Historic stones rule the day at Christie's

source : nationaljewelernetwork.com
April 23, 2010

Legend has it that the Archduke Maximilian, who once ruled as emperor of Mexico at the urging of Napoleon III, had the Emperor Maximilian Diamond in a pouch around his neck when he was executed by a firing squad. The 39.55-carat cushion-cut stone sold for $1.76 million at Christie's on Thursday.

New York--Two stones with colorful histories sold above their estimates Thursday at Christie's "Jewels: the New York Sale."

According to a news release issued by the auction house, a private U.S. buyer paid $1.76 million for the 39.55-carat, I color Emperor Maximilian Diamond, which was estimated to fetch between $1 million and $1.5 million.

The cushion-cut stone has a long and interesting history, having once been owned by the Archduke Maximilian, who ruled as emperor of Mexico at the insistence of Napoleon III but was later executed. It is believed that he was wearing the diamond around his neck when he faced the firing squad.

After passing through a number of owners, the stone fell into the hands of diamantaire Laurence Graff, who bought it at Christie's in 1982 and sold it to Imelda Marcos, widow of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. ...

read all...

History of Gold

Gold has a long and complex history. From gold’s first discovery, it has symbolized wealth and guaranteed power. Gold has caused obsession in men and nations, destroyed some cultures and gave power to others.

Archaeological digs suggest the use of Gold began in the Middle East where the first known civilizations began. The oldest pieces of gold jewelry Egyptian jewelry were found in the tomb of Queen Zer and that of Queen Pu-abi of Ur in Sumeria and are the oldest examples found of any kind of jewelry in a find from the third millennium BC. Over the centuries, most of the Egyptian tombs were raided, but the tomb of Tutankhamen was discovered undisturbed by modern archaeologists. Inside the largest collection of gold and jewelry in the world was found and included a gold coffin whose quality showed the advanced state of Egyptian craftsmanship and goldworking (second millennium BC).

The Persian Empire, in what is now Iran, made frequent use of Gold in artwork as part of the religion of Zoroastrianism. Persian goldwork is most famous for its animal art, which was modified after the Arabs conquered the area in the 7th century AD.

When Rome began to flourish, the city attracted talented Gold artisans who created gold jewelry of wide variety. The use of gold in Rome later expanded into household items and furniture in the homes of the higher classes. By the third century AD, the citizens of Rome wore necklaces that contained coins with the image of the emperor. As Christianity spread through the European continent, Europeans ceased burying their dead with their jewelry. As a result, few gold items survive from the Middle Ages, except those of royalty and from church hordes.

In the Americas, the skill of Pre-Columbian cultures in the use of Gold was highly advanced long before the arrival of the Spanish. Indian goldsmiths had mastered most of the techniques known by their European contemporaries when the Spanish arrived. They were adept at filigree, granulation, pressing and hammering, inlay and lost-wax methods. The Spanish conquerors melted down most of the gold that they took from the peoples of this region and most of the remaining examples have come from modern excavations of grave sites. The greatest deposits of gold from these times were in the Andes and in Columbia.

During the frontier days of the United States news of the discovery of gold in a region could result in thousands of new settlers, many risking their lives to find gold. Gold rushes occurred in many of the Western States, the most famous occuring in California at Sutter’s Mill in 1848. Elsewhere, gold rushes happened in Australia in 1851, South Africa in 1884 and in Canada in 1897.

The rise of a gold standard was meant to stabilize the global economy, dictating that a nation must limit its issued currency to the amount of gold it held in reserve. Great Brittain was the first to adopt the gold standard in 1821, followed, in the 1870s, by the rest of Europe followed. The system remained in effect until the end of the first world war, after which the US was the only country still honoring the Gold Standard. After the war, other countries were allowed to keep reserves of major currencies instead of gold. The arrival of the great depression marked the end of the U.S. export of gold in the 1930s. By mid 20th century, the US dollar had replaced gold in international trade.
text source : http://bullion.nwtmint.com/gold_history.php

Black Diamonds

What are Black Diamonds, as seen in most jewelry?

Black diamonds are typically enhanced. Black diamonds are genuine diamonds treated with radiation to make their color appear black. Under normal lighting conditions the color enhanced black diamond looks black. However, it is actually very dark green. To observe the very dark green color, a fiber-optic light source can be placed near a thin edge of the diamond (such as the girdle or culet). This allows the light to illuminate some of the interior of the stone. The very dark green color that becomes visible is commonly seen in enhanced black diamonds. The very dark green color that is seen is never seen in natural diamonds. It is a result of radiation treatment.

Famous Black Diamonds

The Black Orloff

The Black Orloff (Orlov) cushion cut diamond (shown left) which still weighs in at a very respectable 67.50 carats. It is reported to have belonged to a nineteenth-century shrine near Pondicherry, India, and to have weighed 195 carats in the rough. Set in a diamond and platinum necklace, the Black Orloff has been widely exhibited. In 1969, the stone was sold for $300,000. It was resold in 1990 at Sothebys for $99,000. Also called the Eye of Brahma Diamond. The diamond is currently owned by Dennis Petimezas, a diamond dealer from Pennsylvania who bought the diamond for an unspecified sum in 2005.

