Unlike contemporary banks, usually some sort of “MegaCorp”, important banks of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were often privately owned and based on the fortunes of their principals. As a consequence the loans they made were not matters of public policy; and they could remain quite secretive about their business, unless their probity came into question. One such banking firm was that of “Hope & Company; though founded in Amsterdam in 1726, the kaleidoscopic politics engendered by the French Revolution had led the firm to move its “home office” to London before 1800. The move didn’t harm it. In fact, its prominence was such that when, in 1803, the United States purchased Louisiana from France, both nations agreed that it was the bank to handle the financial particulars of the deal. By 1812, however, Hope & Company was in trouble; troubled enough for Henry Philip Hope, the firm’s principal owner to start looking for a buyer.

Ultimately, a deal was made to sell Hope’s bank to Barings Bank (Established in London in 1763, bankrupted by a rogue trader in 1995), and Hope’s money problems were over. By curious coincidence, however, in the midst of Hope’s money problems, and only two days after the French statute of limitations put crimes committed in 1792 beyond the reach of the law, London Jeweler John Fancillon wrote a “laboratory report” on a 45.5 carat blue diamond that was clearly the Hope. The gem’s owner was unnamed, so the name on the report was that of London diamond merchant Daniel Eliason, recognized as a middleman. Significantly, Eliason never explained his client’s motive for making the diamond a matter of public record. No sale of the diamond appears to have transpired thereafter; so the Hope disappeared from view until H. P. Hope’s death in 1839. Then, in the settlement of his estate, it passed into the hands of one of his nephews; and it has remained, more or less, “on public view” ever since.

Little was made of the diamond’s origin, however, until it was given to the Smithsonian. There it was subjected not only to the gazes of the public but to the scientific scrutiny of the museum’s staff and diamond professionals; and a question began to nag at them. “Was it a recut of the French Blue, stolen from the ‘Royal Storehouse’ in 1792?” Dogged by conflicting historic data, the question went unanswered for decades until a startling find was made in 2007 at Paris’ Natural History museum. It is a cast lead model, the shape and dimensions of which led the Gemological Institute of America’s scientists to believe it to have been cast from the French Blue.  Using a combination of computer modeling and their own hard won diamond lore, they established that the Hope would fit within the contours of their putative French Blue.  As the French Blue has never been recovered, nor has there ever been any report of a blue diamond larger, they were led to the conclusion that the Hope is almost surely a recut of the French Blue. This, of course leads to the questions of when and why it had been recut; and the lead model provides us with some interesting clues.

In the 1850s the cast had been donated to the Museum by the Archard Family, prominent Parisian jewelers in the first half of the nineteenth century. Though the first Archard would have been a mere apprentice in 1792, when the French Blue was stolen, we know that by 1817 Mr. Archard counted Henry Philip Hope among his clients.  All else is conjecture.  Had the blue diamond brought them together? If so, when? The date of Fancillon’s report makes it clear that the diamond had been recut before it was submitted to him in 1812.  If Archard had made the cast of the French Blue, is it possible that he had been involved in the original theft? It is self evident that the recut was intended to hide the gem’s origin; but why, in the words of master diamond cutter Maarten deWitte, was it “a real hack job? Was the poor quality of the recut the result of amateurism on the part of the thieves or was it the result of Hope’s haste in readying the gem for a possible sale? If it was Hope’s haste, was he fearful that the French statute of limitations didn’t apply to the stolen French Blue, or was he afraid that the window of opportunity offered by the amnesty might soon be closed? In any event, what role was played by Daniel Eliason, who was not only a gem dealer but Hope’s diamond purchasing agent as well? Had he obtained the diamond for Hope and if so, what role, if any, was played by Archard? However the questions may be asked, the most likely answers always come back to Hope.  As a wealthy and reclusive diamond collector, he was one of the few men in Europe who could, and might, buy the stolen French Blue; and Archard’s cast makes Hope’s responsibility for the recut a real possibility

Diamonds are romantic. They say, “I love you” when given as gifts and “I made it” when purchased to mark one of life’s important milestones; so why not say it perfectly with Hearts On Fire? Hearts On Fire’s proportions, symmetry and perfect polish make Hearts On Fire diamonds so “pop” with life that they’re always good for smiles, and often tears of love and joy. Check out our Hearts On Fire collection on line at hurstsberwynjewelers.com; then phone us at 708.788.0880 for an appointment to select the very best diamonds for you. We’re Hursts’ Berwyn Jewelers and we’ll help you realize your dreams.

