Tuesday, February 4, 2014

RARE 29-CARAT BLUE DIAMOND UNCOVERED

This diamond was found at the same mine site as the world's largest diamond.

The announcement of a rare blue diamond discovery at a mine in South Africa has generated excitement in the industry.

The 29.6-carat blue diamond, found in the Cullinan mine near Pretoria, South Africa, has been labelled by the mine’s owner, Petra Diamonds, to “be in a class of its own”.

In a company release, Petra described the stone as “an outstanding vivid blue with extraordinary saturation, tone and clarity, with the potential to yield a polished stone of great value and importance”.

As with all rare items, its value will depend largely on what buyers are prepared to pay; however, a 25.5-carat blue diamond was sold by Petra in April last year for $US16.9 million (AU$19.3 m).

The company announced the diamond as one of the most exceptional stones discovered at Cullinan and said it underlined the importance of the mine to its operation and the industry at large.

The Cullinan mine has a revered place in history as the home of the world’s largest diamond; a 3,106-carat stone that was eventually cut up with major pieces forming part of the British crown jewels. This latest find has reinforced its status.

Jeweller one of few to work rare gem

Marlborough jeweller Corey Broughton is one of five people in the world to work with New Zealand's only precious gem.

He never imagined when he became a jeweller 22 years ago that he would be lucky enough to work with a stone as rare as ruby rock.

Working with the stone was similar to working with opal, but slightly more temperamental and much harder. "No two stones are ever the same, almost like a fingerprint," Mr Broughton said.

Ruby rock was very versatile and could be set in a variety of metals.

He preferred setting the redder stones in yellow gold and the green or blue stones in white gold or silver.

The potential of ruby rock was first recognised by Dutch-born master gemcutter Gerry Commandeur in Hokitika, when he began marketing the stone in 1998.

Mr Commandeur said all the ruby rock available was believed to have come from a single boulder weighing about 18 kilograms that was discovered during goldmining at Back Creek, Rimu, just south of Hokitika, in 1891.

"The place the ruby boulder originally came from has still not been discovered, but is believed to be at least 30 kilometres below the [Southern] Alps," he said.

Seaside Gems, in Picton, is the only jewellery store in the country to sell the gem.

Owner Alex Leitch said ruby rocks were desired for their beauty as well as their rarity.

"Ruby rock or goodletite is only found in Hokitika and nowhere else in the world," he said.

The one-of-a-kind pieces sold by Seaside Gems are created by Marlborough jewellers Paul Shepherd, Doug Owen and Hokitika jeweller Karen Shermun as well as by Mr Broughton, and priced from $300

Ruby Rock pendant at Seaside Gems in Picton .

Viewing Stones

The word suiseki is an abbreviation of the term sansui keiseki, which roughly translates as “landscape view stone” or “landscape scenery stone”. Suiseki is an incredibly deep hobby, and allows practitioners to see and feel nature on a scale as large as the entire universe through the viewing of a single stone.

Like the wheels of a car, suiseki and bonsai support and compliment each other, and as the most perfect of the natural arts, suiseki expresses the essence of the Japanese aesthetic.

The appreciation of suiseki opens a mysterious world without limits, in which viewing an excellent landscape stone, sugata-ishi or monyo-seki allows us to feel the wonder and poetry of nature.

The California Aiseki Kai is holding its 24th annual Viewing Stones Show at the Huntington through January 2nd.
Viewing Stones Show
Through Thursday, Jan. 2nd (closed Wednesday, Jan. 1st), 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
The Huntington, Botanical Center, 1151 Oxford Rd., San Marino 91108
Cost: $8-$23

Rare 14.82 Carat Orange Diamond Sells for Record Price $35.5 Million in Geneva Magnificent Jewels Sale

A pure orange diamond is rare, let alone the largest 14.82-carat orange diamond ever known to exist to be for sale. It is more common to find orange diamonds with secondary colors. The orange color is the result of the presence of nitrogen during the diamond’s creation.

The Gemological Institute of America, which graded the diamond and issued its report, recently said: “Strongly colored diamonds in the orange hue range rarely exceed three or four carats in size when polished. (This diamond) is almost four times larger than that size range. In GIA’s colored diamond grading system, as the color appearance of strongly colored diamonds transitions from orangy yellow to orange the occurrence becomes progressively more rare—that is—the less yellow present the more rarely they occur.”