"The Gruosi" Black Diamond

Upon creating amazing black diamond jewelry for his luxury jewelry house de Grisogono, chairman and founder Fawaz Gruosi enjoys a special place in diamond history: he is credited with popularizing the fascination with black diamonds in 1996 - a fascination that continues today.

He also had a rare opportunity - a rare opportunity even for a grand jeweler like himself: he got to name a diamond. Naming a diamond is something reserved only for original buyers of a rough diamond. The de Grisogono founder chose the name "The Gruosi" for the incredible 115.34-carat black diamond. In fact, Fawaz Gruosi has actually been involved in naming two diamonds - the other being the 312.24-carat "The Spirit of Grisogono," also a black diamond with the famous Swiss jeweler Mr. de Grisogono. These two black diamonds are the two largest black diamonds in the world.

sources : generousgems.com,blackdiamonds.co.uk,vialuxe.com

Famous Emeralds

Gachala Emerald (origin: Colombia)
The Gachala Emerald is an uncut 5-cm emerald crystal weighing 858 carats (172 g). The stone was found in 1967 at Vega de San Juan mine in Colombia and is named after the mining district where it was discovered. Now in the United States, it was donated to the Smithsonian Institution by the New York jeweler, Harry Winston.



Chalk Emerald (origin: Colombia)
The Chalk Emerald is a 37.82 carats (7.56 g) Colombian emerald.

It originally weighed 38.40 carats (7.68 g), but was recut and set in a ring, where it is surrounded by sixty pear-shaped diamonds (totalling 15 carats (3.0 g), by Harry Winston Inc. The ring is housed in the National Gem and Mineral Collection at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in the United States and was donated to the museum by Mr. and Mrs. O. Roy Chalk in 1972.

Duke of Devonshire Emerald (origin: Colombia)

The Duke of Devonshire Emerald gets its name from the 6th Duke of Devonshire, William Cavendish, who according to one version, received the enormous gemstone as a gift from the first emperor of Brazil, Don Pedro I, the son of King John VI of Portugal, but according to a second version purchased the gemstone from the emperor.

The Duke of Devonshire Emerald is a terminated hexagonal-shaped crystal discovered from the mines of Muzo, Santa Fe de Bogota, in Colombia, reputed to be the premier source of the world's finest emeralds. It is an exceptional deep-green emerald, with perfect transparency in certain areas, but heavily flawed in other areas. The emerald that measures 5 cm across the pinacoid also has a height of about 5 cm, and weighs 1,383.95 carats. The emerald had a reputation as the largest and finest uncut emerald in existence.

Mackay Emerald
The stunning 167.97-carat Mackay Emerald was mined in Muzo, Columbia. The largest cut emerald in the National Gem Collection, it is set in an Art Deco diamond and platinum necklace designed by Cartier Inc. In 1931, Clarence H. Mackay presented the necklace as a wedding gift to his wife, Anna Case, a prima donna of the New York Metropolitan Opera from 1909 to 1920. The piece was donated to the Smithsonian Institute by Mrs. Anna Case Mackay in 1984. Source: The National Gem Collection by Jeffrey E. Post.

QVC, Smithsonian partnering on jewelry line

April 09, 2010 Washington--In what may seem like an unusual pairing, multichannel retailer QVC is teaming up with the Smithsonian Institute to create a line of fashion jewelry inspired by the museum's collection of iconic pieces.

In a news release issued Friday, the Washington, D.C.-based Smithsonian, the world's largest museum and research complex, announced it was entering into a licensing agreement with QVC to offer a jewelry collection based on objects in the National Gem and Mineral Collection, which is part of the National Museum of Natural History. The QVC-Smithsonian collection is expected to launch this fall.

The National Gem and Mineral Collection contains more than 375,000 individual specimens, and counts among its ranks world-famous pieces such as the blue Hope Diamond and the Marie Antoinette Earrings, as well as a research and mineral collection used by scientists around the world, the release states.

The line with QVC will include earrings, rings, bracelets, pins and brooches, as well as replicas of pieces in the museum's collection.

read all

World's most famous 'unseen' diamond

By Jane O'Brien
BBC News, Washington

The room was dimly lit. Armed guards stood at both entrances and enormous ironclad doors were slid shut to seal the gallery.

Nobody spoke above a whisper as we waited for the first glimpse in half a century of one of the world's most extraordinary gems.

The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond was last seen in public at the 1958 World Exhibition in Brussels. After that, it disappeared and its whereabouts remained a mystery until Laurence Graff, a billionaire diamond dealer, bought it at auction in 2008, appending his surname.

He and his son Francois were in the gallery of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC as the blue stone, was brought up from a secret vault and finally revealed.

Flawless beauty

"I've been privileged over the years to own some of the world's most important and famous diamonds, but I would say that the Wittelsbach-Graff is the most valuable and the most beautiful," he said.

Sitting unadorned on a silken white cloth, it glittered grey and blue in the low light. Classed as "internally flawless" it is said to have exceptional colour and becomes intense orange when viewed under ultraviolet light.

read all