Gemstones are prized for their natural beauty and can costs thousands of dollars per carat for rarer diamonds and other precious stones. Diamonds with good cuts, clarity and massive size can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars at auctions and those with a history behind them, even more than you would expect for a diamond of high-quality. Jewelry stores depend on the continued popularity of gems to keep prices high for better profit margins. Many jewelers only sell a few large, expensive stones per month, so they must rely on good wholesale pricing as well as the marketing from the diamond industry to fetch a good retail price. If not, they may even lose money on the deal and eventually go out of business. The market for gems is rather soft at the moment, but there have been large offerings that have resulted in record prices. Not everyone is completely broke at the moment and there are deals to be had out there in the retail market.

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Rare gems and gem encrusted jewelry will always have a story attached to them. The checkered past of such items is usually due to their immense value as well as the collectible value. One such situation is currently underway with what is known as the Bahia emerald which has garnered a lot of following. The kind of celebrity status that the uncut emerald currently has can easily be compared to a movie star as people from most walks of life are waiting for the intriguing battle for its ownership to resolve.

The Bahia diamond is an 840 pound chunk of rough green diamonds embedded in a chunk of granite. The size of the Bahia Emerald is roughly estimated at 4 x 4 x 4 feet, which makes it the biggest uncut emerald in the world. It is highly likely that the Bahia Emerald will not be cut for making jewelry as its value comes from its title of being the biggest uncut emerald in the world.

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Buying jewels for yourself or for others is something lots of us do. However, there are certain things you need to be looking out for before you part with your hard earned cash.  Fashion jewelry design is big business, and for these items you expect not to have to spend big bucks, as they are made to look like more than they are.  However, for many people this is more than acceptable. What people generally want is value for money jewelry items that they can have lots of and rotate to suit their mood, but from a glance maybe mistaken by a passerby as something much more valuable.  The customer pays very little for these items and gets exactly what they want.

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Diamonds may be forever, but often the settings aren’t. Diamond jewelry, high end engagement rings and pendants especially, should be cared for like any good investment. You wouldn’t carelessly leave your house or car dirty, just because you’ve gotten used to it being there all the time. However, many people forget about the care and maintenance needed to make their jewelry last a long, long, time. Here are some great tips for how to care for your find diamond jewelry.

Clean Gently

Every day you put on makeup and other types of products on your body. All that can land on your fine jewelry and cause it to lose the glow it had in the jewelry case. This doesn’t even account for the perspiration that comes off your body and also can bring dirt to your fine jewelry. The key is to take your jewelry off at night and clean it with a 100% cotton cloth before storing in a pouch or something while you sleep.

Beware the Environment

Some jewelry made of silver or gold can tarnish or pit due to the environment. If you’re getting into a hot tub, it’s a good idea to take off your jewelry first, if you’re unsure. Hot temperatures and a high level of chlorine can contribute to the rapid demise of your jewelry settings. If you have prongs or other delicate pieces on your jewelry, then don’t wear them when you’re playing sports either. They can get bent or broken very easily.

Don’t Use Abrasives to Clean Your Jewelry

You don’t want to scratch the surface of your setting or a semi-precious stone. Abrasives like toothpaste should be avoided. The best way to clean your jewelry is with jewelry cleaner or in an ultrasonic cleaner. If your jewelry has more than diamonds on it, be sure to that the method you use to clean it isn’t going to damage softer stones. Don’t use alcohol as that can damage some settings, and stick with water and gentle jewelry cleaners. You can have your jewelry maintained by your local jeweler should a clasp break or your white gold needs recoating.

As the economy gets worse due to various factors including defaults on loans and job losses due to the slowed consumer spending, investors seek out safe ways to convert their cash into a medium that will allow for growth in these circumstances. Precious metals, especially gold, are a great way for investors to protect themselves from the overall stock losses seen in this type of climate. When the economy is in flux and current salaries are lowered, investors have no real idea of when it will rebound. They end up buying gold and gold stocks, which in turn, raises the price of this investment vehicle as the demand increases.

The economy is kept in check by the lowering of interest rates to keep borrowing costs down and increase the flow of credit and lending from banks. The Fed dictates these interest rates and they have a strong impact on the economy and the gold prices specifically. When there is a recession, the Fed tends to lower interest rates to spur spending and lending, which increases inflation but also helps with a recovery.
Inflation is an indicator as to how money is flowing and many experts feel that inflation will begin to escalate now that the government is printing money hand over fist. Those who invest in gold have the opinion that as long as the Fed keeps inflation down, the price of gold will continue to rise, making their investments more valuable. But credit ratings agencies are considering changing the rating for government debt as they see the lending rates going up steeply in the next few years.

This raise in lending rates will lower inflation as they rise and fall inversely. Inflation is the amount of the rise or fall in consumer prices of goods and services and when it rises, can indicate some recovery. Raising interest rates would quickly squash any out of control inflation as it happens. As soon as the economy recovers, the price of gold will start to go down as investors will start to move from the safe-haven that gold represents to more risky investments such as stocks to increase the value of their portfolios.

