Blood Diamonds

Learn about Pink Diamonds: part one

2007-08-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

Some of the loveliest diamonds in the world are pinks. They are very rare. The Argyle mine contains a lot of Pink Rough.
The largest pink diamond in the world (pictured) is the 186 Carat Darya-e-Nur¹, also known as the Sea of Light, the River of Light, or the Ocean of Light. It is a pale-pink, tablet-shaped diamond. You may see this item by visiting the Museum of the Treasury of National Iranian Jewels.
The Steinmetz Pink is a 59.60 Carat Fancy Vivid Pink INTERNALLY FLAWLESS diamond! Jenna Elfman was the lucky girl to wear it at the opening of an exhibition at The Smithsonian, but not before Helena Christensen had a crack at it first at the Monaco Grand Prix in 2003.
Queen Elizabeth II was given the 23.5 Carat Williamson Pink Diamond from Canadian geologist Dr. John Williamson as a wedding present. It was cut by Briefel and Lemer of London in 1948 and became the center stone of a brooch designed by Cartier in 1952.
Another large Pink Diamond, is known as Le Grand Condé, a name that also referred to its owner, Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé. He had set the Diamond on the pommel of his walking stick. It is also known as The Pink Diamond, Condé Pink or Condé Diamond. It is a 9.01 Carat Light Pink Pear-Shaped stone. While it has been reported that you may view this diamond at Chateau de Chantilly / Musée Condé, Nicole Garnier, the curator of the museum, has told me that due to a theft in 1929, although recovered the same year, it is no longer being displayed. There is a replica in its stead. Eva Longoria & Tony Parker’s upcoming wedding is expected to occur at the Chateau on 07/07/07. Nicole has also been generous enough to share some more pictures of the diamond for our community to view, see Gallery below.

New York: Harry Winston debuts Diamond de Neige collection

2007-08-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

It really is hard to be truly original. I thought that the concept of a snowflake pendant was original and a perfect gift for your woman, celebrating how unique she is. But I guess the snowflake theme has been used regularly. Following my post about *Ruta Fox’s version of the snowflake, I ran into another version at Knox Jewelry.
Now I see that Harry Winston has just launched an entire Snowflake collection:
“The Harry Winston Salon on Fifth Avenue was transformed to a magical Winston Wonderland to showcase the newest collection, Diamond de Neige.
The event highlighted some of Winston’s most select pieces as guests were treated to a whimsical experience with nymphs, ice queens, and a soothing harpist; all adorned with an exquisite collection of diamonds. All of Harry Winston’s reflections of nature, whether it be Wreaths or Clusters, or Diamond de Neige, were there for viewing as guests experienced a truly captivating evening of enchantment.There isn’t much of the de Neige collection to see yet on HW’s site so here are some Famous Harry Winston Diamonds to enjoy:
The Hope Diamond
60 Carat Oval Rose Pink Nur-ul-Ain
69.42 Carat Taylor Burton Diamond
Jackie Kennedy’s 40.42 Carat Lesotho One given by Aristotle Onassis
726 Carat Jonker Diamond
35.01 Carat D Internally Flawless Square Emerald-Cut
Halle Berry wearing rare Orange Harry Winston Pumpkin Diamond
The 90.38 Carat Briolette of India, not to be confused with this one of 75.51 carats (GIA report, Gubelin report)
And here are some celebrities wearing Harry Winston:
Jennifer Love Hewitt wearing the Diva Cuff Bracelet @ the 2006 Emmys
Andre Agassi
Kate Winslet
Scarlett Johansson
Suzanne & Alan Arkin, Kathy Bates, Mark Wahlberg, Rhea Durham
Hilary Swank
Antonio Banderas
Andie MacDowell
Robert Duvall
Matt Dillon
Shia LaBeouf with Michael Bay
New Superman Brandon Routh (who just got engaged to Courtney Ford with a Neil Lane engagement ring), attending Harry Winston store opening in China.
Jack Nicholson & daughter Lorraine Nicholson
Abigail Breslin
Gwyneth Paltrow
Minnie Driver
Natalia Vodianova
Gillian Anderson @ the Golden Globes
Joan Rivers @ Golden Globes 2007, wearing 20ct tw Diamond Brooch w/ 100 cts tw cabochon garnets, brown tourmaline earrings & 21 carat emerald-cut diamond ring
Kelly Brook @ the BAFTAS
Lucero @ the 2006 Latin Grammys
Sara Ramirez @ the 2006 Emmys

