With all of the beautiful vintage pieces that come into the store every day, one can’t help but wonder what the story is behind them. It’s fun to imagine the journey that each piece has been through; where it came from, what kind of adventures it has been on, who lovingly wore it. Thankfully, we have many gracious clients who are more than happy to share their stories with us; consignors who happen to know a little history about their pieces, customers who have big plans for their new treasures, and others who simply love their dear jewels and share with us good memories and stories about them.
Take a look at some of the stories that we have collected below:
“My mother developed her interest in antique jewelry in her late teens or early twenties. She and her brother’s wife, Helen shared their passion for antique jewelry for close to 60 years. …My mom began to collect small pieces of antique gold jewelry during her travels. …My mother and her sister-in-law Helen loved to talk on the phone about their “treasures”, and Mom would usually go visit her brother and Helen every year in Texas… Mom and Helen always found time to pal around together looking for antique jewelry. My mom ended up with a quite an extensive and beautiful collection of antique jewelry, and after my parents moved back to Durham in 1983, my mother decided to show her jewelry collection at some of the local antique shows. She started a small business called “The Olde Jewel Box.” ..Amazingly, my mother could tell the story behind each piece, including the history and time period it came from, where she bought it, and where it came from. She was truly an expert in antique jewelry, and she loved it so much.”
-Barbara
“My black onyx and diamond circle pin is truly a favorite! My husband found the pin while working with two sisters who had inherited their mother’s estate. They described their mother as a socialite who took Manhattan by storm in the early 1900’s. She was quite popular amongst the gentlemen and loved to dance…if only the jewelry could talk what stories we would hear. Charity balls, theatre goings, museum exhibits…oh my! It’s a treasure for me now, and something I always get questioned about because of its beauty and rarity.”
-Donna
“Ooooooo, can’t wait!!! I just pulled my spring wardrobe together for the upcoming ballet season at the Met in NYC. The new pin, and its predecessors, will take center stage.”
-Judy
If your jewelry speaks to you, share it with us! We love to hear your stories and would be happy to feature them. Send any stories and accompanying photos to info@jointventurejewelry.com – we can’t wait to hear from you!
Elizabeth Taylor was many things; screen icon, humanitarian, hopeless romantic. One of the things she was most famous for was her amazing jewels. She famously said, “I adore wearing gems, but not because they are mine. You can’t possess radiance, you can only admire it.” Take a look below at some of her more extravagant pieces.
This 33.19ct emerald-cut Harry Winston diamond ring was sold to Richard Burton for $305,000 by Sotheby’s on May 16, 1968 and given to Elizabeth. Once it became hers, Elizabeth wore the ring in every movie – right down to her animated Simpsons character who also sported a cartoon version of the sparkler. Of the diamond, Taylor said, “…When I look into it, the deep Asscher cuts—which are so complete and ravishing—are like steps that lead into eternity and beyond. With its sparks of red and white and blue and purple, and on and on, really, it sort of hums with its own beatific life. To me, the Krupp says, ‘I want to share my chemistry—my magic—with you.’”
La Peregrina:
One of the largest and perfectly-pear-shaped pearls in the world, La Peregrina, meaning pilgrim or wanderer in Spanish, was found in the Gulf of Panama in 1513, according to legend. The pearl was worn by many, including Queen Mary I, both wives of Phillip IV of Spain, Joseph Bonaparte (brother of Napoleon), and continued its journey until finally ending up with James Hamilton, Duke of Abercorn. The pearl was lost twice in the possession of the Hamilton family; once in the sofa at Windsor Castle, again during a ball at Buckingham Palace. It was recovered both times. Richard Burton purchased the necklace for $37,000 from the Hamilton family and gave it to Elizabeth for Valentine’s Day. Elizabeth once lost the pearl herself, searching high and low for it only to find it in the mouth of one of her dogs. She later commissioned Cartier to redesign the necklace with pearls, diamonds, and rubies.
The Diamond Tiara:
Given to her by then-husband Mike Todd, Elizabeth wore the diamond tiara for the first time to the Academy Awards. She is pictured here wearing it again at the 1957 Cannes Film Festival. “When Mike Todd gave me this tiara, he said, ‘You’re my queen, and I think you should have a tiara,’ she wrote.
