Diamond Engagement Rings Specialist

That’s what it was – a diamond ring studded with rubies and made in the shape of a skull and crossbones in sterling silver. Danny Bonaduce, the former Partridge family star, got recently divorced from his wife of many years and is now all set to wed his girlfriend who also happens to be his manager. Amy Railsback is more than twenty years younger but they seem to be very much in love.

Considering that Danny still wears pirate kind of jewellery, the choice of ring shouldn’t really surprise us. He wears a lot of weird rings too besides other items of jewellery. However, he has promised his wife-to-be to give her a more serious engagement ring and wedding ring later.

It looks like they are planning a small wedding ceremony with just close friends and family.

Diamond traders feel that there’s cause to rejoice with the sale of diamonds going up a bit. A few weeks ago, there was so much gloom in the market and it seemed like people had slowed down considerably when it came to diamonds – even diamond rings. However, the prices now seem to be stabilising and there’s a lot of focus on the BaselWorld Show which began last week. While no-one is raising their hopes too high, there does seem to be fresh winds of good cheers blowing through the corridors of the diamond trade. There seems to be a renewed interest in the higher end diamonds and much of the buying is in the area of stones that are 1 carat and more so there are the better quality diamond engagement rings that are obviously being bought. There has been a marginal increase in the sale of small stones too recently and most of all, any upturn in the market seems to light hope in the hearts of all those who are connected with this trade.

Belgium, Israel, India – the places where the cutting, polishing and trading are done all say that the past few days have brought in a bit of optimism. However, everyone is prepared for a long haul back to any degree of normalcy and many mines have cut down on mining and production to keep the supply of diamonds into the mainstream low. Some of them have even had to sell of some of their assets with the global meltdown. One hopes however that stability will come back to this market very soon.

The sale of diamonds might have gone down but the interest in them has not. Most of the diamond jewellery companies have been busy pushing and promoting their newest ranges. Jewellery lines that have been in the news have been those of Chanel and Louis Vuitton. Considering that Chanel shot into prominence during the last great Depression, maybe what they are doing is sensible. So one sees a range of diamond rings, bracelets and necklaces being exhibited.

It’s not just the diamonds that are being brought into the limelight. Jewellery and clothes are going colourful probably to make one forget the grey economic clouds that are looming in the horizon. There’s shimmer, shine and sheen with splashes of glorious colour in the new lines of Christian Dior and the other designers. As famous designer Marc Jacobs comments, there’s no need to wear black just because that’s the way the world is feeling. Which is why some of the new lines are brighter than ever before, visually dispersing the gloomy outlook everyone seems to be getting into. Even if people don’t buy as much, these colours and dazzle will surely lift their spirits.

Famous US designer Marc Jacobs is engaged to his boyfriend Lorenzo Martone and they came into Brazil which is Martone’s home country wearing engagement rings. Executive Martone and Marc Jacobs have been together for about a year. The reason they are in Brazil is to breeze into the designer’s new store in San Paulo. It threw open its doors in January and it is a multi-brand store.

Will they, as Martone joked, be getting married to bring in the New Year? He felt that a New Year Eve wedding in St. Barth’s might be a lot of fun. What’s more, the couple, who really don’t mind flaunting their together status had more to say to the press. They said they were ready to become parents. Apparently both are quite keen on adopting a little baby girl. If that does happen, she’ll probably be the best dressed little princess among US celebrities.

Bruce Willis and Emma Heming tied the knot last weekend and it was one more wedding where the man married someone very much his junior. They have been together for a year now and everyone was expecting a wedding after Bruce was seen shopping for diamond engagement rings last October. So it was very much on the cards that the Die Hard star was thinking of marriage.

Emma Heming is a British model and has been a leading Victoria’s Secret and La Senza model. The couple got married on the day Bruce Willis turned 54 at his home in the Caribbean Islands. A civil ceremony is expected to follow once they get back to LA. Present at the wedding were Bruce Willis’s firstwife Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, her husband and Bruce and Demi’s daughters. Rumour has it that some very close friends were also present.

