Known as ‘Baby on a Sled’ or ‘Coasting Bank,’ this contraption looks more like a toy than a place to store coins. The mechanical bank has been an object of myth among collectors since a dealer in 1955 found it featured in an 1884 ad. The ad displayed the manufacturer as J. & E. Stevens, […]
Lost and Found
Posted on January 9th, 2014 by Joe G
A Stradivarius violin made in 1696 was sold at auction for $2,263,275. This particular violin comes with a unique story, as it was stolen three years ago from internationally-known violinist Min-Jin Kym in a cafe and found this past summer at a home in England. The violin was made at the Cremona, Italy workshop of Antonio […]
Legally Counterfeiting Diamonds
Posted on January 7th, 2014 by Joe G
Counterfeiting diamonds for a living? Sounds like something a white collar criminal from a movie would do. But John Hatleberg is no criminal; he is a gem cutting expert commissioned to create replicas of world-famous diamonds in order to protect them. People want his replicas to protect their diamonds for insurance, display, education reasons and […]
Rockwell Painting Sells For More Than Double its Estimated Price
Posted on January 2nd, 2014 by Joe G
A Norman Rockwell painting from 1951 set the record for the highest price paid at auction for an American painting early in December. “Saying Grace,” depicting a boy and his grandmother praying at a table in a restaurant, sold in a Sotheby’s auction Dec. 4 to an unnamed buyer for $46 million, more than double […]
GIA versus EGL, IGI and Other Diamond Grading Services
Posted on December 30th, 2013 by Joe G
As a diamond buyer and seller for over 33 years it is more common that diamond buyers and sellers in the industry honor GIA (Gemological Institute of America) certified diamonds over all the other legitimate companies offering grading services, like EGL (European Grading Labs), IGI (International Grading Institute), AGS (American Gem Society), etc. While these […]