”Finest Orange Diamond,” an extremely rare, 14.82-carat, VS1,
fancy vivid orange, pear-shaped diamond which sold for $35,540,611 or
$2,398,151 per carat, setting a world record price per carat for any colored
diamond at auction and the world auction record for a fancy vivid orange
diamond.
BURMA RUBIES
The scarcity of gem quality rubies of significant size has always been probamatic. As early as the 17th century, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, the noted explorer who made six trips to India in search for the finest gems for his royal clients, testified “…you would find it difficult to meet with one of good
quality, weighing 3 or 4 carats, because of the strict injunctions against allowing the removal of any which the King has not seen; and he retains all of the good ones which are found among them”. Generally considered the founding father of the gem trade, Tavernier further exclaimed: “when a ruby exceeds 6 carats and is perfect, it is sold for whatever is asked for it”.
The beauty of a fine ruby was irresistible even in ancient times. This gemstone, the name if which drives from Latin “ruber” meaning red, appears in the Old Testament where Job states: “the price of wisdom is above rubies”, giving proof to the stones status as a highly regarded gem.
In India, where the bright sunlight seemed to make these red stones glow with an inner fire, rubies have always been esteemed. In their ancient language 
Sanskrit, Hindus called ruby “ratnaraj” (king of precious stones) and “padmaraga” (red as the lotus). As with other gemstones, the legend of the ruby is replete with many magical powers and superstitions. A popular belief was that pale rubies were unripe, having been dug out of the earth before their time. Because their red color, suggest blood, wearing a ruby was thought to insure good health, protect against hemorrhage, and offer unparalleled success in the matters of the heart. It would also make a warrior invulnerable in battle, epically if inserted in the flesh through a self-inflected wound.
The gem species corundum, of which ruby is a variety, is second only to diamond in hardness.
It is therefore ideally suited to be fashioned and worn as a jewel. Composed mainly of aluminum oxide, corundum is, in its purest form, colorless. Although aluminum oxide is not rare and is found in many places on earth, it is hardly ever found in combination with chromium, the element responsible for imparting the distinct red color to a ruby.
The Mogok valley in Upper Burma, about ninety miles northeast of Mandalay, is one of the very few places where this combination occurs. It is, without a doubt, the world’s most important sources of gem-quality rubies. Only within this area of approximately twenty miles in length, at an elevation of 4000 feet, do we find the ideal geological conditions necessary to produce the rubies of exquisite color for which Burma is, and always been, famous. At its best, a Burmese ruby will be a rich red color of high intensity, sometimes referred to as “pigeon’s blood”. The majority of rubies are found in alluvial (riverbed) deposits weathered from crystalline limestone or marble.
Exactly when mining began in the Mogok area is unknown, but prehistoric tools have been found discovered nearby. The earliest records indicate that the King of Burma secured the mines from a local Shan ruler in 1597. Mining conditions were deplorable, and, by 1780, it was necessary to bring in slaves to supplement the dwindling number of native workers. All rubies ever a certain value and size were automatically surrendered to the king with no compensation to the miners. Conditons worsened with the appointment of local governors who taxed the miners on their fines. Rulers suspected the miners of breaking up large rubies into smaller sizes which perhaps accounts for the extreme scarcity of sizable rubies throughout history.
It is also entirely possible that, in reality, very few “large” stones existed in the first place.
By 1886, political and economic conditions led to the British annexation of Upper Burma. Within a few years, the British government awarded control of the mines to Bond Street jeweler Edwin Streeter, who formed the Burma Ruby Mines, Ltd. The British introduced relatively modern methods of working the 
mines, but met only with mixed success. By 1931, the operation closed down, and the Mogok area reverted back to the native miners and their centuries-old indigenous methods.
The situation in Burma today is a matter of conjecture. Since 1962 when Burma’s socialist government took over the mines, reliable figures have been impossible to obtain. Few foreigners are allowed to visit the area. The scarcity of gem-quality rubies of significant size on the market today would suggest that the mines are nearly depleted.
Unlike diamonds and other gemstones, faceted rubies of significant size are so scarce that “named” stones are practically non-existent. Two notorious examples, the “Black Prince’s Ruby” and the “Timur Ruby”, both in the 
British Crown Jewels-were later discovered to be spinls.
Competition for the few gem rubies that exist is as intense today as it was in Travrnier’s time.
