Pair of Pears Fetches $13M at Sotheby’s New York

The gavel fell at $12.9 million for the 101.41 carat ‘Juno’ diamond and $0.7 million for the 111.59 carat ‘Earth Star’ at Sotheby’s New York last week, pushing the total sum for this distinctive pair of pear shaped diamonds over the $13 million mark.

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IGI eLearning Spotlighted at JCK

Demonstrations of IGI’s new interactive eLearning Courses were provided to attendees of the recent JCK Las Vegas show. The on-demand, fully responsive courses provide fundamental gemological education while emphasizing information buyers are most interested in.

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Magnifying Glass

Diamond Detection and Handheld Testers

Handheld gemstone testers are commonly used to differentiate between diamond and diamond-simulants like CZ and moissanite. However, as diamond growing technology advances the technology used in those devices becomes more limited.

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Mothae rough diamond

204 carat Diamond Unearthed in Lesotho

Lucapa Diamond Company has just recovered a 204 carat rough diamond from its Mothae mine in Lesotho. This 204 carat […]

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The Rock

The ‘Red Cross’ rocks. ‘The Rock’ does not.

After a heated 11 minutes of bidding, the 205 carat Red Cross Diamond “rocked” Christie’s Geneva by selling for $14 million dollars, a whopping 40% over its high pre-sale estimate. The famous Fancy Intense Yellow diamond, originally unearthed in 1901,  was fashioned with a pavilion distinctively crafted in the shape of a Maltese cross.

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Market by Macy's

Macy’s Opening More Small Stores

With sales at smaller stores exceeding expectations in the fourth quarter of 2021, Macy’s will be opening another 10 off-mall locations in the next year, to include new Market by Macy’s and Macy’s Backstage stores, as well as Bloomie’s and Bloomingdale’s outlet stores.

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Trivia Question

Trivia: Why is ‘D’ the highest diamond color?

In the normal diamond color range ‘Z’ is classified as most tinted while ‘D’ is classified as most colorless. So what happened to A, B and C? Are they reserved for new diamond discoveries? Extraterrestrial diamonds? What could possibly be more colorless than most colorless? If there are 23 classifications why not start with ‘A’ and end with ‘W?’

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Vitruvian Man

Will ‘DaVinci’ Change Diamond Cutting?

In 2020 Synova, introduced the “Da Vinci Diamond Factory,” an automated system capable of transforming rough diamonds into fully polished round brilliants. Synova has continued to increase its range and recently made it possible for rough diamond scans, used by many entities, to be incorporated into its planning and execution.

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Koffeifontein Mine Processing

Diamond Mine For Sale in South Africa

Petra Diamonds, owner of the legendary Cullinan diamond mine, is looking to sell their Koffiefontein mine, a sister operation acquired from DeBeers’ in 2007. Established in 1870, Koffiefontein is one of South Africa’s oldest diamond mines, located just 50 miles south of Kimberley.

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Model with DeBeers Blue

15 ct Vivid Blue Diamond Sells for $57.5 Million

An eight minute bidding war resulted in one of the highest prices ever paid for a diamond on Wednesday, when the 15.10 carat “DeBeers’ Cullinan Blue” diamond sold in Hong Kong. Four participants kept raising the stakes until the gavel finally fell at $57.5 million, smashing the pre-sale estimate of $48 million.

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WATCH: Rare, Creative Natural Diamond Shapes

Round brilliant, cushion, and other shapes with depth are historically most popular because they’re both aesthetically pleasing and economically practical. Flat shapes are not as common, which is why we wanted to spotlight these creative, rarely seen shapes.

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‘Red Cross Diamond’ will Benefit Charity a 3rd time

The Red Cross invests 93.5% of dollars they spend on people in need and, according to Christie’s, a “significant” cut of the $11 million dollars this diamond is expected to bring in on May 11 will, again, be donated to its namesake organization.

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See this ‘Graffabulous’ 50 carat Diamond in Palm Beach

A phenomenal 50 carat diamond is available for viewing by appointment in Palm Beach. The centerpiece of a high jewelry collection titled “Graffabulous,” the new owner of this historic D Flawless oval cut will have the opportunity to name the diamond before Graff adds it to their timeline of famous gemstones.

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Are there Affordable Natural Diamond Colors?

Fancy colored diamonds are very rare to find in nature. They represent less than 0.01% of diamonds mined in the world – or, about 1 in 10,000. Furthermore, nature produces some colors with far more frequency than others, so a diamond transmitting your favorite color might be, literally, 1 in a million.

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The Zoe Report Quotes IGI on Sustainability

The Zoe Report (TZR), one of BDG’s brands which collectively reach over 100 million readers per month, recently cited input from IGI on sustainability in the diamond and jewelry industry.

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‘Magnificent Jewels’ now on display in New York

From April 8-12, Christie’s will hold public viewings of 72 “Magnificent Jewels” to be sold on April 13 in New York, including a very special pendant-watch, and a half-dozen diamond creations with pre-sale estimates of more than $1 million.

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Digging for Gold in New York’s Sidewalks

Gold and gemstone prospectors work the streets of New York’s illustrious diamond district, but you might not recognize them at first. Kneeling, gloved, scraping and brushing, they could be mistaken for pedantic street cleaners but don’t be fooled. Historically some Big Apple prospectors have claimed over $300 per day in “paydirt.”

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The Rock 228 carats

Christie’s Auctioning 228 ct ‘Largest White Diamond Ever’

On May 11 a 228.31 carat diamond discovered in South Africa more than 20 years ago, will become the largest white diamond ever sold at auction, according to auction house Christie’s, with a presale estimate between $20 and $30 million.

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Mercury

Mercury may have a Diamond Studded Crust

Most of Earth’s diamonds formed billions of years ago, during the supercontinent cycle, as carbon fragments around 100 miles deep were crystallized by unimaginable forces of heat and pressure. But diamonds can also flash-form due to meteorite impact.

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Benguela Gem

‘Benguela Gem’ creates 160 new jobs in Namibia

Anglo American’s newest diamond recovery vehicle, the Benguela Gem, was recently inaugurated at the Port of Walvis Bay, Namibia. In addition to increasing Debmarine Namibia’s annual production by 45% the vessel is expected to create 160 new jobs for the local workforce.

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IGI at Watch & Jewellery Show UAE

IGI providing free consultation at Middle East Show this week

IGI will offer complimentary consultation services to attendees of this week’s Watch & Jewellery Middle East Show. The five day event is taking place Wednesday-Sunday March 23-27 at Expo Centre Sharjah, UAE, and is expected to attract more than 60,000 visitors and 500 industry brands.

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Gem Awards

2022 GEM Awards will honor Lussier, Schwartz, others

The 2022 GEM Awards, presented by Jewelers of America, will take place in New York tomorrow night, marking the event’s 20th anniversary. The black tie affair at Cipriani 42nd Street begins at 6:30 pm with a social hour followed by the GEM Awards dinner.

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88.88 carat diamond

Dior’s 88.88 carat Lucky Charm

Christian Dior founded his business on the 8th of October in 1946. Located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, his atelier included 8 studios from an 8 story building situated on Avenue Montaigne. Now Christian Dior’s favorite number has been “written in stone,” to celebrate a historic reopening.

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Singapore Expo

2022 Hong Kong JGW Fair will happen in Singapore

“The mother of all fairs,” Jewellery & Gem World (JGW) will temporarily relocate from Hong Kong to Singapore in 2022. The move is made with pandemic restrictions in mind, with a goal of becoming more accessible to international suppliers and buyers. Update: The event will now be staged September 27-30 at the Singapore Expo.

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