Mardon Jewelers at the Mission Inn

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 her pearl necklace. A lovely diamond, ruby, and pearl confection by Cartier, the piece features the most famous pearl in the world, a wonderful inch long pear shaped natural pearl known as La Peregrina. La Peregrina was fished off the coast of Panama around 1570, and has been owned by kings and assorted royals.

Natural pearls are and have always been a rarity– in these days of plentiful cultured pearls, we tend to forget how precious and valuable they have been historically. A famous story tells how in 1913, Pierre Cartier traded a single strand of 55 natural pearls valued at 1.2 million dollars for a mansion on Fifth Avenue belonging to banker Morton Plant– that property is now Cartier’s U.S. flagship store at Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street!

I had a secret story to tell about La Peregrina, had thought about it all year, and when the necklace sold for six times the auction house estimate, I decided to share it with Gary Roskin. An old friend and colleague from my days working as a gemologist, teacher, and lab supervisor at GIA, Gary is now a well known journalist specializing in the gem industry, currently publishing the Roskin Gem News Report.

My story is this– In 1981 I left GIA to work with John Latendresse, a noted pearl dealer who was beginning to culture freshwater pearls in the United States. To me, this was an exciting chance to be involved at the ground floor with a truly unique and ground breaking business, so my wife Kaye and I packed our bags and moved with 2 year old daughter Jenny to Tennessee!

John was a real character, leaving the family home in South Dakota at an early age to find his fortune, serving as a marine in WWII — enlisting at age 15! — and working as a casino cashier, boxer, and commercial fisherman, among other things. An avid outdoorsman, he became involved with natural pearls as a byproduct of his main business, Tennessee Shell Company. The shell company supplied many tons of freshwater pearly mussel shells to the Japanese cultured pearl industry– this thick mother-of-pearl shell is the preferred raw material for making the beads used to nucleate cultured saltwater pearls.

I think it was about the time in 1984 that noted photographer Fred Ward visited John’s pearl farm while working on an article about pearls for National Geographic. John talked with me about repairing Liz Taylor’s pearl– he’d met Elizabeth after her puppy dog chewed on La Peregrina– and matter-of-factly told me he’d “doctored” the pearl, removing tooth marks by “peeling” the pearl

Peeling is a time honored technique developed over the centuries, harkening back to the days when pearls were more valuable than emeralds and rubies. Layers of the pearl are gently and carefully removed, after which the pearl surface is smoothed. The person who does the repair is known as a pearl doctor.

I discussed the story with Gary and Gina Latendresse, John’s daughter who had heard the story from John and has carried on his pearl business, the American Pearl Company,  and we decided to work together to tell the story.  You can read the full story at Gary’s website,  The Roskin Gem News Report.

If you’d like to learn more about pearls or see some fine examples, stop by the shop– today’s cultured pearls are very beautiful, of high quality and  won’t cost millions.

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 stones quickly skyrocketed, especially since this small deposit was soon mined out. Collectors and aficionados realized the rarity and uniqueness of these gems and began paying astronomical prices for the best material. The “Electric” blues can sell today for six figures per carat!

When she asked me to sell the stone for her, my experience with fine gems told me it would a challenge, for a couple of reasons.

First, the preferred color of Paraiba tourmalines is the vivid slightly greenish blue sometimes called “Electric” or “Neon.” The not-so-grand trade description “Windex” captures the color perfectly.

While her stone had all the attributes collectors look for– large size, flawless clarity, great cut, rarity, and a wonderful vivid slightly bluish green color, it was not that unique blue color that collectors lust for. So we would have to find just the right buyer.

The other issue was the origin. Discoveries of similar copper bearing tourmalines in Nigeria in 2001 and Mozambique in 2004 brought a good supply of new stones onto the market– similar colors but most were not as rich and vivid as the original Paraiba find and certainly not as rare– limited production from Mozambique continues to this day.

Because of the fame the Paraiba material had so quickly attained, the name became a buzz word that was used to market this new African material. Controversy still exists today, but has largely been settled by a bifurcated market, where cuprian tourmalines from Africa sell for one price, stones proven to be from the original Paraiba find selling for substantially higher prices.

I knew from the dates on her original sales documents that the stone was indeed Paraiba. To get the price that this ultra rare beauty deserved, we would have to prove it’s Brazilian origin, so we sent the stone to GIA for this proof of origin document.

