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This the first installment in our new series on monthly birthstones. Each month I will be writing about that particular month’s birthstone, some interesting lore behind it and their sources.
March actually has two birthstones, aquamarine and bloodstone. The former is the more popular. Its name is derived from the Latin word “aqua”, meaning water, and “marina”, meaning the sea. This gemstone was believed to protect sailors, as well as to guarantee a safe voyage. The serene colour of aquamarine is said to cool the temper, allowing the wearer to remain calm and level-headed. Its pale, cool colour beautifully complements spring and summer wardrobes. Aquamarine is most often light in tone and ranges from greenish blue to blue-green; the colour usually is more intense in larger gems. This gemstone is mined mainly in Brazil, but is also found in Nigeria, Madagascar, Zambia, Pakistan, and Mozambique.
 The second birthstone for March is bloodstone, a dark-green jasper flecked with vivid red spots of iron oxide. This ancient gem was used by the Babylonians to make seals and amulets and was believed to have healing powers – especially for blood disorders. It is sometimes called the “martyr’s stone” as legend tells that it was created when drops of Christ’s blood stained some jasper at the foot of the cross. Generally found embedded in rocks or in riverbeds as pebbles, primary sources for this gem are India, Brazil, and Australia.
Our “you-ate-where?” feature will look at our favorite local restaurants that provide great food, are located near downtown, a great value and places we like to recommend to friends. It will highlight places that you may not have eaten at or even heard of, but that we have come to love. The west end is brimming with culture and restaurants that reflect this. From the hearty fair of New York Burgers to the savory tastes of Little Siagon to the minty fresh Vietnamese cuisine of Pho #1, you are sure to find a restaurant that satisfies your palate. It is our hope you will come to enjoy dining in the west end as much as we do.
 The LineUp
98 Albert St.
Atmosphere: Casual
Diamond Rating: 4.5 out 5
This has to be one of the most interesting places to eat in the city. If you asked ten people to describe the LineUp, you would probably get ten different answers. The have 6 kinds of pizza, 3 kinds of salads, 5 or 6 kinds of pitas, 7 types of noodles-in-a-box, chicken fingers, fish and chips, and a variety of interesting french-fry options. And for those who miss Chi-chi’s, they offer fried ice-cream as a great dessert. The food is all prepared fresh and amazingly for such small place, they do it all well. I have had the coconut green curry several times which is a savory and spicy dish with chicken, carrots, bean sprouts, baby corn, broccoli, green peppers, choice of noodle, and lime. This has to be one of the best $8 meals in the city. This past week I had the falafel pita, a massive stuffed pita that comes with all the fixings you could want and many sauce options all for $7. They have a great dinner and movie combo for $11 (entree, drink, movie Globe, Imax or Towne 8). They have four parking spaces in winter for customers (in summer it becomes the patio) which is great if you are meeting someone for lunch. The staff there are friendly, take time to help and seem to know many of the regulars. I eat here a couple times a month and would recommend it to anyone as a great value.
Recommended dishes:
Coconut Green Curry (fairly spicy)
Falafel Pita
Butter Chicken
Greek Salad
Link: http://www.thelineup.ca
Hope you enjoy,
PS. First person to email me the names of all the pizza options gets a free meal jeremy@independentjewellers.com
 Recently I was looking at one of our mounted diamonds and came across something really interesting. On the girdle, I noticed what appeared to be a scratch. It looked like something that could have been done in the polishing process, perhaps to remove an inclusion for the purpose of improving the clarity grade. As I was somewhat uncertain of what it was I asked our expert Jodi and she informed me it was part of the original skin of the diamond or what is commonly referred to as a natural. What this means is the cutter was skilled enough to be able to cut the diamond in such a way as to maximize the weight to the point where even part of the original outer coating from the rough crystal was left intact. The skin in this case does not affect the overall appearance, colour or clarity grade, but gives the diamond a very unique mark to identify it and to give it some attachment to both the cutter and the original crystal form it came from.
Clarity grading is interesting. The clarity grade is set based on what is seen at 10x zoom, through a microscope or corrected loupe. It can be helpful to increase the zoom to clarify what something is, i.e. feather, cloud, cluster of needles or pinpoints, but the final judgment comes based on what is seen at 10x.
There are 11 different clarity grades: FL, IF, VVS1, VVS2, VS1, VS2, SI1, SI2, I1, I2, I3. There are two kinds of clarity characteristics that set these grades: blemishes and inclusions. A blemish is something that is only on the surface of the diamond where as an inclusion may begin at the surface of the diamond and extend inward or it might be completely enclosed. There are about 14 kinds of naturally occurring inclusions and several others that are created by treatments to diamonds. There are 11 kinds of blemishes, some occurring as a result of the cutting process and some as a result of wear and tear. While blemishes rarely affect clarity grades below IF, inclusions and their position, size, colour, nature, and number will be what set the clarity grades.
If you are interested in seeing the blemish I described earlier, give me a call or come and see me at the 493 Notre Dame store.
IJO (Independent Jewelers Organization) holds two trade shows a year; usually earlier in the year, and one sometime in July. I just returned yesterday from, you guessed it, Grapevine, Texas, where IJO had their first trade show of 2010.
