Author Archive
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009
We’d like to announce our upcoming Annual Sale, to be held Saturday, August 1 through Saturday, August 15. Unlike many retail businesses, we have just one sale per year. Rather than having constant “sales” with big discounts off unrealistically high prices, our philosophy is to price our merchandise fairly to begin with so that you, our […]
Tags: annual sale, Colombian emerald, dragonfly earrings, sugarloaf cut, untreated turquoise ring
Posted in Gemstones, Mardon Happenings | Comments Off on Our Famous Annual Sale is Coming!
Saturday, July 18th, 2009
In the true spirit of democracy, we at Mardon, proud of our small but mighty business, would like to direct you, dear readers, to the Riverside Press Enterprise Reader’s Choice ballot, http://www.pe.com/readerschoice/, where you’ll have the opportunity to vote for your favorite local businesses, restaurants, entertainments, etc. Of course, we hope you’ll vote for Mardon […]
Tags: Reader's Choice
Posted in Mardon Happenings | Comments Off on Vote For Me!
Friday, July 17th, 2009
Yesterday, a rather imperious elderly lady came into our store with husband in tow, and asked me to look at a yellow metal pierced cuff bracelet. She said “I just want to know what it is worth” (and of course, didn’t want to pay anything for the service). I began to explain that I needed […]
Tags: fair market value, liquidation value, retail replacement value
Posted in Estate Jewelry, Jewelry Facts | Comments Off on What Is It Worth? Appraising and Valuing Estate Jewelry
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
Within the gem trade, the color of the best rubies has for centuries been called “Pigeon’s Blood Red.” As mentioned in a previous blog, the term has actually become a grading term. Part of the way to understand this color is to know what it it not. For the most part, better rubies from Burma […]
Tags: Burma ruby, flourescence, Thai ruby
Posted in Gemstone of the Month, Gemstones, Jewelry Facts | Comments Off on What is Pigeon’s Blood Red, part 3
Friday, July 10th, 2009
Pigeon’s Blood Ruby always commands a premium- it’s intensity and beauty strikes a chord deep within the human psyche, and naturally, it’s the most rare of rubies. Within the gem trade, the term Pigeon’s Blood is in essence a color grade, denoting the most beautiful and desirable ruby color. And the color is generally associated […]
Posted in Gemstone of the Month, Gemstones, Jewelry Services | Comments Off on Pigeon’s Blood or Not? Part 2
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
Pigeon’s Blood Red – the phrase evokes images of tropic forests, crowded bazaars, and exotic palaces. Pigeon’s Blood Red is actually a traditional name in the gem trade for the finest color of ruby. The term probably originated centuries ago in Burma, for many centuries the source of the best rubies.
Posted in Custom Jewelry, Gemstone of the Month, Gemstones, Jewelry Facts | Comments Off on What is Pigeon’s Blood Red?
Saturday, June 27th, 2009
We recently completed this beautiful ring for a very elegant and sophisticated lady, let’s call her Liz. During our initial design consultation, it soon became apparent that we needed to do something extra special for Liz- well educated and artistic, her tastes were refined and she was looking for something exciting and new. She wanted […]
Tags: CAD/CAM, custom ring, Edwardian jewelry, hand engraving, la belle epoque, Padparadscha, Victorian Jewelry
Posted in Custom Jewelry, Gemstones, Jewelry Services | Comments Off on Padparadscha and Hand Engraved Accents = A Grand Custom Ring
Friday, June 26th, 2009
We recently completed the final step for our client Dan- we blogged about creating his engagement ring last November. After his fiance Ileana received her engagement ring, we made a matching wedding band, and soldered the rings together when they were married this spring. Notice how beautifully the rings fit together and how nicely the […]
Tags: alexandrite wedding set, CAD/CAM, celtic weave, Custom Jewelry, maltese cross, natural alexandrite
Posted in Custom Jewelry, Gemstone of the Month, Gemstones, Jewelry Services | 3 Comments »
Saturday, June 20th, 2009
Light has a very special role of gems- in diamonds, it can dance and twinkle, in rubies, it can simmer with vivid passion, or in other gems, it can play tricks. In gemology, we refer to these special gems that magic the light as the phenomenal gems. The soft bluish glow emanating from this beautiful […]
Tags: Cat's Eye, Ceylon Moonstone, feldspar, Labradorite, sunstone
Posted in Gemstone of the Month, Gemstones, Jewelry Facts | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009
We just completed an estate appraisal for a client which included this nice looking white gold bracelet. During the take-in process, we noticed a missing stone and a broken hinge. And, somehow the bracelet just didn’t look quite right. When we turned the bracelet over, we immediately noticed some remnant parts that were out of […]
Tags: Art Deco, estate appraisal, married jewelry
Posted in Estate Jewelry, Jewelry Facts, Jewelry Services | Comments Off on Art Deco Bracelet is a Marriage of Two Items