Diamond Engagement Rings Specialist

There might have been a recession last year but you wouldn’t think it with the kind of fine jewellery Bonham’s sold at its sale last year. This year will begin with the sale of a 14.6 carat diamond pendant costing £300,000 – at least that’s what they hope it will fetch at their sale at the end of April.

The diamonds on sale this year are exceptional. Among them are four E colour solitaire diamond rings which are absolutely flawless. There is also a gem set collar, a diamond bracelet and a bracelet with emeralds and onyx.

That’s what jewellers in India are expecting this Valentine’s Day. They expect the boom to be highest in the week preceding the big day. In spite of politicians getting into the fray and trying to stop V-Day celebrations across the country saying that it is not a part of traditional Indian culture, the young and well-heeled Indian is looking at diamonds as gifts during this season.

Most jewellers have introduced a range of new designs and to target the young market, there are diamond rings in the under-£300 range too. Many of the designs are based around the heart motif. The main brands are being supported by heavy advertising and the diamond merchants hope to see a lot more diamond sales in a market that is traditionally a gold market. Some have even offering huge discounts on diamond jewellery during this season of love.

There’s a market for high end diamond solitaires in India and China and the gems and jewellery exhibition called Sparkle 09 saw a lot of solitaires being sold. The main piece to go was an over 7-carat diamond that was sold for over £200,000. It was bought by an identified buyer from Mumbai, India’s commercial capital. One buyer also bought a jewellery set for around the same amount which included a necklace, a diamond ring and bracelet.

The exhibition saw the sale of more solitaires that were over 5 carats in weight and there were a number of enquiries as well. It seems to augur well for the diamond cutting and polishing centre in Surat in India where around 80% of the world’s diamonds over 1 carat are polished. Sources say that there are buyers who come to Surat to enquire about diamonds over 10 carats too.

Armed thieves attacked a jewellery store in Heswall three days ago and made off with a huge cache of jewellery. The CCTV pictures reveal that the gang was obviously very well-prepared and they were dressed in balaclavas, gloves and white protective suits. They entered the store after smashing a window with a drill and a sledgehammer and there was absolutely no forensic evidence that was left behind.

The attack happened in the evening when the store was still open and the store owner tried to pull back the jewellery that they were passing through the window. The store lost many diamond rings, necklaces, earrings and bracelets. It was only when she watched the footage later that the storeowner realised just how much danger she could have been in because the police feel that the gang must have been armed considering they were so sophisticated in their work. While there are no clues, the police have sent out a warning to people not to buy any stolen goods and to get in touch with them if anyone offers them anything suspicious.

The night of November 22 saw the most beautiful people decked out in diamonds, waving to the crowds as they entered the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, America. The 37th annual awards show was glittering with stars from the music scene as well as the silver screen and the diamonds were as breathtaking as their designer dresses. Viewers sat glued to their television sets as the awards ceremony was kicked off with Janet Jackson.

Carrie Underwood was seen in yellow diamond earrings and a bracelet of champagne diamonds, dressed as she was in a one-shoulder gold dress. Melody Thornton showed off her diamond studs while Jennifer Lopez, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna and Shakira sparkled too. Rihanna had on a platinum ring with black and white diamonds flanking a rose-cut diamond in the centre. Jennifer Lopez had on a five-carat wraparound ring and a wraparound diamond encrusted twisted cuff. The whole ceremony just shone with the light of diamonds dazzling!

That’s the latest news – that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are about to launch a new line of jewellery that they have designed. These would include diamond rings and pendants as well as accessories, picture frames and baby spoons. Together with Asprey, the British jewellers, the couple hope to launch this new line as a part of The Protector line.

The jewellery and accessories will be made with high end gold as well as silver and the theme will be serpents. While Angelina was pregnant, she had been given a snake-shaped ring which is why she chose this as the theme. The new line will be sold in London, Tokyo, New York. L.A. and Dubai. All the proceeds will go to and organisation founded by Angelina in 2006 called the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict.

There’s a gang that’s called the ‘Bling Ring’ gang in Hollywood and it seems to be after the rich and famous celebrities living there. Apparently, they’ve stolen cash and jewellery worth millions from many a star and it looks like the Beckhams could be on their hit list soon.

So which items could have been among the ones they wanted to lift? Besides Victoria Beckham’s gorgeous collection of diamond rings, what could have been of interest to them is David’s Chopard watch which is diamond encrusted – a gift from Victoria for a birthday and worth over £20,000. Or it could well have been her very exclusive and valuable bag collection. Even though the Beckham’s have a very expensive security system installed in their home, they say that nothing is too difficult for this young gang to break into. Already, stars like Orlando Bloom, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan suffered thefts by these seemingly very well trained cat burglars. The mastermind seems to be an 18-year old who was arrested recently named Rachel Lee.

A marketer who used to work with DeBeers in many parts of the globe has returned to London and set up the country’s first diamond rental service. This is where you can now rent beautiful diamond jewellery, so while you look like royalty, you don’t have to spend a small fortune on those gems. Jamie Mordaunt has set up the service called Diamondthrills and it looks like it could be a boon to many women who would love to wear diamonds but cannot afford them.

Jamie Mordaunt is Managing Director of this venture and this is his first attempt at setting up something on his own. Till now, he has worked with DeBeers in senior positions. A woman can hire jewellery for as little as £50 a week and she can have her pick of beautiful jewellery that goes from diamond rings to earrings, neck pieces, bracelets, tiaras and pendants. As all the jewellery is insured, it makes this a safe proposition. Now every woman can dress up like the stars who make their presence on the red carpet more dazzling with borrowed diamonds.

New York is all a-dazzle with Daniel K’s latest line of handcrafted platinum diamond jewellery. The Couture Collection jewellery line spans a wonderful and unique range of diamond rings, brooches, pendants, chandelier earrings, necklaces and bracelets.

Daniel K or Daniel Koren is one of America’s leading young designers today and he is based in New York. He is of Italian and Persian descent and every piece of his jewellery reflects his classy creativity. He is famous for his classic styles as well as his bridal designs. This diamond line set in platinum promises to take the fashion capital by storm where women seem to be looking for uniqueness, style and quality of very high standards.

As usual, the awards function was a great place to air one’s jewellery and the stars did not disappoint. Diamonds sparkled from fingers, throats, ears, wrists and wherever jewellery could be worn. The Beverly Hilton was ablaze with the brilliant bling of this precious stone.

What was perhaps apparent was that many of them – both young and old seemed to prefer the classic style when it came to diamonds. True, you did see a bit of contemporary fashionable jewellery but for the most part, it was the elegant and the classic when it came to diamonds. Diamond rings were on almost every finger and Beyonce had on huge drop earrings as well as a sparkler of a necklace. Kate Winslet, who won a Golden Globe, had on oval drop earrings too and a magnificent bracelet while Elizabeth Banks had on a whopper of a necklace.

The red carpet was a wonderful sight to behold with so much dazzle – both the stars and their finery, with the high point of course being all those beautiful diamonds.