Last week, a young man, just graduated from dental school, came to the shop to sell us a small batch of casting gold leftover from his casting classes. We tested his gold as 14K, then weighed and valued it for him. He left the store to get his identification so we could make the transaction, […]
This headline caught my eye in a recent email— the answer to this trick question is anyone! A newsletter by an insurance industry organization highlighted the fact that there are no federal or other governmental bodies setting qualifications for who may be a jeweler or a jewelry appraiser. A study by a related group also […]
These gorgeous perfectly matched solid black opal earrings illustrate the global reach of the gem trade. We acquired the stones a few years back from an Aussie opal cutter in Lightning Ridge, Australia, then sent them to Nepal last year. Each leg of their journey was about 8,000 miles, so these opals have traveled the […]
Filed in custom jewelry, Gemstones, Jewelry Making
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Tagged black opal, blue spinel, cat's eye chrysoberyl, chrome diopside, fire opal, Himalaya mountains, Kathmandu, Nepal, red spinel, Shangri-La, Shangri-La Jewelry, spectrolite, star sapphire, tanzanite
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This beautiful 18K gold ring we had made in the high Himalaya Mountains of Nepal shows the true magic of the Cat’s Eye gem. Cat’s Eye is an optical phenomenon seen in many different gems, including emerald, aquamarine, and tourmaline, to name a few, but the classic Cat’s Eye effect is best exhibited in the […]
Earlier this week, we delivered this nice 14K rose gold custom gent’s wedding band to a very happy client. It was made as a replacement for the original wedding ring belonging to her husband, to be presented at their upcoming anniversary. From what our client told us, two uncles had combined their gold jewelry, one […]
When we buy estate jewelry, some pieces need repair or restoration. The keys to a successful jewelry restoration are to use similar materials for replacements, to keep the original finish and patina intact, and to retain as much of the original design as possible We just finished putting this lovely late Victorian “Swag” necklace back […]
We just appraised this beautiful bright yellow ~2 ct. round diamond for a client. She had inherited the stone, which was accompanied by an appraisal from a gemologist which described it as a “Canary Yellow” diamond, which implied but didn’t state specifically that the stone was natural-color. Our client said the diamond had originally been […]
We’ve just completed this gorgeous sapphire and diamond ring, inspired by the engagement ring of Lady Diana and soon-to-be Lady Kate. This basic design, where a colored gemstone is surrounded by a circlet of diamonds, has been a favorite for centuries. Since everybody and their uncle has been doing versions of the ring, we decided […]
Filed in CAD/CAM, Gemstones, Jewelry Industry Information, Jewelry Making
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Tagged Ceylon Sapphire, Crown Jeweller, digital rapid prototype machine, engagement ring, Garrard's of Mayfair, Kate Middleton, Lady Diana, Mardon Jewelers, Prince William, provenance, Rapid Prototype, royal, the royals
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Thursday, January 27, 2011
These days, we buy a lot of jewelry, used as well as new. Last week, I worked with a young lady, a bit down on her luck and on the rebound from a relationship that didn’t work out. She was looking to sell her white gold solitaire ring that was set with the one carat […]
Thursday, December 30, 2010
We recently completed this great looking setting for a dog-tag. Our client’s husband rarely wears jewelry, but she heard him remark about a dog-tag he saw David Hasselhoff wearing on TV. She brought us his original dog-tag from his military service days and asked us to make a nice piece of jewelry that he would […]
Filed in CAD/CAM, Jewelry Industry Information, Jewelry Making
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Tagged CAD, CAD jewelry design, CNC, custom jewelry, dogtag, JewelSmith, ModelMaster, Stereolithography, veterans
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