Colored Diamonds
Colored diamonds have a vast range of tones, from pale yellow to romantic rose to gleaming black. Yellow diamonds feature a variety of overtone colors and intensity grades. They have also caught the eye of celebrities, who can be spotted wearing canary diamonds. Chocolate diamonds offer rich, dark hues and have become popular with shoppers searching for original and unique pieces. Tones include light brown, reddish-copper and dark olive brown. Dramatic and gleaming, black diamonds are also hot. Pieces made with this cutting-edge stone include earrings, diamond covered watches and men’s and women’s black diamond rings. Checkerboard black and white diamond earrings or bracelets are showstoppers while hoops and studs in this ebony-hued stone evoke a mysterious glamour.

Trends in Metals
Yellow and rose gold settings are a popular trend, bringing warm, uplifting tones to diamond jewelry from modern classics to fanciful pieces and blingy showstoppers. Often mixed with other metals and gemstones, diamonds set in yellow gold offer a bright, modern look that moves easily from day to evening wear. For something different, try rose gold. Fun and casual styles incorporating diamonds and colored settings of various materials are a great way to add a little dazzle to your day. One popular trend is diamond-studded colored silicone rings, perfect for coordinating with attire or stacking for a sporty yet feminine statement.

Layering and Stacking
Mixing and matching different pieces, metals and styles is right on-trend, working best with diamond rings, necklaces and bracelets. Long, thin necklaces of different lengths layer beautifully while a more polished and sophisticated look can be achieved by wrapping a very long necklace around the neck several times. Rings and bracelets are easy and fun to stack, mixing styles, colors and even types of gold. It’s no longer forbidden to mix white, yellow and rose gold, and it’s a great way to wear all your favorites at one time.

Source: American Gem Society

Everyone wants the best for their mother because she gave you the best. There is no amount of money or jewelry that can repay the value of love your mother gave you. Your mother took you to countless dance lessons, played Barbie’s with you, taught me how to drive a car, and gave you instructions for dating every Friday. You wish you could give her everything she gave you.

How will you honor your mom this Mother’s Day? What piece of jewelry will best fit her personality? Here are a few ideas from big to small:

1. A Tiny Treasure necklace from Roberto Coin is great piece of jewelry to capture a special. Tiny Treasures is a collection of whimsical 18K gold and diamond pendants including the famous “Circle Pendant” by Roberto Coin, a symbol of the harmony of life.
2. Emerald is the Pantone color of the year. Everyone’s wearing it in Hollywood! Get her a beautiful emerald ring or some emerald chandelier drops earrings (chandeliers are hot right now!). Show her you listen and notice the trends. Dazzle her with Simon G.
3. She may drive a mini-van, but she likes adventure and trying new things. This woman keeps you on your toes! Purchase something adventurous from the John Hardy Collection.
4. Forget the chocolates. They will melt in her hands. Give her something that will melt her heart this year.

AGS Laboratories issues grading reports on Cut for fancy shaped diamonds. With the assurance of the most trusted diamond grading lab in the world, go square with confidence! Make that square cut—or pear, oval, and even emerald or cushion cut!

One of our favorite fancy shaped rings is this sparkling square cut solitaire from our Celebrate Life Collection.

Today Mother’s Day is celebrated in several countries including US, UK, India, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, Mexico, Canada, China, Japan and Belgium. People take the day as an opportunity to pay tribute to their mothers and thank them for all their love and support.

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When you receive or purchase a gorgeous new piece of jewelry, you can’t help admiring the sparkle frequently as it adorns your finger, wrist, neck or ears. Over time, though, the sparkle will fade as wear and tear take their toll. But by combining routine care and cleaning with an annual inspection from your jeweler, you can keep your piece looking beautiful for a lifetime.

Experts in the industry extol the virtues of cleaning your jewelry frequently. If you didn’t pick up a jar of jewelry cleaner at the time of purchase, do so now! Professional jewelry cleaning formularies and polishing cloths are designed specifically for cleaning jewelry and they do the best job. Follow the instructions from your jeweler, use the right products and be gentle (no scrubbing with a toothbrush!).

