All About Carats and Karats

When diamond was traded years ago, merchants used carob seeds as an original unit of measure, which is where the word carat is derived from. Because of the uniformity in the size of carob seeds, it was adopted as a generally accepted unit of measurement centuries ago.   These days, the carat (ct) is a […]

Gemological Flora and Fauna

The parrot pendant, which is richly decorated with gold, diamonds, rubies and pearls, was crafted in the second half of the 16th century in southern Germany, possibly in Augsburg.   The colorful bird is surrounded by a white hare, a snail and a bee. The pendant was likely a wedding gift, as parrots are known […]

Flower Bouquet of Gemstones

The en tremblant style of jewelry crafting first emerged in the 18th and 19th century and the term itself in French means “trembling.” These brooches were created by affixing a trembler, or a wire-coiled spring, at the base of a bejewelled floral or flower spray piece. The slightest movement created a subtle trembling effect, catching […]

Simply Brilliant

Simply put, jewelry of the 1960s and 1970s was revolutionary. If the 1950s were demure and controlled, the 1960s became an era of youthful rebellion and radical cultural change – and a new style of jewelry was part of that zeitgeist. Rock and roll, the Vietnam War, the Kennedy assassinations, the civil rights and women’s […]

A Burgundian Reliquary Pendant

Jewelry in the Middle Ages was dominated by religious themes, although secular luxury was beginning to gain widespread reception. This Burgundian pendant, which was inherited by Emperor Charles V in the mid-16th century and later owned by an English aristocratic family, perfectly exemplifies the intermingling of religion and secular opulence in the late Middle Ages.  […]