Jewellery News

It’s a gold wedding ring and it was found in the tunnel booth at Liverpool – in the reject tray actually. The wedding band has an inscription in it – it says Until I Die. So how on earth did it get there? One can only surmise how it did because the person who lost it hasn’t come to claim it yet. Wedding rings are so sentimental for the person who wears them – at least, most of the time. So the staff at the toll booth is hoping that the ring and its owner are reunited before Christmas Day dawns.
So how could it have got there? The simplest explanation is that it must have slipped off when the person was paying the toll. In a hurry maybe, if the ring didn’t fit too well because the person had lost weight or something, it could have slipped off and fallen into the reject tray without anyone noticing. It is obviously a man’s gold wedding ring because it also has the name of a woman inscribed in it as well as a date which was obviously the date on which they were married.
The problem is, the toll payment window is on the right side while wedding rings are worn on the left – so was it really an accident or did the man just put the wedding ring into the reject tray? That gives the whole incident a different hue because then it would mean the person was angry and wanted to get rid of it. It’s all still in the area of surmising and till the man who the ring belongs to is found, one will never know what the true story is. The name of the woman inscribed on the ring and the date are not being broadcast because that would make it easy for the police to ensure that the ring is claimed by the right man.

The Salvation Army had left their red kettles out for the Christmas charity collections. In a town in North Carolina, America, the people who were counting the collection at the end of the day got a surprise. In the kettle with all the coins and notes were a gold wedding ring and an engagement ring. Now who on earth would put in two precious possession into a charity kettle? Or was it a mistake?
Apparently, it was put in knowingly because the two rings were wrapped in a one dollar bill and there was an appraiser’s note stating their value. The gold wedding ring was a 14-carat piece and both the rings were put into a kettle that had been kept near a marketplace.
As there was an appraiser’s notice, the Salvation Army staff called the appraiser and was surprised to know that he had retired fifteen years ago. So the appraisal must have been done a long time ago and it looks like the person who donated the rings wants to stay anonymous. The Salvation Army will honour that and they are going to auction the rings and use the proceeds for charity. Whatever the story is behind those two rings will remain a secret.

It looks like some stars struck it lucky at the BAFTA Britannia awards this year. A jeweller gave Helena Bonham Carter a specially designed black diamond pavé ring to wear on the red carpet. She has been nominated as the best British Artist this year. The Britannia award at this BAFTA function is a very prestigious award and it is presented to corporations or individuals who have dedicated themselves to the entertainment arts.

Also seen was Helen Mirren on the red carpet and the jeweller had given her a beautiful pair of drop earrings which were made of diamonds and Tahitian pearls. There were over one hundred and sixty diamonds in these white gold earrings with their lustrous pearls. These pieces of jewellery are unique and they are designed exclusively for celebrities to wear to these red carpet dos.

The Britannia Bafta Awards are held in Los Angeles and it sees an invasion of British artists. This time, it was held at the Beverly Hilton with Alan Cummings as the emcee. It was a night filled with glamour and a host of stars. Helen Mirren, Robin Williams, Anne Hathaway and Jason Isaacs were some of the presenters and among those honoured were Warren Beatty, Helena Bonham Carter and Ben Stiller.

It looks like loose diamonds will have another hub soon and that is going to be Bahrain. There are some very ambitious plans in the pipeline to make this city a diamond hub and the Chamber of Commerce is talking to the Gemmological Institute in the USA to get them to set up a GIA office there.

There is a GIA office in Dubai but the people in Bahrain feel that the place is better situated in order to cater to the demand in the Gulf region. So loose diamonds would be brought into Bahrain and then sent out to the other places from there. This would be especially convenient for the cities in Saudi Arabia where there is a great demand for diamonds to make diamond rings and diamond jewellery. For this, customs duties for both importing and sending out the diamonds will have to be looked at in order to make the proposition a viable one. Today, there are traders who deal in rough diamonds but there is no official GIA office through which loose diamonds can be brought in and sold.

Bahrain holds the Jewellery Arabia Expo which attracts a lot of people who want to buy gold, diamonds and other precious stones. They get a number of buyers from the Gulf region as well as Yemen, Afghanistan and Sudan. Granted, when there was trouble in Bahrain, it upset the gold trade there but it has put that behind it and come back stronger and more willing to be a strong presence in the gold and diamond markets again.

