![]() | Venerable Parisian high jewellery house Van Cleef & Arpels took to the sea in 2015 with its 'Seven Seas' resort collection.![]() | ![]() |
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![]() | Christie’s New York auction will feature a 17.21-carat diamond given to Queen Charlotte of Great Britain by a regional ruler in India.
The pear-shaped, brilliant-cut diamond, called Arcot II, was found in India’s Golconda region in the late 18th century. The stone, presented to the queen by the Nawab of Arcot, will go under the hammer at the Maharajas & Mughal Magnificence sale on June 19. Christie’s will also offer the Mirror of Paradise, a 52.58-carat, D-color, internally flawless Golconda diamond, as well as carved Mughal emeralds ranging from approximately 10 carats to over 200 carats. ![]() | ![]() |
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![]() | The US has never been known as a major source for gemstones. The one exception has been Montana sapphire. Montana has been an important source of blue sapphire off and on since the 1890s. Yogo sapphires feature an attractive violet to blue color. They are not heat treated – the gem-quality stones rarely respond to treatments. | ![]() |
Yogo sapphires have a distinct trace element signatures with specific values of manganese, chromium, titanium, iron and gallium that are different from other sapphires. While Yogo sapphires command premium prices, their small sizes and difficult deposits make mining uneconomic. In 1910 the largest sapphire ever found was revealed, a 19 carat rough that was cut into four gems, the largest 8.5 carats. | ![]() |
![]() | Beauty is a powerful thing - almost as powerful as semantics. There's no better evidence for this than the surging popularity of champagne diamonds - colored diamonds that in actuality, are brown diamonds with a luxe name and a yellowish shade. As alluring and sought after as champagne diamonds are today, they weren't always so appreciated. In the past, natural fancy brown diamonds weren't especially trendy. | ![]() |
![]() | Champagne diamonds have managed to gain increasing attention in recent years from collectors and investors. When Rio Tinto's Argyle Mine determined that nearly half of the stones in their deposit were brown, it was clear that new marketing tactics were required. They coined the term "champagne diamonds," which suggested an air of luxury, elegance and affluence. The word "champagne" is not used on grading reports from the GIA. | ![]() |
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![]() | A major reason that champagne diamonds have been gaining vogue is that they have been embraced by the A-list celebrities. Color and its strength of hue is the most significant factor in determining value. The darker and rare cognac diamonds come at the highest cost, while champagne diamonds on the lighter end of the spectrum (C1 to C3) are more common and therefore less expensive.
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![]() | The most well-known champagne diamond is the Golden Jubilee. It weighed 755 carats rough and resulted in a 545.67 carat gemstone. It's the largest faceted diamond in the world. Discovered in South Africa's Cullinan Diamond Mine in 1985, it was given to the King of Thailand in 1997 to celebrate his reign. The Great Chrysanthemum Diamond is a fancy brown pear shaped modified brilliant cut of 104.15 carats. The diamond originated in South Africa. | ![]() |
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