In addition to routine cleanings, the value of an annual inspection by a jeweler cannot be minimized. No matter how clean you keep your ring, you won’t be able to enjoy it if a stone has fallen out due to a loose setting.

When you bring your piece to a jeweler for an inspection, she will first examine it with the naked eye, checking for evident problems and any changes. Next she will use a gem scope to assess the prongs, whether the stones are secure, whether the stones are damaged, and whether the metal is wearing down in any places. Your jeweler may also offer some good advice regarding safely wearing your jewelry. This includes not wearing it while exercising, gardening, cleaning and sometimes cooking.

Once the inspection is complete, your jeweler will professionally clean the piece which should make your jewelry look almost new. She will clean the piece in an ultrasonic cleaner (these are not safe for home use as they can shake stones loose from their setting), buff the metal so it is shiny again, and then steam clean it to really bring out the sparkle.

By conducting your own, safe routine cleanings and seeing your American Gem Society jeweler once or twice per year for inspections, you can keep your favorite jewels sparkling forever.

Source: American Gem Society

An international trade buyer paid $189,397 per carat for the 74.79-carat D color VVS1 potentially internally flawless pear-shaped diamond, one of the few pear-shaped diamonds of D color and bigger than 50 carats to be auctioned in recent decades, Sotheby’s said.
Lisa Hubbard, chairman of North and South America for Sotheby’s international jewelry division, said the diamond “exemplifies the strength of the market for white diamonds over the last decade.”

The diamond more than tripled in value since 2001, when the stone’s present owner paid $4.3 million for it, only to see it sell for more than $14 million 12 years later.

Overall, the Magnificent Jewels auction totaled $53.5 million, the highest-ever total for a spring sale of jewelry at Sotheby’s New York. It sold 82 percent by lot.

The second highest-grossing lot of the auction was a 21.46-carat square emerald-cut D color internally flawless diamond ring (below) that garnered $3.2 million, or $148,602 per carat, and was purchased by an Asian private collector.

Included within the sale were jewels from prominent private collections, led by a group of six pieces descended through the family of railroad magnate Jay Gould. The vintage Gould lots totaled $7.9 million, more than double the pre-sale high estimate of $3 million.

A brooch featuring a 22.48-carat Colombian emerald and diamonds (below) led the Gould lots and sold to an anonymous buyer for $2.9 million, or $129,404 per carat.

“This is what collectors come to auction to see and experience: wonderful period pieces that are fresh to the market, and set with jewels of outstanding quality,” Hubbard said.

Source: National Jeweler >

If you’ve ever felt mesmerized by the dazzling rainbow of colors reflected in a skillfully cut diamond, then you’ve experienced the mystique of April’s birthstone. Once an adornment possessed only by kings, this beautiful gem is surrounded by romance, mystery, and passion.

Many stories surround the gift of a diamond as a token of affection. The ancient Greeks believed that the fire of a diamond reflected the flame of everlasting love. Archduke Maximilian of Austria apparently agreed — in 1477, he gave a diamond ring to his fiancee, Mary of Burgundy. And so began the tradition of presenting the diamond as a promise of marriage.

The origin of wearing the engagement ring on the third finger of the left hand is rooted in the Egyptian belief that the “vena amoris,” or vein of love, runs from the heart to the top of this finger. The word “diamond” comes from the Greek word “adamastos,” which means “invincible.” And in terms of durability, the diamond is indeed so. Being the hardest substance known to man, it holds a supreme place among gems. In sixteenth century England, uncut diamond crystals were set into “scribbling rings,” and the exposed points were used by lovers to etch romantic vows into window-panes. Diamonds have been used as cutting and engraving tools since early times, for carving cameos from stone, cutting jade, and drilling pearls.

