emeralds

Lalique Diamond and Emerald Serpent Necklace

Filed under: Jewelry

Lalique has reached back into its archives this season to create a blockbuster necklace for the ultimate holiday gift. The one-of-a-kind serpent necklace, is based on an original René Lalique design dating back to 1898. It's a testament to the enduring power of the serpent in jewelry design. It has been seen since early Roman and Egyptian jewelry and continues to be popular today (Angelina Jolie for example recently designed serpent-themed jewelry). This incredible piece required more than 700 hours of work and is comprised of 17.90 carats (812 diamonds and emeralds set in white gold). The classics never go out of style but they don't come cheap. This beauty costs $280,000.

Tags: diamonds, emeralds, jewelery, jewelry, lalique, rene lalique, snake necklace

Emerald Queen Raises Money For Elephants

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Auctions, Art, Charity, Green

An auction that featured a life-sized fiberglass elephant with a 678-carat Gemfields emerald brought in a total of $782,200 to raise money for the endangered Asian elephants. The auction was part of the "Emeralds for Elephants" exhibition at Selfridges department store in London on June 23. The elephant, dubbed the Emerald Queen, sold for 150,000 British pounds or about $227,300. The auction also featured eight pieces of emerald jewelry by well known designers including Shaun Leane, Theo Fennell and and J.W. Currens. Proceeds will go to the World Land Trust and the Wildlife Trust of India. Another auction on July 3rd at the Chelsea Royal Hospital will feature other fiberglass elephants which have been displayed in London as part of the Elephant Parade created by a variety of designers and artists such as Lulu Guinness, Diane von Furstenberg and HRH Princess Michael of Kent.

[via National Jeweler]

Tags: emerald for elephants, emeralds, indian elephants

Black Diamond Serpent Cufflinks by Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie for Asprey

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Charity, Men's Style, Celebrity Design

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have designed an $11,000 pair of black diamond, emerald and white gold serpent cufflinks for famed London luxury goods house Asprey to benefit a children's charity. The luxe accessories are the first item for men in the Protector Collection, the line of limited edition fine jewels and silver objects created by the couple in collaboration with Asprey which my colleague Deirdre Woollard reported on last fall. The design of the Protector black diamond serpent links with 18k white gold bases and emerald eyes is based on Jolie's reflection on the serpent as an iconic guardian and cultural symbol of family protection, inspired by a ring she was given while pregnant with the couple's first child Shiloh in 2006. Each piece in Protector Collection is a limited edition, handcrafted at Asprey's London flagship store in New Bond Street. The black diamond serpent cufflinks match rings, earrings and a pendant in the women's collection. All proceeds from the Protector Collection pieces are being donated to the Education Partnership For Children of Conflict (EPCC). Co-founded by Jolie, the organization raises awareness and funds to educate child victims of war, conflict and natural disasters.

[via JustLuxe]

Tags: Angelina Jolie, Asprey, black diamonds, Brad Pitt, children, cufflinks, diamond, diamonds, emeralds, gems, jewels, London, precious stones, serpent, snake, white gold

Catherine The Great Brooch and Maximillian Diamond Sell Above Estimates

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Auctions

Jewelry is good, jewelry with history is even better. Earlier we considered the results from the recent Sotheby's auctions now a quick look at a couple of stunners from Christie's "Jewels: the New York Sale" which happened on Thursday. The Emperor Maximilian Diamond, a 39.55-carat, I color sold for $1.76 million nicely above the pre-sale estimate of $1 million and $1.5 million. The Emperor Maximilian Diamond is one of two large diamonds that the the Archduke Maximilian acquired in Brazil in 1860 before he was named Emperor of Mexico at Napoleon's urging. Later Napoleon dropped support of Maximillian and the young emperor found himself facing the firing squad. Legend has it that he was wearing this stone in a small pouch around his neck when he was killed. The stone was given to his wife, Princess Charlotte of Belgium, who later sold the jewel. The cushion-shaped diamond has been owned by famed diamantaire Laurence Graff and by Imelda Marcos.

