I recently had the honor of being inducted into the National Jeweler Magazine Retail Hall of Fame! The award was presented at a beautiful black-tie dinner, held in New York City during the summer trade show, and it was truly an honor to be recognized. National Jeweler is one of our mainstay trade journals, celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and established its Hall of Fame 18 years ago. I look at the names of past winners and see some true giants in our industry, and am thrilled to be included.

Gleim the Jeweler will once again be a sponsor of Palo Alto’s Black and White Ball, to be held October 7 at the Lucie Stern Center. We will be donating a diamond, to be discovered in a glass of champagne purchased by a lucky attendee. This is always a fun Palo Alto event which raises money for the Palo Alto Recreation Foundation and Palo Alto Partners in Education. Don’t miss this must-attend event! You can learn more at www.paloaltoblackandwhiteball.com.

Gordon McCall’s Motorworks Revival

Gleim the Jeweler had the recent honor of participating in Gordon McCall’s Motorworks Revival, a grand party held at the Monterey Jet Center during Concours Week in Pebble Beach. We were invited to partner with Breitling, presenting their Bentley Collection. It was an awesome event, showcasing fine motorcars, jets both new and historic, and, of course, Bentley for Breitling.

Did you know that the world’s largest carved emerald is housed at our store on University Ave? At 32 lbs., or 86,000 carats, this emerald is truly a museum-worthy piece. What is it doing in downtown Palo Alto? The emerald originated in Brazil. A local gem dealer with whom we had partnered for some years persuaded the mine owner to sell it; he then took it to Hong Kong to have it carved. Four artists worked on the carving for an entire year, and the result is a beautiful Taoist heaven motif with 27thirty figures representing various gods and aides. There are animals, houses, trees, and a waterfall which courses the height of the carving. The detail and quality are remarkable. The carving is housed in a special case in our store at 322 University Ave.; come in a take a look!

October’s birthstone is the opal. This is the only gem which has all the colors of the rainbow in a single stone, and the finest opals show flashes of red, blue, green, orange, yellow, glinting back and forth in a beautiful array of color. The finest qualities are found in Australia, and can be breathtaking.

There is a persistent tale that opals can bring bad luck if they are worn by someone born in a month other than October; this started from a story written by Sir Walter Scott, in which the heroine was presented with an opal and then suffered several misfortunes. Queen Victoria tried to dispel this myth by presenting opals as royal gifts, although her motives may have been suspect, as she also owned rights to several opal mines.

Designers of the Art Nouveau era favored opals, as it was a delicate feminine gem, reflecting their love for natural motifs. Top-quality opals today can command prices into the thousands, and they hold an almost magical power over their fans. Opals are a bit more delicate than some other gems but, worn with the proper care, they can give a lifetime of individual beauty.