Archive for June 20th, 2009

Top Jewelry Designers featured in Dallas Auction

If you want to meet up with all the “who’s who” in the jewelry industry then Heritage Auction Galleries are offering all the top name brand jewelry in designer jewelry at its May 11 Signature Jewelry Auction.

Few among the other designer favorites that will be showcased in the auction are Bulgari, Cartier, Harry Winston, Jean Schlumberger, Lalaounis, Seaman Schepps and Van Cleef and Arpels. Besides, there are a number of fine examples of all those contemporary designers which will be represented there, including models by Andrea Molinari, Denise Roberge, Elizabeth Gage, Loree Rodkin and Paolo Costagli, among others.

Jill Burgum, Director of Heritage Fine Jewelry said in a media release, "The designer component of our May auction is quite exciting. For people that know their designers, this auction represents a great opportunity to add some serious pieces to their precious-jewelry wardrobe."

Jill also said that there are two lots in particular which stand out and gain all the attention and they are platinum and diamond "Sunflower" bracelet by Harry Winston, and an art deco platinum, diamond, emerald and pearl necklace by Cartier. The Sunflower bracelet carries a pre-sale value of $18,000 to $24,000 and the Cartier piece is estimated to be between $20,000 and $30,000.

The auction is scheduled to be taken place at the auction house’s Dallas headquarters and the bidders are also expected to be participating via the internet.

Interesting people can view the entire catalog on Heritage Auction House's Web site, Jewelry.ha.com.

Extraordinary Diamonds auction itself

Gold is the all time savior and no investment will go for a waste when it is done on gold when investors lose all hopes on currency, financial markets and property. Now-a-days the financial investors are considering diamonds.

It all started with the auction market, where a number of important diamonds both colorless and natural-color varieties has shown a remarkable resilience in the fluctuating economy. This all came into notice when the Sotheby's recent Magnificent Jewels sale happened in Geneva, where a 7.03-carat fancy vivid blue, internally flawless, cushion-shaped diamond fetched $9,488,754 against a pre-sale estimate of $5.8 million-$8.5 million. The sale set a record price per carat of $1,349,752 for any gemstone sold at auction.

Apart from its spectacular weight, color and worth, the blue diamond was cut from a 26.58 carat piece of rough and Petra Diamonds, owner of the historic Cullinan Mine in South Africa discovered it, cut it, polished and consigned it directly to Sotheby’s.

Douglas G. Walker, deputy director and jewelry specialist at Sotheby's New York said, "They cut out the middleman, polished it themselves and put it on consignment. A precedent could be set."

During the spring auction season at Christies the sales were comparatively good. Almost 85 percent of lots were sold at the Jewels sale in New York during late April which included all the top lot such as a pear-shaped, D-color, internally flawless type IIa diamond of 30.02 carats. At their peak, fancy-shaped white diamonds of this caliber went for anywhere from $150,000 to $180,000 per carat. That this stone achieved $130,000 per carat suggests to insiders that the auction market will see a bright year ahead.

Rahul Kadakia who is the head of jewelry at Christie's in New York said, "White diamonds are still quite rare in the large sizes, and people are still confident in investing in these as a portable form of wealth. Because of the fact that it's an alternative investment, because you can put X many dollars into a diamond and then sell it a year, two, three years later and you'll get that value back in the diamond, as opposed to currency or stocks or whatever part of the financial markets you look at. This is a tangible place to put your money and it hasn't changed; it's been like this forever."
At the first major sale of the season, at Sotheby's Hong Kong, a pair of 8-carat marquise-shaped, D-Flawless diamonds sold for just over $100,000 per carat. Initially everybody were skeptical about the prize and were worried that the prices for the prized stones would fall along with the rest of the economy. But to their surprise everything was a great hit.

"Way back when, if you said you sold a diamond for $100,000 a carat, it was, well, okay, let's open the champagne," Kadakia said. "In this market, when things are slow and people don't know how long it will be, $100,000 per carat is still being achieved, so that, in my opinion, is the state of the market in regards to white stones."

He also said, "Today, if you had to go find a 5-carat vivid blue or a 5-carat vivid pink, you couldn't buy it for less than $1 million per carat. The market is a little more selective, it's a little more difficult to find important stones because people are not selling or buying so readily, so trading has slowed down a little bit, but it's still very much there."

Rio Tinto also confirmed that blue diamonds are very much in demand and the “One in a Blue Moon” sale, a collection of rare blue diamonds sourced from several years of production at the Argyle Mine in Western Australia, and comprising 16 lots weighing 287 carats in total, surpassed all the expectations when the bid closed on April 8th.

