Mardon Jewelers at the Mission Inn

Mardon is proud to introduce the FireMark Princess Diamond to our community. We know this very special diamond will quickly make fans because of it’s outstanding beauty and value.

A recently granted U.S. Patent protects the unique features that separate FireMark from all other Princess cuts. A true gemological breakthrough, FireMark’s innovative cutting results in unprecedented sparkle. Read the rest of this entry »

Natural colored gemstones come from rare mineral crystals that are found within the earth’s crust. Mother Nature “cooks” various ingredients according to her own unique recipes into crystals of different sizes, shapes, colors and physical properties. For centuries, man has sought out and fashioned these treasures into dazzling objects of beauty and value.

Because of their great rarity and value, gems have traditionally been sold by weight. As a result, gem cutters usually cut to retain a maximum amount of weight from the rough material rather than to craft the most beautiful gem. Read the rest of this entry »

A recent appraisal exemplifies the challenges we face in our appraisal practice. A young doctor contacted us, anxiously inquiring if we were qualified to appraise Rolex watches. He wanted to return a watch he purchased on the internet, but the vendor required a written appraisal from a qualified appraiser. The client had shown the watch to several Rolex dealers who told him the watch was not a Rolex. We’re not watchmakers, but frequently value Rolex watches for insurance. We also buy Rolex watches for resale in our Estate department. Read the rest of this entry »

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 that the Star opens up to make a simple diamond necklace. Not the greatest design, but definitely not a star. Read the rest of this entry »

We just finished this beautiful custom engagement ring that showcases a spectacular green garnet, highlighted with trapezoid shaped diamonds and set in 18K yellow gold.

The center stone is a rare green garnet from Africa, known as Tsavorite. These lively and brilliant green wonders of nature are a variety of grossular garnet  discovered by gemologist Campbell Bridges in the late 1960’s along the border region of Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania. Read the rest of this entry »

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.

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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. Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

“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. Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »