$50M Diamond Heist & International Museum of Emeralds

 International Museum of Emeralds, the name truly says it all! We have been in the Colombian emerald business for over 20 years. These gorgeous and mystifying stones never cease to amaze me.

 We currently have in our possession 11 of these incredible specimens from the International Museum of Emeralds in Bogota, Colombia. And they are FOR SALE. This is the ONLY time the specimens have been out of the museum. I had posted pictures in the last Blog entry but here's a few more....  Serious inquiries only! (we do have more pictures on our facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/j.r.colombianemeralds.corp )

  The prices for the specimens depends on the crystal and on the color. But how wonderful would it be to actually own an item that was once housed in a museum dedicated to Colombian Emeralds? We can be reached at 1 800 840 6828 for details.

  I was surprised that there wasn't much was in the news about the $50 million Diamond heist that happened at the Brussels airport in Belgium last month in February.  The stones were being transported to the cargo hold on an airplane going to Switzerland when 7 black cars and flashing blue lights stormed the tarmac. (I always wondered what goes in the cargo hold, who knew diamonds and jewels!) Eight men with assault rifles seized the 120 parcels of diamonds.  None of the passengers, the crew or even the police were aware of what had happened.

  Ten years ago to the week when the biggest diamond heist ever took place back in 2003 in Antwerp. A reported 100 million dollars worth of diamonds was taken from an impregnable vault in diamond district of Antwerp. Supposedly that heist was done by a crew of very knowledgeable and seasoned thieves (sounds like it would be a great movie) led by Leonardo Notarbartolo. At the time of current robbery he was  incarcerated and had no knowledge. I'm assuming more details about this heist will come to light in the future.

There are always interesting lots that come up for Auction at the major auction houses. this one definitely wont go unnoticed. Fabulous and the beginning of the Italian actresses that stormed on Hollywood in the 40's and 50's. Gina Lollobrigida's is auctioning 11 pieces from her Bulgari collection. These are items that she had collected during important moments in her life. Here are a few pieces that are going up for auction on May 14th at Christies. There are also a few gems from unnamed noble families, Ive included those pictures too. They're all incredible~

                 Emerald and Diamond brooch, emeerald weighs 27.57cts

            Gorgeous emerald and two row diamond ring, emerald weighs 16.62cts

                                                                                                                                                 
                   Stunning 19.03cts Cushion cut Diamond Ring

Diamond and Emerald ear pendants

Necklace and Bracelet combination that she also wore as a tiara

                   Always a stunning woman, here she is in the 1950's

         Wearing fabulous gems in the 1980's (seriously this woman has not aged at all!

  And I couldnt believe it myself but Napoleon's ring he had given to Josephine for their engagement, a small sapphire and diamond ring that is less than 1 carats sold at auction or $1 million dollars. they had projected the sale to be around $23,000 but with the historic significance of this ring I can see why it sold for such a high price.

Napoloens engagement ring presented to Josephine, less than 1.0ct sapphire and diamond ring

                 This has been a quick and news filled year so far!

 But making more news and had come as a surprise to us was the sale of Famed jeweler to everyone, Harry Winston.  We didn’t even see that one coming!  But late last year we were hearing grumblings that Harry Winston was in trouble financial and was possibly thinking of selling. When a there’s a storey, it usually comes from somewhere. All but which harry Winston had denied. So now the famous jeweler is owned by, wait for it, Swatch! Is that going to change tht look of the brand? I have somewhat fond memories of the plastic watches that were all the rage when the brand was first debuted in the 80’s.

Winston currently has 21 operating retail salons worldwide , 21 directly operated retail salons worldwide, four licensed salons, and a line of watches which are just to fabulous for words. 

   From all of us at JR Colombian Emeralds we wish everyone a happy Good Friday and a Happy Easter!

Keep sparkling, until next time!