Archive for November, 2011
South African Diamond Shatters Records
Posted by: | CommentsSotheby’s Geneva held a jewelry auction in early November 2011, with sales totaling over 70 million dollars. Sotheby’s is the 4th oldest auction house in existence today, and this auction had one of the largest jewelry sale totals in the company’s history. While Geneva has become a hotspot for diamond purchases, this total can largely be attributed to the sale of the largest known pear-shaped fancy vivid yellow diamond ever to be discovered.
Cora International, a manufacturer of some of the largest and rarest diamonds in the world, discovered the 110.3-carat diamond, named the sun drop diamond. The diamond was found in South Africa in 2010, cut and polished by Cora, and placed on display briefly at London’s Natural History Museum in 2011. The Gemological Institute of America classified the gem as fancy vivid yellow, giving it the highest possible color grading. It is quite rare to discover a diamond with such a strong saturation of color.
Cora International is the New York based diamond manufacturer, who initially discovered the diamond in South Africa. As one of the leaders in the diamond cutting industry, Cora was able to give the gem a beautiful and exquisite pear shaped cut, contributing to its breath-taking appearance.
The sun drop diamond auctioned at a price of 12.4 million dollars to an unidentified bidder over the phone. This price set a new record for yellow diamonds sold at auction. This is not the first world auction record broken by Sotheby’s. In 2010, Sotheby’s Geneva sold a 24.78-carat fancy intense pink diamond for over 46 million dollars. This set the world auction record for any diamond and any jewel.
The auction was overall a wonderful success for Sotheby’s Geneva. Including the record-breaking sale of the South African diamond, over 80% of the pieces available found buyers. This includes the sale of an exquisite cushion-shaped 38.88-carat diamond for close to 7 million dollars. If this auction is to be taken as an indication, 2012 is to be a great year for Sotheby’s, and a fantastic year for the diamond industry as a whole.
What a man needs to consider when buying an engagement ring
Posted by: | CommentsThere comes a time in the life of most of the males in our society when a trip to the jewelers is a rite of passage. It is time to look at making some young girl his “one and only” and an appropriate announcement form is needed. The announcement is not paper but rather diamond in composition and outstanding in beauty. The engagement ring is has two parts: a diamond stone is the most expensive part and a nice band with a setting on it to display the stone. For the very best of value, find the engagement ring setting she’ll adore and then devote the remainder of your budget to a gorgeous certified diamond.
This is an emotional event which may last a lifetime. When looking at the engagement diamond and trying to figure out how much you have to spend, give some thought to what is known as the two month salary convention which will actually be a good starting point for your search. That being said, it is probably more important to consider what type of quality you are getting. It does really very little good to spend your money and then not get what you want. Good quality will trump price every time.
One may have a difficult time determining what type of ring she likes. If this is not a secret affair, include her as you make the important decision. It really does you no good at all if you select a ring that she will hate to wear because it just doesn’t suit her. A good jeweler will provide a wealth of information about the diamond you are interested in purchasing. Most of us will need that advice as we do not purchase diamonds every day. Try to seek a balance between what you would like to purchase and what you can really afford. Usually the diamond ring is the third most expensive item a couple purchases, preceded by a car and in the top place, a house. If you feel that the largest diamond needs to be had in order to express how much you love this little lady, financing might be considered before you hit the stores.
A strong suggestion is that one read all that can be found on the diamond and get an understanding of what quality you will need. Again, shape is important to a woman so know that for sure. A good cut will also set off the diamond on her hand so pay particular attention to that as well. The color is always important to the response the bride will get when she shows the ring off to her friends. Round diamonds with a princess-cut are very popular today.
How to Protect Your Diamonds When You Travel
Posted by: | CommentsA person’s personal property is at great risk when one is traveling. The first place that a thief can strike is in the baggage handling area of your favorite airline. We would all like to think that those who are taking care of our baggage are worthy individuals who have our welfare uppermost in their minds, but that can be further from the truth than one might like to realize. Once your luggage has gone through the various inspections by TSA that is the last time it is in a secure place.
As one might expect the baggage handlers are not the most highly paid individuals below the terminal floor. It is their job to get your bags from where they were inspected to the airplane for loading. There is ample opportunity for a less than honest person to take a look at what you might be carrying in your luggage. It doesn’t take much time for someone to open your luggage and make a quick inspection of what is there and even take what he or she would like. Do not place your full faith and trust in the fact that the area is patrolled by controlled security cameras of even uniformed security. Airlines have been taking better security measures and are going as far as not employing people who have any criminal charge against them. Remember that all criminals were honest people at one time.
Always consider the fact that the secure area of the terminal is not the safest area either. There are records of people flying from place to place in the hopes of seeing some little lady not guarding her carry-on luggage in the safest of manner, as well. It doesn’t take a pickpocket too long to notice the peculiar habits of someone traveling with either a large sum of money or jewelry on her person, usually in a small bag that she can control easily. These adept burglars are fast enough to relieve you of your possession and be gone in a matter of seconds. Some airports have non-uniformed personnel moving around the terminal and watching for those individuals demonstrating an unusual amount of interest in the travelers.
Another place of great interest to nefarious individuals is the baggage claim area. It does not take very long to grab a set of golf clubs in a traveling case, a small piece of luggage that looks interesting, or even a large travel bag that could contain many pieces of valuable jewelry. The one thing that we must remember is that we cannot really trust anyone who is displaying a more than casual interest in what we are carrying. Something that all of us must consider is the possible purchase of some insurance to protect our valuables while we are “on the road again”.