If you’re celebrating your birthday this April, count yourself lucky – your birthstone is diamond, perhaps the most well-known and popular of all gemstones. With a history that dates back thousands of years, diamonds are unique in many ways. To celebrate diamonds as April’s birthstone, we’re bringing you 15 fascinating diamond facts that you probably [...]
If you’ve spent any time recently browsing jewellery pages on Pinterest or Instagram, chances are you’ve come across “Salt and Pepper diamonds”. Currently one of the hottest jewellery trends in the world right now, South African gem lovers can’t get enough of these unique diamonds. Salt and Pepper diamonds hold a remarkable appeal right now. [...]
2018 was a remarkable year for diamonds, from an auction perspective, but even more so from a rough diamond discovery perspective. We countdown the top 5 rough diamonds discovered and the top 5 diamonds sold at auction in 2018. Rough Diamonds 5) Letseng’s record year The 5thbiggest diamond of 2018 weighs in at 169cts and [...]
Each November, leading auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s hold back-to-back auctions on consecutive days, with each house auctioning a collection of exquisite, rare and collectible gems and jewellery. Often, records will fall at these auctions; highest diamond prices per carat and the highest price ever paid for a single diamond are just some of the [...]
We’re bombarded with bad news daily. The rand is weakening, the fuel price is sky-rocketing, the economy is shrinking and now, we’re on the brink of a recession. As a result, in 2018 your average South African has less disposable income than before, something that can certainly pose a serious challenge when you’re shopping for [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
