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Beautiful Sea-Inspired Collection From Maine Jeweller

S

Smith1942

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Oct 24, 2012
Messages
2,594
I became aware of Cross Jewelers in Maine a while ago via PS, because someone on here had some beautiful sapphire studs from them.

However, I've only just looked at their site properly, and not only do they have some unique pieces, such as lighthouse pendants made from colourful stones and pieces made of meteorite and gold, they also have the most beautiful collection inspired by the coast of Maine.

Some of their pieces are very expensive, but others are quite reasonable. The sea coast collection has gulls, sapphire waves, golden shells - it's really beautiful and reminds me how much I love the sea. There is even a brooch with silver or gold "waves", topped with "seafoam" made of pearls.

I think their items are very creative.

I love this sapphire wave - not the small one, but the medium one for $850. http://www.crossjewelers.com/products/product.aspx?ID=1381

And these golden gulls - looks a bit like Cartier's Entrelaces necklaces, discontinued now: http://www.crossjewelers.com/products/product.aspx?ID=767

And here's a meteorite pendant with a diamond in the "sky": http://www.crossjewelers.com/products/product.aspx?ID=871

And a colourful gemstone lighthouse: http://www.crossjewelers.com/products/product.aspx?ID=1969


I'm quite captivated, and just wanted to share.
 
Smith, I've had them bookmarked for a couple of years! Their pieces are really nice.

For the same theme but imo even more delicious, look here. I am dying to own something of theirs! http://www.agacorrea.com/ Sigh, when I hit the lottery.

--- Laurie
 
Oh, Deb, that is about my favorite thing. Close to a tiara -- beautiful description! I also WANT some of their hoop earrings & a few bracelets. Badly want!! :cheeky: :cheeky:

--- Laurie
 
I'm assuming JewelFreak just posted this jeweller in the Gold Thread? I don't follow it, although I've made the odd post, as I'm really more into white metals. I could very easily have doubled up, though, as there can't be many jewellers producing such artisanal pieces in Maine! I hadn't heard of this jeweller, but their pieces are lovely. In terms of the "tiara", there is always the option of the hair barrettes for a more affordable piece. They're still quite expensive, though.

The constellation pieces just reminded me of this Big Bang pin, which is both cute and witty, in my opinion. The gold splurges are the Big Bang and at the centre is a piece of real meteor, obviously representing the start of the universe. Great gift for a scientist.

http://crossjewelers.com/products/product.aspx?ID=2043
 
Hi,

Smith-- yes lovely jewelry. I think it is very delicate looking.


Annette
 
Lovely pieces. Thanks for posting Smith. I just got home from vacationing last week in Maine too! I should have done some research before I left!
 
It's all just beautiful, and I just thought that others might get the same kick out of it that I did. I grew up right on the sea and have always lived on the water except when at university, and my father was a Royal Merchant Navy officer. He still spends as much time as possible at sea even though he's elderly! These pieces remind me of the sheer romance of the water.

My dad said that they would take the Ten Pound Poms from the UK to Australia. He said they would cry for three days after leaving port.

Then, when they docked in Australia, the ones who had emigrated previously would come on board and they'd cry too. "Oh, we wish so much that we could come home with you", etc etc. In those days a passage home was way too expensive for most - a year's salary for one person, in many cases.

When the Merchant Navy disbanded, many of the engineers, like him, went into the engineering departments at the universities. He said at one time in his department they had enough ex-Merchant seamen to crew a ship!

I used to wear his old Navy jacket with pride.

Anyway, these pieces remind me of my family history and how much we all love the sea.
 
Smith1942|1376840105|3505333 said:
I'm assuming JewelFreak just posted this jeweller in the Gold Thread?
Click to expand...

