I cant begin to tell you how excited I was when I read about the huge assortment of jewelry that found 100 years ago also know as the Cheapside Hoard. This little known discovery happened across the pond in the UK in June
1912, yes 1912. An area known as Cheapside that was home to a jewelry making hub called
Goldsmiths Company. For some reason I am unsure as of why that now all of these items will be on display.
100 years later? What is the reason? Possibly forgotten about again??
From
what I understand it is the largest collection of jewelry from this time
in history. This unbelievable collection of 500 items include
watches, cameos and many other jewelry items. The items were unearthed
by workman doing renovations and have been store in a cellar. The items
give us great insight into the jewelry from Elizabethan era. These
wonderful gems if jewelry will be on view in London from 11/2013 -
4/2014. Its worthwhile to take a peek at these items on pi
Here's a few picture of these extraordinary items~
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| A Clock that was carved into an Emerald, dating from the 1600's |
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| Emerald and gold caterpillar pin |
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| Emerald carved parrot |
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| Emerald and gold ring | | | | | | |
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| Carved emerald grape pendant |
Amfar
was held in Cannes a few weeks ago and what a party it must of been !
With Cannes being filled with celebrities from all over the world its
the time when Amfar hold their Gala to raise money for the awareness of
AIDS. This year was no exception as they had raised an incredible 25
million for AIDS research! This year the even was hosted by Sharon Stone
as the founder Dame Elizabeth Taylor passed away in 2011.
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Leonardo Di Caprio, very dapper in a tux~
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It's
also a good time to be had by the star studded guests. There was many
different items auctioned off. One in particular is an out of this world
experience, literally! A winning bidder paid 1.5 million dollars to
have the chance to train for three days in New Mexico and then to take a
flight into outerspace with Leonardo di Caprio sometime next year. The
person who won this auction ( another seat was auctioned for 1.8 million
dollars) "Vasily Klyukin, a 37-year-old Russian living in Monaco,
eventually
offered the highest bid, making him join the first 1,000 people to leave
the planet. He told Reuters after the auction, "I want to be a bit
daring. I will have to give up smoking now for sure!" At the event,
Klyukin also bought a gold and diamond necklace for 400,000 euros ($517,000)"
Adrien Brody reportedly took off the Bulgari watch he was actually wearing to
be auctioned off, and it's sold for about $116,000. Also going under the
hammer for good cause that night were a Damien Hirst painting, Annie
Leibovitz family portrait, the chance to star in four movies, and a
private performance from Simon Le Bon and John Taylor of .
Tickets to some prestigious Hollywood events were auctioned off as well.
They were for a special Oscar weekend that included a room at the
Beverly Hills Hotel, a Chopard watch, tickets to the Weinstein party and
VIP access to two star-studded events, 's
annual viewing bash and Vanity Fair's legendary after-party soiree.
Overall, the event raised 25 million euros ($32.3 million), more than
twice last year's total of 11 million euros ($14.2 million).
It's easy to see how they raised so much money this year. With many unique opportunities and experiences, everyone wins!
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| Sharon Stone dripping in Colombian emeralds and diamonds by DeGrisogono |
There was unfortunately another theft that occurred in Cannes. This necklace was value at $2.6 million dollars and consists of yellow canary diamonds Colombian emeralds and diamonds. It is a stunning necklace that I'm sure by this point has been dismantled and has been sold in the black market. What an absolute shame! It occurred at Hotel du Cap Eden Roc with 80 security people and the police. It happened after the Cannes festival when it was noticed the necklace had disappeared. The second time in a week that a 7 figure piece of jewelry has gone missing. I can only imagine what the insurance must be on all of those pieces~ I saw the necklace in a video but haven't been able to locate it online...
And anyone who is anyone or maybe not has heard of hotel magnate Steve Wynn. Billionaire that started the Mirage and also the Bellagio in fabulous Las Vegas. We've all know his penchant for artwork. Collecting them and having them on display at the Mirage ( nothing better than having dinner surrounded by 8 Picasso, first hand experience!). Back in September 2002 in the Amazon river in Brazil a 580cts rough diamond was found. 58octs!! That about the size of a softball, massive!
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| 230.17cts the largest pear shaped diamond in the world |
It took approximate 2 years for the stone cutters in Antwerp to orientate cut and polish this large stone. it is the largest pear cut diamond in the world and was purchased by Steve Wynn in 2011 for 15 million. It is graded H in color and VSL. It is the largest diamond of that size that is in a private collection. The stone was placed in a 1.5 million dollar Cartier setting.
The story gets interesting when the necklace went up for auction in June at JCK with Diane Breitman a diamond dealer that does business as The Queen of Diamonds based in Las Vegas. Diane had told Steve that they would hold a private sale ( I can understand the wanting of exclusivity) There was a private sale and a Texas man by the name of Brett Stettner also a dealer had agreed to purchase the stone for 23.5million and had put up a 20cts diamond valued at $420,00 as collateral. Heres where things get a little tricky. apparently Steve and Diane are personal friends and somehow Brett tried to renegotiate the deal but it fell thru. In the meantime any other buyers that were interested in purchasing the diamond walked away. Brett claims he owns the diamond since he put down collateral. All of this confusion cost Diane a commission of 1.4 million dollars and possibly her relationship with Steve. Papers were filed as to who the rue owner of the stone is. The case was dismissed as Steve Wynn as the owner. As with most large sized gemstones and diamonds there is usually an interesting story attached~
Robert Procop is a name well known name that has been associated with Angelina Jolie ( also with Brad Pitt he helped him to design the diamond engagement ring for Angelina) with her line of jewelry "Style of Jolie" to raise money (100 % of proceeds) for Education Partnership for Children in Conflict. There's been alot of buzz about the auction as many exquisite pieces were to raise a large amount f money for a charity that is close to her heart. The auction was held on June 15th. The 27ct Colombian emerald ring was pre estimatded at$140,000 - $220,000. But the bids were to low. In fact they were so low that there werent' ANY buyers. In auctions the the price has to reach a certain pre estimated amount before it can be sold. So even with her big name in the world of movies and her philanthropic world wide these fabulous items didnt sell. But the ones who are losing isEducation Partnership for Children in Conflict ( childrens schools in Afghanistan) Shocking to say the least! So what happens now? another auction?? I guess time will tell.
Some pictures of the pieces of jewelry that was up for auction
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| "Elise" platinum and diamond choker necklace from the movie "The Tourist" 2010 |
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| Colombian emerald and gold solitaire ring |
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| Green beryl bezel set earring |
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| 27 cts Cushion cut Colombian emerald and gold ring |
And lastly the largest diamond briollete ever to go to auction 75.36cts sold at Christies last month for $11 million dollars now has a new name~ the "Star of China".
Until next time keep sparkling~