But the piece I was most curious about was the Catherine the Great Emerald Brooch. The large emerald and diamond brooch adorned one of the world's most powerful and ruthless female leaders ever to live, Catherine II of Russia. She ascended to the throne in 1762 and her long reign marked a time of Russian expansion and success. She was also a noted jewelry collector with the resources to acquire the world's best gems. This brooch was given to Sophie Dorothea, princess of Württemberg, as a wedding gift on the occasion of her marriage to Catherine's son and successor Tsar Paul I in 1776. It has a hexagonal cut Colombian emerald estimated at between 60 and 70 carats. The stone is surrounded by rose and old mine-cut diamonds set in silver-topped gold. It was estimated to sell for $1 million to $1.5 million and went for $1.65 million to a private Middle Eastern buyer.

The Christie's sale racked up $41.25 million, with 85 percent sold by lot. The biggest seller wasn't either of the two pieces mentioned above, Instead that honor went to a heart-shaped, 28.28-carat D flawless diamond, which sold for $3.78 million, an impressive $133,000 per carat. History has its merits but for diamond lovers, a D flawless grading can be even more important than provenance.

Tags: auction, catherine the great, christies, d flawless, diamonds, emeralds, historical jewels, jewelry, maxmillian diamond

Paula Mendoza Rings are Raw, Earthy, and So Ugly They're Beautiful

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

Off balance, unexpected, and definitely meant to draw attention, raw emeralds take center stage in this collection of rings by Paula Mendoza that I stumbled across over at Vivre. Raw can describe more than just the gems, as the designs themselves evoke a very primitive and unpolished (figuratively and literally) vibe as chunks of emeralds and other gems are paired with dented and misshapen 24k gold vermeil for a results that looks almost as if it could have been pulled directly from the Earth as is.

I think they're really ugly but also quite beautiful. Very fluid and abstract. I'm a huge fan of raw gems though so that could be part of it, what do you think? $325 - $650

Gallery: Paula Mendoza Jewelry

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Tags: emeralds, jewelry, paula mendoza, PaulaMendoza, ring, rings

Enormous 'Elephant' Emerald Discovered in Zambia

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

Gemfields has officially announced the discovery of an absolutely enormous rough emerald earlier this month in their Kagem mine in Zambia. The emerald has been named "Insofu," which means 'elephant,' by the indigenous Bemba people to both honor its size and pay tribute to the World Land Trust's "Wild Lands Elephant Corridor Project." The emerald weighs in at 6,225 carats and is currently under the scrutiny of experts to determine its value and evaluate what possible futures it might have. Although it has rich color and good translucency the biotite shell is making it difficult to see deep into the emerald's core, but so far all estimates point to the potential for several cut gems of great size.

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Tags: emerald, emeralds, gemfields, gems, gemstones, zambia

Julianne Moore Fronts New Bvlgari Campaign

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Celebrity Design

I've always envied pale redheads and their ability to look so showstopping in green. I think my envy just hit a new level with a look at the Colombian emerald pendant earrings that are being worn by Julianne Moore in Bvlgari's Spring/Summer 2010 advertising campaign. The earrings feature detachable Colombian pear-shaped emeralds, weighing 52.86 and 62.32 carats. The emeralds are exceptional for their size, uniform color and perfect match. They were part of Bvlgari's first retrospective exhibition at Il Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome from May through September 2009.

The campaign, scheduled to debut in February 2010, depicts a lifestyle that they are calling Eccentric Charisma. Each image features items from several of Bvlgari's jewelry, watches and accessories collections. Moore was chosen for her combination of beauty, intelligence and confidence. Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot photographed the campaign at Tony Duquette's Dawnridge house in Beverly Hills. Moore is shown lounging about in an exotic and opulent salon decorated in rich brocades, sumptuous jewel tone satins and plush peacock feathers. Check out a sneak peek video after the jump.

