Diamond Engagement Rings Specialist

It isn’t just our eyes that get bedazzled when we see diamonds. The dazzle got to little amoeba creatures that lived in the sea millions of years ago. So much so that they coveted it and coated themselves with it.

Where did the diamonds come from those many years ago? From way out in space through the asteroid that crashed into the earth and wiped out the whole dinosaur population. Well, those large lumbering mammoths couldn’t face the asteroid onslaught but these little organisms could. They are called agglutinated foraminifera and scientists believe that these little single-celled creatures not just survived but did so dazzlingly well indeed!

The diamonds and diamond dust were formed probably due to the huge impact and the carbon from the asteroid being subjected to such intense pressure and heat. During an excavation in Italy in the Umbria-Marche basin, researchers were surprised to find fossils of these organisms covered in diamond dust. What these creatures had done was to coat themselves with the sediment of diamond dust on the ocean floor so it would become a kind of armour to protect them.

Some of these absolutely miniscule diamonds might just have been formed out of the Earth’s graphite but scientists believe that a lot of it came from the asteroid itself, as did a number of other minerals. From space rock to dazzling rocks over sixty million years ago is something indeed to ponder about. And those amoeba-like creatures? They must have surely have had a feminine streak to go gaga over that dazzle!

At the Gemological Institute in the US, there’s an exhibition on and it’s drawing thousands of visitors to gaze at the dazzle and sparkle on show there. The piece de resistance of course is the Aurora Butterfly of Peace, 167 carats of 240 natural coloured diamonds which have been assembled in the shape of a beautiful butterfly. These loose diamonds were put together by Harry Rodman and Alan Bronstein of New York jewellers Aurora Gems over twelve years.

You get a whole gamut of diamond hues in these gems, along with a range of cuts. What makes these wonderful diamonds on display even more unique is the changing lighting. Every fifteen seconds, it turns from natural to ultraviolet. There’s a treat in store for people because it shows up not only how diamonds appear in various kinds of lighting, you can also see how fluorescent it looks when it comes to ultraviolet lighting.

For Bronstein, one of the jewellers involved in this creation, this process has been like seeing a butterfly emerge from a chrysalis. The Butterfly of Peace is named that because it is supposed to stand for harmony in the world – for men of all religions, races and colour.

Till the 30th of July, this display will be the focus at an exhibition titled Facets of GIA and it will be a time when there will be a lot of diamond discussions and presentations going on. There are also a number of other displays that could well take a visitor’s breath away.

It goes against all the laws of economics. This is the time of the huge sub prime crisis in America. This is the time of spiralling oil prices. This is the time of grain shortages and looming food shortages. It’s also the time when diamonds are cocking a snook at global trends and selling like they never have before.

Ask the people at Sotheby’s and Christie’s and they will tell you that the gems on auction are going at record prices and there has been a sales increase of six percent the previous year. Let rare or royal jewels find their way into the market and there are so many people making a scramble for them.

One reason could just be that investing in diamonds and other precious stones and jewellery could be some kind of a safety measure against rising inflation. Is it because of this that people are buying? Or is it because of the new emerging economies that seem to be flush with funds even as they throw up any more millionaires each year into the world arena. More and more Chinese, Russian and Indian buyers are making their presence felt at these auctions.

What’s going to go under the hammer soon are two incredible diamonds – one, the largest blue diamond that is almost 14 carats and the other a yellow diamond which is a perfect heart shape and is a over 21 carats. It would be interesting to see how quickly these get picked up.

We are very pleased to announce that we have upgraded our site to include a full range of certified loose diamonds for sale.

Our website now includes pricing for the full range of diamond shapes including round, princess, emerald, asscher, oval, pear and heart diamonds.

If you don’t see exactly what you are looking for please do contact one of diamond specialists who will very pleased to guide you of the best choice of diamond for your particular requirements.

Click on loose diamonds to see our full range on line now.

She ruled the roost in the beauty stakes in Paris years ago as Miss France, a title she won in 1938. Today she’s 87 years old and she’s putting up an incredible jewellery collection for sale. Sotheby’s is the auction house that has been appointed for the task.

Lily Marinho has led a very high profile life. She was married for years to Horacio de Carvalho, a businessman and journalist in Brazil. When Roberto Marinho, the Brazilian media mogul met her, it was love at first sight. However, it was only after her husband passed away that he told her of his feelings and the couple got married. As wife of possibly the richest media man in Latin America – her husband owned TV Globo – she was feted and wealthy and adorned with jewels that were Brazilian and larger than life. Today, the widowed Lily is a UNESCO goodwill ambassador and has published a book of her husband’s writings over the years. It is a book filled with memorabilia that was released to commemorate his 99th birthday.

