Costume Jewelry Ring Turns Out to be a 26.27 Carat Diamond

"Even if it was just a small 1-carat diamond it would be amazing, but the fact that it's 26 carats, that's larger than most would see in their lifetime let alone own dream of owning. To have one this big and truly pure is astounding,"  -Jessica Wyndham, head of Sotheby's London jewelry department; photo courtesy of Sotheby's Auction House

One lucky lady bought more than a fun cocktail ring for about 10 pounds (about $15) 30 years ago. This piece of "costume jewelry" turned out to be a 26.27 carat white diamond. The owner has been wearing the ring since the '80s and only recently found out from a local jeweler it could be of significant value. On Monday she met with with Jessica Wyndham, head of Sotheby's London jewelry department. 

"She first bought it in the 1980s as a costume jewel, cocktail ring and she has been wearing it around ever since," Wyndham said. "It's impossible to really date it, but the style of the diamond has notable characteristics similar to what you would expect from the 19th century," she explained. 

"She randomly took it to a local jeweler who said, 'This could be a diamond,' and told her to 'seriously get it looked at,'" Wyndham added. The ring's owner was searching impressive diamonds on Google when she found Sotheby's and reached out to Wyndham to get the process started. Once Wyndham was able to see the stone in person she decided to contact the Gemological Institute of America to have the gem identified officially. "They check the diamond and give a certificate confirming the color, clarity, size and weight," Wyndham said of the New York City-based company. The stone came back as a cushion-shaped diamond weighing 26.27 carats with an attractive color grade of I and impressive clarity grade of VVS2.

Sotheby's will start the low auction price at about $325,000 but Wyndham said the diamond could reach $454,000. The unique 26.27-carat white diamond will be part of a sale on June 7, 2017, that includes a diamond broach worn by former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and other priceless historic jewelry items.

See all of the items included in the Sotheby's Sale Here.

Shirley Temple's Blue Diamond

The blue diamond ring that belonged to child-star-turned-diplomat Shirley Temple is going up for auction at Sotheby’s next month.
The 9.54 carat stone was bought by the former Hollywood actress’s father around her 12th birthday for $7,210 in 1940 and it became a favored piece of jewelry. 
Shirley Temple Temple began her film career in 1932 at the age of three and in 1934 she found international fame in Bright Eyes. She was well known for her bouncy curls and outgoing personality (she was cute as a button!). From 1935 through 1938 she was Hollywood’s biggest box office star. 
As Shirley Temple Black, she had a long career in public service and was the US ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia. She was also appointed as Chief of Protocol by President Gerald Ford in 1976 and was involved in preparations for President Jimmy Carter’s inauguration. 
She died in February 2014 at the age of 85 at home in Woodside, California.

Blue Diamond Ring being Auctioned by Sotheby's in April

BLUE DIAMOND RING On a Model's hand

Shirley Temple Black as US Ambassador 

The stone has a pre-sale estimate of between $25 million and $35 million and is scheduled to go under the hammer on April 19. 
According to Frank Everett, sales director for Sotheby’s jewelry department in New York the ring had been sold by her estate to a private buyer and that buyer was now putting it up for auction. The stone is in its original platinum and diamond setting. A gold setting that Temple had made for it will also be included.

Largest Blue HPHT Synthetic Diamond in GIA Lab

A 5.03 ct Fancy Deep blue HPHT synthetic diamond was examined by GIA (left). Faint but sharp color zoning was observed (middle, field of view 4.77 mm) along with small metallic inclusions and a cavity at the girdle (right, field of view 2.19 mm). Photos by Sood (Oil) Judy Chia (left) and Kyaw Soe Moe (center and right)

The largest faceted colorless HPHT-grown synthetic diamond reported to date is a 10.02 ct E-color, VS1-clarity specimen, cut from a 32.26-carat piece of rough, was reported by IGI Hong Kong in 2015. The diamond was grown by NDT, or New Diamond Technology, is one of the founding members of the new International Grown Diamond Association. Recently, large colorless and near-colorless HPHT-grown diamonds by the Russian company have been investigated by GIA laboratories. The sizes ranged up to up to 5.11 ct. In January 2016, GIA’s New York laboratory examined a 5.03 ct fancy-color HPHT-grown type IIb synthetic diamond produced by NDT. this is the largest faceted blue laboratory-grown diamond studied so far. 

