them sideways. This feels very much like a fashion piece.

Jessica: Right.

Stephanie: So again, this could be your birthstone, this could be your son’s birthstone. There are ways of just incorporating other elements that are important to you.

Jessica: There are side stones also on that that I just saw. Do you have people who come in with baguettes and things like that, who are like, “Okay, so we’ll put this into earrings, and we’ll do…” yeah, so they’re totally repurposing everything?

Stephanie: Yeah, so you could do that. In this example, the pear shape here was traditionally set, and then it had baguettes on the side. We reused the baguettes, we added a blue sapphire, and you still have your original diamond in there. Another thing a lot of people like to do with side stones, depending on how big they are, but this is a bangle. I’m wearing a couple of them too. You put your side stone in the center there. This one has a marquee. I have two with baguettes here. I mean, this is—

T.H.: That’s really also a great idea. I mean, I have to be honest, to think of wearing my stone around my neck—

Jessica: Like an albatross?

T.H.: I was not in a good marriage. It was not even close to a good marriage. I would say, like I feel like that’s a noose. But a bracelet that’s in good company with others, I like it on the side. I like that whole idea. For me, coming from a bad marriage, I wouldn’t want it to be glaring. But I like the idea of incorporating it with other stones, maybe repurposing an heirloom piece. I like it on a bracelet because it’s like I said, in good company. That way, you can totally do this and turn it into something that you would enjoy. Can I just ask you, people are going to want to know, yeah this all sounds awesome, how much is this really going to cost? These are big diamonds. These are a lot of work. I think people might be under the impression you come in, well, the diamonds will cost the money. How much is it going to cost to do a setting or whatever? Can you give some parameters around that so people—

Stephanie: Yeah. I mean the simplest, just put it on a necklace and leave it as the solitaire, it could start around $800. It goes up if you got a much bigger stone. A new setting could run anywhere from $2,000-$6,000 depending on what we do with it. A tennis necklace, obviously now we’re adding diamonds to make a tennis necklace. Now we’re probably talking about 10,000 plus. But there really are ranges. One of the first things we do with a client is to manage their expectations. What would you be willing to put into a project like this if we could come up with something you really love? Because there really are ways to hit different price points. I mean, the bangle, this could run about like 2500. Then you keep scaling up. If you have diamonds from a wedding band, the diamonds from the band could be on the bangle, and then the center stone could be there. There’s lots of ways to get creative depending on what we’re working with.

T.H.: And it doesn’t look so bridal. Yeah.

Stephanie: It’s never a one size fits all. Every single project is going to be entirely custom. We kind of work backwards based on what it is you want to put into it. Because we realize that a lot of people have jewelry that’s sitting around, and yes, they’re stones with value and that means something, but also if they now have to pay more money for the stones that they didn’t really care about to begin with, or don’t have a good memory tied to them, that they may not want to invest in that way. There are ways to start and kind of dip your toe and make sure you’re going to wear the pieces and love them, and then build it out from there.

T.H.: Okay, so we are just going to take a quick pause here for a minute. Because we know it’s hard to get honest and reliable information about your divorce, so we’ve done the work for you. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to get exEXPERTS in your inbox, join our virtual open house events where you can ask questions to top experts live, and sign up for private sessions with us so you can move forward and thrive beyond your divorce. You can get all of this information at www.exexperts.com. We’ve lived it, so we get it. Let’s get back to talking about jewelry.

Jessica: I have a question. T.H. and I, we originally got married within a month of each other. I was 23 at the time. Years later, I upgraded, but the wedding band that I had, not on the engagement ring, but the wedding band was a channel set. I don’t know if I still have it anymore, but I remember when I was selling back the ring, the diamond guy was like, “These are too small. You can’t really do anything with them.” I’m wondering is there a point at which the stones are too small for you to work with if you can’t make them into anything.

