Jewelry Tips

Happy October Birthday! – Opal & Tourmaline

Tourmaline comes in a rainbow of colors! Meaning “mixed stone”, tourmaline can be red to yellow to green and more. Tourmaline that shows more than one color, such as bi-color or tricolor tourmaline is highly prized. – Watermelon Tourmaline shows Pink, green and white, resembling a watermelon! – Iron and Titanium are believed to produce … Read more

The Apple Watch: A Gateway Drug to Horology?

We review Fortune Magazine and Harvard Business Review’s stance on the Apple Watch and its threat to the watch industry: The Apple watch is no doubt the first time in many many years that a large amount of the world heard of, and cared about a watch. The days of luxury watches being a must-have … Read more

Happy September Birthday! – Sapphire

Sapphires are a variety of corundum and occurs in many different colors, the most well-known of which are pink and blue. Sapphires were believed to symbolize heaven and the color blue is traditionally known for royalty as well. – The biggest source of sapphires is Australia – Said to represent purity of the soul and … Read more

Happy August Birthday! – Peridot & Sardonyx

Peridot Peridot is a beautiful green stone. The green of peridot ranges from bright lime green to a brownish olive. Some facts about Peridot: – In Hawaiian culture, Peridot represents the tears of the Goddess Pele (Goddess of fire/volcano) – Greeks believed that the Peridot bestowed royalty – The best Peridots are said to be … Read more

All About Jade

One of our favorite materials here at Hawaii Estate and Jewelry Buyers is JADE. Jade holds a strong place in Chinese culture and fine Jade is a revered stone. Many people here in Hawaii have jade items somewhere in their household, but knowing what is valuable is difficult for a novice. Not all Jade is … Read more

Quill & Pad’s 6 Ways to Spot A Fake Watch

Quill & Pad , a notable online resource for journalism on fine timepieces published an article with some advice on spotting a fake watch. Gathering some additional tips and tricks from across the web, we offer a summary of their 6 ways to spot a fake, and add our own advice on buying and selling a pre-owned watch and not … Read more

Happy July Birthday! – Ruby

As the summer heats up, we celebrate all of the July babies with ruby. The American Gem Society writes: Rubies are one of the hardest gemstones, second only to diamonds, and the deeper the color, the more valuable (but deep mahogany hues may be garnet!). A red corundum is considered a ruby (other colors are considered sapphires). Light and … Read more

Christie’s Watches : Vintage vs. New

“Just like driving a car off the lot, in most cases you are going to take a big hit on the value up front.” –Reginald Brack Christie’s article “Ask a Specialist: Vintage vs. New” speaks with Reginald Brack, International Head of Retail, Christie’s Watch Department, about the merits of buying a pre-owned watch vs. a … Read more

Happy June Birthday! – Pearl, Alexandrite & Moonstone

Wow! June babies get their pick of three birthstones: Pearl Pearl jewelry often invokes thoughts of vintage glamour and classic beauty. Since pearls became easy to culture by man, the value of modern pearls is often low, making pearl jewelry affordable for the modern person. Pearls are formed by oysters and are the only “gem” … Read more

The History of Pierced Ears

Piercing dates all the way back as much as 5,000 years ago. Piercings were worn for fashion but often they signified other things like profession, wealth, and sometimes were believed to hold superstitious powers. Whatever the reason pierced ears came into fashion, everyone agrees that when shorter hairstyles became popular, so did showing off the … Read more