The notes from GIA's lab report stated that the 5.03-carat diamond exhibited a number of traits characteristic of diamonds grown using the high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) process, including color zoning and a cuboctahedral growth pattern. The stone was graded a VS1, fancy deep blue. 

"This emerald-cut synthetic diamond was color graded as Fancy Deep blue. This is a very attractive color with no other color component, a prized rarity among natural type IIb diamonds (the Blue Moon, for instance, was graded as Fancy Vivid blue). When viewed under a microscope, faint but sharp color zoning could be seen, indicative of the uneven impurity incorporation of HPHT synthetic diamonds. No strain was observed under crossed polarizers, indicating a very low dislocation density, which is also characteristic of HPHT-grown diamonds. It had VS1 clarity, with only very small metallic inclusions and a cavity observed at the girdle. Fluorescence and phosphorescence images collected using a DiamondView instrument revealed the sample’s cuboctahedral growth pattern, another feature of HPHT synthetics. The long-lasting chalky blue phosphorescence was further analyzed using spectroscopy, and the emission was found to originate from two broad bands centered at approximately 500 and 575 nm (figure 2, right). These bands have previously been reported in NDT’s type IIa and IIb HPHT synthetic diamonds (D’Haenens-Johansson et al., 2015). "

The evaluation of a lab-grown blue diamond of this size is considered by the researchers to be so significant that they opted to publish Lab Notes online ahead of the next quarterly edition of Gems & Gemology.  

To read Lab Notes GIA.edu

Harder than diamond

New Substance Is Harder Than Diamond, Scientists Say
By JONAH BROMWICHDEC. 3, 2015

A microscopic view of tiny diamonds made with the new technique. Credit Jagdish Narayan and Anagh Bhaumik

Researchers at North Carolina State University say they have developed a technique for creating a substance they are calling Q-carbon, which represents a third phase, or distinct form, of carbon alongside graphite and diamond.

The discovery could have many applications, notably in the fields of medicine and industry. But Jay Narayan, the lead scientist on the study, has made one claim about the technique that is certain to turn heads.

“In 15 minutes, we can make a carat of diamonds,” Mr. Narayan said. A carat is 200 milligrams.

The process of creating Q-carbon — which involves concentrating a very short pulse of laser light onto carbon — can produce minuscule synthetic diamond “seeds,” which can yield gems.

Diamonds that have been “grown” by depositing successive layers of carbon atoms on the surface of a thin slice of a natural diamond in an intense plasma field.Borrowing From Solar and Chip Tech to Make Diamonds Faster and CheaperNOV. 11, 2015
While the amount of diamond is tiny compared with the yield of traditional industrial techniques, the process can be carried out at room temperature and air pressure, the researchers say, meaning it could be easier to reproduce on a large scale than other methods, including one that has been drawing interest in Silicon Valley known as chemical vapor deposition.

The technique used to create Q-carbon, which was pioneered over the summer, was described on Monday in the Journal of Applied Physics. A tiny laser beam is trained onto a piece of amorphous carbon for 200 nanoseconds, heating it extremely fast. The spot then cools in a process known as quenching, creating Q-carbon.

It isn’t known whether the substance exists in the natural world, but Mr. Narayan suggested it could be present in the cores of planets.

Wuyi Wang, the director of research and development at the Gemological Institute of America and an expert on diamond geochemistry, said that while he would like to confirm the findings himself, “if they are true, it will be very exciting news for the diamond research community.”

He added that the journal is “quite credible” and he “pretty much trusts what they say.”

André Anders, the editor in chief of the journal, echoed Mr. Wang’s excitement, as well as his note of caution.

“This is one of those ‘wow’ papers,” he said. “I put a sticky note on the manuscript that said ‘pay attention to this one’ before the peer review even happened. But the second thought I have, and this is the scientist in me, is that I’m always skeptical.”

Mr. Narayan described possible uses for Q-carbon in creating synthetic body parts, improving tools like deep-water drills, and producing brighter, longer lasting screens for televisions and cellphones.

Casey Boutwell, who works on commercial licensing for scientific discoveries at the university’s office of technology transfer, said he was bracing for strong interest in the technique. “We don’t know exactly how this can be best applied, and we’re excited to get the market’s input,” he said.

Neil Krishnan, the director of technology platforms at the Swedish industrial toolmaker Sandvik Hyperion, called Mr. Narayan’s discovery “extremely interesting.”

