September is the month the light changes in Washington, and it is also the month clients start asking about blue stones. Sapphire is September’s birthstone, and the gem traditionally given at the fifth and forty-fifth anniversaries. Anyone shopping for sapphire jewelry in DC this fall will find that two stones of identical weight can differ… Read more »
Blog
There is a moment that happens at our counter several times a week. Someone hands over a ring, apologizing, saying they assume it is beyond help. Usually it is not. Jewelry is more repairable than almost anyone expects, and the things people assume are fatal are often routine. Finding an antique DC jeweler with a… Read more »
Most weeks, someone sets a small box on our counter and asks a version of the same question. It belonged to a grandmother, or an aunt, or it came out of a house that was being cleared. Nobody knows what it is. That question is answerable, and usually in a few minutes. The method is… Read more »
Ruby is the birthstone for July and the most prized of the red gems. It is a variety of corundum colored by chromium, it rates 9 on the Mohs scale of hardness, and the finest stones glow with a red the trade calls pigeon’s blood. Charles Schwartz & Son, Washington DC’s oldest jeweler, founded in 1888, has handled estate and… Read more »
Estate jewelry is previously owned jewelry, and the best of it carries the design language of the period that made it. Learning to read those periods is the heart of collecting, because the era shapes the metal, the cut of the stones, and the whole feeling of a piece. Charles Schwartz & Son, Washington DC’s oldest… Read more »
A strand of pearls rarely begins and ends with one person. It moves. It is clasped at a dressing table in Georgetown, worn to a reception at the State Department, packed into a trunk, inherited by a daughter who has it restrung and wears it to her own occasions. By the time an estate pearl… Read more »
Gold jewelry changes hands for all kinds of reasons. An inherited, an old ring, a collection accumulated over decades that no longer fits your style. Whatever brings you to the decision, knowing how to sell estate jewelry well means more than finding the nearest buyer. The right preparation, the right buyer, and the right timing… Read more »
Most people have at least one piece of fine jewelry sitting in a drawer. Maybe it is an inherited ring that does not suit your style. Maybe it is an engagement ring from a chapter that has closed. Maybe it is a bracelet you loved in your thirties that just does not feel like you… Read more »
The appeal of a vintage watch goes beyond how it looks on your wrist. These are objects with history, craftsmanship, and a sense of permanence that is genuinely compelling. But buying DC vintage watches well takes more than a good eye. Here is what we think every buyer should know going in. 1. Antique,… Read more »
Choosing jewelry as a gift is one of the most thoughtful things you can do for someone you care about. It is also, we know, one of the most nerve-wracking. The options feel endless, the stakes feel high, and the fear of getting it wrong can stop even the most well-intentioned gift-giver in their tracks…. Read more »
Art Deco jewelry never really disappeared. One hundred years after the style first captivated a generation, collectors, investors, and everyday jewelry lovers are rediscovering what makes these pieces so enduring. At Charles Schwartz & Son, we have spent over a century handling some of the finest Art Deco pieces to pass through Washington DC, and… Read more »
Every April, Washington DC transforms. The cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin bloom for just a week or two before the petals fall, and the city pauses to take notice. It is one of those rare moments when the whole region seems to share the same color palette: soft pinks, warm peaches, and the faintest… Read more »
