Graff Pays $8.3 Million to Own 50 Carat Diamond for Third Time

Time and again, a certain 50 ct. D-color potentially flawless mega-rock keeps coming back to Laurence Graff.

The London diamond magnate purchased the top lot at Christie’s New York Dec. 10 Magnificent Jewels auction—a ring that he originally designed, featuring a 50.01 ct. rectangular-cut D-color potentially flawless diamond. He paid $8.37 million, or $167,400 per carat, said the auction house.

Christie’s sold the same diamond for $4.2 million in 2005, meaning in the intervening years its price has nearly doubled.

“This is the third time that I have owned this beautiful diamond and I am as thrilled today as I was the first time,” said Graff in a statement. “This is one of the finest D-color diamonds in the world and I am delighted to have it back again.”

The sale also set two notable records:

• An ultra-rare 3.15 ct. reddish orange stone—the largest such stone ever graded at the Gemological Institute of America—sold for $2.09 million, setting a new world auction record for a reddish-orange diamond, and a new per-carat record of $666,200.

• An 8.91 ct. sapphire sold for $1.37 million, or $154,000 per carat, setting a new per-carat record for a Kashmir sapphire at auction.

All in all, the sale realized a total of $32.5 million, with sell-through rates of 84 percent by lot and 86 percent by value.

www.jckonline.com

Harry Winston - The Water High Jewelry collection

Harry Winston has introduced its latest Water High Jewelry collection during the Biennale des Antiquaires in Paris, a wealth of rare blue and green gemstones.

Harry Winston is renowned for the crystal clarity of its pieces, with only rare splashes of colour. In the Water collection, though, the 19 new pieces are set with sapphires and emeralds, as well as turquoise and Paraibas – and the legendary Winston diamonds are still present too.

Featuring fluid lines and pristine purity, this new collection brings high jewelry on a journey to the very heart of nature.

http://www.cijintl.com/

Neiman Marcus Christmas Book Fantasy Gift Comes With a Tour of Van Cleef & Arpels

Neiman Marcus unveiled its 86th annual Christmas Book today, which included plenty of jewelry as well as one ''fantasy gift'' of his and hers watches.  Designer Ippolita features jewelry of clear quartz, mother-of-pearl, shell, gemstone and 18-karat gold with price points from just under $4,000 all the way up to $10,000 in the Christmas Book. Roberto Coin  created ''decadence to an extreme'' with a suite of precious stones linked together in an intricate mosaic to highlight shades of smoky quartz in and amongst white diamonds, cognac diamonds in 18-karat yellow gold jewelry with a price range of $6,300 to $25,000. The Neiman Marcus Christmas  catalog also featured a collection of mosaic pavé pinky rings from David Yurman with price points between $5,400 to $11,500. 

Throughout Christmas Book, numerous fashion jewelry collections by  Jose & Maria Barrera for Neiman Marcus adorn the models, such as a classic chandelier earrings  in topaz, glass, crystal and colored cubic zirconia; jet black Austrian crystal and a gunmetal-plated necklace and bangles that are generally offered in price points below $1,000.

John Hardy created a Neiman Marcus exclusive this year to commemorate the Year of the Dragon with jewelry of ruby, sterling silver, and 18-karat gold, from the Naga Collection. Pieces include a kick cuff, ring, earrings and necklace in a price range of $895 to almost $6,000.

The top jewelry gift in this year's Christmas Book begins with a classic story: Boy meets girl. As the fantasy goes, ''A romance is sparked. They share a kiss at midnight on Paris’s Pont des Arts. But fate intervenes, and they are separated. Each night, they send wishes — he upon a star, she upon a kite— that, one day, they will reunite.''

To capture that tale, Neiman Marcus offers one set of his and hers ''Poetic Wish'' watches from  Van Cleef & Arpels for $1,090,000. But the lucky buyer will also receive two business-class tickets to Paris and Geneva to tour the Van Cleef & Arpels boutique, atelier, and watchmaking workshops.  Neiman Marcus will be donating  $10,000 for each ''His & Hers 2012'' gift sold to The Norman Mailer Center, which supports writers who challenge readers’ perspectives on the world around them.

Other fantasy gifts this year include ''Beau Coop,'' a bespoke Versailles-inspired, custom-made, multi-level le petit trianon  for hens with a living room,  a broody room and a library filled with chicken and gardening books for visitors of the human kind. Challenge the gamer inside with a custom-made Pinel & Pinel Arcade PS Trunk gaming toy or if Broadway is more your style, one fantasy gift is a walk-on performer for the musical ''Annie.'' Tailgate in style with the Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Woody-Tailgate Trailer (and a one-year supply of Bulleit Bourbon and Bulleit Rye) or simply hop into a 2013 McLaren 12C Spider, in Volcano Red, which will be sold with McLaren luggage and a business-class trip to England for a VIP dinner hosted by McLaren's chairman Ron Dennis and a tour of the McLaren Technology Center in February 2013.

