Thursday, 29 June 2017

Jacob & Co. High Jewelry


12.95 carat fancy purple-pink radiant cut diamond engagement ring. IF clarity. $11.6m
Born Yakov Arabov, Jacob Arabo emigrated with his family when he was 14 from Uzbekistan to the United States. At age 16, he enrolled in a six-month jewelry-making course, which he graduated four months later. By the time he was 17 he was designing his own pieces near New York City's diamond district.

30.11 carat natural fancy blue gray cushion-cut diamond mounted on a platinum setting. VVS2 clarity $20m .
Although he started out offering moderately priced, traditional jewelry, Arabo’s designs soon caught the eyes of celebrities, singers, and artists in the hip-hop and rap music world. In the early 1990s his clientele and business grew, and he became known as “Jacob the Jeweler”.

In 2005 he relocated to a storefront on East 57th Street. Jacob & Company has been producing luxury watches for a quarter of a century.

Perhaps due to the extravagance of diamond details, these watches have become a celebrity favorite. Jacob & Co. watches sometimes house over 30 carats of diamonds and other precious stones on the dial.

Supermodel Miranda Kerr returns $8.1 million worth of jewels

Supermodel Miranda Kerr has returned $8.1 million worth of jewels gifted to her by an ex-boyfriend—who may have given them to her as part of a money-laundering operation.

The case surrounds Malaysian businessman Jho Low. Low bought her a 11.72-carat diamond pendant, designed by Lorraine Schwartz, for Valentine’s Day. That gift cost $1.29 million. He also allegedly bought her an 8.88-carat diamond pendant that was worth $3.8 million, and then bought her matching earrings, a bracelet, and a ring. The U.S. Justice Department is still looking for more than $1 billion in assets they claim were bought with money stolen from the Malaysian government.

Wednesday, 28 June 2017

‘Rockefeller Emerald’ makes $5.5m

An 18.04 carat Colombian emerald once owned by the Rockefeller family appears at Christie's Magnificent Jewel auction. John D. Rockefeller Jr. acquired the octagonal step-cut emerald in 1930. The American Gemological Laboratories (AGL) describes the jewel as "exceptional," adding that it's an "unusual combination of size, provenance, absence of treatment and quality factors [that contribute] favorably to its rarity and desirability."
The emerald was expected to sell for between $4 million and $6 million.

Cartier Ruby Bracelet $ 100k

Pear modified brilliant-cut fancy yellow diamonds, weighing 11.87 and 10.47 carats, joined by a marquise and circular-cut diamond link to the surmount. Bulgari $427,500

Freeform amethyst, carved at the reverse, set within a platinum and gold filigree, suspending nephrite and amethyst bead fringe, set with alternating nephrite and amethyst cabochons, with circular-cut sapphire, circa 1920, mounted in platinum and gold. Signed Tiffany & Co. $247,500

Tuesday, 27 June 2017

Gems of the Smithsonian

The Bismarck Sapphire Necklace is a sapphire necklace designed by Cartier in 1935.

It is named after Countess Mona von Bismarck, who donated the piece to the Smithsonian in 1967. The sapphire itself was purchased by the Countess in Sri Lanka in 1926. The necklace consists of a single chain of platinum links connected by pairs of round brilliant cut diamonds. The 98.6 carat table cut Bismarck Sapphire is mounted in a pendant at the front of the necklace, surrounded by baguette-cut diamonds.

The Dom Pedro Aquamarine
The Carmen Lúcia Ruby is a 23.1-carat Burmese ruby set in a platinum ring with diamonds. It was donated by Peter Buck in memory of his wife Carmen Lúcia. The stone was mined from the Mogok region of Burma in the 1930s.

