ROMANTIC #RUBY JEWELS from #FOREVAGEMS and ETSY

Outstanding Pear-Cut Unheated Ruby & Trillion-cut Diamond Ring from  Forevagems

Are you disappointed in your desire to find a genuine, unheated, truly deep red RUBY DIAMOND ring? Is the quality of the ruby and the accompanying diamonds of importance? If so, then scurry over to take a closer look at this outstanding Pear-shaped Unheated Ruby ring, flanked on each side by a brilliant, trillion-cut diamond of VS1-VS2 clarity and F colour that has just been listed at #ForEVAgems. What a beauty! It comes with both a GRS certificate from the recognized Gem Research Swiss Lab  and a recent appraisal by Sherrie Taylor, appraiser, in Burlington, Ontario. What a wonderful way to say "I love you" for a birthday, Valentines or Christmas.

So what else is out there for Ruby Lovers? Well, perhaps you'd prefer to have a stunning antique French Neglige Pendant like this one below being offered by MagpieAntique at Etsy:

It was love at first sight for me when I discovered this neglige as I once owned a pair of earrings that was a perfect match for this pendant. I love the subtlety of the diamonds encircled by diamonds in an almost belle epoque style. Graceful, feminine and a rare find indeed. 

My Etsy search also yielded the two fabulous RUBY EARRING sets below. I found the first set, which features natural red rubies and natural diamonds, all set in 18k, at NaturalGemsAtelier on Etsy:

The set below, from eternaltouch at ETSY has only a small ruby in the center, but those diamonds surrounding it are dazzling! What an addition to your New Year's Eve glitter!

Returning to rings, while I did a double take at the asking price on this Victorian Ruby Diamond Ring below, I just had to share it with you. You'll find it at SalonUber at Etsy. It's exquisite. What makes this ring expensive? Well apart from its antiquity, both the natural ruby and the fabulous diamonds surrounding it are old European mine cuts. As the seller tells us, old mine cut diamonds are far more fiery than modern diamonds! In my experience, one should always expect to pay more for old mine cuts!

We do have one more absolutely beautiful RUBY DIAMOND COCKTAIL RING at #ForEVAgems that I'd like to share with you. This is semi hand-made, or if you wish, refurbished, in that the owner had the lovely neon-red natural ruby as part of her gem collection but needed a mount to set it in. When she located and purchased the vintage mount for it, it resulted in a wonderful marriage of a ruby and diamonds. 

Brilliant unheated neon pink/red ruby in a lacy vintage diamond  setting from  #Forevagems

So which of these romantic ruby jewels grabs your fancy? Do you love rubies? Why not leave us a comment? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for subscribing...if you have...and if you haven't, please subscribe now. It's nice to believe someone is reading this ForEVAgems blog LOL.

PRETTY #PENDANTS for #CHRISTMAS

NO, it's not too early to start your #Christmas shopping! Those who wait till after Thanksgiving often end up feeling frantic. And unless you really love dashing from one retail shop to another and standing impatiently in line in those last 12 days before Christmas, why not check out some of the lovely items already being offered by #vintage #jewelry sellers at RubyLane and #Etsy. So much to choose from without leaving home!

At #Forevagems on Ruby Lane, these 4 fabulous vintage pendants shown below have already been reduced, some by as much as 50%. Now tell me this isn't a great time to buy before they are snapped up by some other savvy earlybird shopper!

All 4 pendants are currently ON SALE at http://www.forevagems.com

There are several other lovely pendants available from #Forevagems, including this just added, high quality Multi-Diamond pendant + chain below: 

Gorgeous Multi-diamond 14k Pendant available from Forevagems at Ruby Lane.

Turning to #ETSY for some hand-crafted, artisan necklaces, take a look at these lovely offerings from three different sellers:

All pendants available from the Etsy sellers listed on photos

And since this blog is about #Vintage, #estate, #Antique and #artisan jewelry, let's wrap this up with this wonderful ANTIQUE Victorian Locket Chain Pendant from PritiStar at Etsy  who carries some of the most amazing antique pieces I've seen and at excellent prices:

Antique Victorian Locket chain Pendant from PritiStar at Etsy

Well, as they say in show biz, "that's a wrap" for today's blog post. I hope I've given you some great gift ideas for #Christmas...or birthdays...or anniversaries, or any occasion that calls for a pretty pendant. Check 'em all out now!