Neiman Marcus is also offering a Jetlev R200 and the video portrait ''Snowy Owl'' by artist Robert Wilson who creates animals and people who appear static, as if portrayed within a painting, but the viewer is caught off guard when the subject unexpectedly breathes, blinks, or shifts.

For a culinary delight this Christmas, Neiman Marcus put together an  epic event where four  chefs -—Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller, Jerome Bocuse and Richard Rosendale—- will arrive at your home to prepare a feast for 10 guest and  Bertha Gonzalez, the world’s first female Maestra Tequilera, will kick off the evening with a Casa Dragones tequila tasting. 

www.diamonds.net

50-Carat Diamond Jewels Main Attraction Of Christie's Estimated $35 Million Auction

We are under a month away from the new James Bond movie, Skyfall.  Adele has done the title song which People Magazine has likened in style to the iconic “Diamonds are Forever” title song belted by Welsh singer Dame Shirley Bassey back in 1971.

After almost 40 years, the Bond “diamond” song has a melody and lyrics with luster so brilliant, it lingers in our collective “007” movie memories.  Such is the power of diamonds…

On October 16, Christie’s New York will hold its fall jewelry auction, called “New York Magnificent Jewelry”, with some very big diamonds, rare natural pearls and signed jewels. The 372 lots will be sold in two sessions with a pre-sale estimate of $35 million.

A trio of diamond jewels–earrings, a pendant and an “intense” yellow stone–are the sale headliners. The clear and yellow-stoned earrings weigh over 117 carats (est. $4,500,000 to $6,500,000).  I was a little concerned that the gems might be too hefty for the average earlobe, but was assured they were “very wearable”.

What does 50 carats feel like in the palm of your hand?

“Like a quail egg,” said Rahul Kadakia, head of jewelry for Christie’s Americas and Switzerland, in a clipped British accent.

Kadakia, who says he sleeps and breathes diamonds, covets the 50 carat pear-shaped diamond, which is so pricey its estimate is available upon request. “It’s superb in the way it’s cut.  Textbook—a really special stone.”

And for those into yellow, there’s a 68 carat diamond estimated to sell between  $2,200,000 and $3,200,000.

Christie’s hopes to attract important private collectors from the Middle East, Russia and China as well as more experienced American and European buyers “who have been buying for hundreds of years,” said Kadakia.  “Those seasoned buyers who hope to add something new to their collection—maybe a stone with a new shape or size.”

But for those considering investing in diamonds, is it the right time to buy?

“In the last 16 years, the market has gone up 200%,” said Kadakia.

If true, those in 1% will like the 200% rise.

www.forbes.com

Alrosa Finds 158 Carat Diamond

Earlier this month, Russian diamond miner Alrosa uncovered a diamond that is one for the books—the gem weighs a whopping 158.2 cts.

Alrosa describes the stone as “a natural crystal roundish in shape, transparent and having prominent facets on one of the sides. The central part is clean, with no visible defects; there are inclusions of dark color, cracks, and a technical chip in the peripheral area.”

The diamond’s size is 35 x 22 x 22 millimeters.

Alrosa expects the stone to sell for $1.5 million, if auctioned.  

“If cut, this rough diamond may produce several polished diamonds having high quality characteristics, and each of them may be worth hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars,” the diamond producer added.

http://www.jckonline.com/

Ring Sells for $1.2 Million at Sotheby’s

Brooke Astor’s 22.84 ct. emerald engagement ring (photo courtesy of Sotheby's)

Jewelry from the estate of Brooke Astor, philanthropist and legendary New York society figure, fetched $5.7 million at Sotheby’s New York.

The sale, which concluded on Sept. 25, was led by Astor's 22.84 ct. platinum, emerald, and diamond engagement ring; it sold for $1.2 million. The entire auction brought in $18.8 million, nearly doubling its estimate of $9.7 million. All 64 lots of jewelry were sold.

Other highlights of the jewelry collection included a Bulgari 18k gold, platinum, emerald, and diamond necklace, which sold for $686,500, and a Van Cleef & Arpels platinum and diamond ring, which sold for $614,500.

The proceeds of the auction will benefit Astor’s favorite charity organizations, including the New York Public Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Pierpont Morgan Library, and the Animal Medical Center of New York.

Bulgari 18k gold, platinum, emerald, and diamond necklace

Van Cleef & Arpels platinum and diamond ring

Sotheby's Jewels Sale Tops $16M

Sotheby’s New York completed its sale of important jewels, which achieved a total of $16,383,856 and was 79.3 percent sold by lot. The top lot was a 5.08-carat, VVS2 brilliant-cut fancy light pink diamond that sold for more than twice its high presale estimate at $1.4 million or $280,807 per carat.

