At $186K per Carat, Onassis Diamond Fetches Double the Estimates

A pear-shaped 38 carat D/VVS1 diamond, set in a marquise cut gold and platinum diamond necklace, that once belonged to Christina Onassis was sold Wednesday to an unnamed Middle Eastern buyer for $7.1 million. Christie’s, which auctioned the diamond, gave it a catalogue estimate of £1.8 - 2.2 million ($3.5 - $4.3 million).

The diamond was one of several jewelry items offered for sale by the Onassis family. A gem-set bowenite Buddha by Faberge sold for $2.5 million, more than quadrupling early estimates.

The London jewelry auction broke a number of records. The 190 lots sold fetched together $29.4 million, making the sale the largest jewelry auction in Britain’s history.

The Onassis items alone fetched a total of $13.3 million.

Record breaking sales at Christies included this 38 ct diamond

Graff Diamonds acquired a 14.79 carat pear-shaped D / VVS2 diamond for
$2.2 million ($149,000 p/c), while a 13.37 carat marquise-cut D / VS1 diamond sold for $115,000 p/c to a UK firm.



Source: IDEX



http://www.jewelrydays.com/
My Life Is Beautiful




*****

Making gemstones from household kitchen products?

3 June 2008

Making gemstones from household kitchen products? Open those cabinets and let's make gemstones in your kitchen! If you are at home right now go stand in your kitchen. Go on. Go to your kitchen and look around and make note of some of the things in your cabinets, shelves, and counter tops. Go ahead, we’ll wait. Hum hum humm hum hum da dee dah dee dum…….OK, you’re back. Did you know that you just saw virtually all of the ingredients required to make gemstones in your kitchen. It’s true! Let’s find out how. Look up again at the banner photo of this week’s ISG newsletter and you will probably see a lot of the same ingredients that are in your kitchen. And if we look at the chemical composition of gemstones you will find just about everything you need to create sapphires, peridots, opals, pearls, and a virtual smorgasbord of other gemstones, right out of the ingredients in your kitchen. Here are some examples: Ruby To make a ruby all we need is some aluminum from our roll of aluminum foil, some oxygen from our computer keyboard dust blower can, and a bit of the chromium from our vitamin cabinet. Al2O3 with Cr(chromium) and we have our first batch of gemstones from our kitchen.....ruby. Sapphire We can make a blue sapphire out of our same aluminum foil, oxygen can, but this time we will add some titanium used to make the plastic cups white (titanium is also used in your tooth whitener products) along with some iron from our cast iron skillet. Al2O3 with FeTi(iron/titanium). Quartz Crystals How about a batch of phantom quartz crystals. For this we only need some of the silicone from our tube of adhesive and some oxygen from our oxygen can. Place them in the oven at just the right temperature and pressure and we grow ourselves some very nice quartz crystals. SiO2 Peridot How about some yummy peridot. For this we need some magnesium again from our vitamin chest, some iron from our cast iron skillet, some of the silicon from our adhesive tube, and just a pinch of oxygen from our can. Put them all together and you get a beautiful peridot gemstone. (Mg, Fe)2SiO4 Pearls And let’s not forget pearls. That is one of the easiest gems to make in the kitchen (although don’t tell the oysters we said that). All we need is the calcium carbonate from the bottle of Antacid Tablets that I always have here at my desk at the International School of Gemology. Nothing else needed. Calcium carbonate in pearls is just like the calcium carbonate in our antacids here at the ISG office. (we need a lot of them) Jadeite How about some jadeite. Pretty easy for us now as we are getting good at making gemstones out of household kitchen products. To make our jadeite we need some sodium from the salt (sodium chloride) in our Morton’s Salt box, some more of the aluminum foil from our foil wrap, some more silicon from our tube of adhesive, and finally some oxygen from our can. Add a little chromium from our vitamin and mineral cabinet and we have made ourselves a nice batch of jadeite. NaAl (Si2O6) And yes, the jadeite photo is kind of cheezy but after all, we are in the kitchen! Labradorite Sunstone And we just couldn’t do this without making ourselves a pan of labradorite sunstones from Oregon . For this we need more sodium from our salt shaker, some of the calcium from our antacids, a few inches more of our aluminum foil, a little more silicon from our tube of adhesive, and some more oxygen from our air can. Add just a pinch of copper from those scrubber brushes by the sink…..and we have ourselves a beautiful labradorite sunstone. Na(AlSi3O8)Ca(Al2Si2O8) Opal And for dessert, how about an opal. Easy to bake and fun to enjoy. For our opal we just need some of the silicon from our adhesive tube, the rest of our oxygen from our air can, and we will add just a bit of water from our tap to give it the needed H2O to really make it zing. And voila’ a beautiful opal to end our time in the kitchen. SiO2 nH2O Please put the phones down Ok, Ok before anyone freaks out, I admit it........in truth, you cannot make gemstones in your kitchen. You could never create the heat and pressure necessary to actually make gemstones. But it is a fact that if you could emulate the conditions of gemstone crystal growth in your kitchen, you do indeed have virtually all of the ingredients you need to mix up a batch of many different types of gemstones right there. The study of the chemical make up of gemstones is fun and interesting. But I hate trying to read off those long and very boring chemical equations. Sorry, but I really don’t care about them. I would rather think of a ruby as some aluminum foil and oxygen from my kitchen, with some of the chromium tablets my wife makes me take from time to time. I have learned the same information about the chemical make up of gemstones using my method, and quite honestly have had a lot more fun than those folks having to memorize the chemical equations. And after all, it’s the fun that we’re really here for, isn’t it? And the most fun for me? I guarantee you someone will still call me asking what kind of kiln and pressure cooker set up they need to actually make gemstones in their kitchen. Now THAT….is when I REALLY start having fun! Robert James FGA, GG President, International School of Gemology ©2008 International School of Gemology .