OCTOBER #BIRTHSTONES REFLECT AUTUMN COLORS: #OPALS, #TOURMALINES

If you live in North America, you know the beautiful autumn season with its magnificent colours is nearly upon us. And if you're an October baby, you have your choice of 2 glorious gemstones to celebrate your birthday: opal and tourmaline. Take a look, for starters, at the incredible "fall" colours displayed in this Mozambique tourmaline I found in ChouhanStylish's shop on #ETSY

What a magnificent display of reds and yellows...just like we'll soon be seeing all around us as those leaves come tumbling down. Just picture that stone set in a ring or necklace. That is what ChouhanStylish can make for you. And here's another really pretty multicoloured tourmaline ring from AnemoneUnique at ETSY:

That particular tourmaline is known as a "watermelon" tourmaline and it's fairly obvious why. But what I find really cool about that stone above is it reflects the actual change from summer to fall. Just like tree leaves in early October, some leaves are still green while others are turning. 

Of course, not all tourmaline is multi-coloured. In fact, one of the most prized tourmalines are "paraiba" tourmalines, like the one is this incredible ring my daughter, owner of her #ForEVAgems shop at Ruby Lane, designed and had custom-made for herself some years back: 

Custom-designed Paraiba Tourmaline & Diamond Cocktail ring from Forevagems

Tourmalines aren't all that rare, but the cost of a Paraiba tourmaline depends on the carat weight of the stone and its colour. The rarest colour of tourmalines, hence pricier, are the blues and reds. So keep an eye out for those. 

Now, let's look at October's other birthstone: OPAL. I absolutely adore opals and have found they are a popular stone with many buyers, regardless of the time of year. Like those multi-coloured tourmalines above, the delightful thing about opals is the range of colours ie. "fire" that really good opals display. Look at the glorious "autumn" colours in this "fire opal" cabochon and diamond cocktail ring sold recently by Forevagems:

If earrings are your favorite kind of jewelry, here's a pair I really like that is being sold by justopal at ETSY:

These are natural Australian opal doublets but look at the colours emitted: reds, blues, oranges, greens. So very pretty. Speaking of opal "doublets",  "triplets" etc. you might wonder what is the difference between them and a solid opal. Well, doublets and triplets are slivers of opal that are mounted onto a black backing. Solid opals are "all" opal, like the pendant I have for sale HERE:

Solid Opal with diamond pendant on 14k Italian box chain available from Forevagems

If you'd like to know more about opals, doublets, triplets etc., check out this link at OPALS DOWN UNDER.  meaning, Australia, which is, of course, where some of the world's best opals are found!

There's certainly no shortage of creative artisans on #ETSY who can make you a ring, earrings, bracelet, pendant or whatever you desire using opals or tourmalines. But if you're not looking for handmade items, which are generally a little more affordable, and you want vintage or antique jewelry, I really suggest you check out Ruby Lane. If money is no object, Arnold Jewelers in Florida has this incredible natural diamond and freeform opal pendant below just for you! Happy Birthday!

SEPTEMBER is #SAPPHIRE MONTH!

When it comes to what is a "forEVAgem" ie. a gemstone that is popular in Estate, Vintage, Antique and Artisan Jewelry, sapphires win hands down! And why not? Apart from their incredible beauty and wide range of colours, sapphires are the 3rd hardest gemstone after diamonds and moissanites, making them valuable in areas other than jewelry.

Now, if you don't know this already, the most popular colour of sapphire is blue, and top quality blue sapphires fetch amazingly high dollars at auctions. Here's a tidbit from GemSelect about their prices:

"The record price for a sapphire was set in April 2007 at Christies in New York when an unnamed 22.66ct Kashmir sapphire sold for $3,064,000!"

 Wowza! Well in our ForEVAgems shop, we don't have anything quite that expensive, but here's a just added and delightful blue sapphire and diamond pendant converted from what was originally a very old ring:

Brilliant Blue Sapphire Diamond Pendant from ForEVAgems

You can read up on how ForEVAgems had this pendant custom-made for that lady who loves sapphires. What a September birthday present this would be!

Here's another stunning Purple Sapphire and Diamond Engagement ring that I've noticed folks adding to their Pinterest boards.

Purple Sapphire & Diamond Engagement Ring from ForEVAgems

This superb sapphire diamond ring comes with an AIGS certificate and shows no indication of heat treatment. Heat treatments are used to enhance the colour of gemstones, but they also make the stones more brittle over time. This popular ring, with both AIGS certificate and an appraisal over $3700 USD is priced very affordably...a lovely birthday or Christmas gift!