The funny guy has actually paused to get serious. He proposed to his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day and the world saw the engagement ring last weekend. The ring has a large diamond in the centre and all around it are smaller diamonds. According to the people who took a good, hard look, the ring is a stunner. It was when the two of them went to see a movie in Santa Monica that the ring got its first public viewing.

Vince Vaughn met Kyla Weber last May and they have been together since then. She’s a realtor in Calgary and is supposed to be a simple, down to earth kind of girl. While they haven’t set a date for the wedding, she has moved to LA so it will probably be sometime soon.

Vince Vaughn had been linked a few years ago to Friends star, Jennifer Aniston and he acted with her in The Break Up. While he usually acts the comic part, Vince has also acted in some dramatic ones.

It’s hot news on the diamond scene. They have done a joint venture operation together on a project and now they are joining hands with a common focus on Africa. Lucara belongs to the Lundin group of companies and it is in the process of growing larger and playing a greater role on Africa’s diamond scene by getting involved in more projects. Motapa owns the diamond project in Lesotho, South Africa named Mothae and this will be a very important asset for the new company.

What acquiring Motapa will result in is a stronger and more aggressive company that can formulate and put into practice more expansion plans than they could have done individually. The shareholders that Motapa has right now will own 35% of the new company. The plans concerning the merger were announced a few days ago.

The shares of both the companies – Lucara and Motapa - traded at the Toronto Stock Exchange unchanged at 50 cents and 31 cents respectively.

They’ve been together a long time and they’ve fielded questions about ‘When’ for many years too. However, finally, Calista Flockhart and Harrison Ford are engaged. The news was out a few days ago but apparently they got engaged on Valentine’s Day – now that’s romantic!

If the Indiana Jones star did not pop the question for seven long years that they have been together – and that’s really long by Hollywood standards – it’s probably because he’s been through it twice and the last time, it was a $100 million setback in a divorce settlement. The last of the Indiana Jones series is expected to be shot this year.

Calista Flockhart of Ally McBeal fame is twenty years younger than Ford and has an adopted son named Liam. Calista and Liam live with Harrison Ford and she has been on a bit of a break from acting but has now come back with Brothers and Sisters. She is obviously thrilled to be getting married – this will be her first time. Though a date has not been set, we think we can expect to hear wedding bells soon.

Christina Ricci and Owen Benjamin are engaged and the actress seemed very happy to show off her diamond ring as the two of them strolled into a gas station store together in Los Angeles. The two are slated to act together in the comedy movie All’s Faire In Love which should be released later this year. 

Christina Ricci was the star in Sleepy Hollow and Ice Storm and is now known as the star in Speed Racer. Owen Benjamin was a stand up comic and a pianist and he made his debut in The House Bunny and is part of the CBS series Heckle U. The two of them met on the sets of All’s Faire In Love and have been together since October.

The passing away of Penny Proddow is a blow to the diamond jewellery industry. There was probably no other jewellery author as prolific as she was. She had to her credit so many informative as well as beautiful looking jewellery books and of course, she wrote for InStyle for years. 

Over the years, Penny Proddow had become an authoritative voice for diamonds and diamond jewellery and it is a voice that will be sorely missed. Her collection of books include ‘With this Ring’, ‘Diamonds: A Century of Spectacular Jewels’, ‘The Ultimate Guide to Wedding Jewelry’ etc. She also gave lectures in prestigious jewellery exhibitions. She was said to be a genius in the field by people who knew and admired her. 

The Chairman of Tiffany’s paid her an incredible compliment when he called her ‘an extraordinary ambassador for the diamond industry’. She even influenced the likes of celebrity diamond engagement ring designer, Neil Lane.

That’s what Tiffany’s is going to do – open a store in Amsterdam. Will they be tip toeing through the tulips to do that? Well, the company has just announced its plans and the new store will probably open its doors to the Dutch public in autumn this year. 

The store will be located in the prestigious shopping area of the capital city and it will be housed in Hooftstraat in a historic building. While the old façade will be maintained, the interiors will be very modern and in line with the brushed stainless steel look of its other stores. It will have an array of diamond jewellery from engagement rings to exquisite jewellery set in gold, silver and platinum. It will also include jewellery and accessories of signature designs.  

The store will probably be one in a long line of European Tiffany stores that are being envisaged.