Stephanie: They’ll never be too small. They can always be repurposed. I think it comes down to if it worth repurposing. Because buying the piece in completion new with that size stones may cost the same amount. Because when you’re working with such small stones, a lot of the price is in the labor to set them. You may end up spending the same money to just buy a brand new piece as you would to reset these. Then it’s really like, is there a sentimental value attached to them that you would want to keep them for a specific reason? And if so, you might as well use them. What we do is we melt the gold from any original piece. You do get something marginal back, but again, a lot of the price for something with such small diamonds is in the setting.

Jessica: Okay, that’s interesting.

T.H.: What about appraising a new piece? If I were to just bring something in, do you guys look at it and you’re like, “Okay, well, the diamond is worth this much.”

Stephanie: Yes.

T.H.: “Here’s what we recommend.” Or it’s not worth anything, but you—I mean, you can still do something with something that looks pretty, that’s not worth anything, and appraise it, but how does that all work into the equation when you’re making a new piece?

Stephanie: We do our very preliminary appraisal of the piece, meaning we want to make sure it’s a real diamond. We want to make sure there are no chips or any damage to stones that we’re going to be held responsible for that didn’t happen in our hands. That’s kind of what we do, just a blanket assessment of the piece. Usually, a client will come to us with the intention to reset, regardless of the actual value of the stone, meaning like the value is in the sentiment, and it’s in who bought it for them or what the occasion was, or something of that nature. They don’t necessarily care that it’s 10,000 or 1000. They just want to do something with it. That being said, we do work with a third party appraiser who will appraise it for the current value once it’s reset. That is something that people should be doing, regardless of resetting or keeping it, is making sure that you have a current appraisal value because the price of diamonds can shift dramatically over 10 years. You certainly wouldn’t want to lose something and not have it appraised for the proper current value.

Jessica: How often would you suggest someone appraises? Because if you had something appraised 10 years ago, it might be worth a lot more than if you haven’t appraised it.

Stephanie: Correct. Yes. That’s also something worthwhile. An appraisal can be a couple hundred dollars. If it’s just one piece, it’s maybe $300, $400. You may want to know before you go into resetting it if it has some value, and then it may change your mind about wanting to reset it. Maybe it’s more worthwhile for you to sell it and buy something completely new. That can be part of the process if it’s something that someone wants to do. I would say the market for diamonds usually changes every 10 years. I think 10 years is a good benchmark for having something reappraised.

Jessica: When you have people coming in with former engagement rings, do you feel most are leaning towards—what piece of jewelry is the most common that they’re going for? Is it necklaces? Is it bracelets? Is it rings?

Stephanie: Surprisingly, it is rings. I think people getting—

Jessica: Really!

Stephanie: I think women get used to wearing a ring, and then that finger can start to feel naked if there isn’t something on there. From the conversations I’ve had, a lot of women look at it as like, this is now my symbol of being single, being independent, starting my new chapter. I don’t care who bought the diamond for me, I’m making a new ring. I’m spending the money on this, and it’s mine. And so I think there’s a lot of value in that sort of empowered messaging that you’re doing this for you, and you are making the choices now. Rings are definitely the most popular. Most of the time, we’re using some sort of colored stone in that setting so that it doesn’t feel so bridal. It can often be their own birthstone, or their favorite color, or something rainbow. If they’re coming to me, they usually do love rainbow as much as I do, but something that represents the next chapter for them.

Jessica: I know we were talking earlier about do certain sizes lend themselves to certain pieces or not. What about specific shapes? If someone comes in and they happen to have a pear stone or a marquee, I mean, are you immediately like, “These are the best options for that.”? Versus if someone comes in with a cushion cut or an emerald, it would look better as a completely different type of a piece?

Stephanie: Yes and no. Honestly, not really. I would say for the most part, any shape works for any type of piece. It’s just about what we do with it. If we’re adding a second stone to it, there are definitely certain shape pairings that we default to.

We’re always mindful of if we’re resetting something and adding diamonds to it, we want to make sure the new diamonds complement the original one. We actually just had somebody bring a former engagement ring and an heirloom piece to make a two stone ring out of. We always cognizant of what materials they prioritize being used in the new piece. But I don’t think any certain shape calls for one type of jewelry.