Dame Elizabeth Taylor became America’s Cleopatra in a the 1963 
blockbuster movie of the same name, ‘Cleopatra’.
Richard Burton wanted to buy something very special for his wife and ‘Queen Cleopatra,’ a very special jewel, fitting a
Queen. But this was the early 1960’s, and the jewelry being made at the time was uninspired for a very seasoned
jewelry buyer with a an exquisite eye. So, Richard Burton, went to Harry Winston and together they had to go back in
a few decades in time, to the 1920’s and 1930’s when the jewelry arts peaked, to find the perfect jewel for his modern
day Cleopatra.
The jewel he chose was the ‘King Farouk Bracelet’ the Egyptian Revival bracelet made in 1925 by Van Cleef &
Arples in Paris.
Harry Winston had purchased a collection of jewels from Queen Nazli of Egypt, which included the ‘King Farouk Bracelet’.
I am sure Richard Burton was thinking that the ‘King Farouk Bracelet’ which was made for the very last Queen of the Nile, Queen Nazli would be the perfect gift for his ‘Cleopatra’.
Queen Nazli, at the time of her death had one of the greatest collections of jewels in the world, but that is another story…
Gem-set Egyptian-style pieces were also produced by other Parisian jewelers including Cartier and Lacoche Freres, etc.
Van Cleef & Arples set tiny Egyptian figures in colored stones into a diamond ground.
They are not in any way historically accurate.
What distinguishes Cartier jewels is their close reliance on the major sources books for Egyptian art.
Cartier’s 1910 catalogue comprises of gem-set objects whose design is based 
on Egyptian motifs such as the lotus and pylon.
After the discovery of Tutankhamun in 1922, and continued into the 1930s, consist of highly original objects
incorporating actual Egyptian antiquities such as blue-glazed faience scarabs or other amulets.
Jewelry influenced by the art of Ancient Egypt was at the height of fashion in the 1920’s. The discovery of 
Tutankhamen’s tomb by Howard Carter and Lord Camarvon in 1922 inspired jewelers. These exceptional jewels are
decorated with scenes of offerings and hieroglyphic motifs depicting scarabs, amphorae, bulls, ostrich feathers, lotus
flowers and bees, all of which reference Ancient Egyptian iconography. They are set with precious buff-top emeralds, 
sapphires, rubies, pave diamonds, and calibrated onyx stones.
The first wave of Egyptian Revival came at the very beginning of the very late 18th century with Admiral Nelson’s
defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, together with the discovery of the Rosetta stone. Later with the
opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 sparked another round of Egyptian Revival.
In 1922 Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun, which created a huge sensation through the world and inspired almost every art form from jewelry to architecture.
The last wave of Egyptian revival came in the mid 1970s when Tutankhamun’s treasures finally came to the United States.
If you have any Egyptian Revival jewelry, we can appraise its value. If you want Egyptian Revival jewelry, we can procure it for you. If you want to sell any Egyptian Revival jewelry, we can help you sell it for the very best price.
There are three very important reasons for having your jewels appraised.
1. The appraiser is an ‘identifier’. Your jewelry must be identified as to its materials (stones & metals), workmanship (hand-made or mass-produced), condition (like new or very worn),modern or period (antique or contempary) and other elements affecting its value, for example, measuring beauty and rarity and then evaluated-ranked in quality in relation to all other similar property.
Having an accurately detailed description of the jewels, including photographs, will help ensure, in the event of a loss, of being made whole by your insurance carrier.
Gemological Insurance Appraisers uses state of the art micro photography as well as state of the art digital photography.
2. The appraiser is a ‘valuer’. A value must be assigned to the jewelry that is appropriate to the purpose of the appraisal.
3. The appraiser is a ‘witness’ to the property. The appraiser can attest in a court of law that the jewelry existed at a certain point in time, and that it was in a certain condition. (That is why it is necessary for your appraiser to examine your jewelry when you have an appraisal update.)
Unlike real estate, that stays in one place and is sold in one market with public recordings of sales, personal property such as jewelry moves from one location (market) to another. It is subject to a layered market including retail of several levels, wholesale of varying levels, and markets for sale of used (pre-owned, antique or period) as well as new items. In addition, most of these transactions are by “private treaty”, and thus are not subject to public record.
In addition, the value of jewelry is related to circumstances surrounding the sale. The value must relate to the most common market for the item of jewelry, considering its condition and all other value factors. Value is always specific to a certain date and a stated purpose and will vary according to the situation.