Diamond is the ultimate gemstone, having few weaknesses and many strengths. It is well known that Diamond is the hardest substance found in nature, but few people realize that Diamond is four times harder than the next hardest natural mineral, corundum (sapphire and ruby). But even as hard as it is, it is not impervious. Diamond has four directions of cleavage, meaning that if it receives a sharp blow in one of these directions it will cleave, or split. A skilled diamond setter and/or jeweler will prevent any of these directions from being in a position to be struck while mounted in a jewelry piece.

As a gemstone, Diamond’s single flaw (perfect cleavage) is far outdistanced by the sum of its positive qualities. It has a broad color range, high refraction, high dispersion or fire, very low reactivity to chemicals, rarity, and of course, extreme hardness and durability.

Diamond is the April birthstone and an alternate Zodiac stone for the Constellation Aries. As the April birthstone, diamonds are the ideal gift for a loved one. And now you have more choices than ever. Get creative and give the ultimate gift of beauty: a fancy-color diamond. Fancy-color diamonds are natural, rare and truly exotic gem of the earth. Diamonds in hues of yellow, red, pink, blue, and green range in intensity from faint to vivid and generally the more saturated the color, the higher the value. In fact, diamonds sparkling with intense color are rare and may be priced higher than a colorless diamond of equal size. Because fancy-color diamonds are very desirable, color is sometimes introduced in a laboratory. These are correctly called color-treated diamonds. When purchasing a fancy-color diamond, the shopper should ask if any enhancements or treatments were used to improve its color and/or clarity.

Diamonds are found in a type of rock called “kimberlite”, which comprises the core of certain volcanoes over especially thick portions of the earth’s crust. This hard stone is mined and then crushed between giant steel rollers. The kimberlite is reduced to fine gravel, yet the extremely hard diamonds come out unharmed! Water is added and a grease covered roller sorts the diamonds from the gravel, as the diamonds stick to the grease. Typically, a single carat of diamond is recovered from a ton of rich ore.

Diamonds are found in many areas including South Africa, Russia, and even in Arkansas in the USA. In all cases, the diamonds formed deep within the earth’s mantle, and were brought to the surface in volcanic eruptions. In many cases, the diamonds weathered out of the kimberlite by natural processes, and were transported downstream by water. Many diamonds are mined in the resulting alluvial deposits in areas such as along the coast of South Africa.

The Star of Africa, a pear shaped diamond weighing 530.20 carats, is known as the Cullinan I. It measures 53mm x 44mm x 29mm, and has 76 facets (counting the culet and the table). It’s called the Cullinan I because it’s the largest of the 9 large diamonds cut from the Cullinan Diamond. The Cullinan II is the massive 317.40 carat cushion shaped diamond in the center-front of the Imperial State Crown of Great Britain. The Star of Africa holds the place of 2nd largest cut diamond in the world. The Star of Africa is on display with the other Crown Jewels in the Tower of London.
of a 3/4 carat!)

The nine largest pieces of the Cullinan Diamond.

The largest piece would of course be cut into the Cullinan I (530.20 carats) and the next largest into the Cullinan II (317.40 carats), and so on. This photo was probably taken in 1908, the year after the Cullinan rough diamond was presented to King Edward VII for his 66th birthday.

Late one afternoon in 1905, Mr. Frederick Wells, the superintendent of the prolific Premier Mine in South Africa, was making a routine inspection trip through the diamond mine when his attention was attracted by something reflecting the last slanting rays of the setting sun. Curious, he stopped for a closer look. He was eighteen feet below the surface of the earth, and the shiny object was on the steep wall of the mine a few feet above him. Mr. Wells quickly scaled the wall and extracted from the blueground (material where diamonds are commonly found) what appeared to be a large diamond crystal. At first, he thought he was being fooled by a large piece of glass, but tests proved it to be the largest gem-quality diamond ever discovered.

