Fine Jewelry Services
Gem Resetting
Cross has discontinued the resetting of diamonds and gemstones not purchased from Cross. We will continue to offer the opportunity to have any diamond or colored gem originally sold by Cross set into a new, updated Cross design, providing the gem size and shape appropriately fits our design.
Cross’ resetting season runs from January 1 to June 30 of each year. Resetting projects typically take a minimum of 12 weeks with longer time periods for complex and multi-step projects.
For instructions for sending your diamond to us please print and fill out our Resetting Information Shipping Form.
Appraisals
Initial appraisal documentation is free on all Cross Jewelers purchases over $500.
Appraisal Services in the Portland, Maine Area
We previously offered appraisal services on all types of jewelry but no longer do.
Below are several local jewelry firms you may wish to contact for jewelry appraisal services:
Springers, Portland………….207-772-5404
Days, South Portland……….207-780-6052
Browns, Freeport…………….207-865-4126
Independent Jewelry Appraisal Services
New England Gemological Laboratory
and Appraisal Services, Ogunquit……….207-852-4502
New England Gem Appraisals, Kennebunk…….207-604-4423
For highly specialized items of fine jewelry you may want to consider finding an appraiser in a larger market such as Boston or New York.
Fine Jewelry Repair
While we do repairs on all items we sell, we are not currently offering repair services on items sold by other stores.
For repairs on jewelry acquired from other stores our recommendation is to return to the original seller if possible. The original seller is in the best position to efficiently and economically do repairs or restoration work. Also, your piece of jewelry may still be under warranty.
Even if the item was purchased in another state, working with that jeweler through the mail is still often the best course.
If the original seller is no longer in business there are several southern Maine retail stores still offering full repair services:
Springers, Portland………….207-772-5404
D Cole, Portland……….…….207-772-5119
Days, South Portland……….207-780-6052
Browns, Freeport…………….207-865-4126
Watches and Watch Repair
Our focus is on jewelry; we do not sell, repair or appraise watches.
Engraving
Engraving a date or message on a piece of jewelry adds a wonderful personal touch. It’s also fun for family members a generation or two later to know who wore a particular piece and when.
We can machine or hand-engrave most of our ring designs. If you would like to have one of our pendants, bracelets, or pins engraved give us a call, hand-engraving may be possible.
Machine engraving is free and is simple block lettering. Hand-engraving can often accommodate more letters if space is limited. If hand-engraving you can choose script lettering, add symbols or foreign characters. There is a charge for hand-engraving, and it typically takes 2 weeks.
Wedding rings are the most frequently engraved piece of jewelry. Typically the givers initials are first, the recipients are next, then a date. Example: XYZ TO ZYX MM-DD-YYYY
We do not engrave items purchased from other stores.
Our Areas of Specialty
Engagement Rings – We are well known for our active lifestyle engagement rings that are practical, wearable, durable and absolutely beautiful. In addition to the active lifestyle collection we have classic prong-set styles. All are set with Cross Royal Ideal-cut diamonds (the world’s most stunning diamond).
Blue Sapphires – The finest true blue sapphires in America. You’ll immediately see the difference in our sapphires we guarantee it. If you love blue we have a must see collection.
Maine Tourmaline – We are passionate about the gems found in our state. Cross is the source for the best selection of authentic Maine tourmaline, maintaining the largest collection in the world of fine Maine tourmaline jewelry.
New England Inspired Designs – Jewelry inspired by the state of Maine and New with an emphasis on our New England nautical heritage.
CONTACT US
1-800-433-2988
Monday - Friday 9:30 am to 5:00 pm
Celtic Dreams
And the Druids of Blue Mountain
These are our ancestors. I know they are mine, and perhaps your ancestors too.
I know them. I own them. I can feel them in my bones. The Druids were Celts. All our ancestors were somewhere, living, breathing, walking around, talking, learning, loving.
This painting captures a moment. Was it real? Did it really happen? Yes and no. Is there a Blue Mountain? I don’t know… probably. This painting stepped out of someone’s imagination and it probably captures a shard, a piece of some echo of a memory, passed down through a hundred, a thousand generations.
We all have historical memories, some more clear than others. This painting has haunted me for several years. It was at the antique store at Fort Andross, Maine. Every time I passed it I was drawn in, its ghostly images call out to me. I know this place. I know these people. They believed in nature. Were they perfect? No. They were successful enough that I have descended from them and I am here in the 21st century to speak to this memory.
Why all this Druid talk? The Druids were Celts, lovers of intricate knot patterns and lovers of wind, rain, blue skies and sunshine, lovers of the coming of spring and the finality of fall. They were close to the earth. I can smell the wood smoke. I can see the hearth fires burning.
In fact, when you look at what the Celts did in metalwork… they were masters. There are volumes written on Celtic art. They were so prolific, so obsessed with beautiful detailing, it was like they couldn’t make a metal tool without decorating it beautifully. Then there was the jewelry: great gifts and treasures to humanity that we are still deriving inspiration from. The present day Irish are the inheritors of much of this grand Celtic art.
What we share with you today is for the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day, and the Irish, the keepers of Celtic traditions.
Inspired by the Celts and their love of knot patterns, both of these items we describe in greater detail.
Celtic Imagination
I think about these people often. I think about how I am here because they survived over 100 generations. I think about my people 3,000 years ago. The land they lived on, their homes and hearths, what they ate. I think about their religious beliefs and I think about this painting which may capture some aspects of their world, even if now some of it is only imagined.
I looked at this painting in an antique store for a long time. It’s colors, it’s rhythm spoke to me, and because it said the same thing every time I went back, I bought it. I probably have 20 books on the Ancient Celts, their knot patterns, stone work, gold and silver work. My people go back to Northern Europe, and in truth, all of our ancestors were around somewhere 3,000 years ago. I feel this ring deeply. Especially the deep engraved Celtic patterns on the east and west sides. This says something that echoes and resonates within me. It says something similar to the painting, different, yet similar.