Guido Mocafico profile, photographer for Harry Winston & Bulgari

2007-08-14T12:51:00.001-07:00

If you haven’t seen the website of Guido Mocafico, you should definitely take a look. The pictures are just stunning. He has taken lots of Jewelry pictures. He has worked on ad campaigns for Harry Winston, Bvlgari, Boucheron, Dior, Gucci & Hermes.
Only a creative genius can come up with the idea of Ants crawling on Diamond Rings and make it look good.
There is a huge linked list of the Jewelry and Diamond-related photos by Ocafico after the jump. They are such gorgeous pictures that you’ve got to see it to believe. Which one is your favorite?
Bulgari:
Stunning multicolored necklace on Bulgari logo
Similar necklace but you can see 360 degrees
Another necklace from the collection
Bulgari necklace
Stunning
Loose Diamonds on Bulgari
Gucci:
Blue Gucci Watch
Blue Watch2
Bijoux, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Diamond Watch, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Ring, 2, 3
Dior:
Dior diamond rings
Dior rings, more, more, more
Dior jewelry
Harry Winston:
Iconic
Hermes:
Rock watch
Bangle
Hermes men’s watch, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Another watch
Ants on Diamond
Ants on Marquise
Ants on Round, another
Ants on Asscher
Ants on Pear
Ants on Princess
Fruits & Jewelry:
Diamonds & Emeralds on green fruit
Bulgari necklace on grapes
Diamonds on melon
Yellow diamond on banana
Bulgari on orange
Diamond Necklace on fruit
Multicolor necklace on fruit
Diamonds & Peaches
Cheerios diamonds on fruit
Necklace on fruit
Red gem on fruit
Watermelon choker
White and Red fruit
Yellow & White diamonds on fruit
Red White and Blue Fruit Jewelry, more
Diamonds & Cherries
Yellow bracelet on blue fruit
White diamonds on blueberry
Diamonds:
Yellow diamond closeup
Closer
Stunning blue diamond
Ghostly Fashion (could this have been for a Conflict Diamonds campaign?):
Killer Diamond Choker
Smoking fashion
Glamour to die for
Lively Pearls
Fashion for life
More Jewelry:
Flower Jewelry 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34
Collage
Diamonds on Black, more
Fingers, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Frozen Watch, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Wrapping, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Watch mechanism
Jewelry in the rough
Monochrome
Jewelry feathers
Pearls
Tinfoil diamonds
Symphony of Diamonds, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Watch
Jewelry Porn (There’s a series that are NSFW, only one of them is safe to post):
Peau

Gemesis selling as Pintura Diamonds launches line of man-made diamond jewelry

2007-08-14T12:50:00.000-07:00

Gemesis, now selling as Pintura Diamonds, has launched a new line of Jewelry called the Val Collection. This is a result of a partnership between Gemesis / Pintura Diamonds and Val Casting.
Related links:
Thread with Gemesis product director
Iconic Wired article
Apollo Synthetic Diamonds
Gemesis Asscher cut diamond
Professional Jeweler on the Gemesis marketing plan
Gemesis explained by retailer
USA Today article on Synthetic Diamonds
Rosy Blue denies selling undisclosed synthetics
Lab created diamonds come to market…slashdotted

New York Post: Engagement ring details for Charlie Sheen proposal to Brooke Mueller

