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August is Romance Awareness Month!

August 7, 2015

By Amanda L. Colborn Even though the American Gem Society is a professional organization dedicated to credentialing jewelers and consumer protection, we understand that one of the biggest reasons people give jewelry is to show their love. And we love…..well, love! So this blog is a celebration of romance, and lucky for us, August is National Romance month. So we thought we’d take the opportunity to celebrate Romance Awareness Month in all its glory, and hopefully inspire you to remember to add some romance to your life as well. The online dating site, Zoosk, conducted an annual Romance Awareness Survey. From

Go Retro: The Beauty & Benefits of Estate Jewelry

May 15, 2015

By Amanda L. Colborn When it comes to jewelry, more and more people are looking to the past for their present jewelry inspiration. It’s not just about style and fashion, estate jewelry has benefits to both your wallet AND the environment! But first, what is “estate” jewelry? Estate jewelry is, in the simplest of terms, jewelry that has been previously owned by someone else. Is it the same as “antique” jewelry? Yes and no, estate jewelry is not considered an antique until it is at least 100 years old, according to 4cs.gia.edu. So, why would estate jewelry be something for

Celebrating May Birthdays with Emeralds

May 1, 2015

By Amanda L Colborn As the birthstone for May, the emerald, a symbol of rebirth, is believed to grant the owner foresight, good fortune, and youth. According to Almanac.com, “The emerald, was one of Cleopatra’s favorite gems. It has long been associated with fertility, rebirth, and love. Ancient Romans went so far as to dedicate this stone to Venus, the goddess of love and beauty. Today, it is thought that emeralds signify wisdom, growth, and patience.” Emerald, derived from the word smaragdus, meaning “green” in Greek, was mined in Egypt as early as 330 B.C. Today, most of the world’s emeralds

Instagram Favorites

September 12, 2014

By Kevin P. McVay We’ve been getting a lot of new followers on our Instagram account over the last month. Since we love reposting photos of our members’ fine jewelry pieces, we’d like to share some of them with you. Here’s a look at the top three posts that our followers absolutely loved: The top image of a 7.52ct diamond ring from Alson Jeweler’s sparked a positive note among Instagrammers. The brilliance of the center diamond is beyond compare! The middle image is a unique yellow pearl ring from Mastoloni Pearls. Accented in diamonds, this piece gathered quite a lot

September Sapphires Fuel Our Fire

September 5, 2014

By Kevin P. McVay September’s birthstone is the sapphire, a beautiful gemstone that has been popular since the Middle Ages. According to folklore, sapphires bring wearers good fortune, spiritual insight and provide them with protection from envy and harm. As one of the more well-known gemstones in the world, sapphires are commonly worn in jewelry. Though blue is the most common shade, sapphires can come in a variety of colors including yellow, green and even pink. Sapphires are one of our personal favorite gems here at the American Gem Society. They’re versatile and can be worn with just about anything, but

Social Media Highlights

August 25, 2014

By Kevin P. McVay Happy Monday! Today we’d like to feature some jewelry from our members that have been popular among our Facebook fans over the last few weeks. On the left is a piece that our online friends really liked. It’s a brilliant diamond ring set in yellow gold with a twist of smaller diamonds from Hight & Randall, Personal Jeweler. The stunning Suna Bros. sapphire and diamond halo ring in the middle also received a lot of positive discussion. Lastly, our followers raved about the one-of-a-kind emerald and diamond ring on the right, a gorgeous piece from Swalstead Jewelers! All three of these unique rings

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