Fay Cullen » Diamond Talk

10 Reasons to Bailout Funds for a European-cut Diamond Engagement Ring!

Fay Cullen — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 19:56:59 +0000

Art Deco 18k EGL Certified 1.19ct H/VS European-cut Diamond Engagement Ring

Certified Art Nouveau 0.97ct I/SI European-cut Diamond Engagement Ring

Art Deco EGL Certified 1.16ct I/VS European-cut Diamond & Tsavorite Engagement Ring

Vintage EGL Certified Three Stone European-cut Diamond Engagement Ring

Art Deco 0.62ct European-cut Diamond Engagement Ring

Vintage EGL Certified 5.00ct European-cut Diamond Engagement Ring

Art Deco EGL Certified 1.40ct J/VS European-cut Diamond & Ruby Engagement Ring

Edwardian EGL Certified 1.36ct M/VS European-cut Diamond Engagement Ring

Art Deco EGL Certified 0.73ct H/SI European-cut Diamond Engagement Ring

Edwardian EGL Certified 0.90ct I/VS European-cut Diamond Engagement Ring

GIA 407.48ct Natural Fancy Makes Guinness Book of World Records

Fay Cullen — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 22:25:25 +0000

Valued at $55 million, the necklace supporting this GIA certified 407.48ct natural fancy deep-yellow shield step-cut diamond, is the largest internally flawless diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America.

Mounted in 18k yellow gold with 35 round brilliant-cut, 27 pear-shaped, 9 heart-shaped, 5 emerald-cut, 5 cushion-cut, 3 Asscher-cut and 2 radiant-cut diamonds, this ‘Mouawad’s L’Incomparable’ necklace broke the Guinness Book of World Records at the Doha Jewelry and Watch Exhibition. Originally sculpted from 890cts of rough, Mouawad’s L’Incomparable made her first public appearance in 1984 after she was gloriously polished.

101 Ways to Tell Her You Love Her During a Trip to Geneva!

Fay Cullen — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:32:07 +0000

Christie’s claims to be auctioning off the world’s largest flawless diamond on May 15^th at the Magnificent Jewels auction in Geneva. Weighing 101.73cts, this D color, type IIA flawless pear-shaped diamond. Conceived in the Jwaneng Mine, Botswana and emerging from 236cts of rough, this impressive pear-shaped diamond took all of 21 months to polish.

In terms of rarity, consider the fact that annual worldwide diamond production is in excess of 100 million carats. Since GIA estimates a maximum of 600 rough diamonds between one and two carats graded D / flawless polished annually, diamonds over ten carats exponentially decline in availability, leaving stones of this caliber and weight almost priceless. However, if you are in the market for a large pear-shape diamond that is too big to wear on your finger, an estimate is available upon request.

The Fantastic World of Diamonds

admin — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 02:47:12 +0000

There are many kinds of diamonds known to us today. Some are transparent, others translucent or opaque; ranging from colorless to sooty black, with many colors in between. Transparent or slightly tinted diamonds are most often used in jewelry. The others are more widely used in industry. The color of a diamond depends on the kind and degree of internally embedded impurities. Yellow diamonds have minute traces of nitrogen, boron imparts a bluish hue and these natural impurities have created the fascinating palette of the increasingly popular fancy diamonds.

Sotheby’s NY Sale Soars as QEIII Looms Large

admin — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 02:44:17 +0000

Sotheby’s New York sale of Magnificent Jewels saw its highest total ever for an April sale bringing in $39,367,350. Seven of the top ten lots each soared past $1 million and bidding sometimes became so frenetic that even the auctioneer lost track of the action as multiple bidders on the phone, in the room and online competed fiercely for their lots.

The top lot of the sale was a 30.52ct D color and VVS1 clarity emerald-cut diamond which sold for $3,386,500, an astounding $110,960 per carat. The second top lot of the sale was a 3.18ct internally flawless ‘fancy vivid-blue’ marquise diamond, notable not only for its pure color, but also because it was used as the center stone in a paved open work floral design ring. It sold to an Asian private for $3,274,5000, an impressive $1,029,717 per carat.