2007-08-14T12:48:00.000-07:00

Some engagement ring details for Charlie Sheen’s proposal to Brooke Mueller have come to light courtesy NY POST’s: LIZ SMITH. They were introduced to each other in 2006 by Rebecca Gayheart, Brooke’s best friend, at a Victoria Secret party in Brett Ratner’s home.
Charlie surprised Brooke with a a Patek Philippe Calatrava watch from Robert Maron engraved on the back with: B. - Wanna get married? . . . Love - C. Maron has a listing of sold items, this watch might be the one.
As for the engagement ring? A radiant cut, 11-carat, natural yellow diamond set in a platinum ring made by Alon Barak of Beverly Hills. Personally I have doubts about the veracity of this part of the story as I’ve never heard of Alon Barak and Google only heard of him through Smith’s article. And maybe it’s just me, but does this quote sound like the Charlie Sheen you know?
Brooke was amazed. “Once I put the ring on her finger,” says Charlie, “you’ve never seen two happier people in your life.”
As a footnote, Smith concludes with some commentary about Conflict Diamonds. Her point being that the movie Blood Diamonds was supposed to affect the diamond industry, but sales are up, not down. While she makes a point, I still think this issue is not settled. It takes time to change an entrenched model. There are many trendsetters who are making other symbols to replace a diamond engagement ring and the threat is still alive. That’s why I think the industry has to get very serious about the issue with real solid moves rather than just a marketing campaign with a Kimberly seal of approval. No one wants to buy a romantic symbol dripped in blood, and no one wants to sell that or be involved in that industry either. Some greedy people making money in a cruel way make everyone in the chain look bad.

Russell Simmons green jewelry targets conflict-free diamond consumers

2007-08-14T12:43:00.000-07:00

Penelope Cruz has been quoted as wearing Russell Simmons’ new line of Green Jewelry.
According to an ad, half of the net profits will be donated to DEF, Diamond Empowerment Fund. This is a play on words of DEF JAM. There is a video about it after the jump.
Is this charitising or a real charity? Well, you decide…
As far as I can tell, the official website is one page on his Jewelry website. It isn’t even serious enough to warrant its own website. You can donate directly to the “fund” on that one page.
Here is an interview on the topic with Russell Simmons from Inc Magazine:
“How do you balance the demands of running a business with your desire to give back? Can commerce and charity coexist?”
“You’re already giving back because you run a business that creates jobs. As an entrepreneur, the most important service you provide to the world is helping your company grow so that you can hire more employees and give them an opportunity to earn a living. To me, giving back isn’t about charity. It’s about empowerment. It’s better to hand someone a fishing pole than a fish. That’s the difference between helping someone lead a healthy lifestyle and just helping him survive, and it’s one reason I’ve started so many companies.
If you want to do more to give back, it’s not as hard as you might think to incorporate that mission into the way you run your company. The easiest way to do that is with cause marketing. It’s an idea that has become more common lately, and I try to do it with all of my businesses. You help customers affect change by buying your products. Pick causes that have a connection with what you do, causes that you and your customers care about.
In December, I created the Diamond Empowerment Fund, which helps schools in Africa, as a complement to Simmons Jewelry. We sell a conflict-free diamond bracelet and donate half of the profits to the fund. My reason for doing it was personal–it’s part of why I’m in the diamond business–but the initiative is bringing in new customers and getting us press. My partners who have been selling diamonds their whole lives can’t believe how great our branded business is doing.
Some people will say that it’s wrong to use charitable contributions to promote your business, but I’d rather see a picture of an African school on an ad than one of a rich person.
And you don’t have to give away profits to make a difference. In 2003, I started Run Athletics and advertised a shoe, the Phat Classic, as a way to promote racial equality and reparations (the tag line was, “Isn’t it time for a change?”). We sold hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of sneakers–a lot of them to white kids–because everybody responded to the idea of buying from someone other than Phil Knight.”
I don’t know what conclusion you come to, but I don’t think anyone will quibble that he is a good businessman. It’s too bad that most people won’t actually dig very deep beyond marketing.
This Green Jewelry advertises that it contains a “Conflict-Free Diamond.” Huh? What does that mean? That his other diamonds aren’t conflict-free? Only this one? Or that this one went through more rigorous checks? I don’t get it.
If you want to buy conflict-free, I would suggest you do an awful lot of research before you decide any product or company is conflict-free or their charity is up to snuff.
One final note before the video, it does not breed confidence when you announce one figure (25%) going to a charity and advertise another figure (50%).