Mardon Jewelers at the Mission Inn

Just back from the shop, this stunning Benitoite & platinum engagement ring was made to order for our client R. This young man truly went the extra mile to create this symbol of his love for his fiancé.

Wanting something beautiful, exotic and rare, he chose Benitoite. Our California State Gemstone is all of that. One of the rarest of all the gems used in jewelry, Benitoite is found only in one small mining area in San Benito County, California. Benitoite is famous for its beautiful blue color and its flashes of rainbow colors.

He’d read our blog about a Benitoite engagement ring and contacted us, looking to acquire a nice Benitoite. We showed him several stones from our contacts in the gem trade, but they weren’t “The One.” A diligent researcher, he found a lapidary in Central California who cuts this rare gem. R. drove hundreds of miles to a gem show to meet this cutter where he was able to purchase this beautiful triangular step cut stone.

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The creative process is one of the things that makes us human. All of us have creative impulses and abilities. From the raw data of our senses and our life experiences, our minds build ideas based on thought, image, and emotion. We use these ideas in our daily life for such mundane things as everyday speech, signing our name, or making a sandwich. We express them more permanently through literature, art and music. At Mardon, we’re privileged to participate in the ideas and creations of our clients.

Recently, daughter Jenny worked with Fabian to create this unusual and striking custom ring. Fabian’s idea was to make a silver pinky ring in the image of a wolf paw print. At the Tucson Gem Shows, Jenny and husband Scott had purchased some very beautiful Oregon Sunstones and a nice group of 4 matching rainbow moonstones. It was a natural transition to use these interesting gems to represent the pads of the paw– the creative process in action.

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Striking Pools of Light Necklace

We acquired this highly unusual Art Deco Pools of Light necklace almost by accident. We recently purchased an estate of wonderful early 20th century jewelry items, mostly rings and pins. This piece and another interesting rock crystal necklace were included in the group. Since they had no gold content, we didn’t think too much about them and paid only a nominal amount. The wonderful thing about the jewelry business is that we learn something new everyday– in this case, we’ve discovered that this piece is a valuable Pools of Light necklace.

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Platinum Custom Ring.

These three recently completed custom rings show the versatility and craftsmanship of the experts at Mardon, in particular our gemologists, custom designers and hand engravers.

The spectacular platinum custom ring shown above is set with a 2 carat natural ruby that we brokered to our clients. Gemstone brokering means that our gemologists find a gem that meets your requirements from our network of gem traders and importers. Much like your stock broker or real estate broker, we’re able to find extra good values in the market place and we charge a straight commission for the service– in this case, saving our client about $3000 over what they might have paid for a similar stone at retail.

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We recently completed the resurrection of a ring that had been severely damaged.

Fine jewelry is made from precious materials that when properly cared for, will last for centuries. Gemstones are durable and ancient– diamond crystals are typically 1 to 2 billion years old. Gold is eternal. It doesn’t deteriorate and is never discarded– if a style or use becomes outdated or obsolete, gold is simply recycled into a new item. The gold ring on your finger almost certainly contains gold from ancient times, perhaps from the tombs of the Pharaohs!

But even the most well made ring will not survive the ravages of a garbage disposal! Our client accidentally dropped this and several other rings into her fast spinning garbage disposal. Can you imagine the screams of anguish over the grinding racket?

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UPDATE June 6, 2014 – A happy ending to the story below– 7 months after returning the emerald to the seller, the couple received their money back.

A retired couple purchased this 1.89 carat natural emerald last December in Cartagena, Columbia while on a cruise thru the Caribbean. The emerald shop they bought from had been touted by the cruise ship personnel as the biggest and best. Out of a room full of similar emeralds, the couple chose this one as one of the best. Upon returning from the cruise, they came to our shop  and asked me to appraise it. As soon as I saw the stone, I sensed this would be a difficult appraisal, because the emerald was at the low end of the quality scale. I knew I would be the bearer of bad news.

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Antique Yogo Sapphire & Diamond Pin

A client inherited this gorgeous antique Yogo Sapphire pin and asked us to appraise it.

Sapphires were known to occur in several areas of western Montana as early as 1865. For the most part, these deposits produced only moderately good sapphires. The discovery of sapphires in Yogo Creek was different. In 1895, famed gemologist G.F. Kunz, working for Tiffany’s of New York, labeled them “the finest precious gemstones ever found in the United States”.

The Yogo stones are prized for their good clarity and wonderful natural color, often called “cornflower blue”.  Unlike the other Montana sapphires, the Yogo gems require no heat treatment whatsoever.

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Spanish Cross of Leon side, 8 reale silver coin

We were thrilled to acquire this pendant featuring an authentic Piece of Eight silver coin from the most valuable sunken treasure ever found.

In 1985, after 16 years of searching, famed (and persistent) treasure hunter Mel Fisher discovered the mother lode of all treasures off the Florida Keys. Valued at over 500 million dollars, the Atocha treasure contained tons of silver coins and bars along with gold objects, jewelry and gems.

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We recently had the pleasure of examining this superb antique chatelaine. Centuries ago, the lady of the house wore the chatelaine, a strap or bag looped over a belt at the waist. Typically, the various tools necessary for her to deal with her daily tasks, items such as keys, scissors, watches, etc. were attached with chains. During the last half of the 18th century, the chatelaine became the in fashion among the aristocracy. This particular piece was obviously for the very wealthy– solid 18 karat gold beautifully decorated with rose cut diamonds, exquisite enameling and pearls. It was made circa 1780, just prior to the French Revolution by the watchmaker Robert Robin, a favorite of Marie Antoinette.

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I-23222 Antique Platinum Necklace

This exquisite necklace from the Edwardian period, circa 1900-1915, exhibits the fine craftsmanship we associate with antique jewelry. The piece was made by fabricating and forming raw metals into the parts of the jewel. The main body and dangles began as thin sheets of platinum. The chain and bezels were made from hand-drawn wires and tubing. Many steps and hours of effort were required to bring forth this dazzling work. This magnificent example of antique jewelry really deserves a close look!

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