A client inherited this gorgeous antique Yogo Sapphire pin and asked us to appraise it. Sapphires were known to occur in several areas of western Montana as early as 1865. For the most part, these deposits produced only moderately good sapphires. The discovery of sapphires in Yogo Creek was different. In 1895, famed gemologist G.F. Kunz, […]
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
When you mention engagement ring, most of us think of a simple band with a single diamond, shining and sparkling with love and promise. This is known in the jewelry trade as a solitaire engagement ring. The development of today’s solitaire rings really began in the late 1800’s when several new technologies brought jewelers the means […]
Also filed in CAD/CAM, custom jewelry, Estate Jewelry, Jewelry Making, Jewelry Services
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Tagged Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Asscher cut dimaond, Cartier, Custom Design, die and hub, die struck jewelry, emerald cut, fabricated jewelry, lost wax casting, padparadscha, princess cut diamond, radiant cut diamond, Tiffany, Victorian
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Fresh green from our shop– our hand crafted classic 3 stone ring accents this fine 1.21 ct. emerald from the fabled Muzo mine of Colombia with a matched pair of brilliant cut trapezoid shaped diamonds. The cut and clarity of the stone show the color to its rich perfection. The soft yet vivid color of this gem […]
Also filed in CAD/CAM, Gemstones, Jewelry Industry Information, Jewelry Making, Jewelry Services
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Tagged Aztec, Chivor, Colombia, Cortez, Cosquez, Inca, Muzo
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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 […]
Also filed in CAD/CAM, Jewelry Industry Information, Jewelry Making, Jewelry Services
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Tagged Air Force, Army, CAD jewelry design, custom WWII ring, Marines, Navy, The Lucky Ship, USS Wilkes, WWII
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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 […]
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 […]
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?