Some people are purists and will only wear diamonds with diamonds. However, pearls are also a classic accompanying element in elegant jewelry ensembles. Today’s look is more eclectic and you can literally wear anything you want with diamonds, finding new looks that may not have even been possible in the past.

Pearls

For a classic match, cultured pearls and diamonds really complement each other. The soft glow of the pearl provides a perfect foil for the fiery sparkle of diamonds. You can have diamond and pearl earrings, or wear a diamond ring with a pearl necklace. You can have pearl bracelets with diamond clasps, or a diamond pendant hanging from a pearl necklace. It’s all stunning and very beautiful!

Semi-Precious Stones

You can even pair diamonds with your birthstone, if it happens to be a semi-precious stone. The two gemstones together complement each other. When the color to wear for the spring season is violet, then why not wear amethyst earrings with diamond chips? Gemstones of all types and colors look great with diamonds!

Natural Elements

Some stars in previous red carpet seasons took to wearing raw diamonds. These natural stones look even better with natural elements like shells. Just because you’re wearing a diamond doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun. Fresh water pearls are a natural element that look great with a little sparkle added to them also. This is particularly true of themed weddings like beach weddings or princess weddings. Add a little fun to your jewelry ensembles that make you feel quirky and alive!

Luxury Items

A put-together look includes the shoes, the purse, as well as the jewelry accessories. If luxury is what you’re going for, then invest in some designer goods to highlight the rich look of diamond jewelry. Go for other fancy colored diamonds to wear with your white diamonds. In some cases they’re less expensive, but still genuine diamonds! If you can’t afford that, there are always a few good lookalikes that cost less but still make you feel rich. A nice pair of sunglasses, with a few faux diamond chips in them, and you can now pretend you’ve hit the lottery.

All large diamonds, jewels, come with fascinating stories from political intrigue to legendary associations. The Wittelsbach diamond is no different, except that it’s story continues to be added to in the present day. For one thing, this grayish blue diamond bowed out of the public limelight for many years, making its reappearance even more mysterious. For a stone that was part of the Bavarian crown jewels, such anonymity was a little strange. However, it is no more stranger than what happened to it once it did come back to light in December 2008, at a Christie’s auction.

A Bidding Frenzy

The auction of the this rare, historical, gem set off a bidding frenzy. Instead of selling for $15 million, as expected, the activity at the auction resulted in it selling for $24.3 million dollars. The price put it in a category all its own, as the highest price diamond sold at auction in recent history. What happened after that only added to the controversy surrounding this unusual gemstone.

Can You Improve on Perfection?

The buyer was the billionaire diamond dealer, Laurence Graff, who recognized the fact that the stone had suffered some chips and bruises during it’s long time in hiding. Despite the fact that stone was said to be a stone presented to Infanta Margarita Teresa by the king of Spain, her father, Mr. Graff decided it could be improved and had it re-cut. Now the stone weighs 31 carats, instead of its original 35.52 carats. While the cut has improved its quality and fire since newer diamond cutting techniques are now available, the diamond community has been stunned to learn of the fate of the historical gem.

No Longer a Piece of History

Since being re-cut, the stone will no longer resemble the historical stone that was part of the Bavarian royal crown jewels. In fact, people won’t be able to know what it really looked like back then, and that’s what saddens most historical diamond buffs. The stone is slated to go to the Smithsonian for a period of time, but most experts agree it will no longer be recognizable as the historical gem. Experts believe that by improving the stone’s cut, it may have increased its market value, but it also came at a sacrifice of the historical pedigree.

A quality piece of jewelry is an investment in future fashion wear. Whether you buy a commercially produced piece of jewelry or have one custom-made, there will come a time when you want something different in your jewelry box. You’re in luck because the recession trend is to make old things new, especially with old rings and things. Vintage designs may not fit your wardrobe now, but you can easily take a few of those pieces and make an entirely new piece that is unique and special. With everyone wanting just a little more work, even fashion design jewelers are willing to cut a deal by helping their customers redesign old pieces.

Keep the Stones

If you’ve got fine jewelry that seems worn or out of date, or broken, you should keep the stones. Think of a jeweler as a tailor, if you need a ring redesigned, it’s a cinch. Emeralds are just like buttons that can be added to other pieces to give a whole new look. A good practice is buying old jewelry from swap meets, garage sales, or estate sales. Keep thinking about the type of jewelry design you would like, and just be creative to get it by combining elements from more than one piece. It’s far less costly to have the diamonds and gemstones available and just put them in a different setting, than to buy an entirely new piece.

What Types of Items to Hunt

Vintage flower jewelry along with psychedelic shapes and colored diamonds are taking the market by storm. Roses have always been a really good jewelry find, and now some designers are capturing the essence of flowers perfectly in recycled pieces. A flower motif is a very easy way to take elements from various jewelry pieces and combine them into something new.