It weighed 3106 carats, or about 1 1/3 pounds. It was named after Sir Thomas Cullinan, who opened the diamond mine and was visiting on that eventful day. Many diamond experts believe that the huge stone was only a fragment, and that another piece, (possibly as large or even larger) either still exists and awaits discovery, or was crushed in the mining process. The latter is very unlikely. The prospect of finding the portion of the Cullinan has added zest to the activities of numerous miners and prospectors. The Cullinan diamond was sold to the Transvaal government, which presented it to King Edward VII on his 66th birthday on November 9th, 1907. It was insured for $1,250,000 when it was sent to England.

The King entrusted the cutting of the diamond to the famous Asscher Diamond Co. in Amsterdam, which had cut the Excelsior and other large gems. The huge diamond was studied for months. On February 10th, 1908, Mr. Asscher placed the steel cleaver’s blade in a previously prepared V-shaped groove and tapped it once with a heavy steel rod. The blade broke, but the diamond remained intact! The second time, it fell apart exactly as planned, and an employee at the factory reported that Mr. Asscher had fainted. A second cleavage in the same direction produced three principal sections; these in turn would produce nine major diamonds, 96 smaller brilliants, and 9.50 carats of unpolished pieces. The nine larger diamonds remain either in the British Crown Jewels or in the personal possession of the Royal Family.

These historically celebrated diamonds and their present mountings are as follows:

• The Cullinan I, also known as the Star of Africa, weighs 530.20 carats. King Edward placed it in the Sovereign’s Royal Scepter as part of the Crown Jewels, and it is now on display in the tower of London.
• The Cullinan II is a 317.40 carat cushion cut diamond mounted in the band of the Imperial State Crown; it is also in the Tower of London as part of the Crown Jewels.
• The Cullinan III is a pear-shaped diamond weighing 94.40 carats, and is in the finial of Queen Mary’s Crown and can be worn with the IV as a pendant-brooch. Many of Queen Mary’s portraits show her wearing these two diamonds, and Elizabeth II makes use of them the same way.
• The Cullinan IV, a 63.60-carat cushion shape, was originally set in the band of Queen Mary’s crown, but can also be worn as jewelry, as described above.
• The Cullinan V is a triangular-pear cut weighing 18.80 carats, was originally mounted in a brooch for Queen Mary, to be worn alternately in the circlet of her crown as a replacement for the Koh-i-Noor. This was after the Koh-i-Noor was removed to the new crown that was made for Elizabeth (now the Queen Mother) in 1937.

The Cullinan I, also known as the Star of Africa, weighs 530.20 carats. King Edward placed it in the Sovereign’s Royal Scepter as part of the Crown Jewels, and it is now on display in the tower of London.

The Cullinan II Diamond. Note the two tiny platinum loops on the edges. This is so the stone can be worn as a brooch, alone or with the Cullinan I attached. However, it usually resides in the front of the Imperial State Crown.

The Cullinan IV (upper, 63.60 carats) and Cullinan III (lower, 94.40 carats), set in a pendant brooch.

The Cullinan VI, an 11.50 carat marquise-cut diamond, was originally presented by King Edward to his wife, Queen Alexandra, and is now worn by Elizabeth II as a drop on a diamond and emerald necklace. It was worn more frequently by the young Queen than any other section of the Cullinan. The Cullinan VII is an 8.80 carat marquise-cut diamond mounted in a pendant on a small all-diamond brooch, in the center of which is the 6.80-carat cushion cut Cullinan VIII, and lastly, the Cullinan IX, a 4.39 carat pear shape, is mounted in a ring with a prong setting that was made for Queen Mary; it too is sometimes worn by Queen Elizabeth.

The Cullinan VII (lower, 8.80 carats) and Cullinan VIII (upper, 6.80 carats)

The 101.73-carat pear-shaped diamond is one of the largest pear-shaped stones discovered to date, and also is one of the most perfect, graded by the Gemological Institute of America as a D color, type IIA flawless stone.

Offered for sale for the first time, the diamond’s pre-sale estimate is “in the region of $20 million,” Christie’s said.

“A perfect diamond is the result of the skill and vision of a master cutter who is able to uncover beauty from a rough gem. This diamond is in its scale, quality and rarity one of the most beautiful ‘white’ diamonds Christie’s has ever had the honor of offering for sale,” said Rahul Kadakia, head of jewelry for Christie’s Switzerland and Americas.

