Buccellati 100th Anniversary

Buccellati is celebrating it's 100th anniversary by offering a limited edition gemstone Opera necklace in 18k Yellow Gold designed with colorful gemstones as well as diamond accents. The necklaces are an offspring of the Opera collection which are extremely sexy in design and fashion forward. It's a dynamite necklace that will compliment any wardrobe.

Milan, Italy where the company began in 1919, is known as Italy's most metropolitan city. In 1951, Buccellati became first Italian jewelry designer with a location on Fifth Avenue in New York City.  in 1954 another location on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, Florida in 1958. In 1949 Mario Buccellati was commissioned to create an icon by Pope Pius XII for Princess Margaret to mark the extraordinary power of the first visit of a British Royal to Vatican City in hundreds of years. This magnificent work of art can be admired today at the Chianciano Art Museum in Tuscany.

The Buccellati tradition of precision and quality continues today. Let me help you find the perfect one for your jewelry wardrobe.

Miseno

The Miseno jewelry line is a modern day collection of fine jewelry that is fashion forward. Brand founder, Antonio Cardamuro, previously was with jewelry houses such as Bulgar, Bedat and Buccellati. Buccellati is where I met Antonio approximately a decade ago. Our paths have continued to cross over the years and I have always enjoyed him as a person and to see him expand in the jewelry business with his own collection.

Antonio is from Miseno, Italy himself, the line pays homage to the town's storied past, undeniably neptunian influence pervades over the collection. Miseno's name derives from the mythical famed trumpeter Misenus, who lost a famed musical battle to the sea God Triton. A point of fact is that the Roman's believed that entering the city of Miseno through the ancient Roman arch,  Arco Felice, one would find love and happiness. What a beautiful thought!

Antonio's vision began to take shape with such rich history and incredible landscape as his muse. The collection is extremely feminine  and fashion forward with a modern twist. Diamonds, pearl and semi-precious gemstone embellishments, beautifully capture the influences of the ocean and other nature elements. 

Below are several photos of the line and you will see the soft feminine lines as well as modern look in Antonio's designs. 

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From specimen to designer ring....

Just a quick blog article to show a specimen to a finished product. I am still amazed at what mother nature creates on her own, then we as designers create beautiful and interesting pieces of jewelry. Not sure if I have mentioned to you before, yet my design process is shopping for gemstones then design the piece of jewelry, normally it is done the other way around. Yet, those of you who know me, know that I never do anything exactly how everyone else is doing it!!!

Azurite Malachite is a combination of two very distinct gemstones;  Azurite is a deep and rich blue while Malachite is shades of green in botryoidal shapes. They crystallize together forming in masses, crusts and nodules. When Azurite mixes with Malachite a beautiful blue green swirl occurs. It is found in China, yet the best specimens come from the USA. It is found anywhere that copper is present.

I love designing with gemstones such as this one because of it's deep and inspiring color combination.

Azurite Malachite Nugget Specimen

Beautiful Example of Banding.....

Azurite Malachite 18k Yellow Gold Brushed Diamond Ring

 Designed by Maryann Scandiffio Jewelry Design

Peridot the gemstone associated with prosperity & good fortune.....

The gemstone peridot is associated with prosperity and good fortune. Who doesn't want a little bit of that in their life? Yes, I am an August baby and love my birthstone for it's unique rich color and interesting character. All of which are typical of the Leo's themselves.....

Peridot is the rare gem-quality variety of the common mineral olivine, which forms deep inside the earth's upper mantle, then brought to the surface by volcanoes. In Hawaii, the gemstone symbolizes the tears of Pele, the volcano goddess of fire who controls the flow of lava.

The gemstone has always been associated with light. In the Egyptian times they called the gemstone the "gem of the sun". Although the finest peridot is a pure grass green, most peridot is yellowish-green. Lower quality is brownish in color. Peridot is cut in a variety of shapes and sizes, from oval, emerald as well as cushion.

