September is officially considered the start of spring in South Africa. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming and love is certainly in the air as peak engagement and wedding season starts. September's birthstone, sapphire, is a well known gem, but here are 10 things you might not know about this gorgeous gemstone: What is sapphire? [...]
Recently, Katannuta Diamonds co-founder Clare Appleyard was invited to speak at the August Lionesses of Africa Lean In event, held in Sandton, Johannesburg. Founded by Melanie Hawken, Lionesses of Africa is a 700,000-strong network of women entrepreneurs spanning over 40 African countries. Melanie Hawken, CEO & Found of Lionesses of Africa. Melanie believes [...]
Even at the best of times, jewellery and gemstones are a total mystery to your average man. Add in the pressure of the jewellery in question being a South African engagement ring, and the poor man can’t help but feel over-whelmed. “Do I need permission from her father? What’s her ring size? What does she [...]
Love, success, passion and energy – all are positive qualities associated with the colour red and the gemstone ruby, the most royal of all gems and July's birthstone. Ruby is the most prized gem of them all; after all, in ancient Sanskrit, ruby translated to “Ratnaraj”, which meant “king of precious stones" and, in addition [...]
The 20th of June saw the exciting new launch of our collaboration with Chocoloza, a hand-made luxury chocolate brand based at 44 Stanley in Johannesburg. South African diamond lovers came together for a decadent evening of champagne, cognac, coffee, chocolate and of course diamonds and jewellery. One of most common questions our co-founder Clare Appleyard [...]
There’s no doubt that in South Africa right now, morganite rings are certainly the flavour of the moment. Big brand retail stores like American Swiss and Browns are promoting morganite on a significant scale and, as the South African economy weakens (again), the consumer-friendly price point of morganite makes it a popular choice for couples [...]
Natural coloured diamonds are some of the rarest and most beautiful diamonds that you can imagine. Mined at a number of varieties across the world, including South Africa and Australia, coloured diamonds are prized by collectors and are sold for 10's of thousands of dollars per carat. Coloured diamonds are increasing in popularity and as [...]
For many engagement ring buyers, the preferred diamond colour is white - indeed, the whiter, the better (and the pricier!). A pure white diamond, often known as blue-white and graded colour 'D' is exceptionally hard to come by and these stones demand premium prices. As you move down the diamond colour scale (and down the [...]
Earlier this year, at Christie’s Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels auction, a remarkable natural green diamond, the Aurora Green, sold for $16.8million. This 5.03ct fancy vivid green of VS clarity set two new diamond records when it was purchased by Chinese retailer Chow Tai Fook. Given that natural green diamonds are exceptionally rare, very little is [...]
For over 100 years, the Cullinan diamond has been the worlds biggest diamond ever found (a whopping 3,106cts), with the second biggest diamond ever being the Excelsior diamond, found in South Africa in 1893. Weighing in at 995cts, the Excelsior was ultimately cut into 10 diamonds, ranging in size from 13 - 68cts. Now, in a [...]
