77 Days A Week: The Week in Review 31st Jan – 04th Feb
Monday
As chilly January turned to gloomy February last week, a startling statistic came to light. According to the National Retail Federation in America, US shoppers are going to up their jewellery spends by 17% this year. Indeed, their predictions may be true as hot young Hollywood couple Ashley Greene and her Jonas brother boyfriend were spotted picking out eternity rings; while on this side of the pond Kate Middleton and Prince William are thought to be taking their second-hand engagement ring to the Scilly Isles.
Tuesday
The beginning of the week saw the sad passing of one of film’s greatest composers. John Barry who had written the score for eleven Bond films, including Diamonds Are Forever, died aged 77.
Wednesday
Conflict diamonds took centre-stage on Wednesday with reports that President Mugabe would benefit from sales of a new Zimbabwean mine. Meanwhile, Naomi Campbell, who suffice to say has had her fair share of diamond-related conflict took to Gents mag GQ to talk about her brush with them.
And speaking of making your bed... diamond-designer Stuart Hughes unveiled his latest diamond-encrusted confection – a diamond double bed. The perfect companion to this week’s diamond Blackberry.
Thursday
Thursday got a lot of auction action. Sotheby’s revealed that their Important Jewels sale in New York raked in nearly $9million, while the Screen Actors Guild finished their annual SAG auction. Manwhile in London, Christie’s previewed the 2011 auction highlights which included a fair few sumptuous jewels. Click here to see them.
Friday
Following Campbell’s revelations about her own diamond gaffs, LiLo became a repeat offender when it was revealed that she was under investigation for fine jewellery theft... Meanwhile Manolo Blahnik cashed in on his rep with a diamond pendant and fashion stalwart Kate Moss finally put paid to those engagement rumours by announcing that she IS actually engaged. Official-like.
By Hannah Powell
Christie’s Magnificent Jewels Auction Highlights 2011
Christie’s annual Magnificent Jewels auctions always attract the crème de la crème of the jewellery, design and art world, not to mention a fair few celebs with a deep pocket or two. It seems that 2011’s sales will be no different after the St. James branch of the world renowned auction house, exhibited a selection of the jewels that will go under the hammer before June.
The preview only included 9 pieces but what pieces they were. The lot was a fabulous array of rare diamonds and intricately designed jewellery that was nothing short of other-worldly.
The most distinctive item on display was the perfect heart-shaped diamond. Un-mounted and weighing in at a staggering 56.15ct, the heart diamond’s impressive credentials – D IF (D refers to the best colour grade possible, while IF references one of the top clarity grading’s meaning that the diamond is Internally Flawless) – proved exactly how perfect it really was. It’s estimated to go for a sum between $9m-$12m and judging from the cooing it garnered in the gallery last Wednesday, it’s sure to reach at least that.
It wasn’t just the large heart that impressed. There was also a selection of four coloured and colourless loose stones which were simply sublime. The biggest was the 42.38ct cushion-cut Fancy Intense Yellow diamond that sat proudly on its mount, dwarfing the much smaller stones. However, not to be outdone, the 12.92ct cushion-cut Fancy Vivid Yellow, 5.37ct pear-shaped Fancy Pink and 5.03ct cushion-cut diamonds proved how incredibly breathtaking precious gems can be.