During Christie’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels sale on Tuesday, the 14.82 carat orange diamond broke it’s high estimate of $21 million and sold for more than $35.5 million.

The bidding opened at 10 million Swiss francs, but quickly reached $20 million francs. The bidding slowed and the increments in bidding switched from 1 million francs to a half-million.

The Christie’s live Internet feed that had several bidders competing, along with bidders on phones. The room errupted with applause following the winning bid of 29 million francs ($31.6 million). The final total of $35,531,974 million includes fees and commissions.

“Time and again, a stone will appear on the market that is truly a miracle of nature,” said François Curiel, International head of Christie’s Jewellery Department. “The 14.82-carat orange diamond is one such a stone, a rare gem, which will perhaps only be seen once in a lifetime. In the sale on Tuesday, it soared far above all previous records for any orange diamond ever sold at auction, placing The Orange among the greatest pinks and blues, which are traditionally the most appreciated colored diamonds.”

“In a $125 million auction, the Orange, the Patiño collection, natural pearls, Royal jewels and stylish creations from the collection of Hélène Rochas were competed for with a passion rarely seen before. The energy in the auction room was constant throughout the sale with collectors and members of the trade bidding without abandon”, said Rahul Kadakia, Head of Jewellery, Christie’s Switzerland and Americas.

Africa-Mined Pink Diamond Becomes World’s Most Expensive Precious Stone

VENTURES AFRICA – Pink Star, a 59.60-carat diamond mined in Africa in 1999 by De Beers, was auctioned Wednesday by Sotheby’s for a record $83m, making it the world’s most expensive precious stone.

According to report, a representative of the renowned New York diamond cutter Isaac Wolf, made the winning bid in Geneva for the rare gem which adorned a ring worn by a stationed model at the auction.

Isaac Wolf has renamed the kolanut-sized diamond the Pink Dream.

The winning bid almost doubles the previous record of $46.2m paid for the Graff Pink diamond in 2010.

“It’s really extraordinarily rare,” BBC quoted David Bennett, Sotheby’s auctioneer, as saying.

The pink diamond was 132.5 carat in its original state in 1999 and was cut and polished over two years by American designer Steinmetz Diamonds.

Sotheby’s has declined to name the seller and the market history of the pink stone.

Rare Argyle pink diamond worth more than $500,000 showcased at Perth Mint

A RARE Argyle pink diamond valued at more than $500,000 is on display at the Perth Mint.

The stone was unearthed at the Argyle diamond mine in Western Australia's East Kimberley Region and chosen for the 2010 Argyle pink diamonds tender.

The 1.08 carat emerald-shaped gem has been handset in a 10oz, 22-carat pink gold ingot made at the Perth Mint.

The bullion ingot is one of only six in the world - each of which features a unique tender diamond.

This piece depicts a native boab tree, with the precious pink stone sitting in the top right corner and inscriptions along the frame.

Argyle's premium pink diamonds have traditionally been sold by tender since 1985.

Perth Mint sales and marketing director Ron Currie described the piece as a "limited-edition work of art".

"An Argyle pink tender diamond is classed as the ultimate possession," he said.

The diamond will be on display at the Perth Mint shop in East Perth until February

Friday, February 24, 2012

Pink diamond

Rio finds 'unprecedented' 12.76 carat pink diamond in the Kimberley

From:AFP
February 22, 2012 2:19PM

Watch

Rio's biggest pink diamond gets the cut

Rio Tinto has started cutting the largest pink diamond it has ever found at its Argyle mine in WA.

0:00 / 2:07

MINING giant Rio Tinto has unearthed a "remarkable" 12.76 carat pink diamond, the largest of the rare and precious stones ever found in Australia.

Named the Argyle Pink Jubilee, the huge rough stone was found at Rio's pink diamond operations in the Kimberley region of Western Australia and would take 10 days to cut and polish, the miner said.

“This rare diamond is generating incredible excitement. A diamond of this calibre is unprecedented - it has taken 26 years of Argyle production to unearth this stone and we may never see one like this again,” said Josephine Johnson from Rio's Argyle Pink Diamonds division. “The individual who gets to wear this remarkable pink diamond will be incredibly lucky indeed.”