It is so easy to speak of price; but so often presumed price comparisons are based on imperfect information. Let me presume that you know little of jewelry, this for the sake of looking at the aspects of jewelry excellence. These may be summarized as gem quality, metallurgy, technique and quality control.

All too often the jewelry buyer presumes that the value of any piece of jewelry he buys is wrapped entirely in the value of the diamond with which it is set. Many focus on color, clarity and carat weight in an attempt to understand value; but they do so at their risk. While color and clarity are easy to understand, if not to perceive, and weight is wonderfully concrete, ignoring cut begs the question of beauty – the obvious measure of excellence in a diamond. When a diamond is beautifully cut, that is, cut with full consideration of the diamond’s light handling characteristics, it will out sparkle one with a compromised cut in any side-by-side comparison. Once again, its excellence will be obvious; if only, of course the buyer chooses to make the comparison.

Metallurgy is seldom well understood by the average buyer; so let me suggest that excellent metallurgy has two aspects, physical durability and visual durability. Within this framework for excellence, platinum, within some limits, should be the metal of choice for a “lifetime” piece of jewelry. It resists wear better than the gold alloys common to jewelry manufacture; and it retains its high white color while gold alloys usually do not. Platinum’s sister metal, palladium, has a high white color but its durability is similar to that of most gold alloys. As platinum is softer than gold alloys and palladium, it will scratch more easily; and owing to its softness, most platinum alloys will also bend more readily than gold or palladium. This makes some fragile looking designs just too fragile for execution in common platinum alloys, though there are some expensive platinum alloys that can be employed to get around most of this design limitation. Excellence in metallurgy, then, may be understood to favor platinum but with some design limitations.

Then there is technique. For some incalculable reason people who wouldn’t touch a branded manufactured product because of its known lack of quality very often presume that all jewelry is manufactured to the same standards. In the (scripted) words of Mr. T, “I pity the fools.” Most contemporary jewelry is made using the lost wax casting process; and in one form or another it’s been around since before the birth of Christ. Ancient knowledge, however, is no guarantee of perfect technique. The most common flaw in castings is porosity. This usually stems from deliberately over-heating the metal being cast (a matter of technique). Since hot metal flows more easily, it will more reliably fill the mold cavity and thus reduce the apparent rejection rate in casting. This nickle-dime mentality is dreadfully common in the jewelry business; so porosity abounds in much of the jewelry on the market. It makes the metal more brittle (thus less durable) and it usually prevents it from taking a perfect polish. Excellent casting technique is, then, a matter of dedication to quality as well as science. The excellent craftsman knows what he is doing and will not knowingly let anything inferior leave his shop; and this leaves the jeweler.

Sadly, when consumers focus on price (as many do), quality tends to fall by the wayside. The excellent jeweler knows what constitutes excellence in jewelry; and to guarantee it he works exclusively with jewelry craftsmen who are dedicated to quality. With all that, however, he double checks everything. Knowing the parameters of quality, the excellent jeweler administers a strict regimen of quality control on all he offers for sale. This is the consumer’s best guarantee that he will purchase the quality he is entitled to expect in a piece of fine jewelry.

Of course, no one likes criticism; but some take it as constructive while most take offense. This is as true in the jewelry business as it is elsewhere; so our hard-nosed insistence on quality has earned us only a few who are as dedicated to quality as we are. In the diamond bridal market, our “stars” are Hearts On Fire and Varna. Each is uncompromising in quality; and each is concerned for making the perfect statement. So if you want to tell her you love her, perfectly, only Hearts On Fire and Varna will do. We’re Hursts Berwyn Jewelers, your personal jeweler dedicated to helping you realize your dreams. Phone us at 708.788.0880 for an appointment to select the gift of a lifetime.