Tags: bulgari, bvlgari, emeralds, jewelry, julianne moore, JulianneMoore

Continue reading “Julianne Moore Fronts New Bvlgari Campaign”

The Jewels of the Marahini of Kapurthala Up For Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

This fall there seem to be more famous jewels hitting the auction block than usual. As part of the same sale that will auction off Marie Antoinette's pearls on December 12 in London, Christie's will be auctioning off pieces that belonged to Anita Delgado, a Spanish dancer who became the fifth wife of the Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala. In a story fit for a romance novel, Delgado, born in Malaga, Spain in 1890, was seen by the Maharaja in a crowd of onlookers of the marriage King Alfonso XIII in 1906 in Madrid. The smitten Maharaja attended Delgado's dance performances in a cafe and married her in 1907. She became the Maharani of Kapurthala and they had one son, Ajit Singh, in 1908. The couple divorced in 1925. The jewels were left to her son who eventually sold them to the current owners.

There are eight pieces total which exemplify fine Art Deco styles. The piece shown here an emerald, diamond and rock crystal necklace, is estimated to sell for over $200,000.

[via France24.com]

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Tags: art deco, auction, emeralds, india, jewels, maharaja

Golden Cradle Studded with Diamonds, Rubies, and Emeralds

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Events

Wow, way back in the 18th century they really knew how to bling things up. And unlikely things too, like this baby's cradle. Covered in gold and set with more than 2,000 gems including diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, it's currently on display in Tokyo at a special exhibit that includes about 140 other antique treasures from the Ottoman Empire (which came before the Republic of Turkey). The items will be on display through September 24th in honor of the birth of Prince Hisahito to the Japanese Emporer's son Prince Akishino and his wife Princess Kiko (got that straight?). No word on what the cradle's valued at, although since it isn't for sale I guess it's more about admiring it's gaudy beauty than hoping to get one for yourself.

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Tags: baby, cradle, crib, diamond, diamonds, emerald, emeralds, gem, gems, gold, golden, infant, jewel, jewels, prince, princess, rocker, rocking, rubies, ruby, tokyo

JR Colombian Emeralds

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Emeralds are probably the trickiest to buy of the big three colored gemstones (the other two being sapphires and rubies). The emerald is softer and more likely to have internal inclusions that can give the stone a clouded look. But a fine emerald has a bright green vibrancy and light to it that makes the gemstones so prized. At JR Colombian Emeralds they specialize in, of course, Colombian emeralds. They have a business partner in Bogota in the emerald district that allows them a direction connection to the Muzo, Coscuez, LaPita and Chivor mines. Their partner oversees the emerald mining operation located in the Coscuez and Muzo mines and is present at the front lines for some of the best finds. The ring that has me enthralled is this platinum design with a 2.8 carat emerald cut center stone surrounded but 1.10 total carats of diamond baguettes. Such beauty is pricey, this one will run you $26,500 but the store has many other pieces in a variety of price ranges.

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Tags: colombian, diamonds, emeralds, mines, rings

Patek Philippe Diamond and Emerald Watch on eBay

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

There are plenty of Patek Philippe watches on eBay but this one caught my eye for the flash factor. The watch is an 18K solid golid gold unique Patek Philippe dress watch dripping with diamonds and emeralds. The seller reports that the watch was designed and sold to the countries of the Arab market, either the Sultan of Brunei or Arabian Emirates. The watch has a Patek Philippe Caliber 215 movement and the diamonds and emeralds were installed at the Patek Philippe factory. There are 80 full cut diamonds (3.26 carats), 12 diamond baguettes and 12 emerald baguettes. It comes with papers and all the original boxes. The buy-it-now price is $115,000.

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Tags: diamoonds, ebay, emeralds, patek philippe, timepiece, watch