A Cottage by the Sea
My Dad was in the navy during WWII. He was stationed in the Pacific on Saipan. He was an assistant cook. He pealed potatoes in the morning and went diving in the coral reefs in the afternoon. His letters home alarmed his parents. He wrote often about the warmth of the waters, the idyllic year-round air, the beauty of the tropical vegetation, and swimming with schools of fish. Clearly, his parents could see he had never been happier. They were concerned the war would end and he would come home then book a flight back to a tropical island in the Pacific.
His mom and dad had an oceanfront cottage on a white sand beach in Maine. Theirs was the last cottage on the beach down among the sand dunes. There was one other building further down, a two-story boathouse with big barn doors that opened to the river and a hand crank winch at the other end of the building to bring the boat in for winter storage. When the two-story building came up for sale, they bought it for $150.
My Dad, just after he got off the train, standing in front of his new property.
When my dad got home from Saipan, the beach and his new boat building were the first stop after he got off the train. Above is a photo of him wearing his navy uniform, standing in front of his new property.
Parents are good people. What they will do for their kids, their happiness, safety, and well being is legend. My dad met his future wife, age 17 on the beach beside his boathouse. He settled down, became a carpenter, built seven other cottages on the beach. He expanded his boathouse to living quarters. Our family has been summering at the boathouse for 75 years.
A Cottage by the Sea
Sapphire & Diamond Ring
We call this ring “A Cottage by the Sea”. It’s really the beach house ring. It has a blue sapphire center locked in by sweeping golden waves, and surrounded by eight brilliant, sparkly light on the water diamonds. This ring is an awesome way to return to your favorite place by the sea whenever you wish.
I wrote this on Tuesday, June 1st. Our winter renter moved out Memorial Day Weekend. She left it immaculate. We are always impressed when our guests take such good care of our family cottage. Today our family cottage at the ocean comes back to us for the summer. We call it our beach house. My grandfather bought the beach house in 1944 for my dad to keep his sailboat in.
We open a bottle of this wine called “The Beach House” upon our return most summers.
This is a painting of our beach house in 1948
This is a bronze statue of two blue herons, one of the birds we see in our saltwater marsh every summer.
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Sapphire
The Best Colored Gemstone for Every Day Wear
Gemstone hardness is an important consideration if you intend to wear and enjoy a ring every day. Most people know diamonds, at a hardness of 10, are the ultimate for every day wear. When it comes to colored gemstones, sapphires and rubies (hardness of 9) are the best choice and while we do beautiful blue sapphires in this ring design, ruby is not an option. It’s simply too rare.
Cross’ Passion for Blue Sapphire
Most Jewelers say the darker the better,
We say the bluer the better
People often comment on how blue our sapphires are, how brilliant and pure the color. We believe in blue, pure true blue. True blue is a medium toned blue. True blue is not navy or inky dark. True blue is bright and brilliant. True blue sapphires are shades of blue you can relax into; they calm, comfort and soothe.
Why a Cross Sapphire is the Best
We love blue. We know blue. We live by the blue sea, beneath summer blue skies. Our business is located on a peninsula called Portland, surrounded by saltwater on three sides. We can feel the blue ocean pulsing with every tide. From the rooftop of our building, we can see the open sea. Binoculars show ships coming and going on a blue, blue sea.
We love blue sapphire: It is bright, brilliant and is amazingly durable. As the second hardest gem to diamond, it is a highly wearable gem, ideal for rings. We love blue sapphire… we love it so much that we have traveled to southeast Asia to find first-choice colors. We choose a lighter, brighter blue than most American jewelers because it shows up best under a wide range of real-world lighting conditions. Our blue sapphires look and perform best on everything from sunny days to a candlelit dinner for two.
We want your blue sapphire to dazzle you, dazzle your partner and everyone in any room you visit. Cross’ blue sapphires are the best.
Chosen One at a Time
Most jewelers prefer dark sapphires because they are easier to source and easier to match. Our sapphire jewelry starts with the selection of the individual gem. We choose gems one at a time, and evaluate them under various lighting conditions to find the best performing sapphires. The result is a gem which is bright, blue, and brilliant – everything you want in a sapphire. This process takes more time and it results in the best, brightest, and truest bluest sapphire jewelry.