A 3.09-carat, VS1 pear-shape fancy intense orangy-pink diamond pendant (pictured) fetched $770,500 or $249,353 per carat and a 13.22-carat Kashmire sapphire and diamond ring sold for $578,500; both lots of which sold well above presale estimates.

Gary Schuler, the head of Sotheby’s jewelry department in New York, said,  “We saw particularly strong prices for unique color diamonds, led by the fancy light pink diamond that soared to $1,426,500 above a high estimate of $700,000.

''While many of our top 10 prices came from American trade buyers, both signed jewels and stones under 10 carats brought spirited bidding from collectors worldwide,'' he said. ''Jewels from the estate of Kitty Carlisle Hart, which we were delighted to offer, doubled their overall low estimate and were led by her beautiful art deco diamond sautoir that achieved $146,500. And in a continuation of a trend we have observed in recent years, natural pearls remain a strong segment of today’s market.”

Christie's Auctioning Legendary 76 Carat D-Flawless Diamond

Christie’s expects the world-famous 76.02 ct. D-IF Archduke Joseph Diamond to fetch $15 million at its Nov. 13 auction in Geneva.

While the auction house provided the $15 million figure, an official estimate will only be provided upon request.

While Christie's did not reveal the stone's current owner, it was once offered for sale by Pheonix jeweler Al Molina.

A Christie’s release calls the gem “one of rarest and most famous diamonds in the world.” The stone was discovered in the Golconda mine in India, the source of such legendary gems as the Koh-i-noor, the Hope, and the Regent. According to the auction house, “Golconda diamonds have a special whiteness often described as soft, watery, and pure, so that light appears to pass through the stone completely unimpeded.” The Archduke Joseph is the largest and most perfect Golconda stone to ever appear at auction.

The stone received its name from one of its owners, Archduke Joseph August of Austria, who passed it on to his son, Archduke Joseph Francis. The son is believed to have deposited the stone in a bank where it remained through World War II, escaping the attention of the Nazis. After decades of mystery, the diamond reappeared in 1962, and was then sold again at Christie’s in 1993, where it realized $6.5 million (the company says that figure is equivalent to $10.5 million today). 

“The magic of auction sometimes brings back great gems to our salerooms more than once,” François Curiel, international head of Christie's jewelry department, said in a statement said. “In November, we have the privilege to give both new and established collectors the opportunity to own a piece of history once again.”

www.jckonline.com

Russia Has More Diamonds Hiding in an Asteroid Crater Than the Rest of the World Has Combined

If you had more diamonds than the rest of the world combined hiding under an asteroid crater, would you tell anyone? Russia was happy to keep that knowledge a secret until now, finally revealing plans to begin tapping into a reserve containing trillions of carats worth of diamonds.

It's a treasure trove of unprecedented scope, secrecy, and value.
First reported by the Christian Science Monitor, the crater, which rests in the upper reaches of Siberia, was left by an asteroid that crashed into Earth 35 million years ago, creating an impact zone that's 62 miles in diameter. In the intervening eons, it's believed to have spawned enough diamonds to power the global market for the next 3,000 years. By context, the next biggest Russian reserve at the Yakutia mines is believed to have one billion carats—several orders of magnitude less than this current haul.

What makes these diamonds especially valuable to prospective buyers is the fact that they're impact diamonds, or diamonds formed as a result of an asteroid or meteor crashing into the carbon-based compound graphite. According to IDEX, these are diamonds that can never be used as jewels, but rather are extremely valuable for their industrial applications. For starters, Russian officials claim these newly revealed diamonds, known as impactite, are twice as hard as normal diamonds, while others value these diamonds for their grain size and abrasive cuts.

So why reveal the secret now, after all these years? When the discovery was first made decades ago, Russian already had other diamond mines which were yielding abundant amounts of the coveted mineral. And because the diamond industry was heavily regulated back then, there was little financial motivation to announce a discovery that has the power to heavily influence the market for these things. But now, with the diamond industry starting to show signs of life after bottoming out in 2009, and the increased use of diamonds in the technological world, Russia seems to think its a good time to start mining these valuable little things (or at least start thinking about mining them).

But the true effect will take time to be felt, according to a quote given to the Russian publication ITAR-TASS by an expert in the field:

Deputy Director of the Yakutnipromalmaz Institute Gennady Nikitin warns: "The Popigai diamonds can overturn everything, and is not clear what will happen to prices in the market."

So how will this impact us normal people? Probably not much at all. Since these jewels will never be converted to gems, the price of that wedding ring you plan to give or receive will never be affected by this Russian stockpile. But should there be a global shortage in the future, Russia will be in a unique position of controlling the entire industrial diamond industry. Given the increased use of lasers in technological innovations, and the quest to attain nuclear fusion (both of which rely on industrial diamonds), the demand for this rock won't be diminishing anytime soon.