In the last couple of years, ForEVAgems has found it can't get enough #Padparadscha sapphires to satisfy the demand. "Pads", as they are called, are one of the rarest and most expensive sapphires around, according to GemSelect. Pads are superb orange/pink sapphire with varying degrees of light and dark. When recently doing some video on a ForEVAgems ring described as "pastel pink", we suddenly noticed how orange this gemstone actually was. It took us by surprise. Could it actually be a Padparadscha sapphire? After speaking with some jewelers, they agree. They feel sure we have a "pad", not a colour change sapphire in this vintage engagement ring. Take a look at just how much orange is showing in the video portion of our slideshow below.

If what we have there is actually a Padparadscha Sapphire, then our asking price is too low! We're going to have this beauty checked out the next time we get some appraisals done...unless you snap it up before the price goes up!

By the way, I mentioned "colour-change" sapphires above. Not familiar with those? Below is a prime example. This unheated, natural purple sapphire changes colour depending on what the light source is. In natural lighting, it is a bright, vivid purple. But in incandescent light, it mutates to an almost plum-like pink purple:

Colour Change Sapphire Diamond By-Pass ring from ForEVAgems

That's like getting two rings for the price of one! This rare colour-changing sapphire and diamond "by-pass" ring has been appraised at $5700 USD. But you can purchase it for a lot less at ForEVAgems.

Just a last word here on pink sapphires: if you have sapphire rings but would like a pendant for your birthday instead, if you don't choose the blue sapphire pendant on the top of this blog post, you might like this darling Pink Sapphire and Diamond Heart necklace shown here:

Pink Sapphire/diamond Pendant from ForEVAgems

Whatever the occasion, you can't go wrong with sapphire jewelry! Sapphires: true "forEVAgems"!

#STAR #SAPPHIRE: A VERY SPECIAL #GEMSTONE!

For years, we've heard ForEVAgems' customers say how much they'd love to have a #Star #Sapphire diamond ring. So we've kept an eye out for this unique gemstone, and when we came across the purple star sapphire shown in the video below, we flipped out!


We were lucky to acquire this gemstone some years back, complete with full certification of its authenticity as a star sapphire. But we didn't have a ring mount we thought was beautiful enough for it. So it sat in our safe until we found the magnificent diamond ballerina mount you can see in the video. Talk about a spectacular ring! If you'd like to know more about this glorious ring, you can read all about it HERE. 
So, to help you fill in the blanks about star sapphires, we again consulted GemSelect and learned that a star sapphire is a "rare variety of sapphire that exhibits a rare asterism under specific lighting", meaning you can see " a six-rayed star in the sapphire that appears to float across its surface." How unusual is that! 

As for colours, the most desirable, according to GemSelect, is "a vivid, intense blue" perhaps closer to the one above which is being sold by MissIrisJewelry on Etsy. Apparently, star sapphires can be found in several other colours e.g. orange, green, pink and even lavender like the one below which I also found on Etsy in a shop named DragonsBreath:

But as I searched for samples, I found it very hard to find star sapphires in colours other than a very pale blue. Those seemed to be quite common. I found one red but for the life of me, couldn't see the star in any of the photos. Then I located this one in a shop at 1stDibs:

That's more like it! Nice Victorian ring that one. But forgive me for being biased, but I still love our purple star sapphire in its brilliant diamond baguette ballerina setting best of all! Oh that glitter!

Purple Star Sapphire Diamond Cocktail Ring available from Forevagems at Ruby Lane

Well that's it for today folks. As you may notice as you check out those links, good star sapphire rings aren't inexpensive. If you find one that seems really "cheap", ask for certification to prove it's a bona fide star sapphire before you buy! 

Do you own a star sapphire ring or other piece of jewelry? Why not tell us about in the comments section of this blog. I'd love to hear from you. Thanks for reading!

#ART #DECO #JEWELRY: Always in style & valuable to Collectors

If there's one era of vintage jewelry that never seems to go out of style, it's Art Deco. My eyes just about pop out of my head every time I come across a ring, pendant, bracelet from the Art Deco period dating to the mid 1920's.

