$8 Garage Sale Brooch Fetches $26,000 At Auction

The owner of the vintage brooch gave it to her daughter to wear to church. She later placed it in the bottom of her purse and forgot about it. On a chance visit to a jeweler many months later, she pulled out the brooch. The jeweler told her it was a piece of fine jewelry and the diamonds were real. A sapphire and diamond ring by Stephen Russell with a 5.33-carat cabochon sapphire, set within a frame of old European cut diamonds sold to an online buyer for $235,000. A ring featuring a 7-carat oval-shaped modified brilliant-cut emerald, flanked by similarly cut Fancy Vivid Yellow diamonds sold for $225,000.

Jewel Scarab Beetles

The ornate beetles are highly valued by collectors.

Why central-American jewel scarab beetles look like they are made from pure gold has been uncovered by physicists at the University of Exeter. The golden jewel scarab beetle Chrysina resplendens has evolved an exoskeleton that contains intricate nano-structures that are responsible for its appearance.

Graff displays the glitz at Hong Kong flagship store

16.88ct emerald cut pink diamond ring.

Through October 14, Graff is displaying high jewellery at its Central flagship store. Graff is known for its selection of the most extraordinary stones and its expert craftsmanship, and the “Laurence Graff Private Collection Exhibition” shines.

Multicoloured diamond hoop earrings feature 25.29ct diamonds in total.

32.22 carat cushion cut sapphire and heart-shaped diamond ring with 6.99ct diamonds in total.

Emerald and diamond necklace features 43.63ct emeralds.

Yellow and white diamond necklace featuring 75.61ct diamonds.

World’s ‘most beautiful diamond’ due under Christie's hammer

A flawless 163-carat diamond that has been hailed the “world’s most beautiful” will go under Christie's hammer in Geneva in November.

Discovered in February last year in eastern Angola, the 404.20-carat rough diamond — named the "4 de Fevereiro" — was also the largest found so far in the southern African country. Ten diamond-cutting specialists spent 11 months polishing the rough diamond. The stone was then designed into a one-of-a-kind piece by Swiss jewellery house de Grisogono. It will be shown in London, Dubai and New York before going to auction in Geneva on November 14.

See ----->http://highlifelivingluxury.blogspot.ca/2017/09/top-perfect-100-carat-diamonds-sold-at.html

Graff lassos 'Lesdi La Rona' for $ 53m

A tennis ball-sized rough diamond, the second largest gem-quality example ever found, fetched nearly $66 million (US$53 million) for Lucara Diamond Corp. on Monday. They unearthed the 1,109 carat Lesedi La Rona at its Karowe mine in Botswana nearly two years ago. The new owner, London-based multinational jeweler Graff Diamonds, paid nearly $60,000 per carat (US$47,777).

Graffs’ purchase of the Lesedi La Rona will reunite it with a 373-carat part of the original stone, which the company purchased earlier this year.

Argyle Tender Hits the Big Apple

New York’s most exclusive invite is so hush-hush attendees didn’t even know where to go until Monday morning. That’s when mining powerhouse Rio Tinto disclosed the Midtown hotel location of its 2017 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender — a collection of 58 diamonds weighing 49.39 carats — for viewing later the same day.

The star is the fabulous “Argyle Everglow”. It is a certified Fancy Red of 2.11 carats that Rio Tinto touts as “unprecedented in size, color and clarity.” It might fetch over $10 million, although we’ll never know. Bids are sealed, and Rio Tinto never reveals what the winners pay.

Most expensive Antiques Roadshow find is Faberge flower

The most expensive ever Antiques Roadshow find has been revealed as a Faberge flower gifted to an army regiment - and valued at £1m. Tatiana Fabergé the Swiss based great-granddaughter of Peter Carl Faberge knew it was a botanical study created by Fabergé in Imperial Russia during the early 20th century. She did a little research and found its history. A spokesman for Faberge added: "Only about 80 of Fabergé’s botanical studies are known to have survived. In the form of pear blossom in a vase, its chased and engraved gold stem is placed in in a rock crystal vase carved so it appears to be half full of water. "The six flowers of blossom are also gold which have been enamelled white with shades of pale pink. Their stamens are oxidised silver with a diamond at the centre. "The leaves are carved nephrite. Georgina, Countess of Dudley presented the study to The Queen’s Own Worcestershire Hussars, QOWH, in the early 1900s as a regimental trophy. "Three pears feature on the county’s Arms, hence the choice of pear blossom.