De Beers Diamond Jewellers Unveils 'Imaginary Nature' in Asia

De Beers Diamond Jewellers unveiled its jewelry collection, Imaginary Nature, for the first time in Asia today. The event was attended by award-winning actress, Gigi Leung and Taiwanese actress and model Bianca Bai. De Beers stated that the Imaginary Nature collection exhibits a journey of light, where heightened imagination meets natural beauty with diamonds.

Francois Delage, the chief executive of De Beers Diamonds Jewellers, said, “We wanted, through Imaginary Nature, to truly establish our legitimacy as a jeweler and to express our vision through a strong creative and contemporary gesture. Our unique designs inspired by our DNA bring to life our brand essence – The Jeweller of Light – by creating exquisite pieces, moments and movements from a journey from earth to light. The eight one-of-a-kind creations sublime our diamond mastery and jewelry know-how, and we are delighted to now unveil them in Asia.”

Each Imaginary Nature piece balances the contrasts of the natural world with the drama of an ascent and the grace of gliding, according to De Beers. These rich contradictions are conveyed through an array of diamond cuts and settings. Radiant pear-cut diamonds were set on a tilt in a way to engage light and trace movement. By contrast, the definite angles of the baguettes against round brilliant diamonds punctuate each piece with tradition and brilliance.

Leung (pictured) said, “It is so refreshing to see a contemporary take on high jewelry, the three-dimensional aspect and the interplay of light between different diamond cuts is truly unique.”

Hollie Bonneville-Barden, the jewelry designer, added, “Imaginary Nature represents an exhilarating yet elegant display of evolution, inspired by the beauty of transformations within nature, which are realized in a story of metamorphosis. Each piece reveals a unique gesture inspired by the essence of nature. With the diamond as our muse, the collection is centered on diamonds of character, focused on pears and baguettes to create a language of movement and fluidity.”

http://www.diamonds.net/news/NewsItem.aspx?ArticleID=41084

September Birthstone

Birthstone Color: Deep Blue
The striking deep blue of a quality sapphire is reminiscent of a cloudless night sky. Ancient civilizations believed that the world was set upon an enormous sapphire, which painted the sky blue with its reflection. This legend, as well as the belief that the ten commandments were inscribed upon tablets made of sapphire, gives September’s birthstone a royal place among gemstones.

Named after the Greek word "sapphirus", meaning blue, Sapphires have long been a favorite among priests and kings, who considered them symbolic of wisdom and purity. These gemstones are prominent among the British Crown Jewels, and Prince Charles chose this as the engagement stone for his fiancée, Princess Diana.

In ancient times, Sapphires were thought to be protective against envy, and even against poisoning. A common belief was that a venomous snake placed in a Sapphire vessel would rapidly die! Ground to a powder, the blue stone was believed to cure colic, rheumatism and mental illness, and to strengthen eyesight.

Sapphire is a variety of the mineral corundum. Corundum is found in every color of the rainbow, with red being designated as ruby and all other hues Sapphire. But the most prized color of Sapphire is a rich, deep blue. These gemstones were mined as early as the 7th Century BC from India and what is now Sri Lanka. They are found today in Sri Lanka, Kashmir, Myanmar, Thailand, Australia, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, China, Madagascar, and the United States. Large specimens of Corundum crystals are rare, although the 563-carat Star of India can be seen in the American Museum of Natural History. This is the largest and most famous of star Sapphires, which are cut to reflect light from inclusions within the stone, revealing a bright six-legged star pattern.

The Sapphire is second only to the Diamond in hardness, making it a durable gemstone for setting into jewelry. A gift of Sapphire represents sincerity and faithfulness. As nourishing to the soul as gazing up at the sky on a summer day, this brilliant blue gemstone is truly a heavenly choice!

http://www.about-birthstones.com/septemberbirthstone.html

Add Some Sparkle to Your Portfolio, Buy Diamonds

This could be the best time to invest in diamonds as falling supply coupled with growing demand for the precious stone means prices could double over the next decade, one diamond expert says.


“There is a depletion of diamond resources in the world. The last mine was discovered about 15 years ago and today if we discover a new diamond mine in the world it could take 8-9 years to bring it to full production. So this is leading to a continuous decrease in the supply of diamonds,” Alain Vandenborre, Founder of the Singapore Diamond Exchange told CNBC Asia’s “Squawk Box”.

“Demand is growing in double digits, with about 10-12 percent annual growth in China and India. This growth is primarily driven by consumption and the retail market,” he added.

