Jeweler News

Kate Middleton continues to break ground as a royal fashionista, frequently wearing the works of jewelers from the countries she visits. This time, the lucky winners are New Zealand’s Tory and Ko.

Designer Victoria Taylor and business partner Kirstin O’Brien said she was “very specific” in her choices and selected two pairs of earrings from Tory & Ko’s “Pretty Collection”, another pair of pearl and diamond white gold earrings and a matching pearl necklace with diamond keepers from the “Bespoke Collection”.

 

Here are Kate’s choices:

TORY & KO

TORY & KO

TORY & KO

TORY & KO

 

Read more at:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/royal-tour-2014-kate-middleton-3381313#ixzz2yDG3I0A9
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A beautiful clip from an amazing documentary. Sharing the Rough gives a unique view of the process of a gem’s journey from mine to finished jewelry.

The documentary follows the life of one gem (the type will remain secret until release) through the whole process–from the hands of the East African miners, to the gem cutter before finishing with the designer that brings it to life in fine jewelry–and looking at the relationships formed in between. [Source: 10x.]

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/86387174[/vimeo]

Where does one wear them? Or does one? Perhaps you simply keep them on a display with a team of round-the-clock security guards. Or like Cinderella’s glass slippers, they await the perfect fit on some lucky woman.

We can’t say we love the style, but the craftsmanship can’t be denied.

They may be covered in diamonds, but there’s no guarantee that a pair of boots created in an event dedicated for Belgian creativity will be to everyone’s taste. The black leather ankle boots feature a paisley pattern completely covered in 1,550 carats of natural fancy colored champagne, grey and pink diamonds from Antwerp-based Diarough/UNI-Design.  They were designed by A.F.Vandevorst and Filip Arickx for the Business of Design Week in Hong Kong, which is highlighting Belgian creativity. Apparently, it took 30,000 man hours to create the boots, including the setting of the 39,083 diamonds by a team at the Indian manufacturing plant of UNI-Design. The A.F.Vandevorst cross-shaped logo was created out of rare redish-pink diamonds.

Estimated price: 3 million.

Source: IDEX

Not only are these cases beautifully crafted but practical in their sturdiness. Talk about a luxury gift this holiday!

Jewelry for your iPhone®, the design of these cases was inspired by some of the rarest and most precious mineral stones cherished by luxury-good artisans since earliest antiquity. Known for their natural strength and luster, the varied striations and warm tones of each gemstone is thoughtfully contrasted with a polished and brushed aluminum accent creating a classic look of sophistication and elegance. Handcrafted of natural gemstone finished with golden brushed aluminum.

A 59.60-carat fancy vivid pink diamond called the “Pink Star” set a new world auction record price for any diamond, gemstone or jewel at Sotheby’s Geneva Wednesday when it sold for $83.2 million.

The stone’s new owner, New York diamond cutter Isaac Wolf, renamed the oval-shaped mixed-cut diamond the “Pink Dream.” (We like Pink Star better.)

The sale of the Pink Dream eclipsed the previous world auction record price of $46.16 million, set in 2010 with the sale of the 24.78-carat “Graff Pink” diamond, purchased and named by diamantaire Laurence Graff. The auction of the Graff Pink also took place at Sotheby’s Geneva.

“The Pink Star (Dream) is a true masterpiece of nature. Its immense importance was reflected tonight in the strength of the bidding and we are thrilled that the record price it achieved earned it a place in history,” said David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby’s jewelry division in Europe and the Middle East and chairman of Sotheby’s Switzerland. “Today’s record sale is a further testimony to the strength and depth of the diamond and jewelry market.”

Source: National Jeweler

As colored gems remain an undeniable trend, Gemesis wanted to throw its “rocks” in the ring with a eye-fetching collection of blush and brilliant pink lab-made gems. And why not? Not only does this strategic move make fancy colored gems more affordable but once can rest easily knowing it’s an eco-friendly choice.

The Gemesis Diamond Company, producer of lab-grown diamonds and jewelry, added a fancy pink collection to its ecommerce Gemesis.com channel. The new palette of pinks include  “blush” and “brilliant” shades. Gemesis previously only offered lab-grown yellow and type IIa colorless stones on its website. Gemesis’ fancy pink collection is marketed to consumers as high-clarity stones in a selection of rounds.  

“We are so pleased to present consumers with this breathtaking selection of fancy pinks for the very first time,” said Martin DeRoy, Gemesis’ director of marketing. “Before now, only the elite have been able to own fancy color diamonds of this quality and beauty – but now, these stunning yet sustainable styles are accessible to mainstream consumers.”

Gemesis chose October, the month recognized for Breast Cancer Awareness, to launch the pink stones and is hosting a special pink pendant giveaway on its Facebook page from October 25 to 29. The brilliant pink angel halo pendant features a 0.50-carat center stone (0.66 total carat weight) set in 14-karat white gold and was priced with a retail value of $2,348, according to Gemesis.

The company explained to consumers that lab-grown diamonds guarantee no conflict or blood was shed in their production, and that all lab-grown diamonds over 0.23-carat that are sold on Gemesis.com are certified and laser-inscribed by the International Gemological Institute (IGI).  Gemesis sells engagement rings, wedding and anniversary bands, earrings and pendants in a variety of metals.

