Thursday, November 18, 2010
The gem auction world is all a-twitter over this outstanding emerald cut diamond offered at the Sotheby’s Auction, November 16 in Geneva, Switzerland. Graded Fancy Intense Pink, the diamond is also unusually high in clarity, pronounced VVS2 by GIA. Described as pure pink with no secondary hues, the pre-auction estimate for this ultra-rare gem is […]
Filed in CAD/CAM, Gemstones, Jewelry Industry Information, Jewelry Making, Precious Metals
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Tagged CAD/CAM, CNC, fancy blue diamonds, Fancy Intense Pink, Geneva, Jenny Sweaney, JewelSmith, Jim Sweaney, ModelMaster, natural color in diamonds, pink diamonds, recycled diamonds
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Thursday, November 11, 2010
Every now and then, we see vintage jewelry that really excites us. Recently, while working with a client on her new custom ring, we were discussing what to do with some pieces of jewelry that she doesn’t use anymore. We buy cast off and damaged jewelry to recycle, as well as consigning resalable pieces. As […]
Filed in Estate Jewelry, Gemstones, Jewelry Industry Information, Jewelry Making
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Tagged Art Nouveau, bloomed gold, Edwardian, enameled jewelry, Estate Jewelry, Late Victorian, Old Mine, Old Mine cut, vintage jewelry
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Saturday, October 16, 2010
This tale of woe illustrates some of the risks and challenges we jewelers face in our fascinating business. Last year, I had seen this lovely 8.65 ct reddish purple cuprian elbaite tourmaline several times. Gem dealer Jack had tried mightily to tempt me with it, an unheated stone from the country of Mozambique in East […]
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Our old friend and former colleague at GIA, Gary Roskin, has published an absolutely fascinating account of a major event at the pinnacle of the gem world. Under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institute, the most famous of all gems, the Hope Diamond, was brought together for the first time with the Wittelsbach Blue, now […]
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
The desire and ability to exploit our environment and to utilize and improve the natural materials we find is rooted in our deepest past, and is in fact, part of the reason we are here today. I was absolutely fascinated by an article in the August 2010 Scientific American, When the Sea Saved Humanity, that […]
These two sapphires are both from the island of Sri Lanka, both are heat enhanced, both are from the same vendor, both weigh about the same. Here’s another photograph, same stones, same photographer (myself), same camera, same photo stage, similar macro lens, slightly different lighting. Can you guess which one costs more?
We completed a most beautiful engagement ring a while back but weren’t able to post this blog till now. It was one of the most challenging projects we’ve ever done! Our clients Megan and Mike, big fans of antique and period jewelry, fell in love with a 1920’s Art Deco platinum ring in our estate […]
Filed in CAD/CAM, Estate Jewelry, Gemstones, Jewelry Industry Information, Jewelry Making
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Tagged Art Deco, CAD/CAM, Estate Jewelry, Old European cut diamond, one-of-a-kind, platinum, platinum filigree engagement ring
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We’ve been working on an insurance appraisal for this wonderful platinum necklace with diamonds and jadeite from the 1920’s and realized the piece has a lot to teach about grading and valuing jade. Jade is not well understood by many folks. If I told you that jade can be one of the most expensive of […]
We thought this would be a great post the week after Father’s Day. Often at Mardon Jewelers, we’re asked to perform an expert service by a client. Such was the case recently when we restored the ring that originally belonged to Robert M. Shipley, the founder of GIA. Early in his career, Mr. Shipley realized […]
A service we offer is finding rare gemstones. One of my “quests” at Tucson 2010 was for an unusual stone for a client who owns a stable of Tennessee Walking Horses. One of his horses is a World Grand Champion, so he was interested in a ring he could wear that would bring attention to […]