There have been signs that demand for diamonds is gaining favor among Indian consumers who have traditionally favored gold. The World Gold Council, for instance, reported that the gold jewelry sector recorded an annual decline of 15 percent in the second quarter following a sharp fall in demand from India.

Investing in diamonds, however, is not as straight forward as investing in gold which can be bought through exchange traded funds such as the SPDR Gold Trust and iShares Gold ETF. That could be changing, however, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission saying earlier this year it would look at proposals for the first-ever diamond-backed exchange-traded fund. Vandenborre, who has set up an investment fund for investors keen on putting money into diamonds without buying actual diamonds, says the trend in prices is in investors’ favor.

“What’s important is the trend in diamond prices. So over the past 10 years, diamond prices have been going up,” he said, adding that the price of a 3 carat, triple-A rated diamond has gone up 200 percent since 2009.

“In the last month the market has softened a bit, but because of the long-term diminishing of supply, specialists are predicting that diamond pricing will increase by 6 percent annually, which means that over the next 10-15 years diamond prices could potentially double,” Vandenborre said.

- By CNBC's Dhara Ranasinghe

Diamonds: Masterpieces In the Making

Accounting for 90 percent of the world’s gem trade, diamonds are the rarest and most coveted of all stones.

Raw diamonds
Considered as investments, symbols of wealth and unique works of art, few objects surpass their perfection and nothing has comparable longevity, as the diamond is passed from one generation to the next. (Read More: How to Invest in Diamonds)

Diamonds are found throughout the world from Southern Africa to Russia, from Brazil to Australia. Approximately 100 miles below the surface of the Earth the requisite heat and pressure 1300ºC and 50,000 times normal atmospheric pressure — for the formation of diamonds can be found. Carbon molecules, present in abundance at this level of the Earth’s mantle, forge together as diamond crystals.

Magma, bearing the crystals, is then forced to the surface, and solidifies in formations known as ‘pipes’, some of which are miles wide. Only 100 in every 500 pipes will yield a profit: Just 25 carats of diamonds can be expected from 100 tonnes of mined earth and of this, 5 carats will be of gem quality.

Extracting the diamonds from the earth creates another problem and separation takes advantage of the physical properties of the stones — being significantly heavier than most other gem minerals and fluorescing under X-rays.

Once mined and processed, the next step is to sort, classify and value the diamonds according to size, shape, quality and color. Using more than 16,000 categories, the diamonds are sorted and then sold to a small group of the world’s leading diamond cutters.

Before any cutting takes place, the marker carefully examines the diamonds to decide how they should be shaped to yield the greatest value and beauty.

The process of cutting a diamond is full of complex decisions and the shape of the rough determines the form of the polished stone.


In order to maximize the optical properties of diamonds, there must be a good understanding of the geometry of each stone and a decision is made whether to sacrifice weight for beauty. Retaining 50 percent of the carat weight of the original rough crystal is considered a good yield.

Once the shape and size of the diamond are determined, the diamond is marked for cutting. Although diamonds are the hardest material known to man, this hardness is variable and a diamond crystal has planes of relative strength and weakness, allowing it to be cleaved or sawn effectively.

The next step is bruting, which involves grinding away the edges of the stone to provide a basic outline. The stone is then given its facets — for a round brilliant-cut diamond there are 58 facets — in two phases: An initial 16 facets (the main crown and pavilion facets and the culet) are the responsibility of a cross-cutter, while the brillianteer grinds the remaining facets and gives the overall polish to the stone.

When grinding the stone, the facet angles must be adjusted to ensure the maximum amount of light entering the stone is transmitted back out by its internal facets — known as total internal reflection. This quality is termed as ‘brilliance’.

The ‘fire’ or rainbow-like effect also associated with a diamond is caused by the dispersion of light rays and again the correct balance must be achieved to have a stone that displays both fire and brilliance. Once cut, the stone is then graded for cut, color, clarity and carat weight – the so-called four C’s – by a gemological laboratory.

This incredible journey shows the importance of the knowledge and care required by Sotheby’s Diamonds in order to deliver stones of the necessary quality to form the basis of our diamond based jewelry collection.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/48802727

DIAMOND AND JEWELRY BUYING GUIDE

People have been wearing jewelry for over 100,000 years, and even back then, chances are it wasn’t the easiest thing to shop for. There are just so many options when buying jewelry – so many materials, metals, styles and gems to choose from. You can shop better by taking the time to learn how to buy jewelry. It can seem like a lot, but with a little help from this jewelry buying guide, you’ll be shopping like a professional in no time. And if you are still stumped buying jewelry, feel free to ask an AGS-certified gemologist for help. They may know a lot about metals and gems, but they also know tons about styles and trends.

Here are a few basics to get your shopping jump-started, and be sure to click to the left to continue the guide:

WHAT ARE NATURAL GEMSTONES?