World's Most Desirable Luxury Brands

Ask a friend what he would buy if he had a bigger bank account and he might rattle off a list that includes a limited-edition sports car, a round-the-world trip or a million-dollar beachfront home.

Goods by Gucci, however, top the lists of luxury brand lovers. That's according to an online survey conducted late last year by The Nielsen Company, a market research firm. It asked 25,000 consumers in 48 countries which luxury brand they would buy if money were no object. Besides Gucci respondents chose Chanel, Calvin Klein, Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior.

It's easy to see why Gucci reigns. Worldwide sales, though recently tapered, have jumped since Mark Lee became president of the company in 2004, then CEO the following year. In 2007, sales increased 11%; that's on top of a 17% increase in 2006 and a rise of 18.4% in 2005. Gucci is a part of the Gucci Group, which has a number of fashion brands in its portfolio, including Yves Saint Laurentand Sergio Rossi. PPR, a French holding company publicly traded on the Euronext exchange in Paris, owns the Gucci Group.

Complete List: World's Most Desirable Luxury Brands

"Gucci manages to offer high fashion and very commercial items," That red and green stripe is some of the most iconic luxury branding ever created, and people want a piece of it."

Behind The Brands

Born as a leather goods company, Gucci is now most well known for its logo-ed handbags. When the company opened a new 46,000-square-foot store, the largest of its 233 worldwide, on the ground level of the Trump Tower on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue last month, they also launched a "Gucci Loves New York" handbag collection which sold out within two days of opening. Proceeds from the bags went to Playground Partners Central Park Improvement Program.

Chanel and Calvin Klein tied for second. The privately held Chanel, famous for the little black dress, tweed suit and quilted handbag, was founded by Coco Chanel in 1909 and is currently helmed by Karl Lagerfeld. It stays relevant thanks to a slew of consistently classic yet stylish products. The label's current must-haves include a quilted leather envelope clutch and a sleeveless embroidered cashmere dress with pink trim; its current pitch woman is Keira Knightley.

Calvin Klein's global retail sales surged to $4.5 billion in 2006--that's an increase of 50% since Phillips Van Heusen acquired the company in 2003. It manages such reach thanks to its three labels: Calvin Klein Collection (designer apparel and accessories), ck Calvin Klein, (bridge apparel and accessories) and Calvin Klein (better apparel and accessories). Top looks for spring include slim trousers cut on the bias for men and a high-waisted white skirt suit for women.

Shopper Stats

When looking at who actually buys designer brands today, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong come out on top. Almost one-third of survey respondents living in these areas claimed to buy the brand with the iconic interlocking-G logo. Only 7% of North American shoppers polled buy Gucci products.

While designer goods are certainly desirable in emerging markets, North America was the least interested in luxury brands, with 35% of respondents claiming they would not be tempted to buy even if money was not an issue. When quality comes into play, 34% of respondents in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America believe designer goods have the highest quality vs. non-designer; that figure falls to 20% for both Europe and North America.

What would you buy if money were no object? Weigh in..
"In emerging markets such as Latin America and the Asian Pacific, designer brands are probably more of a proclamation," says David Boyd, vice president of Nielsen Global Research, "a way to set themselves apart or feel that they've arrived as part of the new economy."

Regional differences also emerge over counterfeit goods peddled at market stalls globally. Over a quarter of North Americans questioned believe that fakes are just as good as the real thing, but in Asia, where most of the fakes are produced, consumers hold them in low regard, with only 8% putting them on par with the genuine article.

"People in Asia can pick out a fake bag like no one I've seen," says Boyd, "But in the U.S., people are less aware and less concerned, because in the U.S. luxury brands are considered more mainstream..