Just as in valuing real estate, valuation of jewelry is largely a matter of research. It is important to preserve any past documentation of your jewelry-sales receipts, certificates from a gem laboratory, previous appraisals, guarantees or warranties, etc. These record the history of your jewelry, will aid your appraiser in assessing its current value. They could also be important at some future date in proving your personal history of ownership.
At Gemological Insurance Appraisers, we keep copies of your documentation for five years, just in case your records should be destroyed along with your jewelry.
The professional jewelry appraiser utilizes three traditional approaches to value market research of sales of comparable jewelry, the cost of making a reproduction or a replica of the jewelry, in rare cases, an estimate of the income producing potential of jewelry.
On April 25, 1996 Jackie Onassis triple strand faux pearls went on sale, lot 461, with a pre sale estimate of $400 to 500., they sold for an amazing $211,500.
Normally, a second-hand three strand faux pearl necklace will be sold only in a thrift store for a few dollars.
Franklin Mint paid $211,500.00 for a three strand faux pearl necklace because they made copies and sold them.
Franklin Mint has the original Jackie Onassis faux pearl necklace on display at their corporate office.
If one were to appraise Jackie Onassis triple stand faux pearl necklace, one would have to add the price it sold for $211,500.
That the necklace was sold for $211,500. is a now a fact, together with the revenue stream it has created. The three stand faux pearl necklace would appraise for a very high figure.
Around the 1900, the most ‘modern’ jewelry was white- white stones (diamonds, pearls and moonstones), white metal (platinum and white gold) settings and the designed in the garland style. Delicacy was the hallmark of 
the garland style. Motifs of ribbions and bows, cobwebs and lace, leaves and flowers predominated-anything that lent itself to a curvy shape, and always with ample openwork. The graceful designs were highly symmetrical, inspired by 18th century neo-classical motifs.
Cartier was one of the leaders of the neo-classical garland style using the combination of diamonds with pearls, to achieve still greater lighness and 
delicacy.
This was very much the taste of the period and not unique to Cartier, but Cartier created pieces of exquisite charm and elegance.
But if the inspiration lay in a neo-classical style, the execution reflected the state of the art technology. Diamonds were the stone of choice, thanks to the immence out put of the newly discovered diamond mines in the 1880s, that greatly incresed the availablity and affordabilty of diamonds. Together with a great new supply of diamonds was the introduction of platinum which quickley became the metal of choice for the master jewelers around 1900.
Breguet the famous watch maker around 1800 had used platinum in making some his watches. And in the mid-1800 Cartier had experimented using platinum. But, it really came into use for jewelry in the very late 19th century.
The garland style predominated in all sorts of jewelry, tiaras, necklaces, (the quintessential Edwardian/Belle Époque ‘dog’ collar). Its white-on-white color scheme and flowing silhouettes flourished throughout the early 1900s, up to the end of World War l.
If you have jewelry from this period we can appraise it’s value. If you would like a piece of Ewardian Garland style jewelry, we can procure it for you.
Please contact us to learn more.
Arthur King was a master goldsmith during the 1960s and 1970s using lost wax casting method of making jewelry. With lost wax casting, a model is made in wax, then a mold from the wax carving, and with the mold can be used many times to make an exact duplicate.
Arthur King began making 14K and 18K yellow gold nuggetie or drippie jewelry in the early 1960s, near the end of five decade love affair with
platinum and white gold jewelry.
Since about 1900, platinum and white gold had been the fashion together with the fact that most of the jewelry made in the first half of the twentieth century was very symmetrical in structured and design.
Arthur King literally ‘broke the mold’ when he started to produce asymmetrical, drippie, molten looking yellow gold jewelry decorated with baroque pearls juxtaposition with oddly cut colored stones.
The asymmetrical pearls and colored stones lent themselves with the almost freeform, yellow gold mountings made by Arthur King.
During the 1960s, was a time when middle age women were inheriting Edwardian and Art Deco jewelry, many of these were broken up to made into ‘modern’ look.
Arthur King had jewelry shops in New York, Miami, Paris, Havana and London. In spite of all of these shops, his jewelry remains fairly rare.
Arthur King started a jewelery trend that lasted many years. King’s jewelry was copied by many, but he was the master of the style.
