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.
This headline caught my eye in a recent email– the answer to this trick question is anyone!
A newsletter by an insurance industry organization highlighted the fact that there are no federal or other governmental bodies setting qualifications for who may be a jeweler or a jewelry appraiser. A study by a related group also found that most jewelry retailers are not Graduate Gemologists. Their study of appraisals received by insurance companies revealed that only 21% of them were prepared by Graduate Gemologists. Many of the appraisals they examined were lacking in such basic information as the weight of the piece and the weight of the gems–important components of value given today’s rising market for precious metals and fine gemstones.
Black Opals in 18K Gold
These gorgeous perfectly matched solid black opal earrings illustrate the global reach of the gem trade. We acquired the stones a few years back from an Aussie opal cutter in Lightning Ridge, Australia, then sent them to Nepal last year. Each leg of their journey was about 8,000 miles, so these opals have traveled the circumference of the earth, flashing their their electric blue play-of-color to the far corners, west to east, east to west, then west to east again.
Chrysoberyl Cat's Eye in 18K Gold
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 chrysoberyl, so that in the gem trade, when we use the term Cat’s Eye by itself, we mean chrysoberyl.
Cat’s Eye is a particular type of the optic effect known as chatoyance, where a bright luminous streak of reflected light appears down the center of a cabochon cut gem stone. Light entering the cabochon from a single light source is reflected off minute fibers or inclusions within the stone. The rounded lens-like shape of the cabochon gathers and focuses the light into a sharp line of light, as we see in the photo above.
Earlier this week, we delivered this nice 14K rose gold custom gent’s wedding band to a very happy client. It was made as a replacement for the original wedding ring belonging to her husband, to be presented at their upcoming anniversary.
From what our client told us, two uncles had combined their gold jewelry, one of whom designed the ring, created the wax and melted the “old gold” to make the ring, which was presented to the couple as a wedding gift.
Over the years, the gold darkened, and eventually broke into pieces. A broken fragment of the original (to the left) was our sample to recreate the design. Our job was to reproduce the original as closely as possible.
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 together–when we purchased it, the chains were in tatters, and several pearls were missing.
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