Mardon Jewelers

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 known as the Wittelsbach-Graff diamond, for the purpose of research and comparison. Part 1 is featured in Gary’s “The Roskin Gem News Report” at this URL,

http://www.roskingemnews.com/Master_Page/Diamonds.aspx.

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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 all gemstones, you would probably be surprised– some pieces sell for well into six figures. Even jewelers who really know their way around the faceted stones have a hard time with jade, especially when we don’t often see really good jade like this necklace.

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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 his stable and horses and allow a bit of bragging as well.

My client had seen a horse-shoe ring with a center diamond carved in the shape of a horse head and thought that might be a good place to start. My idea was that we could do something truly outstanding and noteworthy by using a colored gemstone, so he agreed to give it a try.

We were able to locate these extraordinary carved horse heads of fire agate by master fire agate carver Joe Intili. These are “quarter size” stones, ideal for a large and dramatic man’s ring or an outstanding bolo tie.

The stone on the right actually has been named by its owner, Bob Beaudry— he calls it the “The Strawberry Roan.” Like other famous fire agates, this one certainly deserves a nickname. This museum quality gemstone is one-of-a-kind, absolutely unique and irreplaceable, 100% natural and untreated, and of course truly American– it was discovered at the mine on Slaughter Mountain, Arizona.

The Strawberry Roan

Even if the artist were to carve the exact same shape, the nature of fire agate means that no two stones are alike or even close! Notice Joe’s deft touch with the material– the eyes on these carved gems look right at you!

My client passed on the Strawberry Roan– turns out he is color blind and couldn’t really appreciate the beauty of these gems. I guess diamond with it’s sparkle and dancing light is a better choice for him.

Even if you are not in the market for an exotic and rare gem like this (and these days, many of us are not!), Mardon offers many unusual gifts for Dad, from affordable items from our famous Raincross Collection or the William Henry studio starting around $150, to unusual estate pieces, and outstanding custom designed creations. If Pop is a sentimental old softie, give him your portrait or a favorite picture in precious metal. Just don’t forget dear old Dad- he deserves your best!