Green Diamond Sets World Record

Natural colored diamonds and other colored stones did very well at the Sotheby’s “Magnificent Jewels” sale in Geneva this week. The Roxburghe Rubies, a parure of a ruby and diamond necklace and earrings brought $5.77 million, five times the set’s estimated price. A rare 2.52 carat vivid green diamond sold for $3.08 million. It was the largest vivid-green diamond ever to appear at auction and the sale set a new world-record price per carat for a green diamond at auction. Swiss jeweler Chatila paid $2.52 million for a 3.17-carat fancy intense blue diamond which set a new world-record price per carat for an intense blue diamond sold at auction. Chatila also paid $3.13 million for a 74.8-carat fancy vivid-yellow diamond ring. The sale brought in $36.68 million putting it safely above the pre-sale low estimate of $29.5 million. A total of 79 percent of the lots up for sale sold.

Alicia Keys Creates Inspirational Necklace For Keep A Child Alive

We’ve written about Alicia Keys’s charity work with Keep A Child Alive before so its no surprise that one of the core pieces in her new jewelry line is devoted to the cause. Keys is launching a new jewelry line, The Barber’s Daughters, with jeweler Gisèle Theriault. The collection will be displayed at a pop-up shop at the Collette Blanchard Gallery in New York City on November 23 and 24. The inspirational jewelry line features precious metals inscribed with poetry, prayers and other words.

The special design for Keep A Child Alive is a sterling silver double tablet necklace on an oxidized rope chain features the Gandhi quote which says: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” The design is inspired by ancient Inukshuk rock sculptures used to alert others they were on the right path. The necklace sells for $295 and Keep A Child Alive receives $100 from each one.

Brad and Angelina team up to create snake-themed jewelry line

Hollywood Power couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are well known for their relentless pursuit of charity, and the duo are now venturing into another new dimension, all for the sake of charity, with their jewelry line for Asprey titled “The Protector.” Angelina found her inspiration from a snake ring gifted to her in her pregnancy days and the couple then dedicated their jewelry line to the serpent. The collection features limited edition gold jewelry and silver accessories including rings, cuff links, bracelets, spoons and cups, all with the snake motif. Reportedly, Angelina even wore one of the bracelets to the BAFTA awards. The collection will go on sale at Asprey stores in London, New York, Beverly Hills, Tokyo and Dubai later this week, according to Asprey officials. And the proceeds will benefit one of Angelina’s charity organizations, the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict. The snake-motif pieces would go well with your Cobra Vertu, just in case you are contemplating buying one.

McTeigue & McClelland Designs Necklace to Help Afghan Children

A diamond necklace may be the key to a child’s future in war-torn Afghanistan.

 

Indeed, McTeigue & McClelland, a New York-based jeweler with roots dating back to 1895, has designed a necklace, called “The Ariana Necklace,” with all of the proceeds donated to the Rebuilding Afghanistan Foundation. The foundation is a U.S.-based 501 (c) 3 non-profit dedicated to bringing education to Afghan children by building schools and developing educational programs in Afghanistan. The proceeds from each necklace will provide enough funds to educate three Afghan children for one year at the foundation’s Mayor Elementary School in the province of Wardak, Afghanistan.

 

The butterfly design was inspired by the Micropsyche Ariana species, which is the smallest butterfly in the world. The butterfly is unique to Afghanistan while its name translates to “tiny souls of Afghanistan.” The necklace measures 1.5″ in length and 1″ in width and comes with an 18″ sterling silver chain.

 

McTeigue & McClelland handcrafted the necklace in sterling silver. It will retail for $250 and is available by placing an order at http://www.rebuildafghanistan.org. The necklace is available for a limited time only.

Wanna Marry That Man? Put a Ring on It!

Man-gagement ring by Whiteflash.com

There are mantrums (tantrum thrown by a man) and now behold the male engagement rings.

A man-gagement ring is the male version of an engagement ring, given to a man by his girlfriend upon engagement.

The newest trend in men’s jewelry (manwelry?… please, no.) reports the New York Daily News from ABCNews.com is said to be a way to level the playing field, if you will, once a couple is engaged. The engaged woman is clearly marked as such, typically, with a sparkling piece of jewelry affixed to her left hand ring finger, announcing that she is no longer available. But what of the man? As the piece points out, he can be engaged, but walks into a bar “a free man.” Meaning, there is no visible sign of his impending betrothal.

One must wonder if it is only the jewelry keeping him from acting on his supposed “free man” status, perhaps more than a ring is in order.

But as reported by Brides.com, 45 percent of women are in favor of the idea, while 55 percent thought no man bling, no problem.

Well, maybe the man jewelry phenomenon is cool. Or, maybe it’s one more thing that makes you want to tell these couples, stop focusing on the wedding ring and think more about the marriage.

