Diamond News Archives
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Lalita Shinde, a member of the trust that is in charge of managing operations at the Trimbakeshwar temple in northwestern India, approached her country’s National Archives this week and presented a memorandum demanding the repatriation of the blue Nassak diamond, which reportedly once graced the crown of Lord Shiva idol.
The trustee has been in this quest for a few years now. According to local media, she says that the gem was looted by several rulers some 200 years ago and ended up at a private museum in Lebanon.
Munich, Germany's Reich der Kristalle museum replica of the 1820s Rundell and Bridge recut of the Nassak Diamond. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.
Shinde says she has written letters to former President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union minister Sushma Swaraj and the Archaeological Survey of India asking them to do something about the lost jewel. Last year, officials from the latter told her that only diplomatic efforts could return the stone to the temple.
The blue Nassak, also called ‘Eye of Lord Shiva,’ is a 43.38-carat diamond that, in the rough, weighed 89 carats. It was supposedly found in the Amaragiri mine located in the Telangana state and originally cut in India. Different sources of information indicate that the diamond was the adornment in the Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple from 1500 to 1817. The British East India Company allegedly took the gem during the Third Anglo-Maratha War and sold it to British jewellers Rundell and Bridge in 1818. From that moment on, the rare stone has had different owners but has never returned to its birthplace.
“My demand is that the government should get back the diamond from the Lebanon museum as soon as possible,” Shinde told local journalists.
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(IDEX Online) – The organizers of the CARAT+ show said that GIA Executive Vice President and Chief Laboratory and Research Officer Tom Moses will speak at a GIA GemFest during the May 6 to 8 show in Antwerp.<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /?>
GIA will participate at CARAT+ with information about its research programs, educational offerings, and gemological laboratory services and instruments.
On May 7, Moses will speak at the GIA GemFest on a current gemological topic. More information about the GemFest talk will be available prior to the show.
Throughout CARAT+ there will be live demonstrations at the GIA booth of the GIA iD100TM gem testing device. The new instrument can distinguish natural diamonds - mounted and loose, rough and cut - from synthetic (HPHT and CVD) diamonds and diamond stimulants in the colorless to near-colorless range, in sizes starting from 0.9 millimeters in diameter.
There will also be information available on tools and materials for retailers, offered through the GIA Retailer Support Program, including GIA signage, training resources and educational counter displays. The Retailer Support Program also offers material that can be used in advertising, and on a retailer’s website and social media pages.
“This opportunity to present information about GIA’s instruments, education programs and gem identification and grading services serves our mission of ensuring the public trust in gems and jewellery,” said Moses.
CARAT+ founder and event director, Filip Van Laere, said the GIA GemFest would offer "insightful information to all our exhibitors and visitors, alongside the other fantastic speakers who are taking part in our refreshed program of content.”...
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When Britain's Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in May he is expected to follow a royal tradition started nearly 100 years ago of using a wedding band of Welsh gold.
His great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, was the first to use gold from Wales in a wedding ring when, as Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, she married the future King George VI in 1923.
Her example was followed by the current Queen Elizabeth when she married Prince Philip in 1947 and then by royals through to Prince William's wedding to Catherine Middleton in 2011.
For Markle's wedding, the rare gold ring with the Welsh dragon stamp will probably be made by jeweller Wartski at its London workshop, said Ben Roberts, managing director of Clogau Gold of Wales, which uses gold from the same mines from which gold was gifted to the royals.
Roberts said he thought the ring would be a yellow shade of gold to match Markle's engagement ring, which was designed by Prince Harry and features three diamonds.
"Looking at her engagement ring, it will probably have to match, so it will probably be yellow," he told Reuters, rather than the distinctive rose-gold commonly used in the company's jewellery designs.
The royals first received Welsh gold from the Clogau St David mine in 1923. In 1986, the queen received a second gift of Welsh gold by the British Legion from Gwynfynydd mine which is now owned by Clogau Gold of Wales.
The 24-carat Welsh gold has a higher percentage of pure gold than standard 18-carat gold, giving it a rich, warm colour.
If Welsh gold is used in Markle’s ring, Roberts said official confirmation from the palace will only come after the wedding.
The Clogau St David and Gwynfynydd mines, both in northwest Wales, are currently closed, having last operated in the 1990s. As finite gold resources are running out, Roberts has plans to reopen Gwynfynydd in the near future and invite the queen's son and heir Prince Charles to visit the mine.
Editing by Stephen Addison and William Schomberg.
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A 6.16-carat diamond called Farnese Blue will appear on the market for the first time in history this spring, after having remained in the same family for over three centuries.
Sotheby's will be offering the gem at its Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels sale taking place in Geneva on May 15, 2018. The stone's value is calculated between $3,690,000 and $5,270,000.
According to a press release issued by the auctioning house, the pear-shaped blue diamond was given by the Philippines to Elisabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain (1692-1766), and has subsequently passed down through four of the most important royal families in Europe: Spain, France, Italy, and Austria.
It is said that the fancy dark grey-blue diamond originated at the Golconda mines in India and has travelled throughout the old continent for some 300 years, from the aftermath of the Spanish Succession War to the fall of the Habsburg Empire. However, with the exception of close relatives and the family jewellers, no one knew of its existence.
In the media statement, Sotheby's management expressed feeling honoured for being entrusted with the sale. “With its incredible pedigree, the Farnese Blue ranks among the most important historic diamonds in the world. From the first minute I saw the stone, I could not resist its magic," Philipp Herzog von Württemberg, Chairman of Sotheby’s Europe and Managing Director of Germany, said.
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22 March 2018 – De Beers Group today announced that its Forevermark diamond brand will enter the German market for the first time after signing with an exclusive licensee partner, and is in advanced-stage discussions with potential partners in France and Italy. The expansion into new European markets comes on the back of successful global performance throughout 2017 and in 2018 to date.
In Germany, Forevermark is partnering with Heinz Mayer, an Idar-Oberstein-based diamond jewellery specialist. Heinz Mayer will launch the Forevermark collection to the German jewellery retail trade at the Baselworld trade fair, at Stand F10 Hall 2:1, presenting the opportunity for luxury retailers to bring the brand to a German consumer audience later in 2018.
Forevermark is also in advanced discussions in France with Groupe Marcel Robbez Masson and in Italy with World Diamond Group. The expansion into new European markets follows the brand’s successful performance in 2017, during which it posted 19 per cent growth in numbers of diamonds sold globally.
Stephen Lussier, Chief Executive, Forevermark, said: “Forevermark is delighted to add new licensee partners in key European markets and to further expand the brand’s global reach. The flow of international travellers through Europe from key consumer markets such as the USA, China, India and Japan is an important influence on brand selection, and bolstering the brand’s visibility in leading European destinations is a powerful next step following the successes of 2017.
“We have sought out strong partners whose values match our own, and who can deliver a locally relevant range of Forevermark diamond jewellery in their countries. We now look forward to further expansion through the year as we continue to offer more consumers the opportunity to buy Forevermark’s beautiful, rare and responsibly sourced diamonds.”
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