Sarah Jessica Parker Collab & The Pink Panther Jewel Theives

 The Pink Panther was a movie that starred Peter Sellers and was a fictional movie about a bumbling french detective by the name of Inspector Clouseau. The gang of criminals received the popular name from Interpol in 1993 after a heist that was similar to what had occurred in the movie. A somewhat smart band of criminals for varying countries (mostly from Serbia and Bosnia) have reportedly stolen approximately $552 million dollars worth of jewels in the span of 21 years (that is from 351 burglaries in 35 countries).  The leader of the band of misfits Borko Ilincic was arrested on February 12th 2014 in a suburb of Spain. He was arrested leaving his hotel in a rented car.

 One of their most daring robberies occurred in a shopping mall of all places in the Walfi shopping Mall in Dubai. Two Audis drove thru and shattered the glass at Graff jewelers ( and the owners pf several record breaking colored diamonds)  and basically drove into the jewelry store. It could of been a scene from a movie! One drove in backwards while the other was facing the front. the heist took approximately 170 seconds and they managed to steal a reported  $3.4 million dollars worth of jewels and watches.  Graff is known for having an extensive collection of larger colored and rare jewels and diamonds. The burglars calmly smashed the cases and took all the items in what is referred to as a s"smash and grab".  The Pink Panthers only drive Audis, a car that is basically a car that was not well known in the Middle East until 2007. There have even been cars that have been stolen just prior to a robbery then abandoned. 

  Along the same theme as the burglaries is little known jewel thief, Doris Payne.  Doris Payne is an 83 year old jewel thief. I had written about her a while back. Her rap sheet ( you read that correctly) goes back to 1952 as she has been stealing all over the country and internationally. She had stolen a ring from a jewelry store in October in Palm Desert. the ring is reported worth $22,500. She had been out of prison for about3 months prior to staeling the diamond ring.  She had plead guilty in court to stealing a diamond ring. She is ordered to serve four years total in custody. two years in county jail and two under supervision.  Her attorney plans to appeal the case due to her age and doeskin expect her to serve more than 6 months in jail. During that time she is also ordered to stay away from all jewelry stores.

1965 Mugshot in Milwaukee 

Doris Payne now

    Ever since "Sex and the City' appeared on HBO in the 90's legions of fans were enthralled with Sarah Jessica Parkers style.  On and off the show people were always paying attention to her ensembles. Its a guarantee that she is always to wow everyone at the annual met gala every year. Her undeniable sense of style has led her and the brilliantly talented Cindy Chao collaborated on a brooch to benefit the New York City Ballet. The brooch titled, 2014 Black Label Masterpiece Ballerina Butterfly is going to be auctioned at Sothebys on October 7th. The value is estimated from $750,000 - $950,000. Cindys jewels are beautifully created and truly capture an imagination with her unique materials and color combinations.  Her pieces usually have sky high prices attached also. But for her work its worth every dollar. This brooch consists of titanium and 18k gold and features one cushion-cut fancy brown diamond (26.27 cts.), three rough brown diamond slices (47.71 cts.), three conch pearl pieces (7.25 cts.), and 4,698 fancy-colored diamonds (98.09 cts.). A magnificent piece of jewelry, and all for a good cause!

 2014 Black Label Masterpiece Ballerina Butterfly

Cindy Chao & Sarah Jessica Parker

 Cindy and Sarah had meet in 2011 at the exhibition of Cindy's jewelry in Beijing.  Cindy has been creating items for the galas since 2008.

11 sugarloaf emeralds, 2,000 diamonds and 18 months to create

Her work is very beautiful and unique and can be spotted in a moment~

 The brooch is going to Hong Kong on October 7th for the auction. I have a feeling that this lovely might fetch a higher price than they are expecting.  A superb ring Cindy had created  with a 8.03cts Burma pigeon blood ruby and diamond ring had sold at Sothebys in October of 2013 and sold for a staggering $3.8 Million dollars!



                                                      Keep sparkling until next time~

122.52cts Largest Blue Diamond Mined ~ EVER, $1million Dollar Theft

 Wallace Chan is an incredible Hong Kong based jewelry designer that creates beautiful works of art in jewelry.  His designs are inspired by nature. using the finest of materials, his impeccable sense of realism is remarkable.

The size of the emeralds are dizzying!

 His whimsical fantasy like jewels are drawing legions of new fans. Starting his own line in 2009, by 2010 he was already becoming a household name. Like most fine jewelers his pieces all have names, just like fine art.

  Wallace Chan had spent tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars to be able to showcase his jewelry at the Biennale des Antiquaires, which opened at the Grand Palais in Paris last Friday. He is the first Asian to have his jewelry represented at this exhibition. he had many high profile and influential people that had visited his booth. It might of cost alot financially,  ( the equivalent of 2 million US dollars) but it was worth it in the long run.

  The popularity and jewelry trends change quicker than the seasons. But classic styles will retreat from in demand and most times will reappear maybe a little renovated , back into the trend section of any magazine. One timeless style is the signet ring or also called the intaglio ring. the design has  been around since the beginning of the 3rd millennium B.C.The materials used were usually soft stones that were able to carved such as clays and ivory. The rings were originally used as a way to seal official documents. In more recent times they have been created out of gold. 

   In other gem news the largest blue diamond a staggering 122.52cts rough ever mined was found at the Cullinan mine in South Africa. The name of this mine should sound familiar, DeBeers had sold ownership of this mine Cullinan Mine to Petra Diamonds Cullinan Consortium (PDCC), a consortium led by Petra Diamonds. Five of the worlds largest diamonds were mined here. The Premier rose at 353cts rough, the Niarchos 426cts rough, the DeBeers Centenary 599cts rough, the Golden Jubilee 755cts rough, and the Taylor Burton 69cts polished. There must be more large unmined diamonds yet to be found at this mine. It has a beautiful history!

122.52cts rough blue diamond

From the same mine in 2010 another large diamond was mined, this time it was a 507cts rough diamond , called the Cullinan Heritage that had sold at auction for the unbelievable price of $35.3 million after cutting and polishing.  It can take up to 2 years or possible more to map and cut, polish a large stone.  One wrong hit with the jewelers hammer and a multi million dollar diamond can turn to dust and be virtually worthless.

 

The 507cts Cullinan Heritage uncut

   Just days after inviting the press into her 3 story closet former Miss Texas Theresa Roemer had $1 million dollars worth of jewels handbags stolen from her Houston home. Her closet is 3,000 square feet is 3 stories tall and resembles many of the upscale stores she frequents. With plenty of glass, back lighting and perfectly perched handbags and all of her jewels on display, it was remarkable. When Theresa and her husband Lamar had left to go to dinner at their clubhouse they locked the door but failed to turn on the security system. they were gone approximately 90 minutes and came back to an empty closet. They had broken in thru the glass in her bathroom. Her and her husband Rolex and Chanel watch collections along with priceless Hermes handbags were among the items that were stolen.

The aftermath

 
  

An impresive watch collection

An extensive Louboutin shoe collection

Before the robbery~

  She had built this closet to host benefits and events, noting that their is also a champagne bar on an upper level. One item that will never be able to be replaced is a locket that contained a lock of her deceased sons hair (he passed away tragically at the age of 16). How awful to loose the one item that has more emotional value than everything combined.  the police are taking DNA from the scene. I hope that the culprit is captured~

                                                        
                                                         Til next time, keep sparkling!