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. (Continued)
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 20’s speakeasy wearing this striking piece, the epitome of the cocktail ring! (Continued)
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! (Continued)
Family Bracelet Before Restoration
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 was a grandmother.
Broken .96 ct. Old European Cut Diamond
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 the stone was badly chipped on 3 sides of the crown and pavilion, the heart of the diamond was intact, and in fact, was of very good quality– well worth saving.
(Continued)
1.24 ct. Ruby Engagement Ring
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 in her gorgeous ruby and diamond ring.
There is no question that the colored gem engagement ring makes a statement of style and individuality, but there are other compelling reasons to make this your choice, including beauty, rarity, durability, and of course, affordability.
Compared to diamond, a truly beautiful colored center stone is well within reach of most couples. The wonderful 1.24 ct. natural unheated ruby shown above appears in size like a one carat diamond, yet its price is much less than half that of the diamond. The price of a better (not best) quality GIA certified one carat round diamond, say SI1 H color, is about $7000 just for the diamond. The total price of our 14K ring including 1.24 ct. ruby, and .39 ct VS-SI near colorless diamonds, $2450! (Continued)
Mr. Beep Beep
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!
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.
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.
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 a broken nose kept him above the water– he couldn’t tolerate the pressure of underwater duty. He was assigned to the USS Wilkes (DD441), a navy destroyer that came to be known as the Lucky Ship because while it was in numerous fierce battles in both the North Atlantic and the South Pacific, not a single sailor lost their life while on the Wilkes.