Top 1o Luxury Brands:

1st - Gucci

Guccio Gucci founded the House of Gucci as a saddlery shop in Florence in 1906. A century later, the company's horse bit and stirrup motif is an enduring symbol of luxury. He started out selling leather bags to horsemen in the 1920s and progressed to luxury luggage as his clients graduated from equine transportation to horseless carriages. Today, with Frida Giannini at the creative helm, handbags with the interlocking double-G logo are among the company's biggest money makers.

2nd - Channel tied up with Calvin Klein

Chanel is one of today's best-known fashion brands, and has been practically since it was founded by Coco (Gabrielle) Chanel in 1909. Coco Chanel established herself as the 20th century's single most important arbiter of fashion by offering women no-nonsense, elegant, relaxed and functional clothes. Today, the tweed Chanel suit with a nipped-at-the-waist cardigan jacket remains one of the most popular--and most copied--fashion staples. In 1983, Karl Lagerfeld reinvigorated the brand with a dose of sexiness. He's been designing the collection ever since.

Calvin Klein

In 1968, Calvin Klein and an investor started the company as Calvin Klein Limited with a small line of men and women's coats. In the '70s, Klein won two Coty Awards for his minimalist styles, and by the middle of the decade he had created a designer-jeans craze by putting his name on each pair's back pocket. Advertisements featured a 15-year-old Brooke Shields who famously said, "Nothing comes between me and my Calvins." In 2003 Phillips Van Heusen acquired the brand, and today there are three tiers within the collection ranging from high-end pieces to moderately priced casualwear.

4th - Louis Vuitton

The French luxury fashion and leather goods brand, now a main division of the French holding company LVMH, was founded in 1854 as a luggage retailer. The company is now known for its monogrammed leather handbags and employs designer Marc Jacobs as its creative director. Keeping up with the demand for exclusive luxury, the company is collaborating with a series of artists for limited-edition handbag collections.

5th - Christian Dior

The designer founded the company in 1945 and quickly became famous for the "New Look," a fitted jacket with a nipped-in waist and full calf-length skirt. After the rationing of fabric during the World War II, Dior's lavish use of material was bold and shocking. Since 1996, chief designer John Galliano has been at the creative helm of the French fashion house, owned by the LVMH luxury goods group.

6th - Versace

Gianni Versace founded the Milan-based company in 1978. After his 1997 death, his sister Donatella Versace, formerly vice president, stepped in as creative director and his older brother Santo Versace became CEO. Today, despite talks of going public, the company is still entirely owned by the Versace family. While the collection is known for its flashy, embellished style, this spring the looks that came down the runway put more emphasis on cut and volume than shimmer and bling.

7th - Giorgio Armani

Giorgio Armani, 74, is the sole shareholder, president and chief executive of the designer brand. The fashion and luxury goods group manufactures, distributes and sells everything from apparel to cosmetics to home interiors under a range of seven brand names, but it is best known for its menswear.

8th - Ralph Lauren

After a stint as a Brooks Brothers tie salesman, Ralph Lauren, 69, started his powerhouse brand 42 years ago with a collection of ties. Today there are over 35 boutiques in the United States. The company offers three collections: Polo is the fast-fashion-fix line for the young metropolitan male; Black Label is a more upscale, edgier version of city dressing; and Purple Label is the ultimate deluxe line. The designer has a personal fortune of $4.2 billion.

9th - Prada

Milan-based Prada was founded as a leather goods company in 1913 by Mario Prada. His granddaughter Miuccia inherited the company in 1978 and grew the business into a fashion apparel company. Her claim to fame was the signature Prada nylon handbag, which helped turn the family company into a billion-dollar business.

10th - Yves Saint Laurent

Founded in 1961, Yves Saint Laurent was the first fashion house to launch women's ready-to-wear. He opened Rive Gauche boutiques for women in 1966 and added men's ready-to-wear in 1974, which helped make designer luxury labels more accessible to the wider public. The Gucci Group acquired Yves Saint Laurent in 1999

*****
Source: Forbes.com

Ritz
http://www.jewelrydays.com/

My Life Is Beautiful

E-Commerce 25th Anniversary

"Clearly, e-commerce has gone from kind of a glimmer in someone's eye to arguably one of the most important and powerful developments, I'd say, in modern-day commerce," remarked Standard & Poor's analyst Scott Kessler. "It has become not just popular or pervasive, but also critical for both companies and consumers as they look for goods online and, in many cases, are often selling goods online."
It may not have been noticed in the whirlwind of online transactions on Web sites like eBay or Amazon , but e-commerce turned 25 on Tuesday.
On March 4, 1983, Husband-wife team of Alex Randall and Cameron Hall quietly launched a business revolution that was then the stuff of dreams, when their year-old company, Boston Computer Exchange, sold a computer "on line" to a buyer in South America.
Randall and Hall had started their company as a clearinghouse for buying and selling computers at a time when PCs like the Apple 2, Tandy, IBM PC and Sinclair were first becoming available.
"Almost nobody outside of universities had computers," Randall told the E-Commerce Times. "But we could see it coming.We recognized that eventually you'd be able to trade all kinds of things this way."