“I still think it’s at a nascent stage for us to consider it a competitive threat per se,” he said. “But it would definitely be a new technology that we’d be interested in.”

A microscopic view of tiny diamonds made with the new technique. Credit Jagdish Narayan and Anagh Bhaumik
But Mr. Narayan and his colleagues say the potential for creating synthetic gemstones pales next to possible applications of Q-carbon, which the researchers said is magnetic, fluorescent and electroconductive.

Original Article

History's Second Largest Diamond Found

Lucara President and CEO William Lamb said the 1,111-carat diamond workers found Monday at the company’s Karowe Mine is “slightly smaller than a tennis ball.” This picture provided by Lucara shows how big the diamond is when compared to a loupe. The 1,111-carat Type IIa diamond is the second-largest gem-quality diamond ever found. Only the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond, which was discovered in January 1905 at the Premier mine in South Africa and later cleaved by Joseph Asscher, is bigger.

Workers recovered the stone in the mine’s south lobe, an area that has produced three 300-carat-plus rough diamonds this year (including a 342-carat stone that Lucara sold in July for $20.5 million). As to estimating the value of this amazing stone Lucara Diamond Corp. President and CEO William Lamb saidthat is is “almost impossible” to estimate a sale price for the stone, or what it could yield in terms of polished diamonds.

An 8.52-carat diamond was discovered in Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds State Park

An 8.52-carat diamond was discovered in Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds State Park on Wednesday.

On Wednesday June 24th Crater of Diamonds State Park visitor Bobbie Oskarson of Longmont, Colorado uncovered an 8.25-carat diamond. The stone is the fifth-largest diamond found by a visitor to the state park since the site was established in 1972. 

At first she thought the diamond was a quartz crystal because of its size and shape, but a park staffer confirmed later that it was indeed a diamond.

"Ms. Oskarson and her boyfriend Travis Dillon saw the Crater of Diamonds State Park on an Arkansas highway map while in the nearby town of Hot Springs and decided to visit the park. And what a lucky first visit it was for her!" park interpreter Waymon Cox said in a press release.

Oskarson named her find the Esperanza Diamond, after her niece, and plans to keep the gem.

More than 30 diamonds have been discovered in the park's search area this year. Cox said above-normal rainfall this year is one reason for the frequent finds.

"Rain, plus the regular plowing of the search field by our maintenance staff, increases visitors' chances of finding diamonds in the search area," he said.

More than 75,000 diamonds have been unearthed in the park since the first diamonds were discovered there in 1906.

The largest rough diamond ever discovered in Crater of Diamonds State Park (and the largest ever found in the United States) is the Uncle Sam Diamond, which was found in 1924 and was a hefty 40.23 carats, according to the park website.

Kathleen Marino M.A, G.G., AJP, NAJA

Doyle's New York to Hold Auction in LA

Continuing the westward move of auction houses Doyle will hold its Inaugural West Coast Auction in Beverly Hills on Thursday, May 21, 2015 at 10am. These important sales address an entire demographic that has been ignored in the past by the established Eastern houses. 
The sale of Fine Jewelry will feature exquisite designs by such prestigious makers as Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, Bulgari and Tiffany & Co. Comprising over 250 lots, the sale showcases jewelry set with diamonds, colored gemstones and pearls, as well as gold jewelry, fine watches and gentlemen's accessories.
One star of the show will be the dazzling collection of jewelry once owned by film star Mae West, comprising a circa 1950 platinum and diamond bracelet-watch by Fred and a platinum, moonstone and diamond ring.

Alert from GIA Lab

The Gemological Institute of America has cut off four clients traced to hundreds of diamonds submitted with an undisclosed treatment that improves their color by as much as three grades but fades over time. 

On May 12, 2015 GIA Laboratory sent out notifications about the still-unidentified temporary treatment Tuesday and is asking anyone in the trade with these 424 potentially treated stones to turn them back into the GIA for reexamination. According to the National Jeweler approximately 76 of the 500 already have been reexamined by the GIA.)  The majority of the stones are 1 carat or larger. 

GIA has confirmed that they have terminated the client agreements of the companies linked to the stones. GIA spokesman Stephen Morisseau said the lab “reasonably suspects” that the companies knew the diamonds were treated and did not disclose it.  

The companies are listed online as: E.G.S.D Diamonds Ltd., L.Y.E Diamonds Ltd., Abramov Romok and Yair Matatov.

