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 »
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.
Nice 1.35 ct Burma Ruby, not quite Pigeon's Blood
For the most part, better rubies from Burma display this color or at least approach it. But, not all rubies from Burma are Pigeon’s Blood. Like any naturally occurring object, there is a normal distribution pattern that can be described by a bell curve– most examples cluster around the mean, while at either end of the curve, one has the worst, the other the best examples. In the gem business, we know that the very best quality gems are often less than 1% of the overall production. This 1.35 ct. Burma ruby has very nice color, a well balanced blend of violetish-red and orangish-red, but it lacks the clarity and the saturation to display the true Pigeon’s Blood color.
4 ct. Pigeon's Blood Red Ruby, photo by Van Pelt
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 with rubies from Burma- more about that in blogs to follow.
The Pigeon’s Blood color is a fairly narrow range of vivid red, with touches of secondary hues between slightly violetish (purplish) red and slightly orangish red. Pigeon’s Blood red is always highly saturated and relatively dark. Read the rest of this entry »
Classic 4 ct. Burma Ruby, documented to be Pigeon's Blood Red. Photo by Jim Sweaney
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. Read the rest of this entry »
Custom Diamond Ring with Padaparadscha
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 us to reset her nice 1 1/2 ct diamond into a wide ring to accent her long fingers. She also wanted the ring to be wearable and comfortable. Our discussion led us to her preferences in colors- she wanted something warm and wonderful. Those of you who follow this blog know we are big fans of Padparadscha sapphires, so what better suggestion could we make than one of our very favorite stones! Read the rest of this entry »
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 patterns match- a good omen for a marriage!