Actually she posted it on September 3, 2011...[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/do-you-have-a-favorite-gold-designer.29197/page-40']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/do-you-have-a-favorite-gold-designer.29197/page-40[/URL]

On the next page of the thread, ksinger posted a link to a site where someone was rendering mariners' knots in precious metals...http://www.golden-knots.com/index.html

If I remember correctly, she was also trying her hand at that.

Deb/AGBF
:read:
 
My husband's wedding band is from them:

img_4436.jpg

While the piece is exquisite, I had major problems with their customer service and communication, and came out with the conclusion that as long as you don't care when your piece arrives to you or if it's several months off of their estimate, you'll be fine ordering from them. But if you would like to have some communication with an idea of the timeline, you're SOL. His ring was two months later than promised and arrived only 8 days before the wedding. They couldn't tell me anything when I kept calling - if it was already being made, when it would be ready, etc. They would just brush off my questions. It was very frustrating.

I do really like that meteorite pendant linked though.
 
That's fascinating, about making jewelery using the art of mariners' knots. What a great idea!

Distracts - pity you had such dreadful service! That must have been rather stressful, not knowing if/when your husband's band would arrive.

They've been in business for decades - you'd think they'd have their customer service down to a fine art!
 
Sad to hear, Distracts. Their work is so nice -- and your DH's ring is stunning. Whew, good thing you ordered early or it would've been deep doodoo.

Smith, cool story about your father. He sounds like a great guy who led an adventurous life. Any more fun stories of life at sea?

--- Laurie
 
It's nice of you to be interested, Jewelfreak! I'll try not to bore you. But a junior engineer once had not screwed a part of the engine on properly, and it fell on my dad's leg. He still has a dent there. But anyway, it was a long, long journey back from Australia laid up with "disabled seaman" status. The officers, for some reason, did not have a bar on board ship where they could go to get away from the passengers. So although he was in a wheelchair, he started one. It was called the Yogi Bar, all were grateful, and the ship was late.

He also said that when the engineers were really in a hurry to get home, like for Christmas, they could knock four days off their passage from Australia and surprise all their family and friends.

Oh - and he absolutely refused to see Titanic when it came out. He had been in some bad storms - I think the Cape of Good Hope is the worst - and said that many people had lost their lives at sea, in general, and he didn't see it as entertainment.

He saw it on TV though, a few years later. There's a part where the Chief Engineer is heating his soup on a particular part of the engine - it's just after the iceberg hits - and he said that it's accurate and they used to do that. And he said the bow scene would never have happened because of the constant presence on the bridge and the officers would have had them off it in a jiffy. The red stripe on the sleeve for the purser and the white stripe on the sleeve for medical officer was also accurate.

And, when on the watch, he said sometimes the only time you could get some of the junior seaman out of bed was to open a can of beer under their noses.

Here is a photo near the start of his naval career, taken almost sixty years ago. There's a purple stripe on the sleeve for "engineer" which you can't see in the photo. I almost forgot to mention the coolest thing. After the Merchant Navy when the naval engineers flooded the universities, he went into metallurgy and helped develop the white material that goes into your fillings. Composite restoratives - there was a white material before but it wouldn't stay hard in a wet environment. Similarly, this photo would not stay straight in the scanner!

_9015.jpg
 
I had issues with their customer service as well; they did not return my calls as promised and it took several calls and emails to get them to respond to my questions and quotation. The salesperson claimed to be swamped but really, just don't promise a date or time sooner than you think you can get to it.
 
Hey Smith,

I grew up about a mile or 2 from the beach myself and spent many wonderful days diving in the waves. My mother loved the beach so we went often. My mother and dad also lived on the beach in Holland in a town called Schraveningham(SP), which is a where a number of Van Gogh paintings were made. I still miss it and when I dream of living on the beach, I still can smell the salt air for a few seconds.

On any trip back home it was the first place I went to see.


Annette
 
One of my favorite pieces is a ring I found at a Jewelry show from a jeweler in Virginia, it is waves and dolphins, wills post a pic sometime.
 
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