It was after I discovered, learned about and began collecting the jewelry and bronze works of ERTE, recognized by many as the "Father of Art Deco" that my passion for Art Deco skyrocketed. And now, as I peruse one jewelry shop after another, it's incredible to see just how well art deco jewels continue to sell despite the often high prices.

I just found this unique art deco diamond and sapphire ring being sold by TheIdolsEye at Etsy:

Art Deco Sapphire Diamond Ring from TheIdolsEye at Etsy

How's that for different? Sapphire and Diamond Art Deco rings aren't all that rare: there's plenty of them being offered by sellers on Ruby Lane and Etsy. But the one above stands apart with its triangular shield shape and pear cut diamond.

One of the sweetest art deco #Engagement rings I've seen is the one carried in our own Forevagems shop at Ruby Lane and shown below. 46 visitors to our shop have already added this darling to their carts for future consideration. It offers 0.70cts of excellent diamonds in a design reminiscent of a heart...just perfect for the bride-to-be who treasures vintage jewelry. 

ArtDeco Diamond Engagement Ring from ForEVAgems

Want an even better idea of just how our sweetheart ring glitters? Here's a short video from our YouTube page:

Over the years, we've sold some glorious art deco earrings at ForEVAgems, and those are always popular and always in style. We don't have any right now, but I found the hand-crafted pair shown below in an Etsy shop called EthicallyEnchanted, and as an earring lover,  enchanted I am!

Art Deco style 18k Earrings with South Sea Golden Pearls from Ethically Enchanted at Etsy

Now what fascinates me about these earrings above is what the seller tells us about their construction: How very clever and creative!

"These amazing earrings were made using an Art Deco Brooch. The brooch was split into two with a post soldered to one end where the golden pearl is resting."

How very clever and creative! Now, for sure, you and I can locate plenty of genuine art deco earrings made in the mid-20's, but the fact that today's artisans are continuing to create jewelry that emulates traditional art deco by using parts from vintage jewels tells us that buyers are as keen today...or maybe even more so...for the looks and beauty of that by-gone but ever alive era!

Art Deco Diamond Bracelet sold by Laurie Steig Vintage Jewelry on Ruby Lane

WHAT RED GEMSTONE IS RARER THAN #RUBY? RED #SPINEL!

Many of ForEVAgems' clients want a ruby ring but really good, non-synthetic rubies, depending on the size, can be very expensive. So what's a ruby lover with a limited budget to do? Settle for a tiny ruby or synthetic ruby? Is there an alternative?

What they might do instead is consider the gemstone, #Spinel. No, it's not a ruby but if you can find a red spinel ring, you should consider this beautiful gemstone as its deep red variety most closely resembles rubies. But here's the surprising rub: according to the website, Minerals.net, 

"Fine red spinel is actually rarer than ruby of equal colour". 

Wow! So doesn't that mean it'll be even more expensive? Not really...because its rarity prevents jewelry makers from "pushing it", meaning you might find a red spinel ring for 30% less than you'd pay for a similar ruby ring.

Below is an absolutely gorgeous purplish pink/red Spinel and diamond ring we acquired at a Dupuis Estate Auction some years ago. I was so excited when I won it! Even though its colour wasn't deep ruby red, it was spinel...and given spinel's rarity, that was good enough for me:

Superb Designer Signed Pink/Red/Purple Spinel & Diamond Dinner Ring available from  http://www.forevagems.com 

But you see, that's the interesting thing about spinel: it also comes in other colours. One of the loveliest rings we ever sold was a deep blue spinel, similar to this 1940's Blue Spinel ring I found in ONERS shop on ETSY:

1940's Blue Spinel 14k gold ring from Oners on Etsy

Or how about this Purple Spinel and Diamond Ring from GemsTreasuresofGrace on ETSY:

Purple Spinel & Diamond 18k Ring from ETSY

On the other hand, if you're not afraid of spiders,  here's a delightful Boho ring featuring blue spinel that I found in the ErieCanalCollectors Shop at ETSY:

Boho Spinel Spider Ring from ErieCanalCollectors at Etsy

On a parting note, you might be interested in this story I found on Minerals.net where you can see many variations on Spinel gemstones in both finished and raw state. Back in the 1400's, a deep red spinel gemstone, believed at the time to be a ruby, was set in this crown shown below. This became known as "The Black Princes' Ruby". Just goes to show how closely a really good red spinel resembles the more often desired red ruby!

This photo of Black Princes' Ruby Crown as shown  at Mineral.net