Rapaport suggests that perhaps it was the sunshine and the feel of spring in the air, but buyers were in the mood to spend on the rare and the beautiful. How about the fact that their $US are rapidly depreciating in value? Could this possibly account for the fact that jewelry dealers and diamond dealers alike left their offices and made the trek to the Upper East side to be at the sale in person and the trade jumped into the action often winning the bidding battles that were frequent throughout the sale? I wonder, did anyone mention inflation? Is this a dirty word in journalism today? A number of museum caliber pieces, colored gems and natural pearls were highly desired and bidding for each item took as long as ten minutes, although bidding for diamonds was quicker and more decisive with solid, but not over-the-top prices garnered.

Tombale Rescues Botswana from DeBeers Unfair Trade

admin — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 02:42:53 +0000

The founding coordinator of the Botswana Diamond Hub, Akolang Tombale disclosed that Botswana used to get only $3 billion from the world diamond industry. Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Affairs, Tombale admitted that because of Botswana’s inability to obtain Fair Trade practices with the diamond industry, they had to invest in had to go into down-streaming activities, adding that ‘It was high time as we are the leading diamond supplier in the world,”
“It was, in fact, less than one percent. That is why there was that feeling that we had to go into downstreaming activities of the diamond industry. It was high time as we are the leading diamond supplier in the world,” Tombale reflected.
Hardly enthusiastic about the financial implications of Fair Trade, “De Beers indeed wanted things to remain as they were in the beginning, arguing that it worked for both parties” insisted Tombale. Realizing that tough business requires tough negotiating, Botswana hired an international consultancy company that helped us renegotiate the conditions. It was difficult, but we had the support of our president Festus Mogae, as well as the then-minister for minerals, Boometswe Mokgothu, and the then-attorney general, Ian Kirby, and my deputy at the time, Kago Moshashane, and former permanent secretary in the ministry, Blackie Marole, now the managing director at Debswana. I was not alone. They had passion for a new dawn for Botswana,” Tombale enthused.
According to Tombale, the estimations showed that all things being equal, Botswana should now generate $500 million from downstream activities this year, compared to the $30 million it made in 2007, increase the cutting and polishing companies from 4 previously to 16 with an independent diamond trading facility in Botswana
The revolutionary changes that tilted the diamond scales in favor of Botswana were introduced in 2006, following the signing of a new lease agreement with De Beers. Tombale is the first to admit that the negotiations with De Beers were ‘long and difficult’, negotiations for the new leases culminating in the Botswana government’s share from Debswana mines rising to 80.9 percent.
The agreement included the fact that ‘De Beers should do the marketing of diamonds on its own’ after the former monopoly previously succeeded in insisting that Botswana’s contribute towards diamond advertising and promotions for the last 40 years.
Having formerly fought tooth and nail to penetrate the U.S. market, where it was not allowed to operate because it was seen as a cartel and having been accused of monopolizing the diamond trade, De Beers has since undergone the transformation from a public listed company to a private company but the question is, did it change anything?
Tired of being raped and pillaged, Botswana’s passionate representative Tombale commented, “we realized that we could use our current status as the number one world producer of diamonds to assert ourselves and become a world diamond center, even when we no longer have diamond mines in Botswana. Countries like Mauritius, Belgium, Israel, India, China, do not mine diamonds, but make more money from diamonds than us, for instance. We could use our diamond resources to attract diamonds from other parts of the world to come and sell here.”
Tombale, however, admits this arrangement of coming up with a parallel diamond trading company has not gone well with De Beers. “Naturally they opposed it; they wanted to remain the only diamond marketing and selling company in Botswana. they feared it would take diamonds from their mines, but this is our vision, our plan,” Tombale explained.
Although India and China recently showed interest in becoming direct clients of Botswana, her parallel diamond trading company, has not taken off although encouragingly, the founding diamond hub coordinator categorically stated that “the plan has gone to the highest office and has been approved. It is now a question of when, and not whether, it will happen or not.”
“The vision is to create diamond traffic so that people will be coming from all over the world to Botswana to buy diamonds. This step could have spin-offs on local tourism. It could also result in us having a direct flight overseas,” Tombale said.