"In 1983, the only people who had computers were bleeding-edge aficionados," he recalled. "The only thing we could trade was computer equipment. There was no market for fresh fruit delivered to your door. The only people out there were computer users and people looking to buy computers."
Randall said he and Hall developed a marketplace where computer users could upgrade from old units.
The two started at a meeting of the Boston Computer Society with trading cards and conducted hundreds of transactions over the phone. They began to dominate trading in used computers as a paper and pencil company, Randall said.
They then bought a 300 BPS modem -- a system so slow, Randall said, that the user could read text faster than it came to the screen), bought a new database system called "Alpha 2" and struck an agreement with the owners of Videotext -- which would later become Delphi (NYSE: DPH) -- for an online bulletin board system running software that allowed users to dial into the system over a phone line.
By partnering with Delphi and using its own dual floppy disk drive computer, BCE could post its database of products on a public access system.
On March 4, 1983, Randall and Hall got a call from a buyer in Santiago, Chile, and they subsequently made their first "on line" transaction.
"He was looking at the database online," Randall said. "He saw something that would be good to own. He phoned me he wanted to buy the system."
The caller purchased an IBM PC for $7,000, Randall said.
Randall and Hall later wrote an instruction book for creating a freestanding computer trading enterprise in any city.
The couple sold BCE in 1990 He became a professor of communications at the University of the Virgin Islands. Hall died of cancer in 1998.
"Cameron was a brilliant economist," Randall said. "She was very smart about money, and how marketplaces worked in the abstract."
Date Debate
The actual birthdate of e-commerce is not undisputed.
When told that e-commerce had just turned 25, Gordon Haff, principal IT advisor for Illuminata, paused.
"My initial reaction is that it's an interesting date to pick but also somewhat an arbitrary one," he told the E-Commerce Times. "People have ordered stuff, if you would, via e-mail, certainly long before 25 years ago."
However, the genesis of e-commerce, as the world has come to know it, probably is a lot more recent than 1983, Haff added.
"I wouldn't say 'e-commerce,' if you think about it, really was anything approaching mass market until the Web era," he said. "I'd say we really had mass market closer to 10 years than 25. But, sure, you can find early examples."
"Our original concept was to build databases that could be infinitely expanded for any product," he explained. "It's utterly incredible. We were uploading data at 350 bits per second then, and now we have people buying things from eBay and Amazon on a click of a mouse without even thinking. It's astonishing how far we've gone."
Gartner analyst Avivah Litan shared that enthusiasm.
"I was thinking yesterday about an interview I had with Bill Gates before Windows came out," she told the E-Commerce Times. "I asked him what was in the future, and he said, 'graphics.' Back in the beginning, the interfaces were kind of kludgy, awkward, kind of heavy and hard to use."
For Better or Worse
As much as e-commerce has matured, it's still mostly potential.
"It's still only around 10 percent or less of all sales in the U.S.," At some point, it will probably get 20 to 25 percent. But at this point, more people use it to window shop than actually make a purchase."
The explosive growth in e-commerce hasn't been all good.
"We saw the crooks come in, which is what I follow the closest now."It's not as safe as it used to be."
Whatever its roots are, e-commerce has matured into a major business category, an equity analyst at Standard & Poor's.
"Clearly, e-commerce has gone from kind of a glimmer in someone's eye to arguably one of the most important and powerful developments, I'd say, in modern-day commerce. "It has become not just popular or pervasive, but also critical for both companies and consumers as they look for goods online and, in many cases, are often selling goods online."
Randall said he was content to let others apply their own ingenuity to what he and Hall began in their living room."I feel like the guy who invented the Stanley Steamer," he said. "It didn't end up as the model used in the automobile industry, but it played a part."

*****

Source:E-commerce times

Ritz

http://www.jewelrydays.com/

My Life Is Beautiful

Why are online jewelry sales so high?

Officially, it appears that online jewelry revenues were about $4.8 billion or 7.4 percent of total jewelry industry sales in 2007. Preliminary jewelry sales in the U.S. market in 2007 were $64.8 billion.

Total Retail Online Sales for 2007 :

The U.S. Department of Commerce has reported that total online commerce was about $136.4 billion in 2007, up 19.0 percent from the prior year. As a percentage of total retail sales, e-commerce sales in 2007 were 3.4 percent, up from 2.9 percent in the prior year.
The graph below compares online retail penetration for all retail categories versus online penetration for jewelry sales.