The main source for diamonds in the world from ancient times was India. Besides being the world’s primary source for diamonds, many of the diamonds were of exceptional quality. In the late 18th century a major diamond discovery was made in the New World, Brazil. The Brazilian diamond deposits produced some very fine quality diamonds and after some time, the Brazilian diamonds had a reputation almost on par with the Indian diamonds.
In the early 1880s, diamonds were discovered in South Africa. Many of these newly discovered diamonds had a light yellow color. These diamonds had a faint yellow color and most were not yellow enough to be called ‘fancy yellow’.
The main route for export of these diamonds from South Africa was Cape Town. People started to call these faint yellow diamonds, ‘cape stones’. Today, in the diamond trade, faint yellow diamonds are called ‘cape diamonds’.
The diamond consumers, at this time thought that all of the diamonds coming out of Cape Town were of a lower quality than the diamonds being mined in India and Brazil.
“Simply perfection”, was the Empress Eugenie’s description of the Porter Rhodes diamond when the stone was shown to her by Mr. Porter Rhodes in 1881. Discovered on the Rhodes claim in the Kimberely Mine on February 12, 1880, the 153.50 carat octahedron of exceptional color and quality was considered the finest diamond ever found in South Africa.
In his book Famous Diamonds, Ian Balfour relates the events of the day of discovery, based on a letter from Porter Rhodes to Edwin Streeter in London. In the morning, Rhodes had been detained by proceedings at the local Magistrates’ Court. Later in the day, when mining operations had come to a halt for dinner, he met his chief overseer in the street. He produced a stone so uncommonly white Rhodes thought the man was playing a joke on him. The exceptional stone proved to be real, but Rhodes kept the news of the diamond to himself for four months.
When the story finally broke, the diamond was displayed to the public in a local office for the fee of one sovereign. At the end of the first day, the interest in seeing the diamond had been so great that L500 was collected and donated to a hospital in the diamond fields. Soon after, Rhodes traveled to London with the magnificent diamond and it was exhibited at the Bond Street Museum of Edwin Streeter. The Colonel of in charge of the Crown Jewels arranged for Rhodes to visit Queen Victoria, then residing at Osborne House in the Isle of Wight, and on January 19, 1881, he presented the diamond to her. The Queen was quick to recognize the diamond’s extraordinary beauty but question whether it had really come from the Cape. Next, when Rhodes took the stone to Empress Eugenie of France, at Osborne Cottage, her reaction was similar. She inquired, “Are you sure the diamond is from South Africa, and have you not had it polished it a little? I have always been under the impression that diamonds from the Cape were very yellow and worth but a little”.
Until the discovery of the Porter Rhodes, magnificent white diamonds were synonymous with Indian and later, Brazilian diamonds. Thus the exceptional quality of the Porter Rhodes helped dispel the general belief that diamonds from South Africa were not of the finest quality.
Subsequently the diamond was fashioned into a 73.00 carat old-mine cut diamond, and was purchased in 1930 by the second Duke of Westminster as a wedding present for his third wife, Loelia Ponsonby, daughter of Lord Sysonby. Shortly after this, the diamond came into the possession of the London jewelers Jerwood &Ward who had it recut in Amsterdam to a 56.60 carat Asscher cut.
In 1937, the Porter Rhodes was sold to the Maharaja of Indore. The Maharaja also owned the famous Indore Pear Shapes, two Golconda diamonds of more than 40.00 carats each. A man of enormous wealth, he had been forced to abdicate in 1926 in favor of his son because of a scandal involving a favorite dancing girl, Mumtaz Begum. Two years later, while traveling abroad, he met and later married a wealthy American, Nancy Anne Miller, whose father had discovered gold in Alaska.
In 1946, Harry Winston acquired the Porter Rhodes diamond, as well as the Indore Pear Shapes, from the Maharaja. He then re-polished the Porter Rhodes into the current 54.99 carats and subsequently sold it to a client from Philadelphia. Winston repurchased the diamond in 1957 and sold it again.
Thus, the Porter Rhodes diamond holds a major place in the history of diamond collecting. The extraordinary beauty and rarity of the diamond assures that it will be as treasured by future generations as it has been in the past.
The Porter Rhodes diamond was graded by the Swiss Gem Lab, Gublin as D color and VS1 clarity with a comment to the report stating that the diamond is: “potentially improvable up to possibly internally flawless”.