Classic shapes like hearts are also excellent for recycling. You can take a simple heart and add a stone for a great new look. You can take two different heart pieces, and form new pieces featuring hearts tied together by a necklace chain. Add a few diamond chips to any heart or heart necklace and it amps up the elegance big time. By melting pieces together or splitting them apart, different pieces of each jewelry item are used to create a fresh statement. Even if an item is outdated, it doesn’t mean you love it less. It just means it might not be in style anymore. Why not take that piece and re-work it so that you can continue to enjoy it even further into the future? In this recession, it really is the smart thing to do to take what resources you have and make them give you even more value for your money.

What You Can Do With Gold Pieces

If you happen to score some gold, that’s a great way to start recycling. Gold is very malleable, in most cases, and easy to re-work into new pieces. Gold is also useful for generating cash these days. Selling gold is easy and profitable now and it can help you to fund a new purchase. You might even think about throwing a gold party for friends and relatives to get a commission of their sales too. If you have pieces with gold and stones, the jeweler who is buying the gold, will often remove the gemstones and let you have them back. This gives you the option to have some extra cash, and the opportunity to use the gemstones in another jewelry piece later.

Find A Jeweler You Can Trust

With gold being as valuable as it is, it’s important to work with a jeweler you can trust. You don’t want to end up handing in a 14k gold chain and receiving a piece with 10k gold. It’s very likely that you won’t even notice, but the piece will be worth far less. The same is true of diamonds in your recycled jewelry. An unscrupulous jeweler can switch gemstones on you, leaving you with a less valuable piece while he resells the one he switched. Develop a relationship with a jeweler, and if possible, have him do the work in front of you. Negotiate the price beforehand, and see where you can save money here and there. Right now, everyone is looking to get a little extra work, and jewelers are no different. The right person can help you get the new look you want, at the price you want, while getting some business in the door for them.

There are many different designs when it comes to jewelry and every designer is out to create something unique that will turn heads at jewelry shows. From watches to necklaces, jewelers are always trying to design items that really set themselves apart from the sea of items available to consumers. Eventually, these designs make it to the market in one shape or another and many are offered as one-of-kind items. Every once in a while, a product comes along that just astounds us based on the design itself or even the materials used to construct the item.

Such is the case as with a newly designed watch that has a face made form a very out-of-the-ordinary material, dinosaur dung. Yes, dinosaur poop is the material used for the face of this very beautiful and expensive time piece. Just over $11,000, this watch also features a band made from the skin of an American cane toad, making this one of the most unique watches available on the market. Artya, a company based in Switzerland made the watch to set itself apart from the many standard watches made with gold, diamond and titanium elements that have become commonplace in the jewelry market. The dung is millions of years old and was from a dinosaur that once roamed what is now know as the United States.

Jewelry is meant to be looked at and talked about, so this type of watch is the perfect item for someone who really enjoys a great story and wants to own a timepiece that can never truly be duplicated. Imagine the crowds of people gathered around the watch to hear the very interesting story behind it and the stares you will receive for owning such a unique item. This watch is the only one of its kind so far, so owning this watch is truly like owning a piece of history. Forget a diamond watch, everyone has one these days, you will truly be unique with this offering. The dung is fully incased and covered with a sapphire crystal, so smell is certainly not an issue as the dung is so old that it has fossilized to a hard, lustrous shine making it a beautiful material to use for this purpose. If you didn’t know what it was, you would assume it was a beautiful mineral or material that is perfectly suited for the face of a luxury watch.

A rough diamond weighing 478 carats has been discovered recently at Lesotho’s Leseng mine. It is within the top twenty largest rough diamonds ever found and could set a record as being the largest polished rough diamond, when all is said and done. As a matter of historical record, it won’t be the largest polished and cut diamond, as a different gem already holds that record. However, it’s still a very sizable find that is worthy of the record books.

Other Record Holders

The largest polished and cut diamond record is still  with the Koh-I-Noor, a stone that is part of the royal crown jewels of Britain. The Cullinan is known for being the largest rough diamond ever found, weighing in at 3,106 total carats. It was later polished and cut down to 530 carats and named the Great Star of Africa.

How Much Is the New Find Worth?

No one really knows until it is polished and cut. Depending on the quality of the stone and the final weight, it might sell within the tens of millions. Should cutting it fail to produce the gem expected, it could sell for less, however, it will probably be an extraordinarily expensive stone, regardless. Experts believe the stone has exception color and clarity, making this a find of a lifetime, even after it is cut. The hope is that it will yield 150 carats after the final cut and polishing.

A Gem for Someone Special

Obviously a gemstone that big isn’t going into jewelry. Although the diamond company has not decided exactly what it will do with the stone, the consensus appears to be that it will be sold to a private collector. It’s unlikely anyone will want to use this lovely find for rough diamond jewelry. Hopefully, after it is cut, it will be available for public display, at a museum, but more than likely the buyer will take it and put it away for future posterity.