Jewelry History
History of Columbian Emerald Mines
Emerald mines can be found all over the world including the United States of America, Madagascar, Africa, India and Australia. The most beautiful emeralds are known to have come from Brazil and Columbia. I will be writing about the Columbian emerald mines. Their emeralds are known for their “transparency, crystallization and fire”. They range in color from “slightly light, yellowish green to a deep, bluish green”. Emeralds have a hardness...
The History of Kashmir Sapphire Mines
Kashmir sapphires are considered the most beautiful and expensive sapphires in the sapphire family. They are known for their highly saturated violet-blue color with velvety transparency “which is caused by the presence of silk”. The sapphires come from a remote region in the Zanskar range of the Himalayas in India. These mines are known not only for blue sapphires but occasionally for pink sapphires as well. The Maharaja of Kashmir...
History of the Tolkowski Family
In the 1800’s, Adam Tolkowski experimented with cutting colored stones and in 1840, together with his family, moved to Antwerp. Maurice Tolkowski, son of Abraham Tolkowski became well-known in the business. In 1898, Marcel Tolkowski was born to Isadore Tolkowski as a sixth generation diamond cutter. He later became known as the “father of the modern round brilliant diamond cut”. Isadore and Sam Tolkowski worked along-side their brother, Maurice, who...
The History of Patek Philippe
On May 1, 1839, Antoni Patek, a businessman and Franciszek Czapek, a watchmaker founded Patek, Czapek & Cie. In 1844, Patek met Andrien Philippe in Paris. Philippe introduced the “stem winding and setting system by the crown”. The company manufactured the first keyless winding and hands setting watch. In 1845, Czapek decided to leave and start his own venture. The company changed its name to Patek & Cie before changing...