If you do not know what a trade show is, I will tell you. Basically it is a whole bunch of supplier’s that get together in a big convention hall to display their product and retailors come to shop. See picture below.
We got to see some very nice product, we visited with the girls (and guy) from Sarah’s Hope Jewelry (see picture above), we chatted with Mark and Nancy Schneider from Schneider Design, and we enjoyed good food and conversation with many retailor friends from across the continent. Given IJO’s large membership (over 850), we are fortunate to meet many new and interesting people everytime we go to one of these shows, and get to learn from them about the jewellery industry as a whole.
If you have never stayed in a Gaylord Hotel, I must recommend it. These hotels are massive. To describe them is hard because they are so large in comparison to any hotel I have stayed in, you truly have to see it to believe it. Picture a massive park, surrounded by hotel rooms, with a glass roof (alternatively, you could look at some pictures here). All in all, the trip was fantastic despite the cold weather (ya, cold in Texas!), and be on the lookout for new inventory coming into our stores soon.
 My name is Jeremy and I will be contributing to this blog periodically as I progress through my Graduate Gemology degree and beyond.
This is Ernest Oppenheimer. He was born in Frankfurt Germany in 1880 and moved to South Africa in 1902 to oversee diamond buying for his company A. Dunkelsbuhler. By 1929, he had become the chairman of De Beers and the AAC (Anglo American Corporation) a major gold mining company. He remained in control of both until his death in 1957 and was largely responsible for the consolidation of the production and sale of diamonds worldwide.
Today the diamond industry has changed significantly from where things were at the beginning of the1900’s. The channels through which diamonds are bought and sold have become more complex and varied. Where De Beers used to control nearly all diamond distribution worldwide, in 2005 their share was closer to 40%.
One significant change that has come about as a result of this shift in influence is the emergence of India and Asia as a major cutting centre. When the Argyle mine in Australia and De Beers began to feud in the 90’s as a result of commitments related to rough diamonds, there was a need to do something with the massive quantities of small ‘brownish’ rough. As a result they turned to India where wages where more affordable and there were a significant number of cutters. These cutters began to cut the very small diamonds (under .05ct) that are common in much of today’s jewellery. Today there are over 100,000 cutters in India and they account for the cutting of over 90% of the worlds rough by weight.
A few weeks ago we moved our Omega watch collection from our location in Polo Park Shopping Centre to our 493 Notre Dame Avenue location and in the process moved our Tissot collection to Polo Park. We apologize for any inconvience this may cause, but we feel that having Omega with Rolex, Tag Heuer, and Baume et Mercier, it will give the person buying a luxury timepiece the ability to compare across brands.
There are a few specialty pieces we have from Omega that I think are worth mentioning. We have the limited edition 40th Anniversary Speedmaster Moonwatch in stock that can be seen here; we have an absolutely stunning Omega Museum piece, limited to 1949 world wide that can be seen here; and we have a special Olympic edition Seamaster Planet Ocean that is really quite cleverly done (take a look here and tell me what you think. I personally think its well-done and enjoy the fact that the Olympic rings are not too ‘in your face’).
For all you watch-lovers, stay tuned as I will be writing much more on the subject of watches.
Jonathan here writing at our 493 Notre Dame location.
Well boys, it’s that time of year. Valentine’s day! And I know how much you like to spoil your lady, so I thought I would give you a few ideas. First of all, jewellery makes a fantastic gift, but of course you know I’m going to say that cause that is what I sell. I feel it is my duty to mention that we have some sales on right now for Valentine’s Day (15% off Hearts On Fire Jewellery, 30% off Tacori Jewellery, 30% off Pearl Jewellery, and more), but that is where I will leave it. I know you guys will do your best.
If you are going the flower route, I would suggest Valley Florist. I have used them a number of times to send flowers to some of my clients and everytime I have heard nothing but rave reviews.
If you are going to go the chocolate route, may I suggest Morden’s of Winnipeg? They are a delightful little chocolate store located at 674 Sargeant Ave. I have had the opportunity to taste their chocolate, and trust me, they are fantastic! Another great chocolatier is Cocoa Nymph (ask for Rachel). She is located in downtown Vancouver, originally from Stonewall, Manitoba, and makes the best sea salt, dark chocolate truffle that money can buy; she can definitely ship you some chocolate if you need.
Thats all for now. Let me know how your Valentine’s Day goes, and if you make it down, I would be more than happy to help you out.
Welcome to the Independent Jewellers blog. We have designed this blog so we can easily interact with our customers. But we also want to talk about what is going on in our company, the trade shows we attend, the new and amazing jewellery we get to see, the incredible watches we get to try on, our customers, and our local culture here in Winnipeg.
Thanks for joining and we look forward to hearing from you.
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The second birthstone for March is bloodstone, a dark-green jasper flecked with vivid red spots of iron oxide. This ancient gem was used by the Babylonians to make seals and amulets and was believed to have healing powers – especially for blood disorders. It is sometimes called the “martyr’s stone” as legend tells that it was created when drops of Christ’s blood stained some jasper at the foot of the cross. Generally found embedded in rocks or in riverbeds as pebbles, primary sources for this gem are India, Brazil, and Australia.
Jewellery | Ernest March 6, 2010 | 
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