Andrew Fabrikant & Sons | FabOn5th.com | Diamond & Estate Jewelry Buyer

Experts in Diamonds and Estate Jewelry

Blog

Selling diamonds, estate jewelry or gold, come to Andrew Fabrikant & Sons, they’re educating the public in new ad campaign.

By

Manhattan, NY, May 9, 2014 – Andrew Fabrikant & Sons, (fabon5th.com) a nationwide leader in diamond and estate jewelry buying, launched its first national ad campaign this month. The campaign, which is running in the top ten markets and includes publications such as The New York Times, Los Angles Times, Miami Herald, and Chicago Tribune, will help people identify and connect with reasons why they should sell their diamonds and estate jewelry.

There is a common misconception that jewelry whether it be a diamond necklace, a gold or stainless steel Daytona Rolex, an engagement ring or a family heirloom to name a few, is sold in times of desperation and the money is used for something spontaneous and irresponsible. However, we see people selling diamonds and their jewelry for many positive and rewarding situations. Whether if be to start a retirement fund, to fund a child’s education, to pay for a family vacation or to buy something that is more your taste, the money received from selling unused jewelry can usually be put to better use than having something sitting in a safety deposit box.

One headline of the campaign, “Getting divorced? Then why stay married to your jewelry” speaks to the 800,000 women who get divorced each year and aren’t sure what to do with their engagement ring, wedding ring, and other jewelry from their ex-spouse. Another ad speaks to parents who are trying to fund a college education “It’s time for your kids to get an education on jewelry.”

The campaign, which is being run by Pere360, an NYC-based advertising agency, will start with print and on-line and expand into out-of-home, radio, TV and local cable. No budget has been released yet.

“We want this ad campaign to do more than attract attention,” said Glenn Pere, President and Creative Director of Pere360, LLC. “We want consumers to identify with different touch points and real life situations that seem to be daily occurrences.” PERE360 is an agile agency generating adaptable ideas with the breadth and depth to ignite culture.

Andrew Fabrikant & Sons (FabOn5th.com), are nationwide leaders in diamond & estate jewelry buying. They specialize in signed and unsigned estate jewelry (pre-owned jewelry), diamonds, watches, gold and other fine jewelry from anywhere in the United States. With four generations and more than 100 years in the jewelry trade, they have an established name of assessing each item of jewelry not only for its intrinsic worth but its aesthetic value, its market desirability, and history. Andrew Fabrikant & Sons will guarantee any and all purchases for quality and price. For more information call 1-800-570-Gems or visit http://fabon5th.com.

Bvlgari – Classicism meets Contemporary

By

Written by: Donna Pulese-Murphy

Bvlgari was a master at creating jewelry that appeals to today’s fashion sensibility and yet pays homage to the past.

Such is the case in this recently acquired Bvlgari 18kt yellow gold link pendant embellished with cultured pearls, diamond rondelles and cabochon ruby terminals. Suspended from this intricately designed pendant is a classical Roman carved lava cameo framed by round and baguette diamonds.

Bvlgari’s story begins with Greek silversmith/jeweler Sotirios Voulgaris who left his homeland and emigrated to Italy, settling in Rome where he founded his company. Following World War II, Bvlgari moved away from the French school of design which had dominated jewelry to create its own unique style inspired by Greek and Roman classicism the Italian Renaissance and the 19th Century Roman school of master goldsmiths which appealed to the elite.

One such elite client was Elizabeth Taylor who discovered Bvlgari in 1962, loved their jewelry and amassed a large collection in her lifetime. Other Bvlgari admirers followed suit including Mary Pickford, Princess Grace, Audrey Hepburn, Keira Knightley and Kristen Wiig.

Bvlgari’s signature style was, and is still today, bold and sumptuous with wide expanses of metal coupled with precious and/or semiprecious stones, usually cabochons set in geometric patterns. Unusual stone cuts also came into the mix, including diamonds in both round brilliant and fancy cuts, and colored gemstones in cushion-cuts, calibrated cuts and heart-shapes. Color remains a dominant feature.

Regarded as one of the world’s premier jewelers, the company is credited for many innovations in jewelry. Imagine combining unusual materials, such as steel and white porcelain, and mixing them with precious materials and gemstones in larger than life designs. An odd combination? Perhaps. But that’s the genius of Bvlgari- creating magnificent ‘every-day ‘jewelry using bold Italian architectural themes with sumptuous color!

Verdura’s Visions

By

Written by: Donna Pulese-Murphy

Fulco di Verdura- even the name evokes an air of nobility and bravura!

As a designer, he embraced bold color and fantastic forms and mixed them imaginatively with a myriad of natural stones and combinations. He was particularly drawn to the natural world and art objects. And his creations reflected this. Such is the case with the two pairs of earrings featured here that are composed of wood and coral respectively, enveloped in 18kt yellow gold.

Verdura’s wildly imaginative and high fashion jewelry, such as his diamond Hokusai-like stylized waves or his Byzantine mosaic-like brooches, was a testament to his love of nature and art. He also fancied marine-life motifs crafting pieces that imitated actual sea forms such as scallop shells.

The inimitable Chanel particularly fancied one of Verdura’s earliest signature styles- his Maltese cross brooches and wrist cuffs. It was Chanel, in fact, who recognized his talents and hired Verdura as a textile designer, paving the way for his illustrious career. Verdura would later say that “Chanel was the most chic woman I have ever met and the first person to ever take me seriously.”