Why are online jewelry sales, as a percentage of total industry sales, so high in comparison to the average for all retail categories? Currently, most online jewelry sales represent diamond jewelry. A recent study by ad agency JWT suggests that roughly 80 percent of all online jewelry sales are diamonds and diamond jewelry. Because diamond jewelry carries a much higher average ticket than other jewelry categories, the bias in sales towards diamonds is pushing up the reported online sales penetration. Further, consumers are increasingly buying from online jewelers because they offer the same goods at a much better price than most store-based jewelers.

Source: IDEX & U.S. Dept. of Commerce

*****

http://www.jewelrydays.com/

My Life Is Beautiful

Golden Christmas

Japanese jewelers have prepared a very unusual Christmas and New Year gift for those who love expensive jewelry and luxury pieces. They have unveiled a statue of Santa Claus made of 20 kilograms of pure yellow gold and 1,7 ct of diamonds! The 41-centimeter tall gold Santa Claus carries a shoulder bag and of course not a simple one: it is made of fine gold wire. As for the gifts Santa carries in his bag, they are also made of pure yellow gold. Santa's belt buckle is adorned with 23 diamonds.The gold Santa Claus is already on display at Tanaka Kikinzoku jewelry shop, in Tokyo. It took three months to create the statue of 20 kg gold Santa that measures approximately 41 cm x 24 cm x 25 cm. The gorgeous gold Santa Claus will be displayed at the shop until Christmas but the company is ready to create more pieces on order. As for the price for such an unusual Santa Claus, it reaches about 200 million yen! It would be nice to get such a Santa as a gift for Christmas, wouldn't it?

Source: gifts infonlac.com

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Who wouldn’t love that precious Santa Claus. Whoever thought of making it must have known how precious Santa Claus is. I’m an adult already but still I get excited with the thought of Santa Claus, reminds me of my childhood days, staying up at night waiting for him to bring me my gift. That someone who is going to dish out 2 million yen for this precious thing will definitely have a golden Christmas. Brilliance!

-ann

http://www.jewelrydays.com/

My Life Is Beautiful

Attention: Lingerie Made of Gold!

The Shenyang Cuihua Gold store made the headlines in creating a lingerie made out of pure solid gold, the first of its kind in China. It took four months and four goldsmiths to make this project possible. This glamorous and distinctive lingerie weighs 950 grams. And I'm sorry to let you girls.. and guys know that this piece is definitely not for sale. The store owner made it clear that it is only for demonstration. If they were for sale though, the lingerie would amount to about $26,500.

Ananova


Ladies! Do you fancy owning this fantastic piece of art and wearing it? Or to the guys, imagine giving it as a gift to your girl and seeing her wear it. Anybody interested in talking the owner into selling the golden lingerie? Let us know if ever you succeed in changing his mind.



**********

http://www.jewelrydays.com/
--My Life Is Beautiful

Everlasting Gems

Zircon crystals from the Natural History Museum. Diamonds more than 4 billion years old, nearly as old as Earth, have been found in zircon crystals recently uncovered in Western Australia.

FACTS ON DIAMONDS - What we know about them as of now:

* The Earth is thought to have formed 4.5 billion years ago. There would have been a huge amount of heat, explosions and violent activity as the Earth's crust and mantle was created. Any rock or mineral from around this time would need to be very tough to exist unchanged today.

* Zircon - A mineral whose crystals are extremely tough and relatively resistant to melting, so it is likely to hold clues about how the Earth's crust was made.

* Diamonds in Zircon crystals - through further analysis of these crystals, small diamonds were found in them dated over four billion years ago. This is nearly a billion years older than the previous oldest diamonds on Earth and only 300 million years away from the time when the Earth formed.

* New Findings - The research also suggests that the Earth cooled much more quickly than previously thought with the continental crust and oceans forming as early as 4.4 billion years ago.

* Not the Oldest Ones Though - But these diamonds aren't the oldest known. Sara Russell, meteorite and cosmochemistry expert at the Natural History Museum, explains, 'Although the Jack Hills diamonds are the oldest ones known to have formed on Earth, in our collections at the Museum we have meteorites that host diamonds predating even the formation of the Earth.'

Source: Natural History Musuem

Diamonds really are forever. Their resilience to chemical and physical processes means that they have an amazing capacity to survive and tell us about very early events. What fascinating traits of these everlasting gems! Not only are they beautiful and glamorous adornments, pricey at that, but they also give us facts about the Earth's history, which is very useful for our knowledge and understanding on how our planet came to be.


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http://www.jewelrydays.com/
--My Life Is Beautiful

MEMOIRS OF THE ACCLAIMED LITTLE TURQUOISE BOX

In the world of retailing, few items are as recognizable as the turquoise Tiffany & Co. box wrapped in a white satin bow. And -- not coincidentally -- even fewer American companies have enjoyed close to two centuries worth of growth and appeal as this venerable New York institution.

