About pearl wise

Diana Sanders Cinamon has taught the Pearls class at Santiago Canyon College since 2004. With very little budget for this experimental class, Avi Raz of A & Z Pearls donated the pearls for this untested venture. He supported our program and spoke as a guest lecturer to our students every year since 2004. He even found guest speakers for us! Over the years, students who had very little interest in pearls, learned to love and be awed by their beauty.

The Pearl Wise Unified Grading System was developed by Ms. Cinamon as a visual instruction aide for her Pearls students. One can say that a pearl has excellent luster, for example, but seeing a pearl with excellent luster and understanding how excellent luster is determined has been empowering for her students.

On the first night of class, students inevitably ask “What are we going to do for eight weeks?” About four weeks into the class, students always say the class should be twice as long!

The Pearls class meets two nights a week and is eight weeks long. The pearls class is offered every spring, usually beginning in late January or early February.  In addition to teaching the Pearls class, Ms. Cinamon serves as the Program Facilitator for the Gemology Department at Santiago Canyon College in the Career and Technical Education Division.

Ms. Cinamon been a personal property appraiser in the Southern California area since 1998. She has a specialty in antique and collectible jewelry, pearls, and antique metals. She is a certified gemologist (C.G., SCC) graduating from the Santiago Canyon College (SCC) gemology department.  She is a graduate of the College for Appraisers carrying the designation of Graduate Certified Appraiser (GCA).

Mrs. Cinamon is the founder and president of American Certified Appraisers Association.
In addition to the Pearls class, Mrs. Cinamon teaches “Antique and Period Jewelry” for the gemology department at Santiago Canyon. Her book “Estate Jewelry, 1760-1960” is the text book for the class.

She has also team-taught the appraisal theory class with Geoffrey Nelson, G.G. for the same program. She taught the antiques program for Bellflower Adult School for three years.

Her first book, “All About Antique Silver with International Hallmarks” continues to hit the top ten list of best selling books on this topic. Her second book “Estate Jewelry, 1760-1960”, by Schiffer Books represents the culmination of over ten years of study and teaching on this topic, providing a valuable resource for collectors, dealers, and appraisers at all levels of expertise. When released in 2009 it debuted as the #1 best selling book on jewelry. Its continued sales keeps it in the top of its category. Both books are available for purchase through this website in the Books section of this website.

 

Diana Sanders Cinamon

Diana Sanders Cinamon

ESTATE_JEWERLY-2ndE
All About Antique Silver
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3024 E. Chapman Ave. Orange, CA 92869