Natural gemstones come from the earth and are mined worldwide. Some natural gemstones can be enhanced, which means sometimes they are treated in some way (such as heat) to improve their color.

WHAT ARE LABORATORY-CREATED GEMSTONES?

These stones, which can also be referred to as laboratory-grown, manufacturer-created, or synthetic, have essentially the same chemical, physical, and optical properties as natural gemstones. Laboratory-created gemstones do not have the rarity or value of natural colored gemstones. Although they are similar in many ways to natural gemstones, a professional gemologist will be able to recognize their difference with proper testing.

WHAT ARE IMITATION GEMSTONES?

Imitation stones look like natural gemstones in appearance only. This includes tinted glass, cubic zirconia or other material that resembles natural stones when treated. Laboratory-created and imitation stones should be clearly identified as such.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A GEMSTONE?

Gemstones may be measured by weight, size, or both. The basic unit for weighing gemstones is the carat, which is equal to one-fifth (1/5th) of a gram. Carats are divided into 100 units, called points. For example, a half-carat gemstone would weigh .050 ct. or 50 points.

WHAT IS AN ENHANCED OR TREATED GEMSTONE?

Gemstone treatments or enhancements refer to the way some gemstones are treated to improve their appearance or durability, or even change their color. Many gemstones are treated in some way. The effects of some treatments may lessen or change over time and some treated gemstones may require special care. Some enhancements also affect the value of a gemstone, when measured against a comparable untreated gemstone. Treatments and/or enhancements should always be disclosed by the seller, along with any special care that might be required.

http://www.americangemsociety.org/jewelry-buying-101

131 Carat Diamond Found in Angola

A 131.5-ct. piece of white diamond rough—larger than the rough that produced the famed Koh-I-Noor—was recovered from a mining concession in Angola.

West Perth, Australia-based Lonrho Mining said it had recovered the stone from a bulk sample at its Lulo concession. It is the largest find since the company started prospecting there in 2008.

The company also found a 38.3 ct. piece of rough in the same sample.

The company didn’t specify color or clarity or how the stone would be sold, but said the rock was “gem quality.”


In a statement, managing director Miles Kennedy called the stone’s size “incredible” and said it indicated a kimberlite source was nearby.

The Lulo concession is a joint venture between Lonrho and Angola's government-owned diamond company, Endiama. It is located in the country's diamond-rich Lunda Norte province, some 750 kilometers from Angola’s capital city of Luanda.


http://www.jckonline.com/2012/08/21/131-carat-diamond-found-in-angola

Jewelry Designer Creates $250,000 Black Diamond Nail Polish

The incredibly expensive Black Diamond lacquer contains 267 carats of black diamonds — conflict-free — and is the priciest polish in the world. It comes from the Hollywood-based luxury jeweler Azature, the self-proclaimed “king of black diamonds.”

“The black diamond is the ultimate fine jewel,” Azature said in a statement. “Its combination of beauty, mystery and sophistication makes it a timeless luxury.

“One day, I thought, ‘Why not showcase this style on nails?”

Not willing to shell out a quarter million for a bottle of sparkly varnish?

For those who want the diamonds but can’t fork over the green, Azature is launching a budget-friendly version later this month. The polish will contain just one black diamond and sell for $25 at Fred Segal stores in Los Angeles.

The Black Diamond polish crushes the previous record for world’s most expensive nail lacquer, the Model’s Own gold nail polish, priced at $130,740, according to FashionStyle.com.

According to the jeweler’s website, Rihanna, Fergie and Beyonce are all fans of Azature designs.


http://www.nydailynews.com

Top 7 Places to Go Gem Hunting On Your Next Family Vacation

Got a rock hound in the family? Consider taking a vacation to one of these geologically rich destinations and you might just find enough gemstones or precious metals to pay for the trip, because you can keep everything you find. You're guaranteed to have a good time looking—even if you come up empty.

Crater of Diamonds State Park

What: Gem quality diamonds
Where: Murfreesboro, Arkansas
Web: www.craterofdiamondsstatepark

Bring your own tools or rent them at the only diamond-producing site in the world that is open to the public. Most visitors don't get rich digging in this ancient volcanic ground, but with 40 other rocks and minerals in the area you're sure to find something interesting. Admission is $7 for adults, $4 for children.

Gem Mountain

What: Sapphires
Where: Philipsburg, Montana
Web: www.gemmountainmt.com

Gem Mountain is in the middle of nowhere, but well worth the trouble it takes to get there. Staff dig up the dirt, screen out the big rocks, and provide all the tools and equipment you'll need to wash through the gravel for rough sapphires. They'll even help you determine which stones are worth heat treating (which improves the color and clarity) and faceting. Gravel is priced by the bucket, and prices vary. Be prepared to get wet and dirty.