Tiffany has survived and prospered because its management always welcomed new talent, trends and marketing techniques. While the competition remained change resistant, Tiffany & Co. managed to retain an aura of quality and elegance while embracing the evolving tastes of its customers.

Below is the path Tiffany went through over the years to achieve the renowned status they are in.

TIFFANY & CO.'S HISTORICAL FACTS:

*The beginning: 1837 - Charles Lewis Tiffany and his brother-in-law, John Burnett Young, opened a small "stationery and fancy goods emporium" in New York. Their first day’s sales totaled $4.98. (And today, the company’s annual sales are close to $1.6 billion!!!)

*The story behind the blue box: The iconic color originated with French painter Jean-Marc Nattier, who used the color that ultimately became known as "Nattier blue." This shade was a favorite of Marie Antoinette. And it was Empress Eugenie’s favorite for her wardrobe and furniture while she and Napoleon III ruled from 1853 to 1870.

According to retail legend, 11 years after his store opened, Charles Tiffany decided to buy some of the French crown jewels, including a diamond necklace once owned by Marie Antoinette. During these pre-Civil War years in America, having a European "royal connection" was considered a marketing coup.

*1840s - Charles Tiffany insisted on "upgrading" his store’s image with a European influx of jewelry.

*Two acquired assets in 1851: Charles Tiffany had bought the John C. Moore Co. which was able to add silverware, and Moore’s talented son, Edward, become director of Tiffany's silver shop for the next 40 years. Edward Moore introduced unusual Eastern themes and techniques (Persian, Japanese, and Chinese) on the silver that he designed for the company.

*1862 - President Abraham Lincoln bought a suite of pearl and gold jewelry for his wife. During the Civil War, the store made a fortune by supplying the Union army with swords, rifles, metals and badges.

*1867 - Tiffany & Co. became the first American company to win an award for excellence in silverware at the Paris Exposition Universelle.

*DIAMOND HISTORY (1886) - Charles Tiffany introduced the 6-prong platinum mount for engagement rings. Before this time, diamonds had been set into metal, but the new setting raised the stone and allowed light to sparkle through the gem.

*Beginning of the 20th century -Tiffany's had established itself as America’s premier jewelry store for excellence in design, craftsmanship and materials.

*1902 - The death of Charles Tiffany. All the major silver and jewelry retailers and manufacturers in New York closed during his funeral as a sign of respect.

*1907 - Tiffany's son, Lewis Comfort Tiffany, had his own business designing lamps, vases and jewelry but by this time, he merged his business with the established Tiffany store in New York.

*20s and 30s - Tiffany prospered during the Roaring Twenties and even managed to survive the Depression well into the 1930s.

*1940 - Tiffany broke ground on what was to become its permanent headquarters at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street.

*1987 - Tiffany had its initial public offering which was also the year when the first Tiffany store opened in London.

Source: Portland Business Journal


The story behind Tiffany & Co.'s success just goes to show how hard work and perseverance pays off. It has gone from a fancy goods store to an international jewelry giant having 167 stores around the world and almost 9,000 employees. The next time you see one of those blue boxes, think of all the talent, time, and creativity that it took to make Tiffany & Co. become an enduring brand and symbol of good taste and design excellence around the world.


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http://www.jewelrydays.com/
--My Life Is Beautiful

A Colossal "BLUE DIAMOND" ... Going Once.. Going Twice..

A whopping sculpture of a "Blue Diamond" which is actually made of polished steel and chromium will be auctioned at Christie's in New York on 13th of November. Made by American artist Jeff Koons, known for his elegant high-grade steel and baroque designed porcelain figures, this sculpture is part of a series he called Celebration which consists of paintings and sculptures depicting toys and childhood themes - which began in 1994.

The "Blue Diamond" stands nearly eight feet tall and more than seven feet wide. It is said to represent an egg, which is being fertilized by the four gold-colored prongs that hold it in place. In the above mentioned series Celebration, there are four other versions of sculptured diamonds in red, pink, and green that are already privately owned, while a yellow version is said to be in production at the moment.

"Blue Diamond" is rumored to raise around $12 million in the auction. If in fact the "diamond" reaches this estimate, this will be Koons highest paid piece of art. The said amount is more than twice his auction record set in 2001 when his “Michael Jackson and Bubbles” sold for $5.6 million. Some say there have since been several private sales of Koons sculptures which amount to as much as $20 million.

