Mardon Jewelers at the Mission Inn

I attended a meeting last November of the Orange County GIA Alumni to hear Richard Drucker speak. His firm, Gemworld International, and the AGTA Gemological Testing Center co-sponsored the Inaugural World of Gems Conference, held Sept. 2008 in Chicago. In February, we finally received Gemworld’s publication of the proceedings.

Richard, publisher of the Gem Market News and The Gem Guide price list and appraisal software, is one of the most dependable sources of information about gems, the gem trade, and gemstone prices that we know of.  We use his appraisal software and pricing information on a daily basis and find it to be consistently accurate and reflective of true market conditions.

The subject of Richard’s talk was the disclosure of gem treatments and how such treated gems are priced in the marketplace, along with an update of the latest gem news and issues.  He reinforced what we already know, that heavily treated gems can never be considered top quality.  Moderately enhanced gems are the general standard by which Gem Guide prices are set, but the level of enhancement considered moderate varies from gem to gem.  Additionally, the impact of enhancements varies with size, with the effects generally accelerating with increase in size.

Read the rest of this entry »

.86 ct Ceylon Padparadscha, Gem, no heat

Early in my career as a gemologist, while working the gem identification counter at the GIA Gem Trade Laboratory in Santa Monica, I fell in love with Padparadscha—a gemstone, not a girl. The privilege of seeing and handling a few magnificent specimens of this magical sapphire with the glorious sunset orange and pink color was like cupid’s arrow to the heart.

Since that time, I always seek out the dealers at the gem shows who’ve “got the goods” and have had the pleasure to own and sell a number of fine Padparadscha Sapphires. We recently sold this small but extremely fine example, a .86 ct. octagonal loupe clean Sri Lankan stone, perfect color and beautifully cut, certificates from GRS and AGTA showing no evidence of heat treatment.

Read the rest of this entry »

While Jim is our usual blogger and general font of wisdom, once in a while I’ll have some exciting (?) site news for everyone.  Today we’ve got four new inventory items up for your perusal, including three from Jenny Sweaney, the hot new designer taking Riverside by storm.

Read the rest of this entry »

Recently, I re-appraised a beautiful diamond ring and had some unsettling news for my client.

We had appraised this ring several years back, as is, with no documentation from the client.  At the time, I could see no inclusions whatsoever at 10x in our GIA DL microscope, and the nice high color 3 ct. round had a faceted girdle with no bearding—tiny cracks common to the girdle (the outer edge) of round diamonds.  I gave the center stone a clarity grade of VVS1, not Flawless or Internally Flawless—standard practice when appraising a mounted stone because you cannot observe all of the stone.

Read the rest of this entry »

Fine Gems, Full and Complete Grading, Great Photos—Easy Shopping for the Gem Connoisseur

The Mardon Gallery of Gems

After months of hard work and much thought, we’re proud to introduce the Gallery of Gems, our unique catalog of colored gemstones. This initial posting is just a few items from our inventory— more to follow after the Tucson Gem Shows and Valentine’s Day have passed.

Our gems are presented in an exciting on-line format that is packed with special features and valuable information. The Mardon Colored Stone Grading System combines and integrates the basic structure of the GIA Colored Stone Grading System with the Gem Guide International market and price data.  Building on these solid foundations, we’ve added high quality photography, gem enhancement and country-of-origin information, and links to our on-line grading system documentation. Our friendly mouse-over photographs show front, back, and side views plus a size comparison of the gem.  In addition to the description of color, clarity, weight and measurements, we’ve added cut grading of all our colored gems.

Each of the major grading categories, color, cut, and clarity is fully described and graded in the essential components that comprise that category.  For example, we don’t just describe the color; we break it down and grade each component of color in the terms of the GIA Gemstone Color Description System, which are Hue, Tone, and Intensity. Cut is treated similarly, describing and grading each component that makes up the cut grade.

We’ve made the effort to carefully document our techniques and methods because we believe in transparency and the free flow of information—see the Mardon Grading Guarantee at the Colored Stone Grading tab.  Even if you’re not in the market for a gemstone, the grading system descriptions alone will give you a good introduction to the methodology of grading fine colored stones.  If you are looking for a fine gem, you can buy with confidence from our Gallery of Gems because you have all the facts—we guarantee it!

Click here to visit the Gallery of Gems

We posted this about a year ago–with the tough economy, this insider information is more pertinent than ever, so we’ve tweaked the original post a bit and reposted.

In their quest for the best value, consumers looking to buy a diamond often make the mistake of giving equal weight to diamond grading certificates. Diamond grading certificates/reports are issued by various laboratories for the purpose of identifying, measuring and weighing, and grading a particular diamond. The different labs are generally payed by diamond merchants for this service.

One problem is that even though the various labs all use pretty much the grading system or language developed in the 1950’s by the Gemological Institue of America (GIA), they each have their own internal methods, standards and skill levels. Also, some of the labs are profit making and are closely affiliated with the firms for who they work–and this relationship is not always apparent to the ultimate consumer. The reports/certificates may look very similar, but the quality of the information can vary significantly.