Cartier Ruby Suite:
Elizabeth wrote: “I got out and put my arms around him, and he said, ‘Wait a minute, don’t joggle your tiara.’ Because I was wearing the tiara he had bought for me in the pool! He was holding a red leather box, and inside was a ruby-and-diamond bib necklace, which glittered in the warm light. It was like the sun, lit up and made of red fire. First Mike put it around my neck and smiled. Then he bent down and put matching earrings on me. Next came the bracelet. Since there was no mirror around, I had to look into the water. The jewelry was glorious, rippling red on blue like a painting. I shrieked with joy, put my arms around Mike’s neck, and pulled him into the pool after me. It was a perfect summer day and a day of perfect love.”
The Diamond Chandelier Earrings:
They caught the eye of Elizabeth from the window of a boutique in Paris, and at the time were made with paste gems. Taylor wrote: “A few months later, back in New York, I was getting ready for a party and went to put them on. I opened the box, and the earrings looked all polished up. I put them on. There was something different about how they fit. I said, ‘Mike, there’s something wrong with my earrings.’ He chuckled and said he’d had them made up with real diamonds!”
The Taylor-Burton Diamond:
Originally, the rough diamond was found in South Africa, weighing 241 carats. It was cut into a 64.9ct pear shaped diamond by Harry Winston, and purchased by Richard Burton for $1.1million. Originally set in a ring, Elizabeth had Cartier set the stone in a necklace because she thought it was too big for a ring. She wore it publicly for the first time at Princess Grace of Monaco’s 40th birthday celebration. In 1978, after Elizabeth and Richard had divorced, she auctioned the diamond for $5,000,000 which was used to build a hospital in Botswana.
“You can’t cry on a diamond’s shoulder and diamonds won’t keep you warm at night, but they’re sure fun when the sun shines!”
-Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor was, in the opinion of many, one of the most beautiful women to ever grace Hollywood. Born in 1932 in London, Liz started her long career as a child star. Notable movie roles included the original Father of the Bride, The Last Time I Saw Paris, Giant with James Dean, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and perhaps most notably, Cleopatra. She won an academy award for her role in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Elizabeth’s personal life was often at the center of many a discussion. She married 8 times; twice to Richard Burton, who many considered to be the love of her life. Elizabeth once said, “My mother says I didn’t open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw was an engagement ring. I was hooked.”
Perhaps the most intriguing to those in the industry is Elizabeth’s love of jewelry. The Taylor-Burton diamond, perhaps one of the most famous gems in the world, was given to Liz by her then-husband Richard Burton. A pear cut, 69.42ct diamond, Elizabeth proudly wore the stone around her neck. This was one of the many notable pieces that she owned, and was an icon representing the love that Richard Burton had for her.
Elizabeth Taylor was a pioneer in the American Foundation for Aids Research, and will be remembered for her devotion to the cause. By 1999, she had helped to raise $50 million dollars in the fight against the disease. ”It’s bad enough that people are dying of AIDS, but no one should die of ignorance.”
She died this morning, March 23 at the age of 79. She will always be remembered for her iconic Hollywood status, her devotion to AMFAR and to her dear friends.
“When people say, ‘She’s got everything,’ I’ve got one answer – I haven’t had tomorrow.”
-Elizabeth Taylor
There are many people who own significantly valuable pieces of jewelry that haven’t even considered the purchase of jewelry insurance. To those of you in this position we say this: do it now. Insuring your jewelry can really prevent a whole lot of heartache in the instance that you lose your engagement ring or that dazzling diamond bracelet. Sure, it can’t necessarily replace the sentimental value, but it’ll save you thousands of dollars for just cents a day.
We recommend that pieces appraised at $2,000 or more are insured, whether it be with your home insurance or a company that we like to recommend called Jeweler’s Mutual. The latter is highly preferred, as your standard homeowner’s policy often provides only limited coverage for jewelry. This particular form of insurance covers loss, theft, damage, and even a mysterious disappearance. There are no deductibles, and it’s really an affordable way to protect your valuables. If something should happen to your engagement ring, with an insurance appraisal of around $12,000 for example, you could save yourself having to purchase a whole new diamond by simply spending around $120 per year for the insurance.
