$2 Million Dollar SHOES, Wallis Simpson & Roman Hoard Discovered!

 After the discovery of the "Cheapside Hoard" jewels locating anything like jewelry that can be hundreds of years old is a fabulous and an obvious newsworthy find.

The Roman finds~

Being a jeweler and a jewelry designer it gives us insight as to the style and techniques that the jewelers from hundreds of years ago had used. Techniques that we still use to this day!

 The newest discover occurred on September 8th at a location of a Williams & Griffin department store in the UK. An area planned for redevelopment was being excavated when a jewelry box (even in the 1st century women used them). Inside the box were “three gold armlets, a silver chain necklace, two silver bracelets, a substantial silver armlet, a small bag of coins, and a small jewellery box containing two sets of gold earrings and four gold finger-rings,” according to the Colchester Archaeological Trust, which discovered the hoard". It is the finest collection of jewelry ever excavated in the UK. The items are going to be donated to the Colchester & Ipswitch museum services.

  The grim news about the find is that there was wheat, peas, figs part of a human jawbone and a shin bone that could of been cut by a sword.The actual structure was a house that had burnt down and they had figured that the jewelry box was on a shelf when chaos happened.  These archaeologist are like an early version of CSI...

 I had written a little while back about Pablo Picasso and how Doyles of London was going to be auctioning off some items that had been found in his ex lovers Doras house in France in a box under her bed. ( can you imagine?) Dora became famous for the blue series that he painted of her. Picasso's simple yet reflective of his paintings. Simple, not to ornate. They sold for much higher than was originally anticipated.  Now there is a well known abstract painter, Russian painter and art theorist Wassily Kandinsky who's jewelry is going to be auctioned by Lucas Rarities in London. A selection of 14 pieces are making their debut since the first time they were created~ Quite historic in itself as no word as to how many pieces he might have created.

Kandisnky himself, dapper!

One of his notable paintings

The tiny gold balls called granulation are soldered on, incredible detail~

The only piece in the collection that features diamonds and emeralds

Interesting structure, gold discs and sterling and silver

Bezel set colored diamonds maybe? Interesting~

 He was known for his abstract art pieces.  As you can see from his jewelry his painting style can be recognized. From the looks of the jewelry it looks as if he had them created with a jeweler, not unless he had the ability to do that as well. Picasso's pieces were very simple, while Kandinsky jewelry is truly a reflection of his abstract painting style.

  Blue is one of the most beautiful of colors when it comes to diamonds.  A stunning blue internally flawless diamond is currently on loan and display at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. It originally was cut from a piece of rough that was 29.60 carats. The blue diamond affectionately called "The Blue Moon" was purchased for $25.6 Million dollars earlier this year or $864,865 per carat. The stone is on display from September 13 through January 6, 2015.

12.60carats Blue Moon Diamond

The 29.60cts rough blue diamond

Women have always had a love affair with shoes (don' judge us, that's just the way it is!) . But there is someone who might be taking over. Nick cannon currently the husband of Mariah Carey and the host of the show "Americas Got Talent" show that showcases unusual talents of people from across the nation.  On the hows finale on September 17th. He is known for having great personal style with his unusual color combinations and his fetish for great mens shoes.  What is being touted as the worlds most expensive pair of shoes at the staggering cost of $2 Million dollars , that's $1 Million per shoe! I think Carrie Bradshaw would be envious~

Nick Cannon had collaborated with Tom Ford ( his last collection was fabulous) and was created by jeweler Jason of Beverly Hills. Jason is a jeweler to the stars that has created numerous pieces of jewelery for Mariah Carey, Rhianna, P Diddy, Jennifer Lopez, Dwayne Wade. The list is quite extensive. You can see some of his work here, http://jasonofbh.com/

 These shoes took one full year to create, over 3,000 man hours and contain 14,000 full cut round diamonds that weigh 344 carats. And are set into white gold. The shoes are going on tour and will be auctioned of to raise money for a charity.  The next day on the "Today" show Host/Anchorman Matt Lauer was modeling hem and had said they were very heavy. Being crafted in white gold I could only imagine.

Nick Cannon on the set of the finale of "America's Got Talent"

 Lions tigers and bears oh my! At least tigers anyways... The Duchess of Windsor had one of the most famous of all jewelry collections.  And an even better life long world wind history changing romance that went along with it. Even Dame Elizabeth Taylor is a close second.  Two pieces that the Duke had purchased for her was a tiger bracelet adorned with emeralds , onyx and diamonds. Cartier created the Tiger Collection in 1928.The Duke had purchased the brooch and bracelet in 1958. After the Duchess had passed away in 1986 Christies held an auction of her jewelry in 1987. They had estimated lots, 306 of them were expected to fetch around $10 Million dollars.  They were surprised when all the items sold for $120 Million dollars. Elizabeth Taylor had purchased a feather  brooch that she was particularly fond of that Wallis would wear.  The two of them were friends and Elizabeth would often comment on how much she adored that piece.  She purchased the brooch for $800,000 and had said it was the first significant piece of jewelry she had purchased for herself. She said she felt obligated to purchase it.  The proceeds from the auction went to the Pasteur Institute for medical research. they are a French non profit foundation dedicated to the study of biology, microorganisms, diseases and vaccines. It was started by Louis Pasteur, who also introduced te world to pasteurization.