Jean-Marc Lieberherr, general manager for Rio Tinto Diamonds was delightfully telling that, "It was a bold move, with numerous lots selling in excess of the reserve prices, which is a great lead up to our annual Pink Diamond Tender."

Few other highlights from the auctions conducted were a strong focus on one-of-a-kind jewelry, including a Cartier diamond bangle bracelet that sold at Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels sale, also in late April, for $230,500, far above its $70,000 pre-sale estimate.

"The results reinforced the continued demand for signed and decorative jewels, as evidenced by the strong prices achieved for pieces by Tiffany and Co., David Webb and Buccellati," said Lisa Hubbard, chairman of International Jewelry, North and South America.

Largest Steelers’ 2008 championship ring

Steelers' 2008 championship ring

Steelers' 2008 championship ring

Yet another NFL history was made when the Pittsburgh Steelers downed the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 in Super Bowl XLIII last year, snagging a record-setting sixth Super Bowl title. The Steelers’ largest super Bowl bauble till date was the championship right crafted by Minneapolis, Minn. based Jostens.

According to a release from Jostens, the rings contain 63 round brilliant cut diamonds totaling 3.61 carats. The basic idea behind the design which was created by Jostens and the team officials was to reflect the success story of the Steelers’ 2008 season and the history of the organization.

The six round brilliant cut diamonds appear on the top of the ring, each representing the Steelers’ Super Bowl victories. The Steelers logo was crafted using colored gemstones, Jostens spokesman Rich Stoebe said that the Steelers did not release the information on what type were used.

At each tip of ring there are seven diamonds representing the number of American Football Conference (AFC) Championships won and the other 14 stones signify the number of Division titles the Steelers history. The ring also features the official Super Bowl XLIII logo on a field of green enamel and six Lombardi Trophies rising from Heinz Field to signify the support and loyalty of the Steelers' fans.

The ring is shed in 14 carat yellow gold on a black background, a nod to the team’s colors. The opposing side of each ring is personalized with each player’s name and number. The president of Steelers, Art Rooney II and Jostens Chief Executive Officer, Tim Larson said that the easy partnership between the two organizations has resulted in the crafting of this remarkable ring.

"Our Super Bowl XLIII ring is going to be cherished as a symbol of the team's outstanding accomplishments during the 2008 season," Rooney said in the release. "We appreciate the great work Jostens put into making this ring one of the most spectacular in NFL history."

The spokesperson Stoebe said as of now neither Jostens nor the Steelers was releasing the details on the price, cost or appraisal value of the rings. Jostens Website shows that the company has been responsible for designing five of the six championship rings won by the storied Steelers franchise. Super Bowl X is the only championship for which Steelers' players don't sport a Jostens design.

Jostens released that the ring was created in its Denton, Texas facility and was delivered to Pittsburgh for a private player ring ceremony on June 9.
Unfortunately, another pending championship for the city overshadowed the presentation of the rings to the players. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the ceremony was moved up and some players scooted out early to watch the Pittsburgh Penguins play the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals that night.

The Penguins eventually ended up winning the Stanley Cup in seven games. there is no information till date that which company will get to design Pittsburgh's second professional championship ring of the year.

Kylie Minogue to star campaign for Spanish brand Tous

Kylie Minogue

Kylie Minogue

Kylie Minogue, an International pop star will be seen in a new advertising campaign for Spanish jewelry brand Tous. The photo shoot was done by a renowned photographer Ellen Von Unwerth who snapped Minogue dressed from head to toe in Tous jewelry and accessories. The session took place in a suite at the luxurious Le Meurice Hotel in Paris, with the theme for the shoot revolving around a surprise party held in Minogue's honor.

"We wanted the campaign to be very bold, very fresh and very atmospheric. To carry off all this radiance and sophistication, we needed the best, and for me, that is Kylie Minogue," Tous Co-President and Design Director Rosa Oriol said in a media release.

The brand also said that Von Unwerth and Minogue together aim at capturing the femininity and the tenderness of the brand’s style and infuse that with fun and poise.

Minogue is a well known name in the pop music industry. An international sensation is what she is began her career as a soap opera actress in her native Australia before recording a series of hits, which the best of all times "Can't Get You Out of My Head."

The ad campaign will soon be released and will appear on the cover of Tous’ new catalogs and the brand’s seasonal book. The book is planned to be distributed to all its retailers worldwide in June. All the fans out there who cannot wait to see the ad on the cover page of Tous can still watch Minogue in behind the scene video from the making of the shoot.