Mardon Jewelers at the Mission Inn

We just delivered this beautiful 14K gold ring to a delighted customer. A new client, she had seen one of our custom ring samples over the Christmas holidays and had an idea– she loved cameos and had a particular affinity for the Three Graces of Greek and Roman mythology, the goddesses of beauty, creativity, and nature. Rather than something set with the typical cameo carved from shell or stone, she wanted an all metal ring of sterling silver. Read the rest of this entry »

I-22415

We’re just back from the Los Angelese Antiques Jewelry Show where we acquired these wonderful vintage and antique items. Antiques are at least 100 years old, while vintage refers to pieces less old, but usually of period style, such as Art Deco or Retro. Read the rest of this entry »

Surprise!- this year’s Reader’s Choice featured in the Press-Enterprise starts April Fool’s Day- no foolin’! The executives at the Press have decided to move it up from mid summer, don’t know exactly why, but we stick by our local newspaper.

We at Mardon really appreciate your continued patronage and your vote- We’ve been the Reader’s Choice Best/Favorite Jeweler in Riverside for the last 4 years. We’d like to ask you once again to take a minute out of your busy day to vote for all your favorite businesses. While our local economy is no longer in free fall, it’s still a very tough  business climate. When you vote for your personal favorites, you are helping them keep going! Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve recently added several interesting vintage pieces to our Estate Department. This cameo was a real sleeper– it was literally so crusted over with years of accumulated crud (gemological term!) that we barely recognized it. Read the rest of this entry »

As usual, our annual pilgrimage to the Tucson Gem Shows in early February was a fun mix of business and pleasure. Read the rest of this entry »

We just delivered this lovely pendant, set with the diamonds from several treasured family pieces, to a very happy client. Her son had us make the pendant to celebrate her 50th wedding anniversary, so it was a very nice occasion to deliver the new piece– both son and mother loved the new piece and she left our shop with tears of happiness in her eyes. Read the rest of this entry »

This beautifully made amethyst intaglio ring from ancient Rome, carved over 2000 years ago by master carver Hyllos, resides in the famous Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg, Russia. Featuring the head of Apollo, it reminds us very much of this magnificent amethyst intaglio ring that resides in our estate case. Read the rest of this entry »

As our country debates the role of firearms in our society, this small pendant is a poignant example of how gun violence affects American families.

A couple came into our store and the wife asked us if we could make something from a memento they had– and then she told us about their experience of a drive-by shooting. Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve been working hard this season creating pieces based on our original designs and one-of-a-kind jewelry. So what’s the difference between a one-of-a-kind and a designer original? Read the rest of this entry »

Topaz and Citrine Lookalikes

One of the missions Robert M. Shipley defined when he created the Gemological Institute of America was to rectify incorrect practices in the jewelry and gem business. One of the most common of these is the use of trade names and misnomers for gemstones. Read the rest of this entry »