SMALL BUSINESS Award
Pierre Medawar
Date: 02/23/2004 Lansing Regional Chamber
Roger Srouji shines at Medawar Jewelers Selling jewelry is a challenging but rewarding profession, according to Roger Srouji, manager of Medawar Jewelers in Jackson. "We see happy moments here," Srouji said. "Sometimes we get to see people getting engaged right here in the store." The 35-year-old Srouji has worked for the Medawar company for 10 years, including the past two at the Jackson store. He works an average of 45 to 50 hours a week. His duties include sales and on-site repairs of diamond jewelry and other gems. "I do the repairs myself," Srouji said. "It's challenging. It's an art. It's very detailed work." Srouji said he strives for excellence in his work, and demands the same from his employees. "I am picky at what I do," he said. "I like things done the right way the first time, and I know my work. I know the merchandise I sell and I am very confident in it. "I know anything you want to know about a diamond - the four C's - cut, clarity, color and carat weight." A resident of Lansing, Srouji and his wife, Aline, have been married for 10 years. They have three children: James, 7; Melanie, 5; and Julie, 2. Hobbies for Srouji revolve around athletic activities. "I love to play sports; just about anything from racquetball to volleyball to badminton," he said. "And I like to watch hockey. I'm originally from Montreal, Canada." Srouji said the jewelry profession will be his career, but he has other lofty aspirations for the future. "I'd like to go to Africa for safaris and, maybe one day, help the needy people there," he said. Date: 12/22/2005 Publication: Jackson Citizen Patriot
WEDDINGS Kalamazoo Gazette By Phyllis Rose "With this ring, I thee Wed." These words from the traditional wedding vows show the importance of the rings in the wedding ceremony. Besides being symbols of your love for each other, the rings you choose also reflect your style and your personality. "People are always looking for something unique because everybody wants to be separate," said Michael Nashef, manager of Medawar Jewelers, 5721 S. Westnedge. "They want something that is just for them - unique and specific." Getting that unique look means choosing from a variety of metals and styles of diamonds. For metals, white is the most popular color, whether it's white gold, platinum or palladium, said Gary Alfieri, who with his wife, Marcia, owns Alfieri Jewelers, 6033 S. Westnedge. Palladium is a new metal being offered for manufacturing and is a sister metal to platinum. It is far less expensive than platinum, typically equal in ^price to that of 14-karat gold. "It is a beautiful white metal - white and bright," he said. "It requires no plating of rhodium. White-gold lings are cast in white gold and then they are rhodium plated to make them appear whiter. Platinum does not require that and palladium does not require a plating either." For men's rings, titanium and tungsten are popular metals as well, said Nashef. "Titanium is very light, but it's very hard and doesn't scratch easily, while tungsten is very hard and doesn't scratch at all," he said. "Once you polish it, it's always polished." However, for brides and grooms between the ages of 40 and 60, yellow gold is the most popular choice of metal for wedding rings, said Alfieri. "It's more of a generational thing," he said. "It (white metal) is a trend. I can imagine that within another 20 years, the trend will reverse and yellow gold will be the most popular bridal jewelry." The No. 1 choice for a stone in the engagement ring is still the diamond, with the round stone being the most popular, said Nashef. "On the round diamond, the ideal cut has the highest return of light so when the light goes inside the diamond, it reflects back at you," he said. "It sparkles more because it is cut in specific proportions so it gives you the most brilliance." The ideal cut is based on a mathematical formula so that the reflection and refraction of light are at an optimum, according to weddingband.com. "When a diamond is ideally cut, light rays from all sides are bent toward the center of the stone and are reflected back through the top in a blaze of light," reports the Web site. Added Alfieri, "Ideal-cut diamonds far exceed the beauty of just normal, generic cut stones." The fine ideal cut can be observed by looking at it under a microscope with your jeweler, he said. But choosing a diamond is often a subjective process, said Nashef. Some people just want a big diamond, with color and quality being secondary considerations. Others don't care about size, just wanting the best in color and quality. "When we explain to them that an ideal diamond took a longer time to cut and took a master cutter to cut it because it requires a lot of skill, they tend to buy the ideal diamond," he said. Looking at the stone under a microscope will allow you to see the aspects of quality and help you make your choice, said Alfieri. Sam Zomer/correspondent What bride-to-be wouldn't be thrilled with this unique 14-carat white gold engagement ring from Medawar Jewelers?
“Most diamonds bought in our store are those that color grade of D through I - from the very whitest D down to a few steps below that to an I in color, Although the (color) chart goes all the way down to Z”, he said. "These are fairly white diamonds. Clarity grades are typically SI1, slightly included and above. SI1 is the lowest diamond (grade) that we would recommend that those customers buy." For the wedding band, the designs range from very simple bands to those that have ornamentation, said Alfieri. But many customers are choosing the simpler styles with the bride and groom's ring in matching metals. The bride's wedding band could be plain or have accent diamonds in it. Another trend today is that some people are choosing one ring rather than the traditional engagement and wedding bands, said Nashef. "There are a lot of people who are not liking that look anymore because it's very traditional" he said. "They are going for the one-ring look where the wedding band and the engagement band would be the same. There would be one ring. It's a diamond with a wider band or maybe on the side, it's more intricate and has more design to it, so basically you cannot put any ring next to it." No matter what style you choose in your wedding jewelry, it's still an important symbol of your joy and the commitment you and your spouse made to each other on your very special wedding day. Date: 01/28/2007 Publication: Wedding-Kalamazoo Gazette Customer Testimony by Kathy Meyer "Just a note to let you know what a wonderful experience we had working with Roger and Kim at your Jackson location in purchasing our first diamond (in honor of our 25 years of marriage!). Roger is so professional, knowledgeable, and incredibly patient! Kim is sharp, fun and so very friendly! My husband and I could not be happier with the ring AND the service we received. We are sending you a few pics of our ring we picked up tonight (it looks even better than pictured on the Gelin Abaci website) for you to share with other customers who enjoy the “tension setting”, if you like. We will get many comments on this gorgeous ring and will send them all to Medawars! Roger and Kim are true gems." Kind Regards, Kathy Meyer
|
