Think you know everything there is to know about diamonds? Bet you don’t! See how you do on answering these ultra-trivial trivia questions. Right or wrong? True or false? Fact or fiction?

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Do you know what your diamond is worth? Not what the retail price was, not what the person at the jewelry store told you, but what its actual value is? It’s important to know, for four possible reasons.

- You want to buy it

- You want to sell it

- You want to insure it

- You’re just curious

If you’re not considering selling your diamond, and have never thought about having it insured, then your response is probably “This doesn’t apply to me.” But it so does! Continue reading »

On February 18, the Brussels airport was the site of one of the most daring and spectacular diamond heists in recent history. With the pitch perfect timing of a Hollywood movie, eight masked men stole $50 million worth of diamonds in three minutes, and then vanished. The boldness of the crime sent waves through the diamond industry.

This past Tuesday, the law finally caught up with the crooks following a multi-national investigation. Continue reading »

Mother’s Day is just around the corner. What did you get your beloved Mom? A brooch? A bracelet? A bouquet? A breathtaking brunch? Well not to make you feel like an underachiever or anything, but here are a handful of remarkable and amazing (and maybe a little crazy) gifts that famous folks have given their mothers. Continue reading »

Diamonds are the hardest substance on Earth, but they still need to be handled delicately, and with great care.  Over time any precious stone can lose its sparkle and become dull or discolored, even a diamond. And while the stone itself won’t break the setting for it might, without constant, loving attention.

Diamonds are the most dazzling and valuable jewels you can have, so here are a few Dos and Don’ts for treating them like they deserve. Continue reading »

They’re big, bold, and beautiful and they make you look sensational! Statement necklaces continue to fascinate celebrities and fashion mavens who won’t let the trend go out quite yet. Statement necklaces are high-impact jewelry that can take a simple strapless dress and give it drama and elegance. From the red carpet to your living room carpet, these incredibly adaptable accessories work with almost any ensemble, and bring it to life. The idea is to make a declaration – Here I am! – and not be a wallflower. Continue reading »

As a child, you might have swallowed things like crayons, toys, coins and other common household items. While these non-edibles are more commonly accidentally swallowed, it’s not everyday someone swallows a diamond. An 80-year-old woman in Tampa was at the Tampa Woman’s Club’s 65^th annual charity event when she accidentally swallowed a $5000 1.03-carat diamond that had been donated to help support the cause. Continue reading »

Most jewelry thefts take a few minutes, complete with a mad dash into the store, smashing of cases, and a hasty exit to the doors with the loot. A recent hold-up at a Hannoush jewelry subsidiary took two hours. That gave the thieves plenty of time to grab the best loot, costing the store between $4 and $5 million. Instead of rushing the store, the thieves decided to take the employees hostage to get a free run of the store. Continue reading »

New York’s Christie’s auction house is literally rocking the gem world this year; they have sold several huge stones for record setting prices, and it’s only April. Their latest sale was a rare pink diamond, called the “Princie Diamond,” that weighs in at 34.65 carats and fetched $39.3 million to an anonymous buyer. While it’s not the largest diamond ever sold, it is the second highest sale price for any gemstone ever sold at auction. The Princie, a 300-year-old diamond, sold for almost twice as much as a 101.73-carat diamond that Christie’s sold earlier this year; that diamond went for a cool $20 million. While not as expensive, the 101.73 carat monster was the largest colorless diamond ever sold at auction. Is this a trend of things to come for Christie’s this year? With such record-shattering gemstones being offered up early in the year, it remains to be seen how the auction house plans to outdo it’s self; but they’ve definitely placed the bar very high. Continue reading »

Dorothy may have made her way to the Emerald City on a gold brick road, but many diamond sellers have been hoping and expecting the road to riches lay on a diamond BRIC. BRIC, or the four emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), are set to unleash millions of new consumers into the luxury diamond market. For two of those economies (China and India) the predictions held true, but Russia and Brazil still have a ways to go to show promising growth in sales in their respective countries. In one case, it appears Russian sales within the country are not as important as sales outside the country as Russian diamond merchants begin to enter their offerings on a global market via famous auction houses. However, both Brazil and Russia lag behind in sales even as their consumers engage economies that get more robust every year. The difference for that may not be in the number of new consumers able to make diamond purchases, but the cultural differences in each of these four BRIC countries. Continue reading »