The light-pink Argyle Jubilee is a similar colour to the 24-carat Williamson Pink given to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II as a wedding gift, which was later set into a Cartier brooch for her coronation.

Teodora

Put that on her finger! 57,500-carat world's largest emerald worth $1.15MILLION up for auction

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Last updated at 3:47 PM on 27th January 2012

The world's largest cut emerald is set to go up for auction - and is expected to fetch $1.15million.

The 57,500-carat stone, which is the size of a watermelon, is scheduled to go under the hammer tomorrow by Western Star Auctions in British Columbia.

The gem, named Teodora, was found in Brazil and cut in India, before being sold to rare gems dealer Reagan Reaney in Calgary - but there are doubts over whether it is in fact a true emerald.

'World's largest emerald': The gem, pictured here with owner Regan Reaney, is valued ay $1.15m and is set to be auctioned on Saturday

The 57,500-carat stone, named Teodora, was found in Brazil and cut in India, before being sold to the rare gems dealer Reagan Reaney in Calgary

A security guard keeps a watchful eye of the stone as residents take a look at it at Western Star Auction House in Kelowna, British Columbia

'I’m positive it contains emerald but I’m not sure how much of it is emerald,' Jeff Nechka, the gemologist who appraised the stone, told JCK Magazine.

Nechka said that he cannot even confirm that the stone is in fact the 'world’s largest emerald'.

The stone has been dyed so Nechka says it is possible that at least part of it could be dyed white beryl - the mineral that makes up an emerald.

'It has been dyed to some extent but it’s impossible to tell the intensity of the stone prior. It’s impossible to know how much of it is emerald.' he told JCK.

Director of Gemological Institute of America's West Coast Identification Service, Shane McClure, said he had not examined the stone but that if there is any white beryl in the stone, GIA would likely term it 'beryl with zones of emerald.'

'We probably would not call it emerald no matter what,' he told JCK. 'They seem to think there is indication of natural green coloration but we wouldn't call it emerald in any case.'

A worker polishes the world's largest emerald at Western Star Auction House in preparation for the public auction

Floran Lacerte lifts the world's largest emerald which weighs 11.5 kg and kisses it at the Auction House

When experts grade an emerald colour is by far their most important consideration with clarity coming in a close second.

Despite the doubt over the massive gem, Nechka said that he was confident the stone has been priced accordingly.

'If it was solid, untreated emerald, you would be looking at 10 or 20 times the value for sure,' he told JCK.

Regan Reaney, the Calgary gem wholesaler who is selling the stone, told JCK that anyone who questions the stone is welcome to examine it.

'This is 100 percent what we say it is. We know there is emerald throughout it, we don't know how much. We know it's not a total white beryl, but it has some white beryl in it. it's not gem quality, and we know it's commercial grade. But the size of it is what makes it special,' he said in the report.

A visitor holds the world's largest emerald as security guards stand nearby

If the stone is not sold, it will be sent to the Gemological Institute of America.

Emeralds - the birthstone for the month of May - get their green colouring from the presence of chromium within the stone and the effect it has on constituent mineral beryl.

Unlike diamonds they are graded by eye. If when examined by the naked eye an emerald appears free from material trapped while it was being formed then it can be considered flawless.

Emerald crystals, like all other naturally occurring gemstone crystals, grow one molecule at a time meaning it takes prolonged periods to create a quality gemstone.

The emeralds being mined today are relics from the geologic events that took place hundreds of millions of years ago deep within the Earth's crust.

And since they are expensive there are techniques to create synthetic emeralds. These fakes can be 'grown' in a laboratory by coating colourless beryl with an emerald overgrowth.

Emeralds can be found from as far afield as Columbia to Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Brazil and Canada.

From the Spanish Suiseki Association

With many thanks to the Spanish Suiseki Association (AES). Contact: jose.blazquez@bonsaimania.com for more information. Also, you can find more suiseki galleries: http://bonsaimania.com/suiseki_fotos.htm"

Suiseki (水) is the Japanese art of stone appreciation, which values aspects like stability, longevity and immortality. Formed through time by wind and water, stones can take several sizes and shapes, reminding us of natural objects."