places to see in Boston?

[Arkteia]

Ella, please do not remove it - I think my question belongs here...

OK, I want to go to Boston to celebrate my B-day (finally! I am going back to Massachusetts...). When I was living there, I was not yet infected by the "gem bug" and hence did not go "places". Anything specific I should see? I do not know if we shall have the time to go to the Berkshires, just because I have to organize a party, but I shall try to.

Any places in Boston/around it? To buy gems/jewelry?

 

[SB621]

I can't think of any place specifically as I did most of my gemstones purchases on line when I lived in New England- however if you have the time I would go up to NH- where it is TAX FREE!!!!!! You can get some great settings at some antique shops. Plus it is beautiful on the drive up this time of year. just my .02 cents.

 

[jstarfireb]

Not sure about Boston, but I know Daniel M's business is based in Salem, MA. Maybe he has a B&M store there? You could ask him through Etsy.

 

[gemmygemma]

Not gems, really, but for beautiful crystalline craftsmanship, DEFINITELY check out the Glass Flowers Collection at the Harvard Museum of Natural History.
http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/on_exhibit/the_glass_flowers_collection.html

 

[iLander]

Go to Google Maps, put in the address of where you're staying.

Click on the Search Nearby option that comes up with the map.

Type in jewelry, gems, minerals, crystals, etc. (not all at once) and see what comes up!

I have found this to be very handy when traveling.

 

[Jeffrey Hunt]

Hello crasru

I have a very similar question. My daughter is newly enrolled at Boston University and I'll be visiting on a regular basis; I just got back from a trip last night.

I'm looking for retailers that carry custom faceted gemstones or contacts to the actual faceters in the close Boston area.

Now if you are looking for a good place to eat or even strong coffee (not dunkin donuts) I can perhaps help you there.

Kind Regards,

Jeffrey Hunt

 

[Arcadian]

Ok, y'all can come and visit me, how about that?

Custom stones? There's like 2 places that I know of but they're way on the cape. One does custom jewelery. The other does just stones. I'm not at home so I can't remember the names but I do have their brochures.


Oh wait actually..... There's the one place in Arlington that I go to....Kismets folks. They can do custom pieces but i don't think they carry a lot in stock. They're in Arlington I don't know where they may source their stones though. I've used them before to set stuff, they do a good job with it.

My guy is a gold smith that loves sparkly stuff (he's about to retire I'm so sad!!) He has some stones but doesn't cut.
There's another place in Belmont that carries a small amount of custom stones. They also do some custom inhouse stuff too. I forget their name tough. I'm not on my home computer which has all my bookmarks. They're pretty good though.



-A

 

[Kismet]

I know when we went to the jewelers building on Washington street there were a few places that sold loose colored stones and one place that sold some pretty high end stuff. Unfortunately, this was a few years ago and I don't seem to have any business cards in my wallet so I'm not recalling any names. Still, the jewelers building is an interesting place to browse... lots of stores to visit.

Small Pleasures on Newbury St has some nice antique jewelery. Fancy Flea in Lexington also has nice antique jewelry as well. If you can spare the time for a trip to Portland ME, then (make an appointment) and go see Nelson Rarities.

The jewelers I go to (TC Jewelers) in Arlington do nice work but they don't have an overly great selection of colored stones. When I was last in there Tom was telling me that he has a lot of very large stones (topaz, amethyst, etc.) but he can't really sell them as there isn't a huge demand for them.

All That Glitters is in Methuen, MA but I don't believe that they have a storefront that you can visit.

And, if you're going to be here around Nov 12-14th then Intergem will be in Marlborough, MA.

 

[Largosmom]

I travel into Boston fairly regularly too, about once every 4 to 6 weeks. Are there good gem shows there or nearby? I go to the northwest of town, near Burlington, Lexington. Have driven up to Maine once and it was a very nice drive. Not much jewelry at LL Bean HQ though.

Laura

 

[Arkteia]

Ok, y'all can come and visit me, how about that?

Custom stones? There's like 2 places that I know of but they're way on the cape. One does custom jewelery. The other does just stones. I'm not at home so I can't remember the names but I do have their brochures.


Oh wait actually..... There's the one place in Arlington that I go to....Kismets folks. They can do custom pieces but i don't think they carry a lot in stock. They're in Arlington I don't know where they may source their stones though. I've used them before to set stuff, they do a good job with it.

My guy is a gold smith that loves sparkly stuff (he's about to retire I'm so sad!!) He has some stones but doesn't cut.
There's another place in Belmont that carries a small amount of custom stones. They also do some custom inhouse stuff too. I forget their name tough. I'm not on my home computer which has all my bookmarks. They're pretty good though.



-A

How about coming at my birthday party? So that next time I shall have another reason to go to Boston... We are going to stay downtown and of course everything is very close and we can rent a car. My best friend lives in Belmont so for sure I shall go there - the name should be handy! I remember there was a Russian lady (I think) selling jewelry in Newton (Alena?) but it was such a long time ago...

I can definitely go to Cape Cod. Now that we live in WA and my husband drives 30 miles each way every day everything in MA seems microscopic. So whatever places you know of...

 

[Arkteia]

Nostalgia... Jewelers building was two blocks away from New England Medical Center... And across the street from Filene's Basement. These good old days!
Well, I shall go there.
I heard about Nelson's Rarities and they have fantastic catalogues, I can give it a try.
My husband feels semi-guilty that he dragged me across the country because of his new job so he would go wherever I want to, I presume. I forgot how to drive in Boston but I think we should be fine.

Jeffrey, I know all places to shop, live in and party in Boston. It is funny that you are mentioning Starbucks... to a person who lives in Seattle, ha-ha. Maybe tea shops?

Fellows, I do hope that Christmas Tree Shops are still there! We loved them.
I even remember Spag's. With the diamond aisle next to gardening tools... These days are long gone.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Hello crasru

I have a very similar question. My daughter is newly enrolled at Boston University and I'll be visiting on a regular basis; I just got back from a trip last night.

I'm looking for retailers that carry custom faceted gemstones or contacts to the actual faceters in the close Boston area.

Now if you are looking for a good place to eat or even strong coffee (not dunkin donuts) I can perhaps help you there.

Kind Regards,

Jeffrey Hunt

EXCELLENT choice of college

Crasru, I wish I could help more. I was in Boston in June (revisiting) but didn't do much (or any actually) in the way of jewelry sightseeing. I did find out recently that Daniel M's shop was in Salem (and I was even IN Salem at one point too!) and I wish I had known. At the very least, I would probably have dropped some loose stones off