What's It Worth by Jeff Hess

A local dealer brought in this incredible sapphire and diamond art deco pin from the 1930s for identification and purchase. It did not fetch the amount he had hoped for because we determined that the sapphire was not natural, but synthetic. While inspecting the sapphire under a high-powered microscope, we noticed the curved striae and growth line that indicate it is a synthetic stone. We were, however, able to place another extremely important sapphire from another jeweler for $750,000.

Colored diamonds, especially pink and blue, as well as yellow (sometimes called canary), are some of the most sought-after diamonds. Natural color diamonds are often quite rare — a very small percent of all diamonds mined are natural, fancy color diamonds. We recently purchased from a St. Pete retiree a tiny 1/3-carat blue diamond for $8,000 and a fancy brownish pink diamond for $10,000 which only weighed 1.25 carats. Old Northeast Jewelers pay a premium for branded diamonds such as Tiffany, Cartier, Graff, and others.

Intaglio jewelry can be traced as far back as 5000 BC and comes in many materials, from inexpensive synthetic stones to amethyst and carnelian.

Many items are worth more than their gold value. It takes an expert to know the difference — and to share that knowledge with you. This small, heavy art deco men’s Hamilton from 1936 is an excellent example. This watch was given to a St. Petersburg fire chief in the 1930s and has fine blue enamel special order decorations on the back cover and an inscription on the inside. These low-jeweled watches typically only sell for 10 percent more than their gold value, but the firefighter genre of collectibles heavily influences value.

The 1652 Massachusetts Pine Tree Shilling is one of the earliest known American coins – a colonial coin, technically. Likely to have been minted around 1670, the 1652 date may signify the founding of the Massachusetts mint. Some believe it to be a reflection of larger political events – a symbol of rebellion against English rule. A local jeweler suggested to our client that the coin was fake. We thought it was genuine, so our client entrusted us to send it to an important coin lab where it was verified.

It was meant to be a “debate “over whether the Apple Watch would impact the Swiss watch industry, but even the futurist on a Watch Collectors’ Roundtable panel assembled at the Aaron Faber Gallery in New York confessed to being a Rolex man.

Spring is in full effect, and with it comes many reasons to celebrate. Mother's Day, Father's Day and Graduations are just a few of the reasons we look forward to this time of year. Here at Old Northeast Jewelers we are proud to announce our new partnership with Omega timepieces. Omega has a long and rich history as one of America's favorite timepieces. From the first timepiece worn on the moon, the Speedmaster, to James Bond's most precise tool, the Seamaster, Omega has provided incredibly reliable timepieces to some of our favorite heroes.

Seiko was founded in 1881. In 1895 Seiko started to produce pocket-watches, in 1899 the production of alarm clocks started and finally in 1913 the production of wristwatches.

To celebrate the first centenary of Seiko´s wristwatches Seiko presented the Ananta ‘100th Anniversary’ Chronograph

TAMPA — Fans of Game of Thrones still distraught over the massacre of the show's heroes may take solace in this: Swiss watchmaker Ulysse Nardin has created a limited-edition watch inspired by the HBO series and books.

But they better have the coin do it.

The Night's Watch costs $10,500.

That buys you serious exclusivity. There are only 25. No. 15 has its own corner display case at Old Northeast Jewelers' store at International Plaza.

A ho-hum spot for selling such an exclusive item with worldwide appeal?