Gaining fame in Paris, Verdura moved onto the United States and became an acclaimed jeweler for leading Hollywood jeweler, Paul Flato. And Hollywood starlets and fashion icons loved Verdura! These lovely ladies included Paulette Goddard, Carole Lombard, Diana Vreeland, Babe Paley and Betsy Whitney.

Fulco di Verdura’s appeal has never waned and the company remains one of most beloved design visionaries of haute couture jewelry.

Heart of Ice that Fuels the Flame of Desire

By

Written By: Donna Pulese-Murphy

Sounds incredulous? Not at all!

Who can view this magnificent 6.25ct. heart-shape diamond and not yearn to possess it? It is the iconic symbol of romantic love and life’s ‘secret place’ for passion.

So if you don’t want your diamond to look just like every other woman’s, and you want to wear your heart on your finger (or ears or neck) and not on your sleeve, than there is no more a unique cut diamond than the heart-shape diamond.

As a tribute to Valentine’s Day, we thought we’d take a look back at some of the more famous gems of love.

Hearts of History….

For Elizabeth Taylor’s 40th Birthday, husband Richard Burton acquired the Taj-Mahal –not the building – but a flat heart- shaped diamond inscribed in the Persian Language with Arabic characters. The inscription reads, “Nur Jahan Begum Padshah; 23; 1037.” Emperor Jahangir commissioned the artisans of the Mughal court to design this beautiful diamond and jade pendant and got it inscribed with the name of his favorite wife Nur Jahan, and presented it to her as a token of his great love and esteem for her, in the year 1037 A.H. The diamond was then given to Shah Jahan, who gave it to his favorite wife Mumtaz as a token of his love. When she died, he built her the Taj Mahal.  It was said that Burton bought the Taj Mahal diamond for Taylor in 1972 because he couldn’t give her the Taj Mahal. Surrounded by rubies and diamonds framed in a yellow-gold necklace this Cartier necklace, it set the world record for an Indian jewel. It sold for $8.8 million in 2011; about 20 times its estimated worth of between $300,000 and $500,000.

In 1910 Cartier purchased the inimitable 30.62 cts. Blue Heart diamond which has a rare deep blue body color.  Sold to an Argentinian woman named Mrs. Unzu , it was set in a lily-of-the-valley corsage and remained as such until Van Cleef & Arpels bought the gem in 1953. In 1959 Harry Winston acquired this Blue Heart, mounted it in a ring and sold it five years later to Marjorie Merriweather Post. Mrs. Post donated the Blue Heart to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. where it remains to this day. The Blue Heart diamond, belonging to the National Gem Collection of the Smithsonian Institution, is the largest heart-shaped blue diamond in the world which remains unchanged since its cutting in Paris in 1909.

The Cullinan V  18.80 cts. heart-shaped diamond, was cut from the original Cullinan diamond, found in South Africa (the largest rough gem-quality diamond ever found at 3,106.75 carats.) The Cullinan V diamond has royal roots as it was originally mounted in a brooch for Queen Mary (H. M.’s grandmother and wife of George V) and set in lovely platinum open-work with scrolling millegrain work accompanied by a pave-set border of diamonds. For her 1937 coronation, Queen Mary used this brooch in her coronet in place of the famous Koh-i-Nûr diamond, which had been transferred to Queen Elizabeth’s crown. The brooch is now worn by the reigning Queen Elizabeth.

Designed by  famous Swiss jeweler Fawaz Gruosi (credited for starting the current enthusiasm for black diamond jewelry in the 1990’s), the Gruosi Diamond is  largest heart-shape black diamond to date. It weighs 115.34 carats and is the centerpiece of a striking necklace made of 58.77 carats of smaller black diamonds, 378 white diamonds and 14.10 carats of tsavorite garnets. 

A heart with a little bit of luck…

Van Cleef & Arpels has designed a contemporary Four Leaf Clover Heart-shaped diamond ring which they named “Antoinette” for those who want to combine luck with love. It is set with 4 heart shaped diamonds weighing approximately over 2 carats and the surrounding diamonds weighing 1.04 carats.

So considering a heart-shape diamond of your own?

According to Buddhist lore- “The diamond heart represents purity and indestructibility which no man can cut or disturb.” Sounds like pretty potent karma to me.

 

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Sapphires of September

By

The Beauty of Sapphires

Did you know that the birthstone for the month of September is the sapphire?  The scientific name for this popular gem is Corundum.  They can be found in an array of colors, but when the corundum is red, we have what’s known as a Ruby.

Sapphires are known for their beautiful deep blue color, but did you know they can also be found in yellow, green, pink, and purple colors?  Orange/Pink sapphires are known as Padparahdascha Sapphires.

The most valuable of sapphires come from Kashmir and Burma, but sapphires are also found in Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Australia.

This Tiffany & Co. diamond and sapphire ring creates accents to this stunning round diamond.  The contrast of the deep blue color between the white center stone makes the diamond “pop”.

This Art Deco sapphire and diamond ring is set in a unique mounting with small rubies and diamonds.  The combination with diamond, and ruby presents a unique and eye catching piece.

Our of our personal favorites, is the Van Cleef & Arpels sapphire and diamond ring.  Made in the 1950s, a ring such as this is rare.  Holding a 19-carat natural sapphire, the ring contains approximately 7 carats of diamonds.  It’s style is similar to that of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and now, to Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge.

This Tiffany & Co. bracelet is still produced today in many different versions– and it is safe to say, this simple line design will never go out of style.  Worn alone or stacked with bracelets of a similar style, it’s beauty is timeless.

Whether worn as a bracelet, earrings, ring, or as any other piece of jewelry, the sapphire is sure to make a lasting impression.