Lime green Peridot, the color of late summer, is the birthstone for August. We have many loose Peridot from Arizona and Pakistan, cut locally in the Berkshires. These gemstones are available for purchase by collectors of fine gemstones, or for a custom designed piece of jewelry. Click here to learn more about peridot.
David is an internationally recognized and collected contemporary tonalist and he is the featured artist for our Summer of 2017 “Art on the Walls.” Learn more about David and see more of his paintings by reading my newsletter.
Why “Art on the Walls” in our jewelry gallery? It is my business philosophy to sponsor art.
I support local artists who have the same need to practice and learn. Their skills require a different medium from mine, mainly paint. However, we have the same motivation to create. The difference being that my inspiration comes from gemstones and precious metals.
“Art on the Walls” is synonymous to art in the case. The two compliment each other. I work hard to uncover jewelry designers. I am committed to keeping my own workshop going and to keep exposing artists work.
I will continue to find local artists to show seasonally at my gallery. David Wander’s work is here for the summer and will be gone in the fall.
Let us create a contemporary, meaningful piece of jewelry that is beautifully designed and exquisitely made.
We are available for jewelry consultation any time.
Does this spark a thought of a custom piece of jewelry we can create for you?
Contact us by phone (413-637-1589) or email ldonovan@lauriedonovan.com
We have a collection of loose rubies from Burma and Madascar available for collectors. Special orders can be designed and created especially for you. Watch our video for more information and images of rubies and ruby jewelry.
Ruby, vivid intense red, pigeon blood red, July birthstone. Ruby is rated 9 on the Mohs Hardness scale, making it an ideal ring stone. This ring is entirely hand fabricated in 18K yellow gold with 18K white gold applique. The setting for the ruby is also hand fabricated.
The hardness of sapphire (9 on the mohs scale) and it’s wide variety of colors makes it a most desirable gemstone for jewelry. Blue is the preferred color, however it comes in violet, green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, and intermediate hues. Some stones exhibit the phenomenon known as color change, most often going from blue in daylight or fluorescent lighting to purple under incandescent light. Sapphires can even be gray, black, or brown.
Kashmir, is considered intensely saturated and velvety. Rare sapphires from Kashmir set the standard for blue.
Royal Blue is the world’s most famous engagement ring: Kate Middleton’s and Princess Diana’s sapphire!
Padparadscha is a rare and valuable pinkish orange sapphire. It’s name is derived from the Singhalese word for aquatic lotus blossom, which has an unusual salmon color.
There are a number of processes used to alter the color, clarity, or improve the durability of gems. Heat treatment is the most common alteration in sapphire.
A simple cylinder of color, not traditionally set but constructed like a master craftsman’s dowel joint, inside the design of one of John Kennedy’s Aperture settings is mesmerizing. Light plays within his Cylettes cut gemstones in a non traditional way. The gems have no facets and they are not cabochons or crystals; they are different. The design is clean, classic, sophisticated and yet simple. It is remarkable innovative, so instinctive that it looks like it should have always been this way.
Growing up in Massachusetts, Kennedy had no formal training as a jewelry designer. Self-taught as a bench jeweler as well as designer, his creativity was not stifled by rules of what one can and cannot do in the traditional sense of design. Lack of formal training, combined with his endless imagination, presented a myriad of challenges.
Kennedy began his first collection with cylindrical shapes indifferent metals creating uniquely linear designs. To add color, John began brushing platinum bars and using colored gold to contrast the white and yellow gold he used in his settings. After painstakingly producing a few sample pieces he was awarded a place in the Intergold Design Competition. It was not long after that he began to see his linear designs showing up in other manufacturers’ catalogs.
Undeterred, he continued to push his imagination to higher levels; now on a quest to add more color and light to his collection. He felt limited by his materials and began to design pieces incorporating colored gemstones. His idea seemed simple, however issues soon arose. How do you cut a gemstone into a cylinder, not just a tube, but a perfectly calibrated cylinder? And once you have those cylinders, how do you set them?
Once the design goal was clear, the next challenge was to find a gem cutter who could supply him with the materials. He had found a gem cutter in Idar-Oberstein, Germany, but the quality, uniformity and calibration was not consistent enough for Kennedy’s designs. He scraped together enough material to create his collection in time for the 1992 New York Jewelers of America show, where his creations were enthusiastically embraced.
Kennedy continued his quest for a gem cutter. Finally, nearly 5 years after his quest began, while exhibiting his work at the Tucson Gem Show, he met Wolfgang Heringer, a 15th generation gem cutter also from Idar-Oberstein, Germany, who uttered the words Kennedy longed to hear, “I can do this.
For the first time since he started hic concept of Cylettes, Kennedy now had a reliable source for perfectly cut and calibrated gemstones.
Today, Kennedy’s Cylettes are praised amongst both his peers as well as his clients. Preferring to remain hands on in his operations, insisting on quality over quantity, his biggest problem these days is keeping up with the growing demand. Considering the road he has traveled, this is a problem he should wear as a badge of accomplishment.
When you’re at Tanglewood, Lenox, Massachusetts, in the heart of the Berkshires, be sure to visit our gallery of hand made fine jewelry, antique and estate jewelry, and fine gemstones.
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Paintings by Julio Granda. Currently showing, through October. Julio’s style has evolved over the long span of his career. This summer you will find Julio’s style full of crunchy paint and colors depicting Seascapes and Berkshire landscapes. His new series of “Pallet Scrapings” leads to Julio’s next artistic adventure. When in Lenox this summer, in the Berkshires, visiting Tanglewood or any of our wonderful venues, please come take a look and celebrate the work o
f Julio Granda.