Herkimer Diamond Mines

What: Double-terminated quartz crystals
Where: Herkimer, New York
Web: www.herkimerdiamond.com

Nicknamed "Herkimer Diamonds" because of their striking geometrical shape, these 500 million-year-old crystals can be broken out of rocks with a hammer and chisel or collected by casually looking around the prospect area. Admission is $10 for adults and $8 for children.

Royal Peacock Mine

What: Black fire opals
Where: Virgin Valley, Nevada
Web: www.royalpeacock.com

The Virgin Valley in Northern Nevada is a stark corner of the world, but come once and you might find yourself planning a return trip. Digging isn't cheap, though. They charge $180 per person per day to dig in the fire-opal-rich bank area and $75 to dig in the mine dumps and tailings (piles of rock extracted from the mine).

Cherokee Ruby Mine

What: Rubies (plus sapphires, garnets, and moonstones)
Where: Franklin, North Carolina
Web: www.cherokeerubymine.com

At the Cherokee Ruby Mine, you're provided with a seat cushion and a screen box and shown samples of rough gemstones. Then you proceed to the flume line, where you fill your screen box and begin sluicing. This is a friendly, family-owned operation whose website lists "Mom" on a list of "Our Gems." Awww. Admission is $7 for adults, $4 for children, and shade umbrellas are available to rent for $1.

Emerald Hollow Mine

What: Emeralds
Where: Hiddenite, North Carolina
Web: www.hiddenitegems.com

Emerald Hollow Mine is the only emerald mine in the United States open to public prospecting. You'll sit at one of three sluiceways, where you can pick over buckets taken directly from the mine. It's a chance to find not only emeralds, but also aquamarines, sapphires, garnets, topaz, and amethysts. The $5 admission includes one free bucket. You can purchase additional buckets, and digging and creek prospecting are available at an added cost too.

Gold Prospecting Adventures

What: Gold
Where: Jamestown, California
Web: www.goldprospecting.com

The California Gold Rush may have been 150 years ago, but that's nothing in geological time. At Gold Prospecting Adventures families can belly up to a sluice box (which processes the buckets of gravel more efficiently than an old-fashioned gold pan) and search for flakes of gold. Guides are on hand to help, and while gold nuggets aren't guaranteed, historical nuggets are. The family price for the 3-hour Sluice Box and Pan Adventure is $155 for two adults and three children.

http://www.fodors.com/

STK’s $30,000 Pink Sapphire and Diamond Steak Knives

Celebrity guests and VIP’s of a popular Las Vegas steakhouse can now eat their meat with a very sparkly, expensive knife.

“Female friendly” steakhouse STK has collaborated with celebrity jewelry designer Jason of Beverly Hills on a set of diamond- and pink sapphire-encrusted knives. The set, which includes one $18,000 diamond knife and a new $12,000 pink sapphire knife, is only available at the restaurant’s location in the Cosmopolitan hotel.

Jesse Mancha, general manager at the Jason of Beverly Hills location in the hotel, said the new knife contains “300 full-cut pink sapphires set into a signature steak knife.” The 6.5 carats of sapphires took a craftsman 20 hours to hand set into the stainless steel knife.

“The original idea came about over drinks with Jason, myself and Tyra Bell-Holland, director of marketing and events,” said Mancha.

Jason had created a whole dinnerware set for the royal family of Saudi Arabia as a wedding gift. The dinnerware set included diamond plates and was one of the jeweler’s first big projects.

He “wanted to bring it to diners in general,” said Mancha. “After the first diamond knife was created, Tyra was telling us about issues that everyone wanted to dine with the knife but there was only one knife.”

The sapphire knife was created to complement the set and designed with VIP couples in mind. Leann Rimes and Eddie Cibrian used the knives when they celebrated Valentine’s Day together at the restaurant.

Musical group Foster the People, known for their hit song “Pumped Up Kicks,” went around sharing the knife during dinner.

After their meal, they came to the store in the hotel hoping to purchase it, explained Mancha. The knives aren’t readily available to purchase but “we could make it custom for them.”

Singer Gavin Rossdale and his band, Bush, enjoyed a dinner at STK last year after a private show at the hotel. The singer used the knife to cut his Waygu beef filet.

“We ask any guest presented with the opportunity to use either of the knives to kindly sign our knife guest list…fun for them and for us it memorializes their experience at STK,” said Tyra Bell-Holland.

Rossdale signed the book writing it “cut like a knife but glitters like the best girl.”

Who decides who uses the knives? “It’s really a combination of minds here at The ONE Group…but we’re in the hospitality business…we treat everyone’s knife like it’s diamond-encrusted,” said Bell-Holland.

Jason of Beverly Hills designed Jessica Alba’s engagement ring as well as Nick Cannon’s anniversary gift for wife Mariah Carey.