--Source: BBC News

As we can see and as we all know, diamonds are so valuable and are worth a million dollars, even if they are not real diamonds. Imagine how much it would cost if the "Blue Diamond" is a real diamond rather than made of steel and chromium. Zillions! Not only are they girls' bestfriend, as the cliche goes, but also rich men's buddies and collectors' prized art pieces. Not only do diamond miners or companies make money out of diamonds but also artists like Jeff Koons. And as for most of us wanting our own blue diamonds, or even just a hint of blue in your jewelry like sapphire accents to your diamond ring, browse through our site and choose from various styles. We can also get them blue diamonds if you like, not as big as the gigantic "Blue Diamond" though. :)

As for the updates on the auction for the "Blue Diamond", we will surely keep you posted.


*****

http://www.jewelrydays.com/
--My Life Is Beautiful

Acclaimed Pink Diamond... Who Will Be The Highest Bidder?

Diagem, Inc., a Canadian exploration mining company, obtained the currently famous "Pink Diamond" last March. This stone, weighing 9.34 carats, was purchased for the price of $ 445,000 from an artisan miner in Brazil who had mining permit in Diagem's property 370/98. Since then, Diagem sent the stone to Natural Diamond in Antwerp, Belgium to have the stone evaluated, cut, and polished. Last September 11, they announced that the heart-shaped, pink diamond (with some shade of tangerine) at 3.13 carats, is almost finished with the processing.

A diamond trader from the United Arab Emirates also analyzed the diamond and said that aside from it's rarity, it also has an evenly distributed intense pink color, very small inclusions, and with no internal defects. Auction houses have been very interested in adding this diamond to their next auctions, more likely on the auction before Valentine's Day. Proceeds of the sale will be used to fund Diagem's diamond exploration and development projects.
-- Source : Rapaport

The procuring of this precious pink diamond is a significant evidence of the quality of the diamonds originating from Chapada, a flat-topped upland found in the Brazilian Highlands, where the kimberlite pipes cluster are found. Note: Kimberlite is a type of rock best known for sometimes containing diamonds. It is named after the town of Kimberley in South Africa, where the finding of a large kimberlite pipe in the 1870s spawned a diamond rush.
-- Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

As February, the expected time of the auction comes close, its value is most likely to increase when they discover more rare and distinct characteristics of the pink diamond as they are still in process of evaluation and polishing to this date. It looks like Diagem, in this possession of the one-of-a-kind diamond, succeeded in their pursuit of setting forth a new variety of diamondiferous deposit which will bring a cutting edge addition to the diamond market. Thus, it won't be too long until we see this highly regarded pink diamond available in the market. Let's all wait and see when it will come up in the Jewelry Days Catalog. At the moment, what I am anxious to know is who will eventually win the 3.13 carat heart-shaped pink diamond? Who will be the highest bidder? We will surely keep you posted...

Fancy Colored Diamonds Facts :

-- Fancy colored diamonds come in a variety of natural colors, including yellow, pink, blue, purple, orange, cognac, champagne and red.

-- Only one in every 10,000 diamonds possesses natural color.

-- True red diamonds, the rarest of diamonds, are so scarce, only seven are believed available for sale.

-- Fancy colored diamonds are produced by trace elements and distortions to the diamond crystal.

-- Blue diamonds are often created by the introduction of boron into the diamond. -- The presence of nitrogen produces diamonds in yellow and orange.

-- Hydrogen generates unique shades of violet.

-- Intense pressure, even greater than that for traditional white diamonds, produces diamonds in red, pink, purple and brown.

-- Green, blue, aqua and teal diamonds result from millennia of exposure to natural radiation.

-- The most famous diamond is the 45.52 carat, blue Hope Diamond, housed at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.

-- Pink diamonds gained national attention when Ben Affleck presented Jennifer Lopez with a 6.1 carat pink diamond ring for their high-profile, but ill-fated, engagement.




*****

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--My Life Is Beautiful

“For the Love of God” - a $100 Million Masterpiece of a Skull

"For The Love of God!"

A one-of-a-kind creation has been invading broadsheets, televisions, radios, webpages, and other media. Indeed, it is worth the talk-of-the town, not only for its uniqueness but most importantly, the kind of art and soul it has.

Another unique masterpiece has come to life with the playful and artistic mind of Mr. Hirst. The art-piece known as “For the Love of God”, is a life-size cast of a human skull in platinum, covered by 8,601 almost flawless pavé-set diamonds. To learn more about these kind of diamonds please visit Jewelry Guide.

The state-of-the-art masterpiece is a creation of Mr. Hirst which is rather described as outrageous in its demands (not least a $100m price tag), daring in conception and execution, flamboyantly showy, but as piercingly accurate in its attaching of our thoughts and feelings about wonders of birth and life, death, art and wealth.

Said masterpiece is housed on Jay Jopling's new London gallery, White Cube Mason's Yard. Jay Jopling gave the creation an extravagant unveiling and the “For the Love of God” was displayed like a prized relic in a luxurious casket, in this new temple to contemporary art.