Fine peridot is eye clean, yet under magnification one might see tiny black spots, which are tiny minute mineral crystals. My favorite mineral inclusion that I loved finding when at GIA studying for my GG were the "lily pads". Lily pads are just that the shape of a lily pad inside the gemstone, which is a natural inclusion and beautiful in my eyes. See below a photograph of the "lily pad" discoids from the inside of a peridot gemstone. Please do come to see me at Provident Jewelry and I will show you this natural inclusion through the microscope, I would love to show you!

    MS Jewelry Design

Keeping with St. Patrick's Day.....the world of peridot!

I do love the color green, maybe because it's one of the colors of the Italian flag and it is the birthstone for August. Yes, I am Italian and my birthday is in August. Peridot has a fascinting history both in nature and culture. It is one of the oldest gemstones, ancient records document the mining of this beautiful gemstone as early as 1500 B.C. This gem is especially connected with ancient Egypt, some actually believe the famous emeralds of Cleopatra's were actually peridot, not emeralds. Most gems are formed in the earth's crust, yet the two exceptions are peridot and diamonds. Peridot forms in magma, which is approximately 20 to 55 miles deeper than the earth's crust. Then, brought to the surface by tectonic or volcanic activity. I think the entire gemstone growth process is absolutely fascinating.

Also, another thing that sets this gemstone apart from others is it's one of the few gemstones that forms in only one color an olive-green. The intensity and tint of the green, is determined by the amount of iron that is contained in the crystal structure. So, the color of individual peridot gems can differ from yellow, to olive, to brownish-green. In rare cases, peridot can occur in medium-dark tones, visually pure green with a secondary yellow hue or brown mask.

Truly a lovely stone for those who fancy the color green. Some yummy jewelry below; what is your favorite piece?

18K White Gold Round Martini Studs With 48 Diamonds=.18ctw GH-VS2/SI1 and Two 6.5mm Peridot=2.00ctw

"HENRY DUNAY" List price ~$32K D~4CTS 2P~6CTS

18K White Gold Ring with a Burmese Peridot=16.71ct and 68 Diamonds=.58ctw G-H/VS2-SI1

18k Yellow Gold Agate, Peridot & Diamond Pendant

* This is a pendant that I designed, thought you might like to see some of my work!

In the final days.....

It’s hard to believe the end of this five month journey is in site. All twenty members of class #207 are preparing, imagining, fearing, sweating and feeling a sense of hope they will soon complete this rigorous yet empowering Graduate Gemologist course. In the first several weeks of the course our professor told us stories of well educated people who never completed the course. They were not prepared for how intense the course was, nor were they willing to do the amount of work in a lab setting to complete the requirements for the degree. Don’t get me wrong, everyone has their own level of resilience and desire. If we didn’t know prior to attending the GIA course, we definitely know now how resilient we truly are.

The 20 stone test seemed to be months away, then before I knew it the following Friday would my first attempt at taking the test. The school allows each student five attempts at taking the test because the diagnosis of all 20 stones needs to be 100% accurate in order to pass and receive one’s GG. I have to admit that my track record in getting a 100% on any test in school was rare. Okay, so if we were talking about art, fashion or what jewelry design house created the Macri Collection with hand engraving made in Italy and the most incredible craftsmanship going back to the early 1900’s, I could most certainly tell you it was Buccellati. But, 100% accuracy on determining 20 stones with zero errors… now that is a tall order!It’s not that I am not capable or that I can not apply myself in the way necessary to accomplish the grade. However, some of the information was so complex that I needed to break it down into small chunks so I could retain and review everything. Sometimes it took four times before I could actually retain it. The course moved so rapidly, that at times I felt I was falling behind. On weekends I would study 8 hours on both Saturday and Sunday, while other students were taking trips, playing or attending class bomb fires at the beach. Unfortunately, I did not have the luxury of playing on the weekends. I knew if I were going to pass the course and obtain the level of education I wanted, I needed to apply myself as I had never done before. I was ready and I did it. Occasionally, I broke away for an early morning hike. Enjoying the amazing area of California helped me focus and prepare for a long day of study.