Source: Diamonds.net

After stumbling across this jeweler’s work, I just had to share. Very distinctive with an industrial, futuristic feel.

James Thompson is a Canadian designer now residing in Sweden, producing rings, bangles and other objects from carbon and Corian under the name Black Badger. He has won a growing fan base amongst members of the watch industry, collaborating with watch brands and retailers, as well as Warrs Harley-Davidson. He tells Professional Jeweller about his working processes.

PJ: You have developed rings and bangles using Corian and carbon – why have you chosen to work with the materials?
JT: Carbon fibre is something I have always been fascinated by. It’s not even really that modern anymore but like titanium, it has a great amount of “oooh” factor. I was very much into bicycle racing in my younger days and the carbon fibre bikes always had this very alien design language to them – very organic forms that were not possible with other materials. This really piqued my interested, so I started buying the material and trying to make things at home. Cutting the carbon cloth and mixing up the epoxy. My father always reminds me that there is a small piece of the Vancouver Sun newspaper from around 1998 that is permanently sealed into the garage floor.

 

Jewelry that just might bite!

For Pierre Hardy’s latest Hermès high jewelry collection, Niloticus, named after the Latin for “Nile crocodile,” the Parisian designer reimagined the reptilian armor as a necklace made from 112 handcrafted rose gold scales studded with diamonds and deep-hued tourmalines, iolites and peridots. “It was exciting to create a very modern piece with an archaic pattern, and to find an intriguing way to mimic the geometric fluidity of the skin,” said Hardy, who has, since his first trip to the Nile, been fascinated by the mood that the river creates, “like a perfume with a very specific sweet and mellow feeling.” Each necklace is custom-made and takes over 400 hours to produce.

Source: New York Times

The Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch ($300) is one busy watch. It goes so far as to redefine a watch, since its as much computer as time-teller. (Does it even tell time? It has to tell time, right?)

Among a few of its features?

TAKE PICTURES AND VIDEOS These aren’t what you’d call National Geographic quality. The photos are 1.9 megapixels and the watch holds only 50 of them. Videos are tiny and short (15 seconds long); you can’t shoot more than three in a row, and the watch holds only 15 of those. But let’s not quibble — it’s a watch.

But if you thought it was creepy that Google Glass lets your conversation partner film you without your knowledge, you ain’t worn nothing yet.

FIND YOUR GADGETS If you’ve misplaced the phone or tablet the watch is paired with, the watch can make it chime to help you find it. And vice versa. Just be sure to lose them within 25 feet of each other. That’s the range of Bluetooth, which is what keeps the watch and device connected.

AUTO-UNLOCK YOUR DEVICE If you’re wearing the watch, you don’t have to enter your password to unlock the companion phone or tablet. Clever, smart and effortless.

ALERT YOU OF INCOMING MESSAGES The watch lets you know who’s calling, and even shows you text messages right on its 1.6-inch, 320 x 320-pixel touch screen.

Goofily, though, it can tell you only that an e-mail message has arrived; it can’t show you the text. (It instead sends a signal to the device to display the message there, which sort of defeats the purpose.)

TAKE AND MAKE CALLS Believe it or not, you can make phone calls on the watch, via the phone in your pocket or wheelbarrow.

It actually works, and it means you can be hands-free in all kinds of life situations besides the car. The sound quality is truly impressive, considering it’s a watch.

But there’s not much volume. If there’s a lot of background noise, you have to hold your wrist up to your head. You thought Bluetooth earpieces made people looked deranged, walking down the street talking to themselves? Don’t look now. If Samsung has its way, everybody will walk around talking into their sleeves like Secret Service agents.

CONTROL MUSIC PLAYBACK Your remote is now strapped to your wrist.

Source: New York Times

And yes, it also tells time!

Last year, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, Swiss watch exports rose 10 percent from 2011 to total 21.4 billion Swiss francs, or $23.2 billion. Of that figure, Asia’s market share was 54 percent, or 11.6 billion francs, though the market barely grew, and some parts of it shrank. (Source: NY Times).

This is having an interesting effect on the styles of watches being made by some of the top designers:

The Dutch independent watchmaker Kees Engelbarts, now based in Geneva, is one of the leading exponents of a style heavily influenced by Asian art and craftsmanship.

A renowned engraver who set up as an independent in 1997, Mr. Engelbarts specializes in Mokume gane, a mixed-metal laminate technique that he learned in Japan in the 1990s. The technique goes back to traditional sword making, in which hot metal was folded into layers, then shaped by hand. Mr. Engelbarts has used it for nearly two decades to create Asian-inspired motifs in his handmade timepieces.

“I play with Asian motifs like the dragon, the tiger or the serpent because I can use my imagination in the design,” Mr. Engelbarts said by phone from Geneva.

“In the past 10 years, I have sold most of my production in Asia,” he said.

One of the hand-decorated timepieces, featuring a trademark camellia, in Chanel’s Mademoiselle Privé collection.