The Letšeng Star, the 14th largest diamond ever to be recovered has been unveiled by Gem Diamonds and the Government of Lesotho. The 550 carat diamond was found at the Letšeng mine, the highest diamond mine in the world, located in the remote African nation of Lesotho.
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The jewelers creators, House of Borgezie (and more specifically British Jeweler Christopher Michael Shellis), admitted they had to reinvent the entire shoe concept in order to (hand) make this Eternal Diamond stiletto with 2,200 diamonds.
Of course there’s a waiting list.
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After an entire decade of recession, it seems that luxury products are recovering and great companies (Burberry, PPR) are announcing positive sales numbers.
Last year, world market shrunk but this year things are looking surprisingly well with China leading the way. This recovery of course includes diamonds.
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The famous Centenary comes from a stone on the rough of 599 carats. One of the three biggest diamonds in the world, boasting an incomparable degree of clarity, and the biggest contemporary diamond.
The De Beers company (the greatest company worldwide in searching, extracting, processing and selling diamonds, controlling the 75% of diamond production worldwide), on the anniversary of its centenary, declared the extraction of a diamond of exceptional color and clarity of 599 carats from the Premier mine on the 17th of July 1986.
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The world famous diamond was bought from the Greek Magnate Stavros Niarchos in 1956 as a present to his then wife Charlotte Ford, for the price of 2 million dollars. Besides the fact that the Ford family was often referring to this diamond with the nickname “ice skating ring”, it is an amazing stone of rare quality which is a considered a reference in many books, while its sale was an even broadly covered by the Media.
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Princess Diana’s engagement ring
The ring Charles offered to Diana when asking for her hand was worthy of any future princess expectations. The huge blue sapphire of 3 carats adorning it could not go unnoticed and the 14 small diamonds which surrounded it created an amazing piece. After the princesses’ death, the ring passed on to her son, prince William, who has since then offered it to his bride to be.
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Martin Rapaport was the main speaker at the exhibition JCK "Jewelers' Circular Keystone" which takes place every year in Las Vegas, in the US.
His speech mainly targeted the situation in the world industry of diamonds, which is changing rapidly and radically. Although we are supposed to be handling a type of product which “lasts forever”, the reality is only made of changes.
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On August the 11th , a great amount of blood diamonds were sold at an auction sale in Zimbabwe. The president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, carried on the sale which had been allowed by the relevant authorities, due to the progress made on the matter of human rights in the mines of Marange, as declared by the ministry of Mines of the country. “These are very good news for the country”, declared the mines minister Obert Mpofu.
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The Cullinan
The biggest diamond discovered until today is the "Cullinan", found in South Africa in 1905. Its net weight if of 3.106,75 carats (uncut), while it was the size of an apple. It was cut to 106 smaller pieces which were named after it, such as the Cullinan I (Great Star of Africa), the Cullinan II (Lesser Star of Africa), placed on the British Royal Crown and 7 other great diamonds. During the II World War, this diamond collection was placed in jam jars and buried in a field close to the Windsor Castle in London, to avoid being stolen by the Germans.
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When unraveling the secrets of the king of minerals, the diamond always has a particular aura of glamour. Even during the ancient times, Plinius described it as the king of all stones, and the most precious of all. In these times, diamonds were so rare that only a very few could wear them. In 1283, King Louis XI passed a law according to which it was forbidden for non aristocrats to wear diamonds. From that time until the 14th century, jewelers were forbidden to process the stone. The diamonds were positioned on their base in their natural shape, thus showing an internal, discreet shine.
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Diamonds it is. It is indisputable.
This faceted precious stone also represents a multiple human symbol: A symbol of diachronism, since diamonds are forever and are passed from generation to generation, A symbol of resistance, since it is the hardest mineral A symbol of aesthetics, since it is the clearer and most shining creation of nature
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During the last decades, Martin Rapaport is considered one of the most respected and powerful personalities in the international diamond market. During the 70’s he begins his activities in New York as the founder of companies aiming at informing the people involved in the diamond market. He specifically publishes a magazine specialized on the extracting and handling of diamonds, while organizing an annual seminar on diamonds in New York.
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The results of a research conducted by the diamond extraction and handling company “DE BEERS” in the US.
The research conducted by “DE BEERS” proved that diamonds and gold are the “number one” choice by consumers for a serious and valuable present for unforgettable events and moments of a lifetime.
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