I found it interesting the reasoning behind the high standard of testing is that GIA is known through out the world as having the best gemological educational facility, laboratory and research department of our time. Their reputation extends far and wide, and they want to protect both the student entering the trade as well as the general public. An error in evaluating a stone for a client or making a large purchase of Columbian emeralds, if not diagnosed correctly can be a costly mistake. The school is preparing their students to enter the trade with the necessary information they will need to succeed. I have come to respect and appreciate this high level of standard. I am very grateful I was able to accomplish it.

The past five months for me was both challenging and rewarding.  I have a better appreciation of the process now that I am on the other side. I passed the 20 stone test with 100% and was thrilled beyond measure. It felt so good to select one by one the small manila envelopes, remove the stone, test the properties and then make my calls. I had a natural ruby, that prior to my GIA education I would have called synthetic because the color was slightly pinkish with a very bright tone, but through my education and knowing what inclusions only appear in natural stones, I was able to call it correctly. Next, I had an opal triplet and at first it could have gone either way synthetic or natural. With my microscope I viewed the play of color and not seeing any snake skin effect or consistent pattern throughout the opal, I knew it had to be natural. I was delighted to get what I thought was an amber stone. Once I put it in the testing solution and it floated, I had confirmation it was a natural organic gem called amber. A beautiful blue sapphire showed up as one of my stones and because it had straight color zoning, I took the RI determining it was sapphire.  Now the call was synthetic or natural and the zoning determined the call being natural sapphire with no treatment call necessary. Another of my stones was a Jadeite and this stone through out the course had made me nervous because sometimes I could see the dye band in the spectroscope and sometimes not. Calling it Jadeite could be an incorrect call if it is dyed. I had done this several times on my practice 20 tests. In this case it showed me a dye band, and all I could think to myself was thank you, thank you, thank you! Calling it dyed Jadeite was the correct call! I felt confident as I finished the test and reviewed my calls and yet not second guessing myself or changing my call too often. Turning the test in I was hopeful yet not overly confident because one minor treatment miss, natural or synthetic, and the fun ones like Scapolite or Amethyst when the properties overlap and additional testing not easy to determine need to be done in order to call it can be the one stone that takes you down.

So, as you can see in reading my blog, gemology is no only a science but also a love of mine. I am elated because I have wanted to get my Graduate Gemologist degree for several years now.  It was a goal of mine. I feel accomplished having obtained the credentials I have always wanted. It feels good! Thank you all for your support as I walked this wonderful journey, yet I have the distinct feeling this is just the beginning of a new and tremendous journey for me. I have an appreciation for colored stones, diamonds and aggregates that is so much more in-depth than when I began the pursuit of my GG and for that I am grateful.

                                   

                                                   Diamond macle with perfectly formed Trigons  

Phenomena Gemstones

       Myself, Elizabeth Ellman, Nina Spano (GIA teacher), Julie Ewer, Sierra Petey Jones & Mengshuan Lin.

A girl in a candy store....my trip to the LA Natural History Museum

The Los Angeles Natural History Museum, Gem and Mineral Hall displays more than 2,000 spectacular specimens and is by far the finest exhibit of gems and minerals in the world. It features an incredible array of gems and minerals from all around the globe even specimens from California the Benitiote, which is the official state gemstone mined from the San Benito County mine. Every one of the objects in the gallery is beautiful and interesting in their own right.

The museum opened in November 5, 1913 and just 3 days after opening General Charles Forman, made one of the first minerals donations to the museum. At that time Dr. Howard Hill, a zoologist, curated minerals, shells, fish, amphibians, and reptiles remained for 40 years with the museum. Towards the end of 1959, NHM began a campaign to build their collection of gems and minerals through major purchases. Important purchases were from Martin Ehrmann (1904 - 1972), a long time LA resident and Museum - quality mineral specimens dealer who sold world-class specimens to museum supporters such as Marion Stuart and Ed Harrison, who later donated the purchased specimens to the museum. I have just touched on a few names as there were many others of the next many decades that made the exhibit what it is today.

