The Cannes Film Festival is the most glamorous, star-studded movie event this side of the Oscars. Every year stars, directors, critics, and fans flock to the picturesque French town to get the inside scoop on the year’s biggest movies.
This year, it seems jewel thieves wanted to get in on the action. In less than a week there have been two robberies where millions of dollars worth of diamonds disappeared. Continue reading »
The price of diamonds keeps going up, but this time there’s a special reason for the surge – demand from Chinese buyers has gone through the roof! With any increase in demand comes increased pricing.
Since 2009, higher quality diamonds have appreciated in value modestly, from 5% to 7%. But the smaller, lower quality, or flawed stones have jumped up 35%.
As China’s economy booms, and the ranks of the middle class swell to unheard of levels. Chinese consumers are keen to purchase luxury items like diamonds, but they are tending to buy small or flawed stones. And they are buying them in record numbers! 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 »
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 65th 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 »
In an effort to create a world-famous diamond brand, Russian diamond company Alrosa is seeking out business partnerships with leading diamond market players. The Russian company hopes to strike deals with everyone from auction houses to diamond merchants.
When an established name like Sotheby’s agrees to auction your diamonds, it is sure to increase your credibility and name recognition. The elite auction house has not only agreed to market the diamonds, but will also actively promote the Alrosa brand to its clients. Previously, exposure of Alrosa diamonds was limited to specific clients or the Alrosa auction house itself, which is not as well-known as Sotheby’s. An agreement between the Russian diamond giant and Sotheby’s is the first step for Alrosa to gain international recognition, and a steady way to market their diamonds outside of Russia. In return, Sotheby’s gets to auction off premium Russian diamonds from their new partners, some of which will weigh over 40 carats. The deal is already sealed and a test sale at a Sotheby auction has already taken place and succeeded. The relationship is expected to generate sales in the hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars (USD) on the premium diamond market.
Tiffany’s is another key diamond player that Alrosa has sought to partner with. An agreement, which has already been signed between the two, means that Tiffany will purchase at least 60 million USD of Russian diamonds from Alrosa every year. By partnering with companies that already have a worldwide customer base and strong name recognition, Alrosa can pretty much ride their partners’ coattails to a better brand name as well. Alrosa will continue to look for opportunities to create a stronger brand name while also increasing sales across the board. Expect to see more of Alrosa diamonds at the auction houses and at diamond retailers in the years to come.
[Photo Credit: FancyDiamonds]
A huge diamond weighing 101.73 carats recently showed up on the auction block at Christie’s. The stone sold for an icy $20 million and now holds the record for the world’s largest colorless diamond to be sold. This stone is not the first humongous diamond to make auction history, and it certainly won’t be the last one either. Many diamonds that have graced the auction house block have also fed the public’s fascination with diamonds; some were heralded for their color or cut, and yet others were revered for their flawlessness or the story that went with them. Some of these history making stones we know well, and in there are sure to be more stones whose stories have not yet been written.
There are many famous diamonds, but some diamonds are made famous by their unique cuts. These stones are often cut from other famous diamonds. The 101.73 carat wonder we spoke of earlier was actually cut from a 236 carat rough diamond found in Botswana. It was fashioned into a beautiful pear-cut diamond about the size of a large strawberry. It’s the latest in a long line of diamonds made famous by their cuts, here are a few other diamonds whose unique cuts made history:
The Taj Mahal Diamond is a heart-shaped diamond has one of the most romantic stories of any stone in history. It was a gift from Mhugal Emperor Shah Jahangir to his favorite wife four years before she died. His wife, Nur Jahan, inspired him to build the Taj Mahal as a memorial to their love. That diamond sold for $8.8 million, and is one of the most romantic diamonds in history.
Cullinan I, aka the Star of Africa I, weighs in at 530 carats and held the title of the largest cut diamond from it’s cutting until 1987. The stone from which all the Cullinan stones were cut yielded 9 large diamonds and over 100 smaller stones. The rough Cullinan stone weighed in at an astounding 3,106 carats before it was cut into various other parts. The Cullinan II is another huge stone which was cut from the original rough Cullinan, and weighs a lofty 317 carats. The Cullinan diamonds (I, II, and III) are now part of Britain’s crown jewels collection.
The Koh-i-Noor is an oval-cut diamond which is also part of the British crown jewels, and has a very long history. Mogul emperors and Indian Rajahs coveted the stone; they smuggled it away and fought over the stone until the British finally got a hold of it. It is believed that the stone may have even graced the Peacock throne at one time. The stone was originally 1986 carats, but has been cut down multiple times to become the 105.60 diamond we know today.
The honor of the largest cut diamond, by carat weight, goes to the Golden Jubilee Diamond, which rings in at 545.67 carats. The stone has a fire rose cushion cut and is colored a unique yellow-brown. It was a given to the Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his coronation. The Golden Jubilee holds a remarkable place amongst the Thai crown jewels and is kept at the Royal Thai palace. Christie’s has sold many large diamonds, but nothing has equaled the size of the Golden Jubilee. The great Thai jewel is five times larger than the 101.73 carat diamond that recently sold for $20 million.
These are just a few of the most famous jewels in history. If you want to learn about even more famous diamonds, check out our article about the most famous diamonds ever.
When you lose your luggage it may be inconvenient, but it will rarely cost you $50 million. That’s exactly what happened when one payload – a cargo hold of diamonds – was stolen in a well-planned theft that left Brussels Airport security officials stunned and asking questions. In a surreal “Ocean’s Eleven” type maneuver, an armed gang of eight pulled off this escapade with only minutes in between the loading of the plane and its departure. Unfortunately, the cost of the diamonds is not the only price the theft has left to be paid. The hit to the reputation of the Brussels Airport security, and the diamond industry that relies on it for safe passage, has been severe. Continue reading »
Costco allegedly scored a large number of diamond sales, sales which Tiffany & Company believe to be trademark infringement and false advertisement. The two merchandising behemoths have protected their trademarks fiercely in the past, leaving confusion as to how Costco managed to sell “Tiffany” engagement rings for years without Tiffany’s knowledge or agreement. To reciprocate, Tiffany & Co. presented Costco with a lovely Valentine’s gift this past Thursday – a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of New York. Continue reading »