Two Jewelry Things

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

1) This morning I found a silver ring on Francesca Street in the road, a few houses up from First Church. I presume it slipped off someone's finger. It's a Celtic design and a large size (too big even for my thumb). Might it be yours?

2) Does anyone remember Kitty Haas, the wonderful jeweler in Porter Exchange? The store is gone and she seems to have left the business, but does anybody know of a similar jeweler somewhere in the area, specifically one that deals in semi-precious stones rather than the diamond-y stuff? Kitty would have had just what I'm looking for. Any other local jewelers or jewelry makers filling the semi-precious niche these days?

Comments

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Yes, she closed the store last year; she was then in her late 80s and decided to retire. I always loved her things and her passion for them!

Have you looked at the Cambridge Artists Cooperative in Harvard Square? They have some lovely jewelry there, and many of the jewelers are local.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I will try the Artist's Cooperative. Thanks. :-)

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

I have definitely seen moonstone jewelry there in the past (saw that that's what you were looking for downthread).

[whowehavetofear.livejournal.com]

I remember Kitty- she's friends with my Dad and still comes to a lot of family events. Her store was definitely unique. Alas, I'm not sure of another jeweler in the area who specializes in the same kinds of semi-precious stones. If you can't find anyone, I'd try Artfire or Etsy. I think you can search for local businesses- maybe there's an individual jeweler in the area who doesn't have their own shop?

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I just loved Kitty's store, and I bought myself a number of lovely pieces from her. She was so passionate. Now my beloved is buying me a ring, and I want it to be a moonstone because it's my favorite stone of all. Kitty always had many.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

Word of warning about moonstone...it's extremely fragile. I had one in a ring that I still wear, and it broke when (I assume) I banged my hand on something. I just looked down one day and it was shattered.

Moonstone is 6-6.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, and it's also very sensitive to pressure (http://www.gemselect.com/gem-info/moonstone/moonstone-info.php). It's part of the feldspar family, related to sunstone, labradorite and amazonite. Feldspar is used in glassmaking and (yummy!) as an anti-caking agent in non-dairy creamer...which means it powders easily. If you do rough work with your hands (I make different things from metal, leather and cloth and manage to bang my hands on SOMETHING at least once a week), you'll want to take the ring off. However, if you have freakish knuckles like mine that, for rings to fit properly where they're supposed to, they have to squeeeeeeze over your knucklebone, you may want to have your moonstone in a pendant.

Not that a moonstone ring isn't lovely...but I'd hate for it to get broken and take your heart along with it...

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

I spoke to the absolutely fabulous Ms. Haas a couple of days before she retired, and was so sad I'd missed out on her stuff all the time she'd been there! She was talking about how she was going to sell off the rest of her inventory, and I suggested she should look into vending at Arisia, especially since she liked sci-fi herself. Too bad she didn't--I'd have bought stuff from her there!

[secretlyironic.livejournal.com]

Jade Moran up on Highland Ave is nice, although I think she's got a somewhat different style. Good over on Charles St in Boston has quite a few pieces of precious and semi-precious stone jewelry, including a lot of nice stuff from Melissa Joy Manning.

[ron_newman]

Jade's having an Open House this Saturday from 10 to 6.

[vonelftinhaus.livejournal.com]

Jade Moran also- believe her hours are Tues-Sun right now and she is under a half mile on highland slightly past the Cambridge savings bank

[bryghtrose.livejournal.com]

It's not Davis, but it is local: Geoclassics in Faneuil Hall.

I worked there ~10 years ago before grad school, and it was full of semi-precious jewelry, some finer jewelry (faceted amethysts) and mineral & fossil specimens.

moonstone ring

[springhill02143.livejournal.com]

My beloved and I had a gorgeous blue moonstone ring made at Skylight Jewelers http://skylightjewelers.com/ as an engagement ring. They show lots of carved ones on the website, but we got a plain one.

We've had several other semi-precious pieces made there over the years and have purchase other beautiful pieces there as well. The owner and staff are talented and lovely people. It's located near Downtown Crossing on School Street, behind the Parker House Hotel.

Re: moonstone ring

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Oh cool! I was planning on going shopping in Downtown Crossing tonight already. I'll stop there!

Re: moonstone ring

[springhill02143.livejournal.com]

I can't say enough good things about Spencer. I've been buying things somewhat regularly there for over a decade now.

Re: moonstone ring

[ifotismeni]

i'm so glad to read an endorsement for that place, i've been wondering about it for a while. unfortunately every time i've gone to check them out they haven't been open, but that's my fault for the poor timing :)

[dietrich.livejournal.com]

I am a big fan of Topaz in Harvard Square on Dunster St.; basically any necklace you've seen me wear is probably from there, and they specialize in "costume" jewelry.