The collection is said to be worth anything up to eight million Swiss francs and there are a number of exquisite pieces in it. Of special mention is a pair of pear shaped diamond clips of 11 carats at the very least. This is a collection that is sure to get the diamond gatherers come running.

Many years ago, Empress Eugenie’s diamond bow was auctioned off when there was a sale of some of the royal French estates. Wife of Napoleon III, Empress Eugenie’s brooch has created something of a ripple in diamond circles. Way back when in 1887, the brooch changed hands thanks to an auction and was in the possession of Mrs Caroline Astor, an American socialite.

However, thanks to the renowned auction house, Christie’s great efforts, this dazzling piece of jewellery has come back to its rightful country and is now nestled in a corner of the Louvre, displayed to the world. Christie’s went to a lot of trouble getting this diamond bow back and offering it to the Louvre just so it would be back on French soil.

The brooch was designed by the famous Francois Kramer for the French Empress. There were a great many pieces of jewellery that were auctioned off at the time and this was one of them. Christie’s has spent a great deal of money in tracking it down and in making this return possible. The President of Christie’s, Europe is supposed to have said that, as a Frenchman, nothing could have given him greater satisfaction than this deal, considering it was a matter of national interest.

The focus was all on that ring. The $2.5 million sparkler set the media tongues wagging. That 10-carat wonder that fuelled so many rumours and kept the gossip mills turning. The news is that Jacob & Co designed the platinum ring with a huge emerald-cut pink 10 carat diamond, encircled by 58 pink diamonds and flanked by half-moon diamonds on either side.

And it is this ring that is the centre of all that gossip as the news about the Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon wedding is flashed around the world. Was it or was it not? Some say it was the exact same ring that was spotted on Nick Cannon’s ex-fiancé, Selita Ebank’s finger when he was engaged to her. Did he take the ring back when the engagement broke up and put it on the diva’s finger? Well, though the two look very alike at least in the pictures, reports say that this very, very expensive ring is new and has been specially designed for the singing sensation.

Nick is eleven years younger than her and the two met when her latest video was being shot a month ago. That was fast work – that trip to the altar with the ring providing a bit of bling buzz along the way. Now diamonds like those always have a story behind them.

Come the 11th of June and Christie’s is going to be abuzz with one of the most awaited auctions of jewellery. What’s more, bidding can be done online as well with Christie’s Live. Thanks to real-time video it’s going to be like you’re there. The jewels on auction are from Christina Onassis’s collection and there are reported to be at least forty flawless pieces that are going to go under the hammer.

The piece de resistance is the flawless 38 carat, pear-shaped diamond that she used to wear around her neck and which looks like it could fetch upwards of a cool £2 million. It will in all probability be the most famous diamond to come into the market this year – maybe not the biggest but most certainly the most famous. To add to the dazzle are pieces of jewellery exquisitely crafted by the greats like Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier and Chaumet. All of them of course, will come wrapped with the glamour that surrounded the rich and famous Greek tycoon family for decades.

The collection also includes many early 20th century pieces which should attract a lot of attention too. There’s a Fabergé Buddha, a sapphire and diamond necklace and a wonderful old diamond corsage among the many pieces up for sale. For the ones who are not in the happy position of being able to afford to bid, there’s a lot of satisfaction in just looking. This special collection is sure to bring a light to anyone’s eyes.

There was a DeBeers study in America about diamonds which is quite illuminating. The survey very clearly came up with the fact that most women get diamonds as engagement rings. In fact the count was four out of every five women. Diamonds surely seem to be a girl’s best friend – or so 80% seem to be telling the world.

So what about the size of the diamond that most are choosing? Seems that many were looking at and buying diamonds that were at least one carat and spending over $3500 on the ring – and this was quite a chunk of the amount they would be spending on the wedding.

Considering that it was only in the late nineteenth century that diamonds and engagement rings became popular – thanks in no small measure to the DeBeers advertising blitzkrieg – diamonds do seem to have come a long way. Today, the diamond, especially a solitaire on an engagement ring is the dream that blossoms in every young girl’s heart and the line ‘A Diamond Is Forever’ has acquired an almost legend-like status. It was probably just the right pitch at the right time and soon the diamond engagement ring became so much a part of the courtship-marriage ritual all over the world.