While losing or damaging a beloved piece of jewelry is the last thing you want to think about, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. It is recommended that you have your jeweler do a regular inspection of your pieces. Checking for normal wear-and-tear such as loose stones and worn prongs can help to prevent a much larger problem. You can always come and visit us; it’s a great opportunity to have your jewelry cleaned as well!
Confused about buying a diamond? You’re not alone. For those who are on an information overload regarding all of the technical concepts of diamonds, we’d like to make it easy for you. Read on as we discuss the “4 C’s” of a diamond and important things to consider when purchasing.
Carat: Don’t confuse this word with Karat, which instead refers to gold purity. A carat refers to the weight of a diamond. The larger the stone, typically the more rare and valuable it is. Stones over one carat are usually stated in carats, such as 1.03 carats. Stones under a carat are sometimes referred to as “pointers.” If you hear someone say, “that’s a seventy-pointer,” then the stone is .70 carats. As carat weight increases, so does price. However, carat weight is not related to beauty of quality. A smaller diamond can be as beautiful as the largest in the store; that’s where the other C’s play their part.
Color: Color in the diamond industry typically refers to the absence of color. However, diamonds do in fact come in many colors, and the term used to describe them is fancy color. The color of a diamond is measured on an alphabetical scale, starting with the letter D and going up from there. The highest, rarest, and typically most expensive color occurs in the D, E, and F range. Most engagement rings tend to be in the near colorless range of G, H, I, and J. Next is faint yellow, J, K, and L, and finally light yellow as M, N, and O. The fancy colors come in after that, with colors ranging from yellow to blue and pink and even black. The amount of color you see in a diamond largely depends on its size, how it is cut, and whether or not it is mounted. The color of the metal in a mounting can either mask or enhance the color of a diamond; for this reason, we tend to see white metals such as white gold and platinum show off a diamond the best, while yellow gold tends to provide a yellowish cast even if the diamond is near colorless.
Clarity: A diamond’s clarity refers to the degree to which a diamond is free of blemishes and inclusions, which include feathers, crystals, bubbles and carbon spots. Both inclusions and blemishes lower the clarity grade and hence decrease the value of the diamond, however they normally have very little effect on a diamonds’ beauty or durability. In nature, almost nothing is absolutely pure of perfect. Those rare diamonds that are considered flawless are highly prized and highly uncommon. They also present an unnecessary expense to the buyer, as small inclusions do not usually distract from the beauty of a diamond. On the other hand, diamonds that are highly flawed, with inclusions visible to the naked eye, would not make a great choice for an engagement ring, but may be perfect for a pendant or diamond earrings.
Cut: The cut is the human contribution to a diamond, and has a great effect on the other 3 C’s. The way a diamond is cut effects the amount of sparkle that comes out of a diamond. The cut can both enhance the color of a diamond, and hide inclusions. Typically, round brilliant diamonds are top sellers, as this cut allows the most light reflection throughout the diamond and the most sparkle for the viewer. Other popular cuts include princess and emerald, as well as Euro Cut and Mine Cut in vintage stones.
So, now that you’re somewhat familiar with the four C’s of diamond buying, you’re ready to start looking. Please do not take everything too literally! What we tend to find most often is that men are too concerned with the technical factors of a diamond, while women are just looking for “the one.” Yes, the four C’s are important. However, this does not mean that everything needs to be absolutely perfect according to the grading standards. For the sake of your fiancée to be, here are some things that you need to understand from a woman’s point of view:
- The “look” or style is typically the most important to element to a woman. If you haven’t already, it makes sense to shop with her to get a handle on her wishes and what looks best on her hand
- Size does matter! Most women would prefer a larger stone over a smaller yet perfect one. Many men get hung up on the specs and may even be tempted to buy a perfect yet small stone – a big mistake.
- Value is Key – Be sure that you understand what exactly you are purchasing and that you trust your jeweler.
Good luck, and may you enjoy your future diamond purchase!
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