There are at least 3 kinds of Jem machines (maybe 4). The Silver, which is a basic machine, the Gold and the Platnium, which is the fanciest of the Jem's.

I have a Jem Platinum, which does have an adjustable zig zag. I don't know if the Gold or Silver have adjustable zig zags or not.

My DGD had the Janome Sew Mini. It was great for her. Not to fast and easy to handle. She asked for a bigger machine for Christmas this year and loves her full size Janome. (She is only 6 and has been eying the long arm in the quilting shop we go too. Sigh!!!)

i bought the jem platinum for my 5th wheel and classes..i love it. weighs 12 pounds..so east to carry and came with a hard case cover.

I think it is interesting that whenever people ask for information about sewing machines, almost everyone replies that they love whatever machine they have. Since they usually aren't specific about what particular features are leading to their satisfaction, I assume that in general whatever machine we each have seems to meet our individual needs, which is great, although I don't know what it means for those of you who have dozens of machines :). So my conclusion is that we've all done a great job of thinking about and deciding what we want in a machine, researching the choices, testing them, and then settling on the one that best matches our desires and pocketbook.

I'm new to Janomes; only got my AQS a couple of weeks ago, and I find it confusing when people talk about "Jems" because, as Quilter7X pointed out, there are several varieties of Jems (is the Gold Plus new?), and they each have different features and prices. I would just caution anyone thinking of buying one of these little cuties to carefully compare each model to make sure you're getting the feature(s) you really want in a small machine.

After reading your post MM, I looked on Janome's website. Seems there is a Jem Gold, a Gold 2 and a Gold 3 as well as several other Jem models. They have a section for retired machines also and some of the Jems are there.

You make a good point that everyone who posts about their machines loves them and I can see where not using competitor's machines while using their loved machines can be a bad thing. How would you know what you're missing out on if you don't use something from the competition? This exact scenario happened to me recently. I've been a die-hard Janome fan for about 12 years now and used a Bernina to do some FMQ at a class where machines were provided. I could not believe how wonderful the Bernina was for FMQ and now I'm looking to buy one for FMQ!

Once you get used to your machine, you have a comfort level with features of that brand and some people stay loyal to that brand for familiarity (I did!). I love the needle threader, the knee lift lever and the fact that I can see the bobbin under the clear cover. The Jem doesn't have a knee lift lever (wish it did). I like that the snap-on presser feet are interchangeable between my two Janome machines. That won't be the case when I get a Bernina.

Nice to have you here on the board!

here is where you can compare any model..the Jem Platinum, which is what i have, is retired i think. the real difference between them, is the platinum is electronic..which i wanted, simply because my Janome 6600 is too..the feet are interchangable also.

http://janome.com/index.cfm/Machines...uilting/Jem760

the magnolia is around 18 pounds.

hello kitty,is the smallest one..i have never sewed with either of them though.

Any machine your thinking of buying should be test drove if possible.

I would not waste your money on the Janome sew-mini. I picked this one up for my daughter and it it really set up for very young, new sewers. You cannot change the feet, change the needle position or anything. I bought it for $40 and ended up unloading it for $20. I just picked up a Janome 2018 at a quilt show for $67 and it pieces very nicely. The Jems are good too.

I have had a Gem Gold for about eight years. I bought it to take to classes because it is lightweight. I like it just fine for that. I wouldn't be pleased if it was my only machine.

Not sure what you mean by the mini. If it is the $60 machine, my local Janome shop told me it is nothing but a cute toy and would be better off getting the next step up.