We worked with our contacts within the Gem Trade, even going so far as to show the stone at the fall Hong Kong show. With patience and perseverance, we were able to sell the stone and pay her a 425% return over what she had purchased it for– not a bad return for a 20 year investment!

My client’s gem investment was certainly timely– but the important thing was that she bought quality. Fine rare gems can be an excellent investment, but choosing the right stone is the key. Like any investment, luck and timing are also in the mix. She worked with an expert jeweler, bought what she loved, paid a fair retail at the time, and was able to enjoy owning a true treasure until she was ready to sell.

You can read her testimonial on our Testimonials page– It’s the first one at the top of the page.

With our many contacts within the gem trade, we can find good buyers for vintage jewelry, colored gems and diamonds of quality– give us a call if you are ready to “deaquisition.”

Our new Raincross piece for this year is the beautiful Heritage Raincross pendant, a brilliantly enameled version of the well-loved Raincross brand orange crate label. We were a little late in getting it into production, but fortunately, the new piece was an immediate hit—we pre-sold all of our opening order with orders for more to be delivered after the holidays. And then, as luck would have it, because of technical difficulties, our enamelists were only able to complete about 2/3 of the initial order.

Today, we had the very last one on display, but it was already spoken for, when a gentleman walked in, immediately zeroed in on our display piece and asked to buy one. We explained that we were sold out.

His face fell. He offered to buy the display piece, we told him the piece was already sold. He told us his wife had her heart set on having one for Christmas, that was all she wanted, and she had even clipped our ad out and given it to him. He said he had to have it, even offering to pay double or more for the one we had on display. We didn’t feel it was ethical to sell the piece under the circumstances and told him we just couldn’t sell it at any price.

Then he told us the rest of the story—he is a Marine captain, home on short leave from Afghanistan to escort one of his men home from the hospital. The soldier, a Riverside native who was wounded a couple of months ago while spotting targets for a bombing raid, goes home tomorrow. Then, it’s back to Afghanistan for the captain, his fourth tour of duty.

I called and  explained the situation to Amy, who had purchased the pendant. She didn’t hesitate—she was glad to let him take her pendant, saying she was thankful for his service and for the opportunity to help him out.

Just goes to show the Christmas spirit is alive and well in Riverside. We all appreciate the dedicated service of the folks who defend our community, our country, and our way of life.

Merry Christmas!

“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 add drama to the beautifully balanced arrangement of round gems. Our stock # is I-21382 and the total diamond weight is 1.75 cts.

This sister ring of 14k white gold emits cool fire with a spray of tapered and square baguette diamonds that surround the ideal cut round brilliant center. Another original by Jim and Jenny, stock # I-21247, diamond total weight is 1.01 ct.

Both rings are designed for everyday wear—the gems are set low, hugging the finger for a comfortable fit. The open work design allows a really big spread of gems for a grand and glorious look without the weight and cost of a lot of gold. Importantly, all the diamonds are repurposed—our estate buying department has been ultra busy recycling lots of jewelry the last few years, so we’re reusing the better quality diamonds we’ve acquired. Since we buy the stones in the second hand market for substantially less than what we would pay our diamond wholesalers, we can pass the savings on to you. Both rings are big, bold, beautiful and bargains!

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.

This 21.20 ct beauty features a wonderful dome of bright red wreathed with green– a touch of purple peeks out occasionally. I hand carved the wax model to fit the stone perfectly, then cast the piece in 14k yellow Harmony gold. Jeweler Scott Reeves actually has to hammer the gold around the gem to accomplish my proprietary setting style.

This large man’s ring is dramatic and striking, measuring about 21 x 19 mm across the top. The stone came from Bob Beaudry, a major collector of finest fire agates — he says the source was Slaughter Mountain, San Carlos Reservation, Arizona.  Happily, it’s already found it’s way to a new home!

The Fire Agate is a rare cryptocrystalline form of the earth’s most common mineral, quartz, found only in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Mexico. Gemmy stones like these are actually carved to expose the iridescent spectrum colors. The color layers are thinner than a breath of air on a window pane, and they follow the distinctive bubble-like botryoidal forms that characterize this gem material, so the carver must patiently and carefully take away just enough material to bring forth the glowing colors.

