Stolen Jade boulder recovered

A massive jade boulder stolen from the front of a shop in Cache Creek has been recovered. Cariboo Jade and Gifts announced the 2,800-pound boulder was found intact.

Worth upwards of $50k to the right person, the rock was stolen on Dec. 19. A group of thieves used an excavator on a flatbed to lift the rock onto the trailer towed by a brown pickup truck. The truck and trailer were later found dumped in Kamloops, but the stone and excavator were still missing. A photo posted to Facebook by Cariboo Jade and Gifts shows the boulder where it was dumped by the crooks.

Boghossian emerald necklace - $7m

A Boghossian emerald necklace was top lot of a recent Christies sale on November 30, 2020. The necklace made US$7m breaking the record for a selection of no oil Colombian emeralds set in May 2017.

Top non-diamond engagement Rings

Controlling supply and directing demand, De Beers was able to build and control a market unlike other companies ever have.

Diamonds did not always top the list for most desired engagement stone. When De Beers ran large-scale and effective marketing campaigns it changed the perception of diamonds and built a story around their aura. De Beers created a story of love, romance, and indestructible commitment around the diamond.

Morganite is one of the hottest engagement ring alternatives. Morganite is traditionally pink to orange-pink in color and is often found in large sizes. Garnet is a series of many different minerals each with its own unique chemical formula. Garnet comes in many colors. Reds and pinks seem the most popular for engagement rings.

Moissanite is a naturally occurring silicon carbide with similar look and characteristics of a diamond at a fraction of the cost.

Tanzanite is 1000 times rarer than diamonds and is a single source gemstone ... and that source is running out. Tanzanite is a blue variety of zoisite with a rich deep blue and sometimes purple hues.

Oregon Sunstone is becoming more popular in an engagement ring. The inclusion of copper crystals within the Sunstone (plagioclase feldspar) is unique and imparts a speckled glimmer within the gemstone. Tsavorite is a variety of garnet that hosts calcium-aluminum, and trace amounts of chromium and vanadium to impart the rich green color.

Mountain Province Diamonds lands 157.4 carat diamond

The 157.4 carat diamond was found at the Gahcho Kué mine. Mountain Province Diamonds (TSX:MPV), holds a 49% stake in the Gahcho Kué mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories. It said the diamond is the largest ever found. The 157.4-carat “gem quality” stone will be offered for sale during the first quarter of 2021.

Kashmir sapphire brings $6m at Christie's

An Art Deco Kashmir sapphire of 12.64 carats and diamond brooch by Cartier, formerly from the collection of Jean Stralem made $1.5m.

Christie’s New York announced its auction of Magnificent Jewels and the preceding Jewels Online auction from November 18 to December 1, which together present over 500 lots. The live auction offered over 380 jewels featuring a notable selection of coloured diamonds, colourless diamonds, and gemstones, alongside important signed pieces by Suzanne Belperron, René Boivin, Bulgari, Cartier, David Webb, Harry Winston, JAR, Marina B, Tiffany & Co., Van Cleef & Arpels, and Verdura. Leader was a Kashmir sapphire and diamond bracelet of 43.10 carats surrounded by 67.90 carats of diamonds. It made $6m.

‘The Du Pont' Padpradscha Sapphire ring 24.58 carats made $930,000. Intense Purplish pink diamond earrings of 2.61 and 2.34 carats, potentially IF. $2m.

Sotheby’s New York Magnificent Jewels auction

A Cartier emerald and diamond ring blew far past it's estimate to become the top lot at Sotheby’s New York Magnificent Jewels auction. It fetched $3.6m, more than three times its high estimate. The ring features a 21.86-carat Colombian square-emerald-cut emerald flanked by diamonds and mounted on 18k yellow gold. A 2-carat fancy vivid orange diamond fetched nearly $1.9m.

Farmer in India recovers 14.98 carat diamond

A farmer in India said his life is completely changed after he found a 14.98-carat rock worth more than 6 million rupees, or about $80k. Lakhan Yadav, 45, found the diamond on land he started renting last month for 200 rupees (about $2.70) in Madhya Pradesh. The diamond was later sold for 60.6 lakh. (a lakh is 100,000 rupees.) Yadav said the treasure revealed itself in a handful of dirt, and that he nearly mistook the diamond for a pebble. “It has changed my life,” he said.