Diamonds are Forever

admin — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 02:42:26 +0000

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists recently found that a diamond becomes even stronger during rapid compression.
Using the Janus and the Omega laser, scientists clearly showed that shock waves applied by lazar to diamonds, enable it to support almost a million times atmospheric pressure before being crushed. The technical implications of this research regarding uses of diamond, illustrate how its strength could impact fusion-energy experiments. Lead author of the Physical Review B journal, Stewart McWilliams noted of his experiments “it could also provide insights into the ancient history of natural diamonds found on Earth and in meteorites, where shock waves caused by impact are common.”
Researchers measuring natural diamond crystal behavior under shock-wave compression discovered that diamonds were crushed and melted in just a nanosecond (one billionth of a second) illustrating their incredible internal and consistent strength, noting that “What we found is that diamond exhibits considerable strength right up to the point it melts.”
This fascinating research shows that once again, James Bond was right, Diamonds really are Forever!

“We must be ready to defend our country, sacrifice our lives”

admin — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 02:41:53 +0000

President Mugabe stated that the control of Zimbabwe’s resources was important in maintaining the country’s sovereignty.

“Who are they, we ask” Does Britain still regard us as a colony in spite of the fact that on April 17, 1980 they sent Prince Charles to lower their flag and we hoisted our own? That to them is not a reality. It did not truly happen. We are still a colony, but we say we are determined as a country, a free member of the UN, a free member of NAM, a free member of A.U. and a free member of Sadc to debate our own issues as sovereign States?..We do not worry about the goings on in Europe. We do not worry about the unnatural things happening there where they turn a man into a woman and woman into a man . . . If they want to call their country into a gaydom, a British gaydom, it is up to them, President Mugabe said. President Robert Mugabe yesterday accused Europeans for their continued meddling in the country’s internal affairs, stating that Zimbabwe is a sovereign state with the right to determine its own destiny. The president warned Zimbabweans to be vigilant in the face of continued Western power aggression. The president’s remarks follow recent discussions by the E.U. Parliament on Zimbabwe and revelations by Britain and the U.S. that they have an interest in the country’s pending elections. “As we assemble here, there are countries that assemble in Europe to discuss Zimbabwe. To them Zimbabwe is not free, it is not independent, to them in their imagination, Zimbabwe is still a colony. In their Parliament they discuss the situation in Zimbabwe. We are peaceful and we do not debate what is happening in Britain, we do not debate what is happening in Europe.” President Mugabe categorically stated that Zimbabwe has never sought to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. “We do not sit as Zimbabweans, as Sadc to debate how the British coalition led by Cameron is faring. We do not debate how the Americans are running their own country and so we get alarmed when these countries have the audacity to take us as an item to discuss in their own parliament,” he said.

Joshua Nkomo (left) and Robert Mugabe (right), two of the leading figures in the bitter struggle for the liberation of Zimbabwe from colonial white rule.