In 1971 the building of the North Wing began, which is now the Gems and Minerals Hall. November 1989 “Best of LA” featured in the Los Angeles Magazine, the Museum's Hall of Gems and Minerals was recognized s the best permanent museum exhibition in LA. During the 80’s there were many large endowments, gifts, and galas that took place. The Gem & Mineral Council was founded, which provides essential support for the museums department as well as provides it’s members with unparalleled programs of activities including educational lectures, exclusives social events and field trips to various places around the world pertaining to gems and minerals.

I have to say, by far this was my favorite exhibit of any museum trip I have taken. I was like a little girl in a candy store wanting ever gem and mineral specimen that I saw. The array of colors was both enticing and inspiring to view. Every gem and mineral I viewed the next was more spectacular and beautify than the previous. The exhibit has a vault room, which houses the precious gemstones and you can see rough to the finished piece giving a perspective on from beginning to end. This, I find fascinating and exciting to view, admiring all the possibilities of a small piece of rough. Below are several photos from the exhibit that I hope you enjoy looking at as much as I enjoyed seeing and if you are ever in LA, this is a must see museum in my book.

Gems of Pala Mine Trip

The GIA school puts on several mining trips per year and I decided to embark on this particular not wanting to miss out on a once in a lifetime experience. We visited to Stewart Lithia mine located in Pala, California presently owned by a long time miner Blue Sheppard. This mine is known as the largest mine largest pegmatite operation in US history. Absolutely an industrial giant! A pegmatite is a coarsely crystalline granite or igneous rock with crystals from centimeters to several meters in length. Truly an amazing occurrence of nature that continues to fascinate me the more I learn about gemstones at GIA and experience the rock world outside of the jewelry store environment.

Gem quality natural pink tourmaline is fives times as rare as gem quality diamonds and more than time times as valuable as gold in it’s natural form. Tourmaline produces exquisite gemstones that are beautiful in saturation, vibrant in color and a tone that is luscious.
In the 1890’s most of the Stewart Lithia tourmaline mined was exported to China of rate Chi’ing Dynasty Imperial Court of the Empress T’su Hsi, who financially supported all of San Diego County tourmaline mining for 30 years. Pink Tourmaline was believed to be a sacred gem of the Bodhisattva Kwan Yin, is the embodiment of great compassion. He has vowed to free all sentient beings from suffering.

Blue purchased the museum 30 plus years ago and has operated it ever since. He has mined all over the world and has found incredible amounts of gem quality tourmaline, quartz, feldspar and other varieties. Many of the gemstones and specimens from this mine are in museums like GIA, Smithsonian & Los Angeles National History Museum. So if you are ever in one of those places do keep an eye out for a specimen from Gems of Pala.

As I put my hard hat on and grabbed a flash light the excitement of going into a mine and seeing were gemstones and specimens are dug was fascinating to me. I could see myself with a hammer and chisel standing on a ladder searching, digging and eagerly anticipating the next find. Especially, if you are like Blue and find pockets of gem quality stones that profit millions of dollars with that one find! Who knew mother nature could be so generous….

The temperature in Pala, CA was 87% and with pants and a long shirt was rather smoldering, yet the anticipation weight heavier. Entering the mine, I could feel the cool damp dark rock. We traveled down the mine about 400 meters, which, took approximately 20 minutes. Blue took us into the Honeymoon Sweet, which is a room that produced a wealth of gem quality tourmaline for him. As you view the photos from below the rock inside the mine is of all colors, the sparkle at times is stunning and to see them protruding from the rock, exposed specimens, what a delight for me. A world of fascination and as I continue to learn about different aspect of the jewelry trade my love grows deeper everyday.

Thank you for reading and your interest in my experience is appreciate. Please read next weeks blog, which will be a personal interview of Blue’s life as a miner and the extraordinary experiences he has had.

Please see below several photos from the inside of the mine.

Blue Sheppard mine owner showing us the medical device he uses while working in the mine.

Black Tourmaline specimen

Lippidolite in the mine walls

Diamonds formation, from rock to beauty.....

