diamonds

On June 8 “The Eternal Pink” diamond will go to auction as part of Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels sale in New York. Its pre-sale estimate of more than $3.3 million per-carat is the largest pre-carat estimate ever placed on a diamond or gemstone, according to the auction house.

Color is one of the most important factors in a diamond’s overall beauty and value. When selecting a setting it’s important to remember that the type of metal used can have a significant impact on how a diamond’s color appears. White, yellow and rose gold settings can all affect how a diamond looks.

The IGI GemBlog has improved its position among thousands of blogs and websites, ranked by traffic, social media followers, domain authority & freshness according to Feedspot, the internet’s largest human-curated database of bloggers.

Christie’s is preparing for what may be a record-breaking jewelry sale featuring The World of Heidi Horten, a two-part live auction boasting over 700 pieces of exquisite high jewelry from the estate of the late European collector.

IGI’s grading lab and offices in New York City have relocated to 545 Fifth Avenue. On March 16th the institute […]

Bonhams’ recorded ‘perfect’ sales of all 119 items at their aptly named ‘Perfect Jewelry Box’ auction in New York earlier this month. Every lot offered found a buyer, resulting in a total of 8.1 million dollars.

A selection of chic, wearable jewelry goes on the block at Sotheby’s Paris this coming Tuesday, March 21st, in a two part sale featuring 347 lots. Of particular note in this sale are pieces incorporating natural pearls.

Join us March 15th at 2:00 pm ET for ‘Lab Grown Diamonds: What’s now? What’s new? What’s next?’ a webinar presented by IGI and THE MVEye, as part of National Jeweler’s Supplier Spotlight webinar series.

Students of the Eugenio Montale Institute in Italy participated in a series of learning sessions involving gemstones and human values. Gemologist Francesco Sequino added his professional experience and insight on behalf of the International Gemological Institute.

GQ.com Style Editor Yang-Yi Goh recently published ‘The Wild New Era of High-End Men’s Jewelry’ covering modern masculine menswear from wallet chains to dental ‘grills.’ We found the photos masterful, employing vivid context to bring life and personality to the jewelry items described.

The world’s largest diamond cutting and polishing center exists in Surat, the second largest city in India’s Gujarat province. There are well over 5,000 cutting and polishing factories, ranging from family run businesses to many of the diamond industry’s biggest players.

Australian mining company Lucapa has unearthed a 150 carat D color Type IIa rough diamond at their Lulo alluvial mine in Angola. Last year five rough crystals over 100 carats were recovered from the Lulo deposit, including crystals weighing 113, 131 and 160 carats in September alone.

Since the 15th century the diamond ring has been the celebrated symbol of faithfulness, love and commitment. Starting in 1975, […]

From a starting pool of more than 500 submissions, IGI is pleased to present the Accessory designs selected as finalists from the 2022 IGI Expressions™ Jewelry Design Competition.

From a starting pool of more than 500 submissions, IGI is pleased to present the Statement Piece designs selected as finalists from the 2022 IGI Expressions™ Jewelry Design Competition.

From a starting pool of more than 500 submissions, IGI is pleased to present the Lightweight Jewelry designs selected as finalists from the 2022 IGI Expressions™ Jewelry Design Competition.

As lab grown diamonds gain popularity consumers have questions about the “post-growth treatment” comment seen on many IGI grading reports. Post-growth treatments are commonly used to reduce, eliminate or change the diamond’s color-appearance. Logically, people want to know “are the treatments permanent?”

There are two sophisticated ways of producing lab-grown diamonds. One process assembles the diamond in vertical layers and the other uses a metal catalyst to dissolve carbon. These different approaches produce inclusions which differ from those seen in natural diamonds.

The IGI Expressions™ Jewelry Design Competition will accept submissions through this Saturday December 31, 2022. All entries must be uploaded by the end of this calendar year to be considered for one of nine grand prizes of $500, design fabrication, press coverage and more.

Natural diamond continue to command record breaking prices at auction. Looking back at 2022 we see a diverse set of exceptional diamonds, spanning a range of sizes, which the fall of the gavel transferred to new owners.

In the 1980s a young young girl in the DRC decided to explore a pile of rubble located near her uncle’s house. While playing she found a large golden-colored rock in the pile and took it home to her uncle…

If the emotional aspect of diamond engagement rings resonates with you, ‘Only Natural Diamonds’ has a beautiful pictorial essay – covering their history from Mary of Burgundy all the way through ‘Bennifer.’

Rio Tinto has introduced an 18.08 carat yellow diamond from their Diavik mine in Canada, flanked by 4.09 carats of pink diamonds from their retired Argyle mine in Australia.

IGI provided a ‘Behind the Scenes’ tour to attendees of last month’s NYC Jewelry Week in Manhattan, showcasing the institute’s grading and appraisal processes for diamonds, gemstones, and jewelry.