Diamonds are formed by nature and are on average 3.3 billion years old.  Diamonds represent endurance and strength and for those reasons, are a symbol of love. They are given as gifts throughout our lives on significant events such as graduations, engagements, anniversaries and are passed down from generation to generation.  Confidence in knowing where your diamond came from, its quality and whether or not it was acquired fairly is important!

Bellman’s has always been committed to selling quality diamonds that are responsibly and ethically traded. In order to maintain our supply of Ideal Cut diamonds we are partners with a diamond cutting facility located in Israel.  The rough stones they receive to cut are mined in Russia.  In addition to controlling the source and quality of the diamonds we sell, there no wholesalers or middlemen in between adding commissions to our purchases, which passes the savings down to our customers!

View our You Tube video on Diamond Cutting this very popular video has nearly 29,000 views.

Bellman Jewelers has been purchasing loose sapphires from two close friends from Sri Lanka for several years now and they had their annual visit today!  This married couple specializes in supplying high quality Ceylon Sapphires and other semi-precious gemstones.  From mining, to rural transport, to going to the “rough” gem market, to cutting and finishing, they’re involved throughout the process.   All their hard work is definitely shown off by the beauty of the sapphires!

David of Bellman's meeting with his friends from Sri Lanka

Sapphires are the most popular gemstone in the world and are the second hardest stone, behind diamond, making them highly durable.  We know that sapphires have been mined, set into jewelry, and traded since 500 B.C.  The Etruscans, Greeks, and Romans sought after them.   Sapphire rings have been popular since the Middle Ages when clergy preferred the blue stone because they believed that the color represented heaven.  Magicians thought that sapphires helped them command spirits and others believe that they could ward off evil and sickness, including the plague!  Prince Charles even presented Princess Diana with a sapphire and diamond engagement ring!

Ceylon Sapphires receive their name because of they come from.  Sri Lanka, an island off of the southern coast of India, was formerly known as Ceylon.  Ceylon was the island’s old English name.  The Indians used to call Sri Lanka “Ratnadeepa,” which means “Island of Gems.”   Ceylon sapphires are lighter and brighter than sapphires mined from other areas and are known for their beauty.

Ceylon Sapphires

They also have very few visible inclusions, giving them a higher value.  Ceylon sapphires also come in hues of pink, yellow, orange, green, purple, and padparadcha, which exhibits colors of the sunset from orange to pink to red.

Ceylon Sapphires come from gravel deposits located on the southern two-thirds of Sri-Lanka.  The original source of the stones is unknown, however, scientists believes that the parent rock to the sapphire is called Precambrian Metamorphic rock. This rock also makes up 90 % of Sri Lanka.  It is also speculated that the erosion of the parent rock is what has created the sapphire deposits.  Sapphires are mined from riverbeds using hand-made scrapers and are minded from the land using picks, shovels, spades, and baskets.  There are some larger mining operations where equipment is used to move the soil, however, the sapphires are taken out by hand.

Sapphires are one of the only gems that can be sold completely as a natural stone or without any heat treatment.  Heat treatment is the only permanent and stable treatment that should be used to treat sapphires.  This method of treating sapphires has been used for over 2,000 years.  Heating stones at a high temperature improves the stone’s clarity and intensifies the color.  Weaker sapphires break during this process and only the strong survive.  Once heated, it cannot be undone, as the heat impacts the entire stone, not just the surface.  There are surface treatments methods, such as beryllium diffusion, but these are not preferred treatment methods.

Ultimately, the origin, color, weight, clarity, cut, and treatment of the stone determines the value.  Here’s a look at a beautiful Ceylon Sapphire Ring Bellman’s manufactured recently!

Ceylon Sapphire & Diamond Ring

David Bellman

Today, which is nearly the 100^th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking, David Bellman of Bellman Jewelers had the rare opportunity to appraise one of the artifacts recovered from the wreckage, a solid gold locket set with several small diamonds that once belonged to Edward Herbert Keeping.  Keeping was the man servant to George Dunton Widener, a millionaire and owner of the Ritz Carlton.  The locket was recovered when Keeping’s body was pulled from the ocean shortly after the ship sank.  When originally recovered, the locket contained photographs of his wife and daughter.

Bobby Livingston from R.R. Auction House in Amherst New Hampshire will be auctioning off the item this month.  Robert brought the locket to Bellman Jewelers to authenticate the item and gain a better understanding about the piece.

This side of the locket has the Art Nuevo Fairy.

While examining the locket, it is clear that the piece is of the Art Nuevo period.  The circular piece measures approximately 1.5 inches in diameter and weighs 11.6 grams.  The front of the locket was created by using a repoussé technique and is the impression of a fairy with arms and wings outstretched.  There are six inlaid Old European cut diamonds that follow the shape of her wings. The reverse side is engraved with Edward Herbert Keeping’s initials.  The locket is made of 14k yellow gold.  The type of gold cannot be determined for certain without additional testing however the bail of the locket is stamped 14K.