Diamonds form under extreme temperature and pressure. Then, through cataclysmic eruption they are brought to the earth’s surface.  It’s truly amazing they survive a process so violent and explosive. There are two types of source rock that can form a diamond: igneous rock - molten lava that is formed into a solid state becoming a rock, and metamorphic rock - pre-existing rocks that have been altered by heat as well as pressure. If the temperature and pressure vary just slightly, or the diamonds take too long to be brought to the earth’s surface, graphite is formed, not diamonds. This is why large diamonds rarely survive in one piece.  Precise conditions need to be in place, and the volatility of impact is enormous. The diamonds are brought to the earth’s surface by either kimberlite or lampoite, and sometimes, a geological process called emplacement delivers them to the earth’s surface.

After arriving on the surface of the earth, diamonds can live millions of years in rivers, streams and ocean tides before being found my a miner. They might wait hundreds of millions of years before arriving at the surface. The diamonds that exist today were most likely on the earth’s surface 20 million to 2.5 billion years ago. Now those numbers I find astonishing.

Diamonds have the highest hardness on the Moh’s scale (an industry wide geological scale), and can be contaminated by very few types of impurities. Some of the diamonds are gems with non-gem qualities. They can be used as sandpaper surface, or as tools for cutting, grinding and drilling for many different industries inside and outside of the jewelry industry.

Today, diamonds are more available and affordable than at other times in history. Yet, while they are abundantly available, diamonds with high clarity and color grading are still very rare, and of course, those stones are very valuable.

The world of mining is challenging, from finding a source that will be profitable, to dealing with ecological, environment or political conditions, it is an expensive undertaking. One is looking at hundreds of millions, if not billions, as an investment to embark on the process, hoping for a profit. It requires intense exploration, years of planning and construction, and on top of it all, potentially profitable diamond sources are very rare. Yet, there are mines that produce gem quality diamonds which have been in operation for decades.

Until the eighteenth century, India was the world’s only major diamond source. Today’s diamond sources are Canada, the US, Brazil, Venezuela, Guyana, Russia, India, China, Indonesia, Australia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Dominican Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and South Africa. Namibia is perhaps the largest marine diamond deposit in the world.

Please see below, the amazing diamonds we offer at Provident Jewelry. We provide a selection like no other from very petite, to 20 carat rings, and all of them have their own unique character as well as beauty. I hope that if you did not know much about diamonds, this article helped you appreciate what it takes for a diamond to be available to you, and trust me, I only shared a portion of the process. It’s remarkable what our mother earth creates for us, and what a privilege it is that we have the opportunity to appreciate this beauty.

Thank you for reading and as always sparkle on…..

Tiffany & Company Platinum Diamond Ring 3.37 (Graded by Tiffany as F,VV2) center stone in platinum baguette mounting (side diamonds =.48 cts tw)

Emerald Cut = 10.07cts Diamond I VVS2 Ring set in Platinum with two side trapezoids = 1.40cts. comes with GIA report

Platinum Engagement Ring with Round Brilliant Round Diamond=11.16ct H, SI1 GIA Triple X/ Mounting 326 Dia.=1.32ctw

Amber the organic gem

Amber is tree resin that has hardened over time. To be called amber, it needs to be at least 1 million years old. Anything less in maturity is known as copal. Amber artifacts have been found back as far as 10,000 BC by archeologists and used ornamentally since that time. In German, amber is referred to as the “burn stone”, or bernstein.

Interestingly enough, the most sauté after-color is red. The majority of the time we see amber in yellow to  golden orange, and transparent in appearance.  Amber comes primarily from the Baltic Sea region of Europe and near the Baltic shores of Denmark. It is very light weight helping it to float in salt water.  Weather, as well as erosion, releases the amber, and it ends up on the beaches. Then people gather and bring it to market. 

When treated with heat and oil to improve its appearance and marketability, the side effect can be circular marks, which the trade refers to as sun spangles. Sun spangles often have an attractive look, making the amber piece a little more unique. Heat treatment clarifies the gem, otherwise it would remain cloudy and not as visually attractive. 

Amber is a lovely gem that can be big and bold without a heft to the piece, making it easy to wear. See below several pieces of Amber earrings and a necklace from our collection at Provident Jewelry.

I hope you are able to walk away with at least one fact about amber you did not know prior to reading this week’s blog post, and thank you for taking the time. I wish you a good week and until next time, sparkle on!