If you have an Asscher cut diamond or any fine diamond, we can appraise its value. If you have a large diamond that you want to sell of in a discrete professional matter, please call us. If you want an Asscher cut diamond or any fine diamond we can procure it for you. Please contact us to learn more.
One of the world’s most unique and luxurious gems, Conch pearls are produced naturally by the Queen Conch mollusk. The highest quality exampels are characterized by a 
distinctive ‘flame structure’ that give the appearance of a fire burining on the surface.
It is said that only one in ten to fifteen thousand Queen conchs produces a pearl-this would account for so few people, including jewelers, having ever seen or known of the existance of the pastel pink, naturally occurring pearl of the Caribbean.
To find a gem Conch pearl brillantly surrounded by the lights of its magnificent flame struture, the number of conches to be found rises to 120 to 150 thousand.
While the various shases of pink aare most in demand, conch pearl colors range from gold to magenta, lavender and orange.
QUEEN CONCH CULTURED PEARLS: A NEW GEM
Natural conch pearls, especially those with attractive pink coloration and flame structhre, 
have a very limited avalilability in the jewelry market. For more than twenty-five yearl, attempts at culturing pearls form the Queen conch (Strombus gigas) have been unsuccful-until now. Scientist from Flordia Atlantic Universithy’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (authors Scosta-Salmon and Davis) have developed proprietary techniques to produce beaded and non-beaded cultured pearls from the Queen conch.
If you have a conch pearl, we can appraise it’s value. If you want a conch pearl, we can procure it for you. Please contact us to learn more.
ABALONE PEARLS
Abalone pearls are concidered by many to be some of the most beautiful pearls in the world, and they are also some of the rarest. Abalone is a type of gastropod mollusk, 
Haliotis, a primitive, uni-valved (which means single-shelled), and at least thirty million years old. There are only eight varieties of abalone, which is low, when compaired to the other pearl producing mollusks such as oysters and mussels.
The inner mother-of-pearl of the abalone has an intense luster and a mixed color palette of blues, lavender, orange, pink and silver, in nearly every conceivable compination. The 
beauty of the abalone pearl is the reflection of this color potpourri in its typical irregular shape.
Different forms of abalone are found anywhere from Califorina to Alaska, as well as in 
Korea, Japan, New Zeland, and Australia.
The reason that these pearls are so rare is that they require about 8 to 10 years to form 
(note that it takes only 24 to 36 months for the pearls to develop in pearl farms, as ideal circumstances are provided). As abalone are commonly subject to commercial fishing at about the age of four or five years.
Therefore, they have not aged sufficiently for the creation of a pearl. Furthermore, not 
every kind of Abalone is able to produce pearls, and even in those that do, they require a 
veryspecific combination of elements in order for the natural pearl formation to occur; whichincludes everything down to what the abalone has to eat throughout the 8 to 10 years fo the pearl’s formation time.
If you have an ablone pearl, we can appraise it’s value. If you eant an ablone pearl, we can procure it for you. Please contact us to learn more.
A Melo Melo pearl is non-nacreous, natural calcareous concretions by a marine gastropod 
Melo Melo.
Virtually unknown in the west until very recently, Melo pearls might fail to attract attention, let alone action, if put up for sale anywhere but Asia. The reason is simple: 
habitat. Melo pearls-all of which, it should be pointed
out, are natural-are found in the Indo-Pacific region, more particularly in Myanmar (Burmese), Thai, Malaysian, Vietnamese and Australian waters.
Melo Melo pearls are usually large and round. Melo Melo pearls are extremely large and generally very round. One of the largest 
discovered is nearly the size of a golf ball!
The pearl’s color range from tan, dark brown, white, pink to vivid orange. The latter twocolors are the most desirable. Also like the conch pearl, the color is believed to be subject to fading over time
can be observed that are actually thin lamellae. The lamellae are almost parallel to one another and when sometimes perpendicular to the axis of the pearl result in a “pseudo-chatoyancy” effect. Pearls with a distinct flame structure have a “watered silk” appearance towards the periphery of the sphere. In cases where a mottled texture of white or brown spots occurs, the flame structure is coarse and difficult to resolve to the unaided eye. These pearls tend to exhibit dimpled surface features.
If you have a Melo Melo pearl we can appraise it’s value. If you want a Melo Melo pearl, we can procure it for you. Please contact us to learn more.
Antique Jewelry Appraisal | Diamond Jewelry Buyers | Orange County | Certified Gemologist Appraiser 