Below is a preview of how “For the Love of God” was carefully and artistically made into being:

(1) Selecting of flawless diamonds.

(2) Shaping the form of the molded skull for furnishing.

(3) The skull, almost half ready, minus the denture part

(4) Pave Setting the diamonds on the subject

(5) Putting details on each of the parts.

(6) Almost done with the masterpiece.

(7) Setting the pear-shape, loose diamond as the centerpiece.

(8) Adding details on the centerpiece.

(9) Furnishing and perfecting details on the centerpiece

Combined with a unique plan, careful calculation, and artistic procedure, diamonds indeed makes a creation more elegant, extravagant, one-of-a-kind, precious and eternal.

Source:

"For the love of God ", Economist.com

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Jewelry Days

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My Life is Beautiful

Study Shows That Diamonds Are Nearly As Old As Earth

"DIAMONDS", the word itself describes beauty and splendor, brilliance, elegance, and permanence. The word diamond was taken from the Greek word "Adamas" which means invincible and indestructible. Diamonds are indeed the hardest metal on earth!

Diamonds’ history is as interesting as its name!

There had been a number of studies showing that diamonds had been produced dating back to billions of years ago and certain vital questions could not be answered. Not until recently when group of scientist from Intstitute of Mineralogy found the answers to all its vagueness unearthing the real history of diamonds.

Scientist found out that diamonds had formed shortly after the rapid cooling of the earth making it a little younger than the formation of the earth. Then surroundings had catered to the formation of these precious rocks.

DIAMONDS BEFORE AND NOW

For thousands of years diamonds has attracted kings, queens, pirates and all other human being towards its mesmerizing beauty and value. Diamond has been the source for prosperity, power, love, courage and magical powers.

In the past, diamonds were considered as tears drops of the almighty god with magical powers in it; Hence in olden days persons in possession of diamonds were considered powerful and dominant.

Even now diamonds have the same eminence as it had in past. Whatever may be the history of diamonds, it has always been one of the most sought and precious stone in the entire world.

Learn more about diamonds by clicking Jewelry Guide on the home page.

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--My Life Is Beautiful

Will Blue Topaz Be ‘X-rated’ for X-mas?

Jewelry Days.com Management – Consumer Oriented

The issue: Much rigorous procedure before Blue Topaz is released for the market consumption.

There had been some reports on regulation and heightened controlling of the popular Blue Topaz gems in the market for its allegedly harmful effects if not properly disposed of. The new procedure requires a rigorous and longer preparation and screening before the gem is allowed to be available for everyone’s consumption.

Effects on Jewelers: slower marketing; scarce production; rigorous procedural testing; higher cost for testing; tighter regulation

Basically, an expected harm would require commissions to take double cautions and undertake actions that would ensure the welfare of the consumers as well that of the environment.

A more rigorous procedure would cost jewelers longer time range before the product is APPROVED for market consumption. This would imply lesser product of the kind, slower processing and costly for the availability such a gem.

Jewelry Days.com says:

Jewelry Days.com management assures that each of the jewelry available and in stock and other produce are of its best form and had undergone rigorous testing of products for the benefit of the consumers.

Consumer Protection: Social Responsibility; Respecting and Safeguarding Customers and to gain Trust; Adherence to Technical Procedure of Screening

It adheres to international standard of testing and other procedural testing required to be taken to ensure its value and safety.

Jewelry Days.com aims to treat everyone with respect and we strive to protect people as well as the environment. The company is very well indeed aware of its social responsibility.

Rest assured that products from Jewelry Days.com are environment-friendly and had undergone the correct and necessary screening and testing procedures both local and international commissions for quality control had set upon.


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--My Life Is Beautiful

Online Jewelry Shopping Out-Competing Neighborhood Stores

According to the Jewelers’ Board of Trade, the number of small, independent jewelry stores has declined 16% over the last ten years.

The cause is more than competing with each other – it’s the keen competition offered by online jewelry sites.

Consumers are learning that they can purchase quality merchandise for less money with just the click of a mouse.

Here are the major reasons for this significant trend:

• Younger buyers want convenience. Jewelry websites let you browse and buy on your coffee break or in your pajamas.
  
• They also want affordability over tradition. With lower overhead, jewelry websites like Jewelry Days.com can pass along significant savings.
  
• Today’s consumers are comfortable buying online. They know that buying online is as safe, if not safer, than traditional shopping. Satisfaction guarantees are now commonplace online.
  
• Traditional stores can’t turn over their inventory fast enough to offer the widest selections…online stores don’t have to. They can access jewelry warehouses worldwide…virtually. So online shoppers get more options.

The future of jewelry buying is, undoubtedly, over the world wide web.