The buyer of the diamond will have the privilege of establishing their legacy by naming the gem, after which the diamond will join the ranks of the world’s most illustrious and famous diamonds, “opening a new chapter in jewelry history,” Christie’s said.

The Cullinan I, a 530.20-carat colorless, type IIA gem that is part of the British Crown Jewels, currently is probably the most well-known pear-shaped diamond in the world. It also ranks as the largest known colorless diamond.

Fine gemstones have experienced a surge in demand at auction over the past few years, Christie’s said, with the auction house holding multiple world auction records for valuable colorless diamonds, including the $21.5 million sale of the Archduke Joseph Diamond in November.

The 101.73-carat diamond will go on an international tour prior to the May 15 auction. It will be at Christie’s New York from April 13 to 16; Christie’s Hong Kong from April 26 to 27; and Christie’s Geneva from May 10 to 15.

SOURCE: National Jeweler

Started in New York in 1978 and established in California in 1980, Simon G. jewelry offers a range of bridal and fashion designs set in platinum–the metal, Marketing Director Zaven Ghanimian says, that is the company’s favorite.

Coming from a modest beginning of only founder and designer Simon Ghanimian and his wife, Silva, the brand has grown to a staff of 60 and is currently carried in more than 900 locations. Here, Zaven Ghanimian shares with National Jeweler why the company prefers to work in platinum, the steps they take to ensure flawless pieces of jewelry and the different designs they offer, from heirloom to gemstone pieces.

National Jeweler: Can you tell us a little about the Simon G. brand? When, where and how was it established?
Zaven Ghanimian: Simon G. is a family-owned and operated luxury jewelry manufacturer in its thirty-first year of business. Simon Ghanimian is the founder, CEO and head designer of Simon G., which is headquartered in Los Angeles.

NJ: Simon G. features a range of designs in platinum. How did the company come to work with the metal, and why? What does platinum offer that other metals don’t?
ZG: Platinum is our favorite metal to work with. Its durability, naturally white color and purity make it a choice metal, especially for bridal jewelry and engagement rings. Platinum is also the number one choice for heirloom pieces, which all Simon G. pieces are made to become. One of the reasons we make our pieces in platinum is that we want them to be everlasting. We put emphasis and a close eye on the quality of the piece. Platinum offers the ability to have a sustainable piece of jewelry that is not going to erode away over the years, is going to keep its white color and that won’t cause allergies with the owner.

NJ: What is unique about Simon G.’s platinum designs?
ZG: Simon G. platinum designs are very detailed and intricate, making every single item a unique and wearable piece of art. We take extra measures with our casting, inspecting every single wax [mold] before it has been casted to make sure it is perfect and worthy of being casted. After the piece is casted, we take another step to make sure it came out correctly and there are no blemishes. Before we set stones, we drill the holes for diamonds and polish each one to make sure the diamond sparkles.

NJ: What is new in terms of platinum design at Simon G.?
ZG: At Simon G., we are always striving to create the next best thing. Whether it is a fashion piece or an engagement ring, our main objective is to provide high-quality jewelry pieces that are unique in design and tell a story. We have a stunning new line of platinum designs with these ideas in mind.
We also have a collection with very rare colored stones, such as paraiba and red spinel, and we use rubies and sapphires and emeralds, which we didn’t work with in the past much because we didn’t get the quality we were looking for. All of the stones we buy rough, and we cut most ourselves, and each stone has a unique cut.

NJ: Are there any challenges to designing in platinum? If so, what are they?
ZG: There are no challenges to designing a platinum piece. The metal is so rewarding to work with, and the anticipation to see the end result is certainly something that we look forward to.

NJ: Who are your designs made for? Who is the Simon G. customer?
ZG: A Simon G. lady knows what she wants. She is strong, decisive and a go-getter. She is dedicated and loyal, especially when it comes to love and relationships.

Source: National Jeweler >