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Author Archives: james l. sweaney cga fga. gg

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 [...]

Liz Taylor’s Adventure with the Most Famous Pearl in the World

Last year, after Elizabeth Taylor’s passing, the gem world was all abuzz with the upcoming auction of her famous jewelry collection. Noted auction house, Christie’s, New York would hold an evening sale, December 13, 2011. When all the bids were in, the sale fetched record amounts for most of her pieces, including almost $12,000,000 for [...]

“Deacquisitioning” Gems- A Mardon Specialty

Just in time for Christmas, we completed a very interesting and successful sale for a client who had found us via the Internet last spring. She had purchased this wonderful 5.72 ct. Paraiba tourmaline in the early 90′s, just when the first stones from the Paraiba region of Brazil were coming onto the market. Prices of Paraiba [...]

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 [...]

The Colors of Christmas in Gems

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.

Double Deco Delights

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 [...]

Ancient Future Necklace

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!

Geneology in Silver-Restoring a Family Bracelet

  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 [...]

Repairing Broken Hearts and Broken Diamonds

    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 [...]

Colorful Engagement Rings are Center Stage

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 [...]