Ralph Esmerian, former owner of Fred Leighton, pleaded guilty last week to bankruptcy fraud, a tragic turn in a respected family business that took a century to build. The Esmerians began like many jewelry businesses that relocated to New York in the early twentieth century, bringing their expertise in the old world European jewelry...
Learn what to look for in terms of color and cut, but don't expect to tell a synthetic from a real stone - and forget trying to identify something based on a digital photo. "If something looks too good to be true," Christie Romero warns, "it probably is."
Jewelry historian and Antiques Road Show regular Christie Romero shares her tips for buying estate jewelry - and avoiding rip-offs.
