As the newest member of the Beauchamp family, I am pleased to say that I feel right at home.  Believe it or not, I wake up everyday excited to go to work.  To be quite honest, it is hardly work. Over the past two months, I have had  the privilege of meeting many of Beauchamp’s delightful customers.  Being able to help people celebrate anniversaries, birthdays, marriage and everyday life has come to be a moving and exciting experience for me. To top it all off, I get to “play” with stunning  jewelery, work with fabulous people,  and I have managed to learn a lot along the way.

Prior to working here, the only jewelery experience I had was that I knew I loved it, and I thought it was beautiful. Jewelry, however, now posses an entirely new form of beauty for me- it is no longer  just a pretty accessory, it is art.  The time, effort, creativity, and heart put into jewelry making is truly astounding.

Though it changes all the time with all these wonderful designer lines at Beauchamp, my current personal favorite is Konstantino. Konstantino pieces are an absolutely perfect example of jewelry being art.  Konstantino jewelry comes from Athens, Greece and it is handcrafted from sterling silver and 18 karat gold. It is clear that great thought and precision is put into every single piece. Even the parts of the jewelry that are not visible when worn have great detail and magnificence.

Konstantino uses early engraving and impression techniques that can be found in early Greek jewelry. With each and every piece, you can see  the echoes of history, experience their timeless craftsmanship and lasting splendor. The combination of the sterling silver and gold make for a faboulous ”old-world” look that is modern, classic, and timeless  all wrapped into one. 

Konstantino Jewelery is not one of my favorites because it is merely beautiful, it is one of my favorites because when I wear it, I can truly feel the majesty, passion, and artisanship of each piece.

April’s birthstone is the most famous of all the gems: Diamond. For more technical information about diamonds you can check out the following posts from our Gemologist:

Diamond Color
Diamond Cut
Carat Weight
Diamond Clarity

The most famous diamond in the world is probably the Hope Diamond which you can read about here:

The Biggest Diaimond You Own

If you are looking for the perfect birthday gift for an April Birthday you might try some of what you see below. Diamonds can of course be found in earrings, pendants, rings, bracelets, watches, and every imaginable form of jewelry. You will also find beautiful diamonds in all of our designer lines including David Yurman, Konstantino, Alex Sepkus, Cherie Dori, and of course Roberto Coin, whose Cento Diamond cut is head and shoulders above the rest with 100 facets which add to it’s brilliance and fire.

Click on any picture to find out more about the item or visit our web page at bcjewelers.com for more beautiful diamond pieces.

I can’t let March 15th pass without thinking about the famous line from Shakespeare’s Julius Caeser in which the Soothsayer warns Julius Caesar “Beware the Ides of March.” The ides are nothing more than the 15th of March, May, July, and October and the 13th of every other month. It just happens to be the day Julius Caesar was killed and therefore has become somewhat of an ominous day.

What does this have to do with jewelry? you might ask. Well, nothing; but whenever I look at the beautiful styling of Greek designer Konstantino’s jewelry I think of the golden ages of Greece and Rome. Here are some classic Mediterranean designs to enjoy today, the ides of March.

Citrine & Peridot Enhancer

Filigree Sterling Cufflinks by Konstantion

Fleur de Lis Ring by Konstantino

14K Gold & Aquamarine Necklace circa 1910

Aquamarine is the birthstone for March and the traditional gift for 19th wedding anniversaries.

Aquamarine’s name is derived from the Latin for sea water. Ancient seafarers believed that the beautiful blue stone came from the treasure chests of the mermaids. Ancient peoples believed that the water in which an aquamarine was soaked would cure eye troubles and stop hiccups (never been proven by modern medicine). In medieval times, it was believed to reawaken love between married couples. Soldiers through the ages have called Aquamarine the “Stone of Courage” and believe that it guards against injury and makes them invincible.

Aquamarine belongs to the Beryl family of gemstones. Emeralds and Morganite are also included in the Beryl family. Beryl is comprised of beryllium-aluminum-silicate. Iron is the trace element that creates the lovely blue color in Aquamarine while chromium creates the green in emeralds and manganese gives Morganite its pink color. The beryl family generally originates in granitic pegmatites and found in alluvial deposits. The largest gem quality specimen on record is a 243 pound crystal found in 1910 in the Minas Gerais region of Brazil.

Aquamarine & Sterling Silver Neckalce by Konstantino

Properties

• Hardness: 7.5 – 8.0
• Color – Greenish blue through blue-green
• Stability
• Very good
• Rarities include cat’s-eye
• Clarity – majority is eye-clean
• Enhancements –
• Majority is heat treated to remove yellow and green overtones and is undetectable

Aquamarines are found in Brazil, Madagascar, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Burma, China, Australia, the Ural Mountains of Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the USA.

Care

• Cleaning methods
• Ultrasonic – usually safe
• Steamer – usually safe
• Warm soapy water – safe

79 Ct Aquamarine in custom mounting by Beauchamp Jewelers

79 Ct Aquamarine in Custom Mounting by Beauchamp Jewelers