The engagement ring that Roman Polanski gave Sharon Tate is supposed to come up for auction and when it does, it is sure to spark off a lot of controversy and debate. The ring is a gold ruby ring which Roman Polanski gave to her way back in 1967. Then she was murdered by Charles Manson and his gang and the tragedy was compounded because she was pregnant.

The ring is valued at a great deal of money and it’s bound to cause a lot of interest when it goes under the hammer. The thing is, people want to know if it really is Sharon Tate’s gold engagement ring. There have been differing reports about it. One says that Roman Polanski took it off her finger when he went to identify the body and gave it to a friend and the auction house says that the director has verified the ring that is going to be auctioned. However, Sharon’s sister says that she had given the ring away to a friend a long time ago and it was not the real engagement ring. The director had given it to her but it was not the official engagement ring so she wasn’t wearing it the night she was killed because she had already given it away. The auction house claims to have a written verification by the director as well as photographic proof.

The auction is all about celeb memorabilia and it will also auction a jacket belonging to Justin Bieber – the one he wore in the Super Bowl commercial, jackets and shoes belonging to Elvis and one of Madonna’s bustiers among other things. That being said, it is bound to attract a lot of interest.

Vera Wang has collaborated with Zales, the jewellery retailer worldwide to launch a collection of designer diamond engagement rings and wedding rings and this collection is said to be a gorgeous nuptial pairing of rings. This themed collection is truly worthy of the celebrities who are the ones who can afford certain rings in the collection. The first whispers about this collection were heard a few months ago and now the collection is on show being previewed.

The collection is called LOVE – simple, short and to the point. There are five lines within this collection and these are so that the collection appeals to all age types as well as tastes. There is the classic and traditional solitaire line set in white gold. Then, there are diamonds surrounded by pave designs so it looks full and flashy. Bands that are fully encrusted with dazzling diamonds are also very much in evidence as are more intricately designed baguette diamonds and channel set diamonds. So it goes all the way from a simple, elegant style to very flashy bling.

Some of the rings have been inspired by Kate Middleton’s engagement ring with sapphires making their appearance with diamonds and some have been inspired by Kim Kardashian – though now with the break up, one wonders how this line is going to be presented. The rings range from half a carat to one and a half carats and there’s a huge choice that is priced quite reasonably. This is a collection that has been eagerly awaited from the designer who has been known among the rich and famous for her wedding gowns. With her exquisite taste and designer sense, this collection is sure to find favour with brides everywhere.

For ever so long, it was the solitaire ring that was the most popular when it came to a diamond engagement ring. Then, of course, there was the gold wedding band where many women started preferring the eternity diamond ring. However, the solitaire diamond engagement ring didn’t undergo much of a change till recently. Today, there are diamonds with other gemstones and there are diamonds used in a hundred different ways – all of them meant to be unique and eye-catching. The times they are a-changing and having a diamond ring that everyone notices seems to be the order of the day.

Take for example, a huge diamond ring that had a ball made of pave diamonds to look like a disco ball. It was snapped up as an engagement ring and the person wearing it is no doubt happy that it looks like a very huge sparkler but doesn’t cost anything as much. There are many others who are getting rings designed so they look like huge cocktail rings but are worn everyday because they are engagement rings. And many of them cost very much less that a solitaire would cost. This could be because of the economic problems confronting many and it could be a way around to not spend so much money on the engagement ring and yet have a ring that looks great.

There was a case where someone who couldn’t afford a diamond engagement solitaire ring asked for a love knot and on that, they wanted pave diamonds so that it would have the look of a diamond ring. Then, the jeweller realised that he could make a range of rings like this to cater to this market. Suddenly, women are more open to the idea that they can look beyond a solitaire for an engagement ring. Engagement rings are getting to be more personal now and people have started designing their own rings with even messages inside.

Sotheby is going to have a couple of really newsworthy diamonds that are going to be up for sale in New York this December. The first of course, is the Light of Golconda which is a 33.03 carat diamond set in a ring. The second one is a diamond ring with a 22.17 carat intense pink diamond and they will both be exhibited from December 3rd onwards in New York.

The diamond rings will have gone on a long journey before being exhibited in New York. They would have travelled from Geneva to Los Angeles and then to Hong Kong before coming to the Big Apple. It will also be a once in a lifetime sale of a well known diamond and a pink diamond which is over 10 carats, which is very rare indeed. The Golconda diamond was mined in India and is one of the legendary transparent diamonds from the Golconda mines. It is a cushion shaped diamond which was cut by hand three or four hundred years ago. The other diamond is rare and only a couple of dozen of them with such a wonderful pink colour have ever been auctioned. Last year, a pink diamond was sold and it fetched the highest ever price for a diamond sold by Sotheby’s. Pink diamonds are usually the preserve and possession of royalty in a number of countries.