Jessica: I love the idea of bringing in your engagement ring and something else that you might have that you’re not using or wearing every day.

T.H.: Right, that’s what I was saying.

Jessica: That’s a great idea.

T.H.: Right, then it plays with a new crowd. It gets new vibes and new energy, and it’s not just your engagement ring. It’s something totally unique.

Jessica: Yeah, we love that, totally. What is the most common shape right now that people are working with?

Stephanie: In terms of resetting? Or just in general?

Jessica: Both.

Stephanie: I mean, round is always the most popular across the board. I think too a lot of antique settings use round diamonds. So that’s the shape we see the most. Emerald cuts are probably second. Then I would say just because pears had such a ride in the 80s, we’ve seen a bunch of pears being reset.

T.H.: The 80s are coming back. 

Stephanie: They are. They are. Yes.

Jessica: I know someone who recently got engaged with a marquee, and I haven’t seen that in a very long time. I thought that was an interesting choice.

Stephanie: I think the modern bride is looking for something different. With social media and everything being so in your face, you really do get a sense of what everybody else is wearing. And so if you’re someone who doesn’t want to be one in a million, it’s hard to differentiate yourself because so many people go for the classics. The round, the emerald cut, the oval; how many ways can you reinvent the most classic setting? I mean, we try to do that every day, but—

Jessica: I was just going to say, you guys are always showing the band and a half, and then the two stone rings—

T.H.: I mean I love it. You could do one band one day, the other band—

Jessica: —so many original ideas.

Stephanie: That’s why I do it. I’m sort of inspired by my girl who wants to feel different and wants to feel special and wants to wear something that really feels unique to her. The band and a half has been a very popular reset option because it doesn’t feel traditional bridal. We’ve done this in a million different ways with every color gemstone, including rainbow. We’re trying it with baguettes right now. It’s just a really cool piece. We’ve done it as pinky rings. That’s something I—

Jessica: I feel also your Undecided collection would potentially be a great potential option.

Stephanie: There it is.

T.H.: That’s the one.

Jessica: Have you seen this, T.H.?

T.H.: Yeah, no, this is the one that I said that I love. You just had that up. I love it.

Stephanie: I’m wearing the wearing the necklace too. I mean, it’s a cool piece. Again, if you had a half eternity band, like a 10 stone band, now you could add another shape to it. Now you have a completely different piece. Who even remembers that those stones came from the wedding band? It’s a brand new piece. It’s for you. It doesn’t feel bridal, it can feel fashion. We do it in different metal tones. You could do a bezel setting. There are so many options.

T.H.: I’m actually thinking right now that I did nothing with my eternity band. I did just get a new one, so I’m never wearing that one again.

Jessica: But you had a stack of bands.

T.H.: Well, I have the really thin ones. I have two really, really thin ones that I used to stack above my old wedding band. But I think I’m going to give each of my daughters one of those. But I have a very nice eternity band, and my boyfriend just bought me one, so obviously I’m never wearing that other one again. But I think that I’m going to visit you because I have a bunch of pins, and I have an eternity band. The thing for me is I loved my eternity band. I loved it. I didn’t pick it, but I loved it. It’s less symbolic for me than the engagement ring. I don’t know why.

Stephanie: [Unclear] that you picked out and had your input in.

T.H.: I just love it. Yeah, I’ll be seeing you soon.

Stephanie: This is also something we’ve done, just your traditional diamond by the yard, this 40 point eternity band. Those were pretty big stones. The client just wanted to have something she could layer and wear all the time. And so that’s what we did.

Jessica: That’s a great idea.

Stephanie: And again, very easy. It wasn’t super expensive, and something she can wear all the time and just change up the layer.

Jessica: For something like that, what would be the ideal size? Like, starting at what size a point—

Stephanie: Those were 40 points each, 0.4. These are three. So really, it works in any size. I mean, here of course, it’s more of an accent than it was in that piece, more of a statement, but it works for as small as a three pointer, which is less than a one carat total weight band.

