Archive for May, 2009

A Special Graduation Gift

Friday, May 29th, 2009

We recently completed a fun project for Riverside Poly High School’s championship women’s water polo team. One of the mother’s in the booster club showed us a printed foil logo and wanted large pendant/charms made for each of the team members. The award ceremony was to be held about a month away. Our client wanted […]

Glory from Old California–The Matilijas are in Bloom

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

I always look forward to mid spring—my favorite flower, the Matilija Poppy unfolds its annual show. An indigenous Southern California wildflower, Romneya coulteri, the Matilija is just spectacular. Borne on head-high stems of beautiful silvery-green leaves, these six inch blooms of purest white parchment-like petals with a puff center of intense golden yellow are intensely […]

Which one is the Emerald?

Saturday, May 23rd, 2009

The pure grass green color of the Emerald has long been symbolic of serenity and virtue and is the primary reason why emeralds have been treasured and sought after for so many centuries.  The qualities of beautiful color, rarity, and durability (see my blog on restoring damaged Emeralds) have traditionally earned the emerald the reputation […]

World Record Price for Any Gemstone!

Friday, May 22nd, 2009

May 12–Sotheby’s achieved a hammer price of $10,498,000 swiss francs (~ 9.5 million US) for the fabulous 7.03 ct Fancy Vivid Blue Internally Flawless Cullinan Blue Diamond. Sotheby’s original presale estimate was 5.8 to 8.5 million US. “This is already a new world record price for a fancy vivid blue diamond and a new world […]

Re-Cutting Emeralds- Resurrecting Beauty

Saturday, May 16th, 2009

The classic emerald is a beautiful gemstone with a reputation for fragility. When you understand the rigors that emeralds undergo during their formation, you’ll see that this reputation is mostly undeserved. Colombian emeralds, for example, form when ocean sediments are compressed under tectonic plates and then are metamorphosed and uplifted to the top of the […]

The Slow Jewelry Manifesto

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

An article on 60 Minutes about Alice Waters of ChezPanisse fame reminded me of my early days of making jewelry. Watching the piece on Alice and the Slow Food movement, I had an epiphany and realized that for most of my career, I’ve been making “Slow Jewelry”. Sterling silver ring, set with “Beggar Bead” agate […]

New Custom Design Samples

Monday, May 11th, 2009

Today we have 35 new samples from Jim, Jenny, and Kaye in the new custom designs section. Most of these we’ve made in the past 6 months or so, but a few are older pieces that clients brought in for an appraisal update. We’re always happy to see that people are still enjoying the jewelry […]

Mother’s Ring Par Excellence-Custom Designs are Challenging but Really Fun

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

We really enjoy designing custom rings for our clients but our initial efforts aren’t always successful.  The key is always patience and communication—this Mother’s ring is an example of how a jeweler must really listen carefully to hear what his client really wants in order to make that ring that “sings”. Our clients, let’s call […]

Museum Quality Metal Work from Japan

Saturday, May 2nd, 2009

Ever so often in this business, we see something that makes us truly humble and amazed at the accomplishments of our fellow artisans.  The Frog Boatman tells it all when you realize that this panel is less than an inch high. We recently had the privilege of working with this wonderful Japanese bracelet– we think […]

A Fabulous Emerald

Friday, May 1st, 2009

My friend and gem dealer, Jack P., and I go way back, so he knows exactly how to push my buttons. He knows we really love emeralds– How could I not, being married to a red headed Taurus and the father of another red-headed Taurus gal. In fact, we at Mardon pride ourselves in being […]

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