-http://abcnews.go.com/

De Beers Jewellers Debuts Nature High Diamond Jewelry Collection

De Beers Diamond Jewellers debuted a new collection that was inspired by a mythical world where heightened imagination meets natural beauty. The De Beers Imaginary Nature High Jewellery Collection was designed by Hollie Bonneville who describes the pieces as taking ''flight for a journey of light.''

As the boundless creativity of dreams takes hold, lines of reality are blurred and a magnificent moment of transformation is conjured, according to the retailer. These illusions are captured in the eight pieces of the Imaginary Nature High Jewellery Collection by De Beers. Petals disperse and feathers unfold, instinctive movement and natural rhythm release soaring beauty, which twists and turns around the admirer, wrapping them in wonder.

One featured piece, the Embrace Ring (pictured) highlights a pear-cut 8.88-carat, D, VS2 center diamond along with 131 baguettes, 319 round brilliant and 16 pear-cut stones.

Bonneville added, ''It represents an exhilarating yet elegant display of evolution, inspired by the beauty of transformations within nature, which are realized in a story of metamorphosis. Each piece reveals a unique gesture inspired by the essence of nature. With the diamond as our muse, the collection is centered on diamonds of character, focused on pears and baguettes to create a language of movement and fluidity.''

Each piece balances the contrasts of the natural world --the drama of an ascent and the grace of gliding-- where contradictions are conveyed through the sensitive selection and detailed array of diamond cuts and settings. Radiant pear-cut diamonds are set on a tilt, for example, to engage the light and trace movement. By contrast, the definite angles of the baguettes against round brilliant diamonds punctuate each piece with tradition and brilliance.

Francois Delage, the chief executive of De Beers Diamond Jewellers, said, ''We wanted through imaginary nature to truly establish our legitimacy as a jeweler and to express our vision through a strong creative and contemporary gesture. Our unique designs inspired by our DNA bring to life our brand essence – the jeweler of light - by creating exquisite pieces, moments and movements from a journey from earth to light. The eight one-of-a-kind creations sublime our diamond mastery and jewelry know-how.''

-www.diamonds.net

Different colored diamond jewelry options

Diamonds are available in a wide variety of colors. Find out the colors and background information here.
When you think of diamonds, you think of those gorgeous colorless stones adorned by most engaged and married women, right? But I bet you didn’t know that diamonds are available in almost any color, from blue to red, and white to almost black.


Colored diamonds are much rarer than the colorless versions. It is estimated that there is one colored diamond for every 10,000 colorless (or near colorless) diamonds. The reason why some diamonds are colored is quite simple. A colored diamond is colored as such because of the light refracting from substances contained within the diamond itself.
Below I have outlined the colors of diamonds, and some background information that I hope you will find interesting.

Different colored diamond jewelry options

Brown:
The most common color of diamonds. Romans adorned rings with them around 1AD to 3AD. Modern connoisseurs were not impressed with them, so they were slated for industrial use. In the 1980’s, they regained popularity when Australian marketers promoted these diamonds as “champagne” and “cognac” diamonds.

Red:
There was an auction of a red diamond in 1987. It has been said that an agent for the Sultan of Brunei purchased it for the amount of $1 million dollars. This one particular sale has heightened the interest in colored diamonds.
Yellow:
After brown, yellow is the most common diamond color. These stones are found in abundance in Africa, where they are known as Cape stones. “Canary” diamonds, which have the deepest and most intense color of any of the yellow diamonds, is the rarest of the yellow diamonds.
Blue:
Blue diamonds, which can also be grayish in appearance, are incredibly rare. They have been found in many areas of the world including India, South Africa, Brazil, Indonesia, and Australia. The most famous blue diamond is the Hope diamond, which has a reputation to bring bad luck to whomever owns it.

Black:
Typically found in Brazil, they can also be found in India and Africa. Many times black diamonds are artificially produced. When a low-clarity faceted diamond is irradiated, it turns a blue or green color, which appears to be black.

Green:
Although green diamonds are commonly found, the color is most always lost when the stone is faceted. The very thin surface layer of the green diamond, which produces its color, is shaved of when it is faceted. The famous green diamond, Dresden Green, is a 41-carat diamond that is well known for its apple-green coloration throughout the stone. It has been thought that it is of Indian origin, but many experts feel that it is from Brazil.

Pink, Red and Purple: Pink, red and purple diamonds are all closely related. The Argyle mine, in Western Australia, has become famous since the 1980’s for producing some of the highest quality of pink and red diamonds. Within just the last few years, it has been quoted that this mine received $1.6 million dollars for a top-grade pink diamond that weighed in at just under a carat. Violet and orange diamonds have also been found in the Argyle mine. These colors were not known to exist until found in Australia.

http://sleekgossip.com/