T.H.: And you can make the whole bracelet too. You had that bracelet that wraps two times. For however many diamonds you have, you do it once, or you do it twice. I think I’m bringing you a pin.

Jessica: I totally love that. Because it’s not even now just about the repurposing specifically of your solitaire, but if you have any kind of a diamond eternity band, now there are things that you can actually do with it. The diamond by the yard necklace is such a great, easy way to go.

T.H.: What about a pinky ring? I’ve seen pinky rings now also. That’s also—

Stephanie: If you have extra stones, you could do—so I had one client bring me a wedding band. It was probably like this size. She wanted two pinky rings, so we split it. We did half blue sapphire, half diamond, and made two of those that she stacked together.

T.H.: Oh my god, you guys, there are so many great ideas.

Jessica: I love it.

T.H.: We’re putting up this video so you can see all these pictures and all of this gorgeous jewelry. It can all be yours in a way that works for you and budget. No, really, because you think about all the stuff you have, like I’ve got stuff in a safe, and I don’t even know what’s there. But it was my grandmother’s and my great grandmother’s. That’s when stuff was like real gold, and so there’s no questioning the quality of that.

Stephanie: Well, you would be surprised. See, this is where it is worthwhile to have your jewelry appraised properly. Because I just had a client bring me a ring to set as an engagement ring, it was the grandmother’s stone, and it wasn’t a diamond. It was a moissanite. At some point, someone switched it out on them, and they didn’t realize it. Now 20 plus years later, unfortunately, I had to share that news that it’s not a diamond.

Jessica: That happened to T.H.

T.H.: That’s what happened to me during my divorce. For whatever reason, my attorney allowed me to go and hand over all of my jewelry to a jeweler picked out by his lawyer. By the way, the engagement ring, we now know was a gift to me. It’s not even a marital asset. It should never have had to be appraised. Just so you all know if you’re in the thick of it, and you’re asked to do that. The other thing is the appraisal has to be done in front of you. You never hand it over to some jeweler in a jewelry store. Because then when I went to sell my stone, which Jessica and I had like comparable stones, and my ex would never—it’s just a reflection on him.

Jessica: He’s very fancy. He never would have gotten a poor quality stone.

T.H.: Yeah, there was a blue mark right through my stone that was not there when I got that stone. I know it wasn’t. I know that jeweler swapped out my stone.

Stephanie: Yeah, it’s got to be someone you trust. If you can be there during the appraisal, great. If not, you need someone to represent.

T.H.: You need someone really reputable. I was literally in a strip mall in Wayne, New Jersey. So don’t do that. But yes, I mean, I think that there are ways though to repurpose it and make it something that’s a reflection of the new you and your next chapter. As you’re discovering yourself and your new personality, you can be like, “I like this. I like that.” So go and make it happen for yourself. Like Stephanie said, there are many different ways to make it happen for yourself. I think it’s just awesome.

Jessica: Thank you Stephanie for sharing all of those great ideas and the beautiful pieces.

Stephanie: Thank you.

Jessica: It’s something that we have conversations with people all the time, nobody knows what to do with them. To be able to pick your creative brain and see those ideas that people would never have thought of is amazing. Thank you so much for taking the time. We really appreciate it.

Stephanie: Happy to! Yeah, thank you. And let me know. I’m ready when you are.

Jessica: For everyone listening, if you’ve enjoyed this episode of the Divorce etc… podcast with the exEXPERTS today, then please help us out. When you subscribe, rate, and review, it helps us get the word out so we can support more people like you going through divorce and beyond. Check the show notes for more info on Stephanie Gottlieb and her jewelry. Check out her Instagram at Stephanie Gottlieb, which you could watch it like it is reality TV. It’s beautiful. It’s so gorgeous and so beautifully curated. I definitely recommend it. Of course, share all of this with anyone you know who can benefit from listening. Have a great day.