Soooo, House of Boghossian. #JewelWatch

Don't know how I missed them this long. They're based in Geneva now, but started out in 1868 in Mardin, in Turkey. One of the stops on the Silk Road.

So with those beginnings, they made connections in both east and west for great gemstones, and they really do get hold of fabulous things. Not only the obvious precious stones, but all sorts of semi-precious. Jade and quartz of all colors, tourmaline, peridot, etc.

No two pieces are alike.

As well as all the usual, they work with two types of settings they've pioneered and/or perfected.

The first is 'kissing stones' where the two stones are set together, leading to interesting optical effects:
Pink diamond over white:

Diamond on rubellite (red/pink tourmaline): in photos a lot of the effect is lost, but imagine the pink undertones you'd get in those diamonds.

Side-on of an emerald and diamond to give you a better idea:

I'm working with photos from their website and article that list gemstones first, so you can get a feel for the scope of it, before we hit Google for random "oh, NICE".

Diamond and tourmaline:

Diamond and kunzite earrings. Kunzite has a hexagonal crystalline structure and is best viewed through a loupe, it is SO COOL.

Ruby and kunzite. TAKE THE FIGHTS OUTSIDE.

The other thing they do - very well - is inlay. As in cutting stones to fit together like puzzle pieces.

As in hacking off carat weight to make something. Usually it's semiprecious stones that get carved up, but not always.

Ruby and pink opal.

They must have connections because I don't know how in hell they got that much of either stone, that matches.

Diamonds and white jade.

Pink sapphire ($$$$$) and diamonds inlaid into chalcedony (opaque quartz):

Diamond in pink opal (they seem to like using opal, likely because it's soft; they've got a diamond and blue opal one I'd kick a senator for):

Diamond and pink mother of pearl:

Diamond and smoky quartz: (I have always considered smoky quartz a junk stone, I take it back.)

Diamond and smoky quartz:

Continuing with other photos from websites that list the stones now,

They did an icicle collection, pretty much all stones of the right color were used:

Jumbled cuts also usually piss me off. These people are geniuses. (Into their sixth generation.)

This one's mostly garnets:

This one's mostly sapphires.

This is simply titled "Diamond Set". Okay then.

"Diamond, tourmaline, and diamond" is the caption. I believe the green is the tourmaline.

I have never seen anything like that.

Pearl and diamond earrings. See how they're set, you can see through the diamonds. More sparkle for your buck.

Multi diamond and mother of pearl:

Ruby and diamond earrings, some of my favorites:

Kashmir sapphire and diamonds. Someone should give Kate a call, William owes her some make-up rocks.

Kashmir sapphire and diamond ring OMGOMGOMG. They really MUST have connections everywhere to get stones like this.

Oh - all their stones are certified un-fucked-with. No oil on the emeralds, no cooking the sapphires, rubies, quartz, or topaz. (You can change the color a lot, and in the case of rubies, trash the internal structure that makes it look so good.)

Speaking of emeralds,

The workmanship on those earrings is exquisite.

Someone's got a sense of humor, this is diamonds and a Colombian emerald.

Sapphire, turquoise, aquamarine, and diamond bangle bracelet.

Diamond and aquamarine necklace.

The aquamarines are set so the light can shine through them, too.

Fancy grey blue diamond (it's a grade, okay) ring. Asscher cut on the diamond, looks like. Hell of a job, but you'd hope so.

Diamond and emerald earrings. The black part is empty space, not onyx, sorry.

But they have worked in onyx, we'll get there.

And now to Google, where we have to guess at gemstones, for the most part.

I WANT THIS. Even as I want to have words with whoever cut the opal. But LOOK at it.

Kissing stone rings and earrings:

Necklace, looks like all diamonds?

I don't hate it, which is impressive given the number of yellow diamonds crammed in there.

This one they're very proud of, all the emeralds are flawless and it took them a few years to get all the stones to make it.

If those are hexagonally cut diamonds, I will swoon.

Betting that's blue chalcedony.

Mother of pearl, paribawhatsit blue topaz, and a diamond?

The inlays are the ones that really blow my mind, because they'd HAVE to have custom cutters practically sitting next to the gem-worker to make them work, and the skill making them fit together.

And as I said to the kid over this right now, HOLY SHIT.

Carved to look like a flower, or a splash, or both?

Also, HOLY SHIT.

And the probably-turquoise has little diamonds set into it.

I don't know if it's an inlay or one of the kissing deals. Probably a ring.

Probably jade, maybe quartz, definitely diamonds.

A lot of emeralds. Don't know if I like it or not.

A lot of emeralds.

Jade or opal, then rubellite, then diamond?

More of the smoky quartz.

I THINK I remember seeing this on a model as a bracelet, not a ring. Either way, we'd wear it, right?

More kissing stones.

If I was an Orange County housewife, I wouldn't be settling for a diamond doorknob ring from Harry Winston, just sayin'.

Earrings! matching ring!

Possibly white jade and mother of pearl?

No swooning.

HoShit, hadn't seen this one before.

Did I post this one yet?

Will anyone care about looking at it twice?

OMG.

Earrings? Probably jade.

Oooooooh.

See all the Mughal shapes, in all this?

In progress. I saw the inside of one of those rings, and there's a screw. Will post if I find it, that'd explain a lot.

The way the red stones are set, creating the pattern with the metal, so cool.

-whimper-

Are some of those links white jade or rock crystal or something??

Turn that sucker over and put it on a frame, we need a tiara.

A search for Boghossian tiaras hasn't gotten us any tiaras but I found these earrings. (!!!!!)

And this probably butterfly.

Possibly onyx.

Wow.

Maybe the only yellow diamond I would wear happily. OMFG.

There was mention of this bracelet in an article I read, took them over ten years to collect all the stones, then set a record at auction when sold.

Opals, sapphires, topaz, tanzenite?

HAND IT OVER NOW.

OH MY FUCKING GOD.

More of the icicle collection.

Oooooooh.

Another shot of the bracelet. See how all the stones are set to be see-through? Takes extra skill and fuss, obviously. Lots of extra skill.

Earrings.

It should not be possible to make that stone look that good.

Pearls, their way.

So pretty.

An action shot of the necklace, for scale.

-blinking-

Well that's a bib necklace. Holy shit.

I know I want everything, but I want this.

Taking a break, may or may not come back, I'll leave you with SHINY.