For the ladies, I created these two 14k yellow gold rings, one with a crimson twin, one with a holly green gem. Both stones are probably also from the Slaughter Mountain locale, and were cut by Ryszard Krukowski, Fire Agate Studio.

These rings are truly one-of-a-kind original designs, just right for the person who appreciates fine quality unique American gems and hand crafts. We have more great stones in inventory and will be glad to carve a ring just for you. Now Showing at Mard

The latest addition to our Famous Raincross Collection of fine jewelry is simply stunning! We think our fine silver pendant wonderfully captures the unique style and bright colors of the orange crate art from the heyday of California citrus.

Riverside was founded as a citrus colony in the late 1800′s, prospering to the point that around the turn of the century we had one of the highest per capita incomes in the United States! The industry spawned the unique orange crate labels that are avidly collected today.

We were inspired to make this beautiful pendant after working with one of our prominent Riverside families who are local citrus growers– we made them several custom designs using their brand, and were really impressed with the pride and sense of history they feel about the citrus industry.

Our pendant is modeled after this label, probably circa 1930′s-40′s from the McDermont Fruit Company, a grower associated with Sunkist.  What better combination of the logo of our famous Mission Inn and our citrus heritage could we find for this latest creation?

Our wonderful enamelists, the Fusager family of Magick guided us thru the development of the piece, and our Mistress of CAD, Jenny Sweaney, created the design from which we milled the master model.

We knew the piece would be just gorgeous  but it truly exceeds our expectations. In fact, Falcher Fusager, master enamelist said the brilliant colors of the finished original that you see here nearly brought tears to his eyes– and he sees a lot of enamels!

The design has already been a huge success – the first batch is sold out! We will have more available after the holidays, so if you would like one please reserve yours now. They are a very reasonable $295.

We want to thank our loyal friends and fans who once again voted Mardon the Best Jeweler in Riverside for the third year in a row! Read about it in the annual Press Enterprise Reader’s Choice supplement in today’s paper. We truly appreciate your support!

As a small (but mighty) business, we need all the help and encouragement we can get. The current business environment is challenging to say the least, but we’ve worked hard over the last few years to adapt to the needs of our loyal clientele.

To this end, we’ve focused on bringing in affordable jewelry of high quality. It’s very easy to stock cheap mass market jewelry but very difficult to find inexpensive pieces that are well made and unique. We expanded our popular Shangri La jewelry selection, our vintage jewelry department, and we’ve started making more Mardon Originals in silver.

Look for an exciting new addition to our famous Raincross Colleciton, just in time for Christmas.  Hint- it’s colorful and represents Riverside’s history.

We’ve also expanded our consignment and jewelry buying department. In these tough times, many folks need some extra cash, so we decided to bring in more resources to step up our efforts to help. Besides buying precious metals, we’re actively buying and brokering diamonds and colored gems.

Normally, we would have made this announcement a week or two ago, but I’ve been in the depths of computer software h–l for the last two weeks. My normally ultra stable and trusty Imac computer suffered some sort of weird corruption that even had the senior customer service techs at Apple scratching their heads. We do so many things on our computer, including CAD design, database management, even running a virtual Windows system, that a simple clean install of the system software became a real nightmare. Glad to say I’m back, up and running.

Ammolite with Pearl and Glass Beads

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!

We found the ammolite at the Tucson Gem Show last year. In case you’re wondering, ammolite is an opal-like organic gem fashioned from the fossil remains of the ammonite, a very ancient critter that was somewhat similar to today’s chambered nautilus. Ammonites thrived in the great inland sea of North America during the time of the dinosaurs. It’s an unique gem, found mainly in Alberta, Canada. We love it for it’s bright color, unusual character, and reasonable cost.

At Mardon, we feel that custom jewelry is all about revealing the client’s personality and uniqueness. Rather than imposing our own artistic choices, we try to guide our clients to express their ideas and taste through our skilled hands. It works- we know she will love it!

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!

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Once  a year Mardon has a clearance sale with a difference.  This year it is October 6-15.

Nowadays many retail businesses have constant “sales”– a new sale each week has become the norm. To our way of thinking, it’s obvious that if everything is always “on sale”, that means the original “price” was not real. Read the rest of this entry »