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Author Archives: james l. sweaney cga fga. gg

The Colors of Christmas in Gems

Every year for Christmas, we jewelers put our best foot forward, looking to make special pieces that will find their way into Santa’s sleigh. This year, I was able to find some spare hours to make these three special rings that feature one of the world’s most unique gemstones, the American Fire Agate.

Double Deco Delights

Recently, we’ve had the pleasure of working with some outstanding vintage Art Deco jewelry. We appraised this wonderful diamond and black onyx ring which features two large Old European cut diamonds, both approximately 1 3/4 cts, both eye clean, near colorless and well matched. Imagine some flapper gal dancing the night away in a Roaring […]

Ancient Future Necklace

Wife Kaye just created this charming necklace for a client, using relatively inexpensive materials including the baroque ammolite center, a freshwater cultured pearl, glass beads with copper and silver wrapped wire. This particular lady likes play-of-color,  asymmetry and a slightly funky look for not a lot of cost– Kaye captured her wishes perfectly!

Geneology in Silver-Restoring a Family Bracelet

  Wife Kaye recently worked with a local family to renovate this heirloom bracelet, composed of sterling silver panels, strung on a ribbon, each hand engraved with the initials of a family member. Judging by the style, the bracelet probably was started around the late 1800’s or so– the most recent person on the bracelet […]

Repairing Broken Hearts and Broken Diamonds

    Our client sadly thought this family heirloom .96 ct. Old European cut diamond had little or no value– after years of wear, it had been cherished almost to death and looked like it had been through the garbage disposal. Mardon to the rescue! A close inspection in our gemological microscope revealed that while […]

Colorful Engagement Rings are Center Stage

Celebrity brides are becoming known by their engagement ring choices, and the colored gemstone ring is very much in the limelight. Princess Kate, in the wedding of the decade, wore “The Ring“, her famous heirloom sapphire and diamond ring, Penelope Cruz is setting style with her sapphire and diamond ring, and Jessica Simpson is stunning […]

Mr. Beep Beep-Vintage Road Runner Pin

  We just acquired this wonderful vintage gold pin, exuberant with whimsy and imagination. If you have ever seen an actual roadrunner running along, you know that in addition to moving their feet very quickly, they also bob their long tail up and down to catch their balance. Ours does too!

Fashion Forward Engagement Ring with Pigeon’s Blood Red Ruby

We always love the stories that go along with our jewelry, especially the ones about the special engagement or wedding rings of our customers. I just received this picture via email from a client in London, England, showing the magnificent ruby his bride is now wearing.

Vintage Modernist Munsteiner Jewel

Want to own a piece of historical art jewelry? We are pleased to showcase this wonderful handmade Modernist brooch/pendant of 18k yellow gold set with diamonds and a fabulous red fantasy cut tourmaline weighing 10.05 carats, created by the brilliant lapidary artist, Bernd Munsteiner.

A Custom WWII Ring for a Navy Dad

The Mardon team created this very special ring just in time to celebrate the 86th birthday of Harold Swanson, my father-in-law. Like many of his generation, he left high school as soon as he was of age and enlisted in the military to fight WWII. As a Navy sailor, he trained for  submarine service, but […]