The road that is taking me on this journey....

The road that is taking me on this journey……

This week I would like to take the time to tell you exactly how this journey has been going thus far. When I originally arrived that Friday afternoon at the Gemological Institute of America, GIA, for my orientation in classroom #207, I was excited, anticipating a fabulous as well as relaxing shall we say, "VACATION" type summer-time in Southern California. Of course, I knew there would be work involved, but truthfully, I had not expected my days to be too rigorous. I have been in the jewelry and luxury industry for more than 20 years. I design jewelry and anyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE everything about jewelry.

I missed the class orientation. It was held the week before I arrived.  My schedule did not allow me to be at the school at that time. So I arranged with the administrations office for my orientation on the Friday before the Monday school start date. I walked in and met my instructor, Tim, who showed me my desk assignment. There was a stack of 3 ring binders, books, pamphlets and assorted instruments on the desk. I foolishly asked him what was all that the stuff on my desk and to my surprise, he told me it was my course curriculum.  Shock rushed through out my body. Then he informed me I had three chapters to study over the weekend before class on Monday. Alarm set in as I realized this program was going to be more serious than I had expected. In high school I rarely found the subjects interesting, and sometimes it was hard to grasp all the information coming my way. How was I going to weather this storm that was about to take place. The thought came over me, maybe this idea of getting my GG wasn't the best one I have had recently!!!

Well, here I was, hitting the books again. Being older, and I would like to think more well rounded, my approach to studying at this time was different than high school.  Age and experience of life have helped me. Today, I work to achieve improvement of one small milestone at a time. My expectations are more realistic. The last eight weeks have been challenging. I have had to work my catoocas off, but my time here so far has remarkably rewarding. When I was twenty I would have compared myself to others, today I have learned to compare myself to myself. When I have a little victory, I make a big deal about it-- for me. This has helped me to stay here, in this course and finish out what I set out to do. There were two times in the past several weeks that I thought, I can't do this. The work is too hard and I just don't have what it takes. Well, I have accepted that is not true. That thought is was an out and out lie. I DO have what it takes -- one stone at a time, one question on the test every Friday at a time.

Oh, and did I tell you that by the last week of September, I will have looked at, and graded, 1,860 stones.  When I heard that number I almost fell off my chair. Not only do I need to see that many stones, but each week there is a stone count that is required, with a test every Friday on the course work, cumulative up to the date of information given. The final kicker was when I was informed that this course work in an Ivy League college would take 2.5 years. We are doing it in less than six months. This GIA course is no joke. Boy, did I embark on some character building work, or what???

My fellow students are from all around the world.  Some of them are the most fascinating, lovely, kind in spirit people I could ask to meet. Angel, my study partner, car pool buddy and dear friend, makes me laugh so often that I remember not take myself too seriously. He truly is an angel and the smartest, most driven person that I am fortunate enough to know her at GIA. Elizabeth, a real Nicole Kidman look alike, could not be any more encouraging. She is as beautiful as she is kind and an extremely well rounded woman. Julie, a hippie girl from Berkley, is a third generation jeweler and as cool as they come. She’s an incredible sketcher and very spirited with a joy for life to that is infectious. David, second generation jeweler and race car driver is totally laid back. He really knows how to enjoy the moment. He’s a perfect example for me of someone wearing life like a loose garment. Then, we have Bruce, who surprises me more often than not, with something I do not expect. He reminds me of my brother, big heart, funnier than funny and appreciative of life. He is a veteran who has served three tours and for that alone he deserves applause as well as admiration in my book. And lastly, I can not finish without mentioning Faris.... A 6" 4 inch, smile to melt your heart, and our class president. If I was 20 years younger I would be trying to get in all sorts of trouble with him! A true gentleman and remarkable young man that his parents can be truly proud of the person they brought into this world. These people are some of the finest human beings that I have ever had the privilege of knowing. I learn from them and my admiration continues to grow the more I get to know them. M xo

Course curriculum.... who knew?

Mined rough _ A Gemologists Heaven

Left to right; Faris, Julie, Andrew, Elizabeth, David, Seth, Derek & Chin