What will also be up for auction will be a number of other exclusive pieces of jewellery which include some fabulous bracelets. There will also be a 16.40 carat sapphire, a sapphire and diamond ring, a platinum diamond ring which has an oval-shaped diamond and a ruby and diamond ring with a ruby weighing over 10 carats. There will also be pieces of jewellery from famous designers including jewellery in gold. A range of men’s accessories will also be exhibited and these include cuff links, dress sets and cigarette cases and this comes from someone’s personal collection.

Men didn’t have too much of a choice in wedding rings till a few years, maybe a decade ago. It was always the plain wedding band made of gold and the only unique thing about it could be the engraving and the date inside. Outwardly, all men’s wedding rings looked the same – some were slimmer, some were thicker. Then came a choice over the past few years of white gold and platinum wedding rings for men. Today, however, there is a vast choice for men to choose from.

The other metals that are finding favour with men are tungsten, palladium and titanium. Suddenly, a steely masculine colour became a lot more popular. Not just manly looking, these metals are a lot stronger than traditional gold and a lot more resistant to scratches. Today, there are even more options. Now, men seem to like a whiter look when it comes to wedding rings and what seems to be competing with white gold and platinum is silver. Suddenly, silver seems to have been elevated into this category and designers are mixing it with a small bit of other metals to keep them looking bright and making them more durable. Unlike traditional sterling silver, this will not tarnish and this makes it so much more popular.

Men’s fashions seem to have come a long way in the last few decades and men too, are looking beyond what is necessary to what looks good and is fashionable. This just means they want more choices in everything they buy – whether it is clothes or personal products to their wedding rings which they now see as a statement of style as well.

Eternity diamond rings have always been a favourite with some people but recent trends show that they are getting very popular with many people today. The thing is, they are diamond rings for any occasion – from an engagement to a wedding to anniversaries to diamond rings for no reason whatsoever. It also helps that the diamonds can be of any size – with so many of them, they will dazzle anyway and when they are smaller diamonds, they are a lot more affordable that one big diamond and this makes it attractive to many.

If you were to look around, you’ll find that eternity diamond rings are the choice of many when it comes to wedding rings – now, the eternal band of love has the sparkle of diamonds in it and that makes it so much more popular! While men still stay with the traditional gold band or maybe tungsten or platinum, women seem to prefer the eternity diamond ring – just the perfect match for a diamond engagement ring on any woman’s finger.

For comfort, especially when it comes to a wedding ring that is worn all the time, setting diamonds just for the visible half of the ring seems to be the trend. While it saves on the cost of the diamonds, it also means much more comfort as only the smoothness of the metal is felt on the inside of the hand. At the same time, the diamonds sparkle in a row giving the impression that it goes all the way around. Eternity rings can be made to symbolise dates or milestones with the number of diamonds so this makes it such a great, unique gift for a special occasion.

So chocolate seems to be the flavour of the season when it comes to diamond rings, especially diamond engagement rings but just because it’s named that, what does it have to do with a dessert? Plenty when a retail jewellery store in Kendal and a chef from the Lindeth Howe Hotel get together, it would seem.

What they have concocted together is a dessert that, if it is sold, will make it to the Guinness Book of Records as the most expensive dessert in the world. Of course, it will mean that there has to be a buyer for it – a buyer who loves diamond rings and loves desserts too. A buyer who is romantic and rich. It looks like there are a number of people today who can fit the bill so obviously, there is hope that it will set a record. If a man is looking to propose in a unique way, then this could just be it – and it costs all of £22,000! The chocolate diamond weighs 2.62 carats and it is set in 18k rose gold. The ring will be sized to fit the lady’s finger once the dessert has been eaten.

And the dessert is a cake that made its appearance last week at the National Chocolate Week. It is made with chocolate and it combines four different Belgian types and the it has been flavoured with whisky, peach and orange. Layered with biscuit and jelly which is champagne flavoured, the cake is shaped like a Faberge Easter egg, with a finishing layer of gold leaf on dark chocolate and decorations of chocolate flowers. And of course, the wonderful chocolate diamond engagement ring will be baked inside it! It will be served with caviar and champagne and includes a night’s stay at the hotel with a meal and accompanying wine. A fitting dessert indeed for some lucky couple!