Graff Buys 4-Carat Blue Diamond For $3.6 Million

A Fancy Intense Blue diamond which has been held in a private collection for nearly 30 years sold for $3.6 million, smashing its $2 million high estimate, at Bonhams Fine Jewellery sale in London. Final price was $853,203 price per carat. The second highest value lot sold was a 9.61-carat Kashmir sapphire single-stone ring. The octagonal step-cut sapphire went under the hammer for $1.1 million, equating to $112,600 price per carat.

A mid-20th Century Fancy Colored diamond brooch sold for $980,000. The brooch comprised of a 4.83-carat square step-cut Fancy Gray-Blue diamond, two Fancy Dark Brown-Greenish Yellow step-cut diamonds, weighing 2.51 carats and 2.38 carats respectively, and a 1.90-carat pear-shaped Fancy Pink diamond.

Alrosa finds gigantic pink diamond

Russia’s Alrosa (MCX:ALRS), the world’s top diamond producer by carats, has unearthed a 27.85-carat pink stone the company believes could be the most expensive it has ever found. The miner said the gem-quality stone was found at its alluvial mines in Russia’s Far East, adding that the largest pink diamond it had previously discovered was less than 4 carats.

24.78 carat Pink Graff Diamond made $46.2 million in 2010.

The world's largest pink diamond, the 59.6-carat Pink Star was sold at auction April 4 in Hong Kong and fetched $71.2 million or $ 1.2m per carat. The Pink Star, IF, Fancy Vivid Pink was mined by De Beers in 1999 in Botswana as a 132.5-carat rough diamond before being cut and polished.

The Czech Crown Jewels

The Czech Crown Jewels (Bohemian Crown Jewels) include the Crown of Saint Wenceslas, the royal orb and sceptre, the coronation vestments of the Kings of Bohemia, the gold reliquary cross, and St. Wenceslas' sword. They were originally held in Prague and Karlštejn Castle.

Since 1791 they have been stored in St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle.

The Crown Jewels are permanently kept in Prague Castle and are rarely displayed. In the twentieth century there were nine such moments in history; the last time was in 1998 to mark the 80th anniversary of the establishment of an independent Czechoslovak Republic.

The Duke of Bohemia (c. 907 – September 28, 935), or Wenceslas I, was the duke of Bohemia from 921 until his assassination in 935, purportedly in a plot by his own brother, Boleslav the Cruel. His martyrdom, and the popularity of biographies, quickly gave rise to a reputation for heroic goodness, resulting in his being elevated to sainthood, posthumously declared king, and seen as the patron saint of the Czech state.

Wenceslas the martyr was canonized soon after his death, due to several miracles that were said to have occurred. In 2000 more than a thousand years after his death, Wenceslas’ skull was placed on a red velvet pillow by the Archbishop of Prague to commemorate the declaration of September 28 as a public holiday.

Argyle Everglow wows em in Hong Kong

Prospective buyers in Hong Kong are being dazzled by the first glimpse of one of the largest and “most coveted” red diamonds ever discovered. The Argyle Everglow is a 2.11 carat beauty that could be among the last discovered before the Argyle mine closes in 2021. Over four carats rough, the depth of colour is very rich. Red is an auspicious colour in China and Japanese bidders chase stones in cherry blossom tone. The tender's next stop is in New York with winners announced on October 11.

See ----->http://highlifelivingluxury.blogspot.ca/2017/09/2017-rio-tinto-argyle-auction-redux.html
See ----->http://highlifelivingluxury.blogspot.ca/2017/07/2017-rio-tinto-pink-diamond-tender.html

Taafeite

Taafeite (BeMgAl4O8) is a very rare beryllium magnesium aluminum mineral. No other mineral has both beryllium and magnesium in its composition. Often misidentified as spinel, the gemstone was first discovered already cut and polished in Dublin, Ireland in 1945. Confusion between spinel and taaffeite is understandable as the two share very similar physical properties. The crucial difference is that taaffeite is doubly refractive while spinel is singly refractive. The gemstone is mainly found in alluvial deposits in Sri Lanka and Tanzania.

Sri Lankan Taaffeite

Taaffeite forms pink, mauve, or lilac, red to brown transparent to translucent hexagonal crystals. It is very hard, 8 on the Mohs scale.

3.44-carats, Tunduru, Tanzania

La Biennale Paris 2017

Held at the spectacular Grand Palais in Paris, La Biennale Paris (previously the Biennale des Antiquaires) is a treasure trove of fine art and antiques alongside exceptional high jewellery creations.

Bvlgari

Moussaieff

Boghossian