Mardon Jewelers at the Mission Inn

Art Nouveau Watch Hanger

One of the great things about the jewelry business is that every so often, we get to see and handle truly wonderful jewelry and gemstones. This classic Art Nouveau enameled brooch is exquisite– the sculpting of the woman’s face is delicate and lifelike while the swirls of her hair and the floral elements are beautifully expressive of the vitality of life.  The delicate pink opalescent enamel, still in perfect condition after 100 years, is wonderfully shaded, and the face and flower petals are carefully accented by precise painted enamels.

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7.56 ct. Burma Peridot

We often hear statements like “I don’t like my birthstone” from folks born in August. In most cases, these people have never seen a really good peridot,  so we make it our mission to show them gorgeous gems like this magnificent Burmese Peridot.

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Only 5 days left to vote for your favorite merchants, food, entertainment, etc.

Nice Violetish Blue Natural Spinel

As a followup to yesterday’s blog, I thought it would be nice to show another side of the spinel family.  This lovely 4.28 ct. spinel is chemically a bit different than the classic red stones we looked at yesterday– spinels are members of a family of minerals, all of which are oxides of 2 metals.  The reds are oxides of magnesium and aluminum.  This gem is probably gahnospinel, an oxide of zinc and aluminum, although it may have a bit of magnesium as well.

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Magnificent 5.55 ct. Natural Spinel

A few years back, we found this gorgeous red gem for a close friend.  She wanted a rich dark red stone and being a true princess, she wanted it big and dramatic. Rubies of this color and clarity are astronomical in price, usually reaching at least six figures. Even though hubby was very successful, the price of a good ruby put him into sticker shock. Our perfect solution was this fabulous natural spinel from Vietnam.

Custom 18K Ring with 5.55 ct. Vietnamese Spinel, by Mardon

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Look for fabulous values at our upcoming Annual Sale, Saturday, August 1 thry Saturday, August 15. You’ll find great designer pieces, classic estate jewelry, and Mardon originals drastically marked down.

A gem dealer and friend sent me this photograph of what he says is the largest Russian Alexandrite of quality currently on the market.

His excuse for the quality of the photo is that it was taken with a cell phone camera in the lunch area outside the GJX show during this year’s Tucson gem event! I can just picture a group of dealers, clustered around the owner in the midst of the lunch hubub of Tucson, armed with their pocket flashlights, walking in and out of natural sunlight, gawking at this stone. You have to just love this business!

At the time, the stone was just for show and tell, but now it’s apparently on the market.

While it’s somewhat included, the outstanding color change is fabulous.  And, of course, in the world of fine gems, 27.71 cts. makes it the Godzilla of Alexandrites.

The owner is being somewhat cagey and hasn’t set a price, but supposedly is looking to sell. Some folks succumb to the cardinal sin of the gem dealer, falling in love with their own merchandise, so we’ll see if this gentleman really wants to sell his favorite “pocket rock”. But it’s also really typical with gems at this level for the owners to be really secretive when selling. We’ll keep you posted!

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 valued clients, can be sure of getting good value every time you buy.

But like any business, we must clear our inventory to be able to buy new pieces to offer. When we say clearance, we mean it. Pieces that, for whatever reason, haven’t sold within the last year will be drastically marked down. We don’t discount our Raincross collection or estate pieces on consignment, but everything else is fair game!

Here are a few examples:

14k Turquoise Art Deco ring

This gorgeous 14k yellow gold Mardon original recreation of an Art Deco style features a fabulous untreated Sleeping Beauty natural turquoise in a classic sugarloaf cut. $695, will be $486.60

Diamond Dragonflies in 18k gold

These stunning 18K white gold Dragonfly earrings by Michael Schofield are set with .62 cts of high quality baguette and marquise diamonds.  $1650, will $825 — Half Price!

1ct Colombian Emerald, 18k Designer ring

This elegant 18K white gold ring by Phil Zahm is set with a gorgeous 1.o8 ct. natural Colombian Emerald that is unusually clean and bright, plus .32 ct of diamonds and two surprise emeralds! $6995, will be $3497.50– Great for an engagement ring!

This is your chance for the bargain of the year from our inventory of fabulous high quality jewelry. Hurry down – first come, first serve, all sales will be final. Watch for more blogs with bargains and Mark Your Calendar!

Saturday, August 1 thru Saturday, August 15

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 as your favorite jewelry store. We won first place in 2004 (?) but have been crowded out by various mall stores since then. Be sure to vote- we need your help!

We’d also like to encourage you to vote for the many outstanding locally owned businesses. Small businesses that are owned and operated by members of our community not only hire locally and spend locally, they are truly part of Riverside’s unique culture. They have a stake in the future of Riverside.

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 to know what she meant by “What is it worth?”  Was she looking to sell the item? Did she need to insure it? Did she need an estate value for taxes?

She kept saying impatiently that she just wanted to know “What is it worth”, not hearing my questions. Long story short, she stomped out of the store, convinced that I didn’t want to take the time to tell her what her bracelet was worth. Read the rest of this entry »