Spinel of Mahenge, Tanzania

In 2007 farmers in Mahenge, Tanzania found a giant spinel crystal weighing 52 kg. The spinel displayed a vibrant pink color now famous from Mahenge Spinel. The crystal was highly included, but large chunks of top quality stone were able to be cobbed off. Thousands of carats of gem quality gems were cut in Thailand and distributed. From this point on Mahenge Spinel was in the spotlight as one of the world's most vibrant gemstones.

Spinel is sought after by gem connoisseurs, and well-formed spinel crystals are in high demand. Red spinel range from orange-red to purplish red, with pure red considered the finest. A top-quality 5 carat red spinel might sell for a tenth of an equivalent-quality ruby. Pink spinel often sells for less than pink sapphire.

For centuries, spinel has been confused with ruby. Spinel is often found in the same deposits as ruby. Now, with modern testing techniques, the two stones are easily identifiable.What sets spinel apart is it’s durability. It sits at an 8 on the MOHS scale, making it ideal for daily wear jewels.

14.83-carat 'Spirit of the Rose' makes $26.6m

‘The Spirit of the Rose’, is the largest diamond of its kind to be ever be offered at auction. The diamond was extracted from the Ebelyakh deposit in the Republic of Sakha in the northeast of Russia in July 2017. Alrosa is sold the truly spectactular stone November 11, 2020 for $26.6m.

Christie’s Magnificent Jewels

The top lot at Christie’s Nov. 10 Magnificent Jewels sale is expected to be a pair of multi-stone diamond earrings. Two fancy intense pink marquise brilliant-cut diamonds topped off with a fancy grayish-blue pear brilliant-cut diamond of 2.06 carats and a fancy intense blue pear brilliant-cut diamond of 2.05 carats. Beneath are two pear-shaped brilliant-cut D-flawless type IIa diamonds of 10.06 and 10.03 carats. The earrings are estimated between $2.7m and $3.8m. Also up for grabs is a 3.96-carat fancy deep blue diamond in a pear modified brilliant-cut.

The ring is estimated between $1.8 to $2.5m.

102 carat diamond makes $20.9m

A flawless 102-carat oval diamond made $20.9m at auction on October 5 in Hong Kong at Sotheby's. The egg-shaped stone of 102.39 carats, D colour, Type IIA was sold without reserve. The gem was cut from a 271-carat rough stone discovered in Ontario's Victor Mine, where production ceased last year. Only seven other white diamonds of more than 100 carats have appeared at auction. Bidding starts at $1HKD or $.13. In November 2017, the largest diamond ever at auction, 163.41 carats, sold in Geneva for more than $33.8m.

Louis Vuitton - Stellar Times

Emerald, sapphire, diamond, black opal and white-gold Céleste ring.

Louis Vuitton is tapping into the interest in celestial themes with its new high-jewellery collection called Stellar Times.

Oval-cut spessarite garnet, diamond, platinum and yellow-gold cocktail ring.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillion

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillion isn't for everybody. Created by Italian designer Carolina Bucci, the watch is priced at 145k Swiss Francs ($157k) isn’t your average luxury timepiece. The watch comes with a 72-hour power reserve, alligator straps, and is set for a limited production run.

9.07 carat diamond found at Crater of Diamonds State Park

Kevin Kinard found the 9.07 carat stone in the Crater of Diamonds State Park on Labor Day. It is the second-largest ever found at the park.

Pink & purple sapphire

Camélia Origami earrings from the Chanel Jardin de Camélias collection.

Boucheron Python ring with a Ceylon pink 17.36 carats cushion cut sapphire

Sortilège de Cartier collection ring. White gold, pink and purple sapphires.

Dior

de Grisogono

Rose gold set with 28.3 carats of pear-shaped pink sapphires and 5.9 carats of pear-shaped rubellites. Chaumet.