The locket currently holds two circular photographs.  On the left side, is a photograph of Keeping and on the right, a photograph of his wife, Karin Johansson.  After removing Keepings photo on the left, there is a hand-engraved marking which could have indicate what the item originally sold for.  Before tags, jewelers used to scratch pricing information in the gold.  The markings behind Keeping’s photo were XX17.

Locket after second picture was discovered.

While removing the photograph of Johansson on the alternate side, another photograph was found!  The front of the photograph is clearly damaged by water but the back of the photo is states “Mildred, 1 yr.”  This is the original photograph of his daughter that was originally placed in the locket with his handwriting!  On the back of his wife’s photograph, “Mildred’s mamma” was written in what looks to be the same handwriting.  Bobby stated “This is a very exciting discovery, we had no idea the other original photo was saved”  With the addition of Keeping’s daughters photo Bobby expects the pendant to sell for over $100,000.00.

Bobby, David, & members of the Union Leader

Two members of the Union Leader newspaper were also present to report on the item and to photograph this historical novelty.  The bidding for this item will begin April 19^th at 9:30 am EST and will end on April 26^th.  For more information and to see additional items for auction visit RR Auction.

The FBI has issued an alert to be on the lookout for four suspects who stole a “one-of-a-kind” ruby sculpted into the Liberty Bell, valued at $2 million.

Four thieves nabbed the 4.5 lb. gem, along with many other items, from a safe in Stuart Kingston Jewelers in Wilmington, Del., on Nov. 1. The piece hails from an 8,500 ct. piece of ruby listed in Guinness Book of World Records as the “largest uncut ruby in the world.” There were also 50 diamonds attached to it, representing the 50 states.

The case was featured on last week’s America Most Wanted.

“It’s a one-of-a-kind piece,” says store owner Jim Stein, who first acquired it at an antique show in New York. “We were hoping to have someone donate it to a museum.”

He notes that the ruby isn’t gem quality, so it’s unlikely it will be recut.

“It will be a hard thing to sell,” Stein says. “Now that it’s gotten some notoriety, we are hoping that someone will speak up.”

Anyone with information can call the FBI at 302-218-6252.

View Robbery Video

Murfreesboro, AR—A lucky couple digging at the Crater of Diamonds State Park found more than they expected for an afternoon’s outing—about $21,000 more. Melissa and Kenny Oliver, who live in the state, found a 2.44-ct. piece of remarkably clean rough that, when cut, yielded a 1.06-ct. pear-shaped diamond, shown left. Christened the Silver Moon, the finished diamond is almost perfect, and is valued at $21,000.

Bill Underwood of Underwood’s Fine Jewelry in Fayetteville, AR, appraised the stone and said the diamond is close to the best that’s ever come out of the park. The best, he said, was the Strawn-Wagner diamond, an AGS Triple Zero, or a GIA D IF—and the first to receive the 000 grade. That stone, found in 1997, is now on permanent display at the park after the state of Arkansas mounted a campaign to raise funds to buy it. Other notable stones from the mine include the 40.23-ct. Uncle Sam, found in 1924 and to date the largest diamond ever found in North America; and the Kahn Canary, an uncut fancy yellow that is naturally flawless. The Kahn Canary was found by George Strepp in 1977, then bought and named by Stanley Kahn of the former Kahn’s Jewelers in Pine Bluff, and set in a Henry Dunay “Cynnabar” ring worn by Hillary Clinton for the inauguration of President Bill Clinton in 1993.

An AGS Certified Gemologist Appraiser, Underwood helped get the Silver Moon diamond cut, a process that took about six weeks. It was cut in New York but the name of the firm that did the cutting is confidential.

“It’s a beautiful diamond, lots of brilliance and sparkle,” said Underwood. It finished to about an F color, VS2, with an AGS cut grade of 1, he told The Centurion.

The 2.44-ct. Silver Moon rough, shown here, finished out to the 1.06-ct. F VS2 stone shown at the top of the page.

Lots of people dig at the Crater of Diamonds, explained Underwood. In fact, he says, many will go back several days a week, or bring an RV and camp out and dig for days, hoping to strike it rich.

The park churns up about the first four or five feet of earth, and allows diggers to go down to eight feet. “It’s a real mine. It’s never been commercially productive enough to be anything but a tourist attraction, but it has a legitimate blue [kimberlite] pipe and it is a real mine,” says Underwood. The mine is located just outside Murfreesboro, a small town in west-central Arkansas, and, until mines were discovered in Canada at the end of the 20^th century, it was the only legitimate diamond mine in North America, and to date it still is the only known diamond mine within the United States.

This isn’t the first diamond from the mine that Underwood has gotten cut, but they are rare. Most are too small (or too flawed) to cut. The yield isn’t enough, added Craig Underwood.

After viewing the Silver Moon’s proportions, Bill Underwood determined a pear was the best shape for the piece of rough, and he sent it to New York to be cut. The look on the couple’s face when he unwrapped the finished stone was “priceless,” he said. They’ve taken the stone back to the Crater, hoping to be able to sell it.

Although Underwood isn’t acting as an agent for the sale of the stone, he’s gotten a lot of publicity around it. The local TV station, KFSM, filmed an interview in the store, and then sent it out to CNN, where it’s been seen around the country.

Click here to watch this story on CNN