The Blue Heart Diamond was found at the Premier Mine, South Africa in 1908. This 30.62 carat heart-shaped, brilliant cut blue diamond was faceted in 1910 from a 100.5 carat piece of rough.
The DeYoung Red Diamond is one of the largest known natural fancy dark red diamonds. It is a modified round brilliant cut VS-2 diamond of 5.03 carats. The diamond was acquired by S. Sydney DeYoung, a Boston jeweler, as part of a collection of estate jewelry and identified, incorrectly, as a garnet. It was gifted to the National Gem Collection in 1987.
Pink pear shape diamond weighing 2.90 carats.
The Hooker Emerald is 75.47 carats. It was once the property of Abdul Hamid II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1876-1909) who wore it in his belt buckle. Tiffany & Co. purchased the emerald at auction in 1911.

The stone originated from Colombia and was probably shipped to Europe by Spanish conquistadores in the 16th or 17th century. Mrs. Janet Annenberg Hooker donated it to the Smithsonian 1977.
The 58.19-carat Maharani Cat’s Eye from Sri Lanka. The optical phenomenon of chatoyancy can be displayed by many gemstones, but the most popular and highly prized is that of the mineral chrysoberyl.

The “eye” that the stone displays when it is cut cabochon is caused by the reflection of light off numerous parallel inclusions of fine, needle-like crystals, commonly of the mineral rutile.

Hope Diamond

Heart-shaped brooch has a 96-carat amethyst surrounded by diamonds.

The Hall Sapphire Necklace, designed by Harry Winston, Inc., features 36 cushion-cut sapphires from Sri Lanka, totaling 195 carats, set in platinum accented by 435 pear-shaped and round brilliant-cut diamonds, totaling 83.75 carats.

These two large, pear-shaped diamonds weigh 14.25 and 20.34 carats respectively are set in earrings that belonged to Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France who was guillotined in 1793 during the French Revolution.
The Petersen Tanzanite Brooch. Pair of matched tanzanite gems about 30 carats. The floral platinum brooch, designed by Harry Winston in 1991, has 24 carats of diamonds. The tanzanite “flowers” can be detached and worn as earrings. The Petersen Tanzanite Brooch was gifted to the National Gem Collection in 2002.

The Sherman Diamond is one of five pendants from a diamond necklace. The necklace was a gift from the khedive of Egypt to Civil War General William Sherman for his daughter’s wedding in 1874. The necklace was divided among his three daughters. The pendant has an 8.52-carat pear shaped diamond surrounded by 17 round diamonds.

Friday, 23 June 2017

Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group

Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited (周大福珠寶集團有限公司), is an affiliate of Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Ltd., a diversified Hong Kong-based company engaged in the property development, hotel, casino, transportation, jewelry, port and telecommunications businesses. It is ultimately owned by Cheng Yu Tung's Family.

10.58kg gold

17kg gold


24,928 grams of gold

16.27 carat emerald cut IF Fancy Pink diamond ring

12.13 carat cushion modified brilliant Fancy Purplish-Pink
Hong Kong luxury jeweler Chow Tai Fook unveiled an incredible necklace designed from the twinkling progeny of the 507.55-carat Cullinan Heritage rough diamond.

The massive diamond, which was purchased by the jeweler in 2010 for $35.3 million, yielded 24 D-flawless gems, including the necklace’s focal point, a perfect 104-carat round brilliant. The museum-quality piece is dubbed “A Heritage in Bloom.”

Chow Tai Fook enlisted the talents of jewelry artist Wallace Chan to assemble the family of “Heritage” diamonds, and a supporting cast of 11,500 addition precious gemstones, into a work of art that is estimated to be worth at least $200 million.

The diamond total weight of the piece is 383.4 carats.

Thursday, 22 June 2017

Tanzanite running out

20 years ago the Mirerani quarries, located in Simanjiro District of Manyara Region used to spew out large amounts of tanzanite. Tanzanite production has been drastically dropping, and like every other single source gemstone the deposit is being depleted. Its called a single-generation stone.
There seems to be no end in demand as it has become a favorite of many jewelry designers.

Shaun Leane
See ----->http://highlifelivingluxury.blogspot.ca/2016/12/tanzanite.html