Kings of Leon Drummer Wedding

Kings of Leon Drummer Wedding

Kings of Leon drummer Nathan Followill has wed his girlfriend, singer/songwriter Jessie Baylin.

The band’s rep says the couple exchanged wedding rings around 5 p.m. at Wolf Den Farm in Brentwood, Tenn., in front of close friends and family, including Scarlett Johansson (who went to high school with Baylin).

“The wedding was beautiful. It was a gorgeous, 70-degree day,” the band’s rep says the ceremony, which took place in a beautiful, rustic barn. The reception was catered by local Nashville restaurant Miel.

Followill, 30, referred to the couple’s wedding in a message on Twitter on Sunday morning.”I woke up with a married woman in my bed this morning,” he wrote. “Luckily she was mine.”

The couple first met at the music festival Bonnaroo in 2006.

State Charm Necklaces

Love your state? State necklaces are a unique way to show your love for your home turf or maybe the place you’d most like to be. The necklaces are hung on 16-inch 14K gold chains and show the outline of the state. For a little personalization you can add a small diamond mounted anywhere along the outline. The pieces are available in 14K gold or sterling silver, with or without the small diamond. The Texas necklace shown at right sells for $300 and is a favorite with Texas natives Eva Longoria Parker and Jessica Simpson.

Stock up on Diamond Jewelry: Hyperinflation on the Way

Custom Diamond Engagement Ring

If the fears of hyperinflation are realized, you’ll look back with pride on your luxury purchases. All that money you’ve sunk into custom jewelry and top-of-the-line loose diamonds and precious stones will make you look like an absolute genius. Well, that’s the position of South African billionaire Johann Rupert, and I’d take the advice of a guy who can be described that way.

According to Bloomberg News, the told investors, “If we enter hyperinflation, you’re going to be so glad that you bought that stuff two months or six months ago.” He added, “If inflation picks up, you’re going to see people running into your stores, buying high jewelry.”

Custom Pear Shaped Diamond Pendant

Will inflation cause a mob to form outside jewelry stores? Well, I don’t think I’d worry too much about the pushing and shoving, but being ready to throw an elbow probably isn’t a bad idea.

Of course, Rupert has something to gain – his company, Richemont, is the world’s second largest luxury goods maker. In his talk with investors in the company controlled by his family, he forecasted “normal growth” with luxury sales showing signs of recovery this month and next.

Evening Star Crowns Important Collector’s Jewelry Sale

"Evening Star" Diamond

You have to be a very important collector to get your own sale at Christie’s. Most collections are amassed into larger sales but a single owner collection of 10 jewels is set for December 10, is set for the same day as the New York Jewels sale at Christie’s New York. This smaller sale features some big stones. The most important is the “Evening Star” diamond, a pear-shaped, 39-carat, D-color diamond mounted in a platinum pendant. This stone is a type IIa diamond the type which was found in India’s famous ancient Golconda mines. It is certified to be VVS1 clarity and is accompanied by a working diagram indicating that the clarity may be potentially internally flawless. The Evening Star alone is estimated at $3.6 million to $5.5 million. The name comes from the owner’s habit of wearing the stone to evening galas. She wore the stone suspended from a diamond necklace that consisted of 68 graduated pear-shaped diamonds. That necklace is also for sale with an estimated value of $400,000 to $600,000. And to complete the parure you can pick up the matching pair of diamond ear pendants with two pear-shaped, D-color diamonds of 10.21 and 10.51 carats. The earrings which are also type IIa stones are estimated to bring in $1.7 million to $2.5 million.

Other diamond pieces in the sale include a diamond bracelet by Van Cleef and Arpels and a 36.78-carat, rectangular-cut, D-color, internally flawless diamond ring mounted in platinum with an estimated value of between $2.75 million and $3.5 million. If diamonds aren’t your favorite you can bid on an a rare color-change alexandrite ring. The 3.6 carat stone show teal in daylight and purple in incandescent light.

de Grisogono Instrumento Tondo RM S58 Watch

Instrumento Tondo RMS58 by de Grisogono

Diamond jewels and high-fashion design. This particular piece capitalizes on the new “brown” trend, of watches where brown is a prominent color. The Instrumento Tondo RMS58 by de Grisogono looks as though it has been dipped in a number of caramel varieties.Aside from the mocha brown guilloche machine engraved 18k pink gold dial, the warm brown tones come from 94 brown loose diamonds and orange sapphire. The dial is still easy to read and contains a power reserve indicator and a second timezone subsidiary dial. Inside the watch is an automatic mechanical movement, and the case is water resistant to 30 meters. The final touch is the black diamond set in the crown. Price is going to be pricey on this one!