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Category Archives: Jewelry Making

Padparadschas R Us – Rare Gems Are Our Specialty

We’ve always loved the ultra rare variety of fancy sapphire known as the Padparadscha. Early in my career, working in the gem indentification labs of GIA, I had the opportunity to see a few good examples of the natural Padparadscha Sapphire and to learn the subtle distinctions that make this gem so desirable. Our informational blogs about this […]

A Three Graces Ring– Custom Jewelry is Challenging

We just delivered this beautiful 14K gold ring to a delighted customer. A new client, she had seen one of our custom ring samples over the Christmas holidays and had an idea– she loved cameos and had a particular affinity for the Three Graces of Greek and Roman mythology, the goddesses of beauty, creativity, and nature. Rather than […]

Tucson Gemstone Treasures

As usual, our annual pilgrimage to the Tucson Gem Shows in early February in search of the very best in colored gemstones was a fun mix of business and pleasure. On the drive over, we stopped at Quartzite, home of the Pow Wow, licked a few agates and found some rough boulder opal, stalactite and […]

Art Deco Style Pendant– Custom Made!

We just delivered this lovely pendant, set with the diamonds from several treasured family pieces, to a very happy client. Her son had us make the pendant to celebrate her 50th wedding anniversary, so it was a very nice occasion to deliver the new piece– both son and mother loved the new piece and she left […]

Designer Originals vs. One-of-a-Kind Jewelry- What’s the Difference

We’ve been working hard creating pieces based on our original designs and one-of-a-kind jewelry. So what’s the difference between a one-of-a-kind and a designer original? You’ll never see another jewel like this reversible diamond halo pendant featuring a stunning 6.71 ct. Australian crystal opal. We’ve owned and admired this opal for a number of years […]

A Custom Opal Parure

This beautiful opal ring is the final piece of a set of custom jewels we just completed. A frequent visitor of art and gem shows, our client had collected an eclectic mix of opals over several years. The ring showcases a dramatic cabochon of crystal opal from Ethiopia measuring ~ 3/4 inch long. The simple […]

An Opulent Amethyst Cameo

We just acquired this striking Amethyst cameo from an estate. Measuring almost an inch and one half long, the piece is not for the shrinking violet. Imagine the drama of making an entrance wearing this grand purple adornment! Stone cameos have a long history dating back as early as 3rd century BC. The defining characteristic of […]

Recutting Colored Gems- Closing the Window

Natural colored gemstones come from rare mineral crystals that are found within the earth’s crust. Mother Nature “cooks” various ingredients according to her own unique recipes into crystals of different sizes, shapes, colors and physical properties. For centuries, man has sought out and fashioned these treasures into dazzling objects of beauty and value. Because of […]

Jeweler’s Ingenuity or Camouflage

In the course of buying estate jewelry, we run across some very interesting and unusual pieces- witness this necklace that appears to be a rather ordinary Star 0f David, embellished with center round brilliant diamond and single cut diamonds on the points. We didn’t notice the mechanism when we bought the piece but later discovered […]

Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose– Diamonds!

“Sunburst” descibes this new ring, a one-of-a-kind original design by Jim and Jenny Sweaney of Mardon Jewelers. The center diamond, just under I/2 ct, is a beautiful warm Fancy Yellow color that we’ve accented with a custom bezel of 18K yellow Harmony gold. The 14k white gold mounting supports six marquise brilliant diamonds that radiate sparkle and […]