The Tiger bracelet on left and brooch on right

Wallis wearing the tiger bracelet, and that incredible emerald engagement ring~

The composer Andre Lloyd Wright , writer of "Phantom of the Opera had purchased both pieces for his then wife Sarah Brightman to congratulate the success of Phantom in New York. The auction will be held on 11 November, at Christies magnificent Jewels Auction in Geneva. with a combined pre-sale estimate of US $1.8-2.5 million. Sarah Brightman plans to donate a portion of the sale to "The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation".  The foundation was started in 1992 to support the arts, culture and heritage in the public sector. It also awards 30 performing arts scholarships every year to talented students with financial needs.

Sarah Brightman wearing the tiger brooch and bracelet

                                                       
                                                   Keep sparkling until next time~

Pink & Red Diamonds & World Record Breakers!

 In the world of diamonds red and pink are the rarest of the colors that occur naturally. A much buzzed about fancy intense pink pear shaped diamond weighing 8.41ct is ready to be auctioned by Sothebys on October 7th in Hong Kong. This diamond auction will be part of the "Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite" auction.

The 8.41cts pink pear shaped diamond is one of the largest to be seen at auction. An oval pink diamond weighing 5.50cts was sold at Christies for $9.5 Million dollars. The absolute largest pink diamond to be auctioned was in 2010 when the fancy intense pink diamond aka "Graff Pink" diamond weighing 24.76cts was sold to Laurence Graff (of Graff Diamonds) for $46.1 Million dollars or roughly $2 Million per carat.

 With great stones come good stories. In November of 2013 the largest pink diamond weighing 59.60cts was set to be the record holder in the terms of stone color and sale. The stone was auctioned by Sothebys in Hong Kong. The diamond was originally mined in South Africa in 1999 as a 132.5-carat rough by De Beers. It was cut by the Steinmetz Diamond Company over a two-year period and was formerly known as the “Steinmetz Pink.” In 2003, it was shown publicly in Monaco and was displayed at the Smithsonian Institute as part of its “Splendor of Diamonds” exhibit. The Pink Star was sold privately in 2007,There was quite an interest in this stone for the simple fact of the large size and the intensity of the color. Stone cutter Isaac Wolf beat out two other bidders in a quick bid for the pricey pink diamond.  Isaac won the bid after 5 minutes, with the winning price being $83.2 Million dollars. A record for any stone sold at Auction, ever! But here's the interesting part, he defaulted on the sale! He did everything by the book, but pay for the stone. He had stated that he was purchasing this stone for a group of investors that were putting up the money for the sale.

  Since Sothebys had guaranteed the price of the diamond at $60 Million, Sothebys had to buy back the diamond from the seller! Ouch~ After the stone was valued at $72 Million they are still in talks with Issac regarding the stones future. My only question is is there some sort of trouble or something that Isaac Wolf and the investors will face because of the default?  Its crazy to think about~

I can only imagine the shade of pink in person

  

So when recently mined red/ orange diamonds were located at the Lesotho mines, jewelry buys and lovers the world over have been anxiously awaiting the day when they will make it to the market. 
Rio Tinto is an Austrailain mine that is holding an auction titled the 2014 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender collection which is going under the hammer which consists of 55 diamonds, including 51 pink and purplish red diamonds and four Fancy Red diamonds.

Only 13 Fancy Red diamonds have been included in the tender in the last 30 years.Who knew that Australia is the leader when it comes to producing red pink diamonds? Rio Tinto controls the market for pink diamonds from the Argyle mine in Australia. Around 65pc of the world's diamond supplies come from the Cullinan mine in South Africa.  Jean-Marc Lieberherr, Rio Tinto Diamonds managing director said: "Decades ago, no one would have believed that Australia held the secret of diamonds, let alone the world's entire source of rare pink and red diamonds.

"The pinnacle of the production from Rio Tinto's Argyle mine, the annual pink tender diamonds are now celebrated internationally as amongst the rarest and most valuable diamonds in the world. We have seen and continue to see sustained demand and price growth for Argyle pink diamonds." Red diamonds were actually discovered in 1979 by a group of gemologists in a an ant hill no less~  What a lovely sight that must of been..

a portion of the red diamonds mined by Rio Tinto, Australia  largest diamond mine

 With red diamonds being one of the rares in colors, its going to get gem lovers alike waiting for the sale.  Its a shame that in the US we dont hear to much about the colored diamond market that stretches past Europe. I'll be anxious to see the results~

   Large mined diamonds are in the news more so now with the recent find in the Lesotho and South African mines. But to see large record holding gems is another story. Called the "Ophir Collection" they have an astounding 9 record holding stones in their collection. Here are the nine world records in the collection~

the largest Faceted Sapphire

the largest Cut Brown Sapphire

the largest Cut Musgravite

the largest Cut Tanzanite

the largest cut Hibonite, the largest cut Neptunite, the largest Cut Painite, the largest Cut Serendibite, and finally the largest Cut Grandidierite. Pictures were not available for thoses tones

The largest, the blue sapphire weighing 31,308cts is the largest cut sapphire.  The real difference between the larger sized diamonds is that the quality of the diamonds is always uniform while the color and saturation of these stones is of different quality. I can only imagine how large the rough sapphire was prior to cutting, what a task that mist of been for the cutter!

                                                            Keep Sparkling until next time~

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!