In the jewelry business, the term “costume jewelry” is an all embracing one that covers jewelry made from base metal, glass, plastic or whatever. As time and taste dictate, its appearance is “free style”. That is, it may range from a complete flight of fancy that capitalizes on the medium being worked to an imitation of “fine jewelry” (jewelry crafted in noble metals). Unlike the flights of fancy, however, it is the imitations that often drive people through our doors – with questions. And if the most commonly asked question is, “Is this real?”, questions of value are seldom far behind. As with most things, the value of jewelry offered in the secondary market is demand driven. If your eyes are starting to glaze over in boredom, allow me to illustrate.

My older son is his great-grandfather Hurst’s namesake; so the railroad watch great-grandpa carried as a section chief on the old “Frisco” road has been passed on to him. More than a century old, it has immense emotional content for a family member; but a collector (who else would buy an old watch?) would most likely spurn it as it has neither the cachet of rarity nor any appreciable intrinsic value. It is a large, open faced “potato” of a watch with a nickel plated case of negligible value. At some time (long before I ever saw it) it has been dropped, so its porcelain dial is chipped and cracked. Though it runs (amazingly well), its humble character consigns it to a small market value. In like manner, much of the veteran jewelry brought to us has negligible market value, particularly simulated pearls.

When, in the late 19th century, René Lalique looked at the demand for pearls as compared to the price they commanded, it was clear to him that there was a market for a good simulant. He set to work and came up with a technique for coating beads in a mixture of ground fish scales suspended in shellac. The resulting simulants looked like enough like pearls to sell like hot cakes over the next eighty years or so; but there was a fatal flaw in their composition. With continuing exposure to the atmosphere, shellac darkens as it ages; so over time the simulant’s hue would continue darkening into a range of uninspired colors never found on natural or cultured pearls – most commonly, brown. Passed down through inheritance, it is these oxidized beads most often brought to us for some purpose, usually “cleaning” or restringing. When, as we must, advise that cleaning is not an option, there is almost always a “trash or treasure” moment occasioned by that loaded question, “How much are they worth?” It is the rare person who can accept “nothing” as an answer without flinching; and owing to their emotional connection to the beads, many reject the evaluation outright – most in grief, some in rage. Only an unquestioned provenance into an historic event or personage can offer (through the collector market) any hope that grandma’s “pearls” have value; and so it is with most costume jewelry, particularly that designed by Coco Channel.

Oh, “paste” imitations of more expensive pieces were common among the upper crust of the wealthy; but they were a dirty little secret. Until Coco burst into the world of Parisian fashion (shortly after the end of World War I), costume jewelry just didn’t exist. So when, with the brashness of her youth, she designed and offered for sale a whole collection of big, flashy “faux” jewels, it set the world of fashion on its ear. Her metal of choice, antimony, had a lot stronger connection to the printing business than to the world of jewelry. Cast like type from a linotype machine, it was meant for quantity production. “Need a gold color? Plate it. Want it set with a large ‘emerald’? Cast one in glass;” and as her success as a clothing designer grew, a whole new business, the costume jewelry business grew and prospered. Of course the metal didn’t last; but women almost always saved the “gems”, thus bringing them into the inheritance “cycle” and more of those “trash or treasure” moments with us.

Fine jewelry is just that. It needs no apologies, no explanations; everything is in its content – so you need to get it right. To say “I love you” gems need to arrest the eye with their beauty. To say that love is enduring, the piece of jewelry needs to be meticulously crafted in precious metal; and to say that beauty and craftsmanship abound is absurd. Most “fine jewelry” is price driven and its quality, in some aspect, is usually compromised. For jewelry without compromises, you must see us. Our diamonds are Hearts On Fire, the world’s most perfectly cut; and we source the jewelry for our glorious diamonds from a small and exclusive group of craftsmen who never compromise on quality. So if you need an important diamond gift, check out our collection on line at hurstsberwynjewelers.com; then phone us at 708.7887.0880 for an appointment to select that bit of starshine, that immaculate diamond beauty that will say “I love you” as no gift has ever before. We’re Hursts’ Berwyn Jewelers, your personal jeweler; and we’ll help you realize your dreams.