Consumers tend to shop by comparing prices using the grades stated on grading certificates as their basis of comparison. The grading reports all look the same and have what appears to be the same information, so this seems like a safe way to shop prices.

One stone graded SI1 F by one grading laboratory sells for 30% less than a stone of similar weight graded SI1 F by another grading laboratory, so you buy the less expensive stone. You’d be stupid to spend more than you have to, right? The grading paper says it’s the same as these other stones, must be true, lots of dollars, good deal, right? Read the rest of this entry »

2008 was certainly a year to remember (or forget)!  We hope that you and yours are well and that 2009 is brighter and better for everyone.  We at Mardon Jewelers want to thank you, our loyal customers and supporters, for keeping us going in the midst of very tough times—without you, our business cannot exist.

The good thing about these difficult times is that they force us all to look at our lives and try to do better. Over the last year, we’ve worked very hard to streamline and innovate our business to offer you better value while maintaining our famous Mardon quality and uniqueness.

In 2009, look for:

• – Lower Mardon custom design fees—now~30 to 40% less.  We’ve invested in an efficient state-of-the-art CAD/CAM system so custom jewelry designs are more affordable and better than ever!
• – The new Mardon Jewelers Website is packed with features to make your shopping experience not only easier but also more interesting and enjoyable. Coming soon: the new Gallery of Gems!
• – GemGuide jewelry appraisals—Our new state-of-the-art software means your appraisals are more accurate so you don’t buy more insurance than you need.
• – 3-D Precious Portraits—A new line of custom jewelry items that celebrate your family, your life, your special moments! See an example on our previous Blog entry.

We ask you to:

• – Remember Mardon when you need a special gift for a special occasion.
• – Check our prices when you’re shopping for a diamond or gemstone—we’d love to compete for your business. Our diamond and colored stone values and service are the best you’ll find.
• – If you’ve had a great experience with Mardon, tell your friends, family, and neighbor.  If your experience left something to be desired, please tell us—we promise to do better.

For the upcoming Valentine’s holiday, come to Mardon for these special values:

• – For Her, 40% off on all Heidi Klum and Peter Storm jewelry.
• – For Him, 25% off William Henry fine writing instruments and designer knives.
• – Introductory Offer—$100 off your Precious Portrait. Medium size portrait in sterling silver, regular price $350, now $250, other sizes and gold available.  Order by Feb. 1 for Valentine’s Day delivery.
• – The Heart of Riverside and other Raincross Collection items—the only full line of locally designed and produced jewelry featuring Riverside’s own symbol, the Raincross.

We thank you again for your patronage and look forward to seeing you very soon!

Sincerely,

Jim & Kaye Sweaney

Recently, I was listening to Patt Morrison of KPPC 89.3 NPR radio when the term “hexagonal diamonds” caught my attention. She was discussing the extinction of saber-toothed cats and other megafauna and the disappearance of the Clovis culture from North America with Douglas J. Kennett, a scientist at the University of Oregon, who authored a paper on an impact hypothesis just published in the journal Science.

The hypothesis advanced by Kennett and his colleagues is that 12,900 years ago, a large comet or comet cluster entered the atmosphere over North America, broke into fragments, and exploded. This sent radiant heat and a huge shock wave across the continent; incinerating plants, animals and people.  While controversial and still unproven, the idea explains three enigmatic questions: the sudden climate change known as the “Younger Dryas,”  a 1500 year period of glacial conditions, and the subsequent extinction of the megafauna of North America and disappearance of the Paleolithic Clovis culture (famous for their finely made stone spearpoints and arrowheads).

Kennett and his group base this idea on the presence of what they call nanodiamonds, tiny diamonds found in the sediments of this period. He said the formation of these diamonds required the presence of 130,000 times normal atmospheric pressure, and that some of the diamonds formed in the hexagonal crystal system.  Most diamonds form in molten rock deep within the earth’s crust as crystals of the cubic system.

Read the rest of this entry »

One of my favorite conversational riffs with customers is to tell them that the gold ring/pendant/bracelet/chain/tie-tac/cuff link/object that they are wearing is likely to contain a few molecules of the Pharaoh’s gold, or of the treasure of the Incas, or of Blackbeard’s loot, or even of the Ark of the Covenant, etc.  Because of the nature of gold and the esteem that mankind has for this beautiful yellow metal, we always recycle gold.

Gold is very chemically stable and is thus very durable.  Objects of gold that have been buried in the ground or laid at the bottom of the sea for centuries still display their beautiful sunny luster with almost no degradation when recovered, while other metals under the same conditions have corroded and dissolved away.  Nothing in nature does much to dull that magical gleam.

Read the rest of this entry »

My lovely wife and I were sitting at the dinner table reminiscing about our day, and she told me about two gentlemen who came into the store.  They had been admiring some of the new things in our front window and wanted to know the price of a very fine two carat D VVS1 emerald cut diamond set in an Art Deco platinum ring.  One guessed $6,000 (yeah, right!), but the other fellow was right on the money, guessing $30,000—actual price is $29,600.  He obviously had a good eye!
Read the rest of this entry »