The Head of State and government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defense Forces castigated the recent debate on Zimbabwe by the E.U. Parliament. “We had the E.U. passing a resolution on Zimbabwe, how the GPA should operate, how elections should be held and even how our diamonds should be sold.” “So you can see that the outside world wants again our country to lose its sovereign status. We should remain wary, vigilant and be determined to defend it and so let’s remain united and take care that our country is not allowed to drift through our lack of vigilance into a situation of being controlled as a neo-colony,” he said. “We must be ready to defend our country, sacrifice our lives as many who fought the struggle did, we are Zimbabweans nationally, flying a national flag and singing a national anthem,” he said. President Mugabe reiterated that the control of Zimbabwe’s resources was important in maintaining the country’s sovereignty. “If our economy is controlled by outsiders, our politics will similarly be controlled by outsiders . . . That is why we want our people to have economic power so that the political power we have secured through the barrel of the gun is economic based. If there is no economic base then that independence is weak, that is why we have the indigenisation policy so that our resources are controlled and owned by us so that they benefit the majority of our people,” he said. The president took a swipe on some Zanu-PF [Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front] members who sell-out to the enemy and castigated some members in the inclusive government for calling for the illegal economic sanctions and foreign interference.

Raising of the New Independent Zimbabwe Flag at Rufaro Stadium at midnight on the 18th April 1980. The ceremony was attended by HRH Prince Charles.

What is a Rough Diamond?

admin — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 02:39:52 +0000

Volcanic eruptions usually originate from a depth of approximately 30 miles underground, while a diamond-spewing volcanic eruption sucks magma ore from more than 90 miles deep. Diamonds in the rough are mined in several forms before being examined and polished into a variety of spectacular shapes. The principle rough diamond shapes include;

octahedron

dodecahedron

cube

rhombododecahedron

As the hardest material on earth, diamonds inevitably fulfill many industrial needs, for which 80% of the planetary diamond supply is used while only 20% of the world diamond production is gem quality, suitable for polishing and wearing. The diamond industry uses a number of rough identification terms such as: ‘Spotted’ stones which have inclusions that can be either removed or partially concealed by skillful cutting; ‘Plats’ which are usually macles trimmed into rose-cut diamonds; ‘Sands’ weigh less than 0.10cts; ‘Common Goods’ are very poor quality while ‘Rejected Stones’ are eliminated completely. Although magma doesn’t contain diamonds, its inherent volcanic force snatches them as it clumsily erupts, scattering embedded rocks over mountainous terrain.

Unseen Heights of Sotheby’s Geneva

admin — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 02:38:15 +0000

Sotheby’s Geneva jewelry auction boosted the total to unseen heights when a 24.78-carat pink diamond sold for $46 million. What does a $100 million dollar auction and $1,862,739 per carat for a diamond tell you about the economy? Estimated to sell between $27 and $38 million, this modified emerald-cut fancy intense pink diamond was last sold at auction by Harry Winston 60 years ago and is now owned by Laurence Graff, who bid invisibly through Patti Wong, Sotheby’s chairman in Asia.
Graff was accompanied by rigorous competition ‘four bidders competed vigorously from $25 million and the bids quickly mounted,’ until the stone was sold.

Sotheby’s sold an additional $58,893,054 worth of jewels and gems to buyers from 30 countries representing four continents. Reportedly 59 percent of the lots exceeded their presale high estimates, showing great depth and strength of the market and of Sotheby’s ability to source and sell jewels.

Sotheby’s chose classic invisibly set ruby flower jewels by Van Cleef & Arpels to grace the cover of their catalog, the brooch of which fetched $426,135, soaring above the $120,000 to $180,000 estimate while the matching earrings were equally impressive, selling for $329,355 over an estimate of $80,000 to $120,000. With significant sales now taking place in London, Paris and other European venues, buyers have the opportunity to buy in their home markets, avoiding tax import duties, which also impact where jewelry will be offered. A consigner in London is best served by having their jewelry sold domestically but enthusiastic bidding by Asians and Americans made this auction a truly global event led the way by European buyers.

When you note that the richest 1% of America totals more net worth than the bottom 90%, it becomes clear that not only is there hard-core oil-exploration, land-grab and water rights claims being fought over but there is also a considerable asset-grab, not least amongst which are sizable and very rare diamonds. The ultra-wealthy are positioning themselves to maintain their wealth through the upcoming depression and you would be advised to understand why such hard assets will be amongst just a few items that maintain their value throughout the upcoming hyper-inflationary decade.