#DailyJewel - Happy May Day! ....Bonne Chance!

If we were in Paris today the streets would be lined with people selling small bunches of Muguet (Lily of the Valley)....Muguet are EVERYWHERE - because on this one day each year anyone can sell flowers on the street - no permit required!

People exchange the delicate bundles as porte bonheur (a good luck charm) - a tradition which dates to the 1560's when King Charles the IX of France was gifted a fragrant bouquet! 

...the heady scent fills the the streets, leading one blogger to comment that "the scent of the muguet actually makes the rush-hour metro ride bearable!"

HAPPY MAY DAY!

But - this is a Jewelry Blog so we are celebrating with Michele della Valle’s  stunning ‘Lily of the Valley’ necklace, with delicate bell-shaped blossoms suspended from meandering stems studded with tsavorite garnets from the recent Magnificent Jewels auction at Sotheby's.

Robert Procop Exceptional Jewels - The Emerald Collection

Have you had the opportunity to view the traveling exhibition from Robert Procop Exceptional Jewels?  ...he has put together a collection of never before seen emeralds - booked at several top US retailers. 

Why share this collection now? 

"The unique qualities in each of these emeralds, their intense green colors, remarkable shapes, and sizes, all contribute to my passion for these stones. The rarities in each are a wonder. 

We have faceted some of the finest emeralds from different parts of the world with a few noted rarities that have not yet been seen. The jeweler or private collector will truly be able appreciate the beauty, treasure and value of each stone. 

Therefore, due to these emeralds exceptional individual allurement, this traveling exhibit was created." - Robert Procop

Grab your traveling companions and follow the Yellow Brick Road to...

The Emerald City - A rare and unique 39.01ct natural formation from the mines of Colombia with vivid and intense green hexagonal prisms. Dr. A. Peretti, of the Gem Research Laboratory in Switzerland, personally noted in the certification:“This emerald crystal rough is arranged in an aggregate of a series of prisms that resemble the skyline of skyscrapers in megacities." Thus, this rough crystal has been named ‘The Emerald City’.

The African Kryptonite - One of the rarest emerald specimens found in the world, this 100ct natural form crystal emerald is certified by Dr. A. Peretti as being 106.53cts and having the exceptional quality of containing no oil. The emerald is Nigerian in origin and suspended in a striking kryptonite capsule pendant with 25.33ct tw of round diamonds sculpted around this rare gem.

Tour stops are at a few high end jewelers - and there will be several pieces from the Robert Procop Exceptional Gems Collection included in the exhibition.

The tour has already begun but there are still a couple opportunities to see the collection:

♦  2-3 May 2014: Charles Schwartz & Son, Washington, D.C.

♦  8-10 May 2014: Donoho's, The Woodlands, Texas.

#Prospectors - Amanda - The New Face of American Gemstone Mining Appears On JTV

 Have you been watching The Prospectors on The Weather Channel? ....it is great and one of the boldest Prospectors featured is the feisty Amanda Adkins Anderson...Guest Writer Christine Ford talks about Amanda's appearance on Jewelry Television....

The New Face of American Gemstone Mining on JTVby Christine Ford

Sometimes she feels like the last year has been a whirlwind of change for a self-described loner who spent 80 % of her time prospecting Colorado's Front Range, but now she is stepping up to her latest challenge; television host. Beginning this April 27th, Jewelry Television, or JTV, will be airing their new special on American gem stones, called American Splendor, with segments hosted by none other than Colorado Springs, CO miner and Prospector reality TV show star Amanda Adkins Anderson.

She was a little hesitant at first to make another commitment. "I had spoken to them on the phone a few times, " she said. " I was kind of ducking them because I've been so busy," said the new guest host, who celebrated her one year wedding anniversary with mining partner Travis Anderson on April 24th. " But it did no good. They showed up at my booth in Tucson (at the gem and mineral show in February) and gave me a screen test on the spot."

Amanda at her screen test in Tucson, courtesy JTV

JTV's gemstone manager, Britlee Moates, was thrilled that Anderson came on board. "As the world's largest retailer of loose gemstones, Jewelry Television is a fan of the Weather Channel's Prospector show. We are delighted to have Amanda Adkins Anderson as guest during a few of our gemstone shows to discuss mining in the USA. Amanda brings 22 years of mining experience and a passion for gemstones that we feel would be informative and entertaining to our large customer base of gemstone enthusiasts."

Anderson will be selling gemstones from across the USA, her own material as well as others, such as Oregon sunstone, Ant Hill garnet from New Mexico, Arizona peridot and Rhodochrosite from the now closed Sweet Home mine in CO. Her material for these segments, which was provided as facet roughs and finished by JTV's own designers and cutters, came from her Rise Above claim in El Paso County, CO, and includes fluorite and smoky quartz. She will provide other gemstones for future segments, which are planned quarterly.

via The Prospectors on The Weather Channel's Facebook

Anderson is happy to be able to speak about her mining experiences, as well as showing what she and Travis have dug recently and how it looks finished. "You'd be surprised how many people ask me if I really mine these stones," she says, laughing. "A lot of people don't understand."

Moates from JTV agrees. "She'll be speaking specifically about her mining experiences-dangerous mining environment, erratic weather, what it feels like to find a pocket, and the backbreaking work that goes into hand mining these beautiful American gemstones."

The Anderson segments will air on Sunday, April 27th, at 2:00 and 5:00 p.m. EST, Monday, April 28th at 4:00 p.m. EST and Tuesday, April 29th, at 1:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. EST.

JTV originates from Knoxville, TN and has been broadcasting since 1993, originally as America's Collectables Network. Their website, www.JTV.com, has a channel finder to locate them in your specific market. For those Prospectors fans who have wished for a genuine Anderson piece, or other fine American mined gemstone, tune in for one of these segments.


About Christine:  Christine Ford is a freelance writer and photographer from Lake George, CO, with a long family history of hard rock mining. She has also discovered a direct family link to the German chemist MH Klaproth, who extracted and named the mineral titanium in the 1790's. Ford finds this ironic, as her spine has been re-enforced with titanium plates, rods and screws, thanks to Degenerative Disk Disease, and her ancestor has given her another 15 years of walking ( and rock hounding) as a result. She is an award winning internet marketer for their family run real estate brokerage atwww.OhGetMeaHome.com. Find her on Facebook at Christine Ford in Colorado, and see her photos at www.redbubble.com/people/COmtnmama.