 The GIA also said it notified the diamond bourses. In a statement issued Wednesday, the Israel Diamond Exchange said it called an emergency meeting of its board of directors upon hearing the news and has “resolved to identify the suspects” and act immediately to “take the needed measures.” 
The lab became aware of this potentially new color treatment when a client purchased one of these diamonds and the treatment began to wear off, leaving him with a diamond that had a much lower color grade than what he had paid for. He returned the stone to GIA for reexamination. It was then that the GIA discovered the treatment and the stone was connected with hundreds of others that had been submitted by the four companies. 
GIA hasn’t drawn any solid conclusions yet, Morisseau said they “reasonably believe” that all of the approximately 500 stones have been treated, but cannot definitively say anything until the lab reexamines them. 
Morisseau said the GIA has not yet identified the treatment but are “actively researching it.” He added that they are monitoring other GIA labs worldwide for similar submissions. 

You may view the list of recalled diamonds here.

Kathleen Marino M.A, G.G., AJP, NAJA

Sotheby's to Auction a Historic Pink Diamond

A fancy vivid pink diamond that is believed to have been part of the collection of Napoleon Bonaparte’s niece, Princess Mathilde, could fetch up to $18 million when it hits Sotheby’s auction block next month.
Dubbed the “Historic Pink Diamond,” the diamond is an 8.72-carat stone, VS2 clarity and is a non-modified cushion cut; unusual for a pink diamond.

Scheduled for May 12 Sotheby’s auction of Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels, in Geneva.

Kathleen Marino M.A, G.G., AJP, NAJA

Botswana mine yields 342-carat diamond

Lucara Diamond Corp. announced this week the discovery of a 341.9-carat gem-quality diamond at its Karowe Mine in Botswana, the same mine that yielded two 200-carat-plus pieces of rough last year. 
The diamond is a Type IIa that shows “exceptional color and clarity”. It will be sold along with two other big pieces of rough, both of which are more than 100 carats. The sale date has yet to be determined.
The diamond was found while processing fragmental kimberlite from the central and south lobe interface of the mine, which is proving, somewhat surprisingly, to be a prolific source of high-quality, large rough diamonds.

Kathleen Marino M.A, G.G., AJP, NAJA

The “Ultimate Emerald-cut Eiamond" Fetches More than $22 million

An anonymous buyer who called in their bid became the owner of one impressive diamonds, a 100.2-carat, internally flawless, D color Type IIa diamond. The diamond sold for $22.1 million at Sotheby’s New York jewelry sale on April 21, falling slightly short of its highest pre-sale estimate, $25 million.
The hundred-carat stunner led Tuesday’s Magnificent Jewels sale and was one-third of the auction’s $65.1 million total, a new record for Sotheby’s in New York.
According to Sotheby’s, the stone is the largest “perfect” diamond with a classic emerald cut ever sold at auction and the first 100-carat-plus perfect diamond sold at an auction held in New York. The $22 million paid for it is a record for a colorless diamond auctioned in New York.

Kathleen Marino M.A, G.G., AJP, NAJA

Exceptional 63.05-carat Diamond Found

Lucapa Diamond Company recovered an “exceptional” 63.05-carat, Type IIa diamond from its alluvial mining operations at the Lulo Diamond Concession in Angola. It is the biggest diamond recovered since Lucapa started commercial mining operations at the site in January and the company’s third-largest stone unearthed at Lulo, behind 131.40-carat and 95.45-carat stones (both of which also were Type IIa).

Kathleen Marino M.A, G.G., AJP, NAJA

The “Kimberley Purple"

The “Kimberley Purple,” a 30.80-carat rough diamond found in Batla Minerals’ Superkolong diamond tailings plant in Kimberley, South Africa, is on view in New York until April 23, when it will be moved to Antwerp for tender. 
A viewing can be arranged by emailing appts@fusionalternatives.com. Additional information on the tender can be found on the Fusion Alternatives website. 

Kathleen Marino M.A, G.G., AJP, NAJA

Stunning 100.20 carat D color Diamond

Meet the Ultimate Emerald-Cut Diamond. The 100.20 carat D color internally flawless emerald-cut diamond will go up for auction at Sotheby’s, April 21, 2015. The stone originated from a rough diamond weighing over 200 carats, found in southern Africa by De Beers. It took the owner over a year to cut and polish the diamond.