What's In A Name Anyway?

People unfamiliar with the world of gemology have still probably heard of a few of the most famous gemstones ever cut.  The Hope Diamond, Cullinan Diamond, and Logan Sapphire are just a few of the discoveries significant and exquisite enough to garner a title all their own.  This year's significant gemstone find came in the form of a rare color of Tourmaline called Paraiba Tourmaline.  Tourmaline is most commonly a dark brownish green gem, however it comes in almost any color of the rainbow.

Paraiba Tourmaline, is an electric blue color and is named after the Paraiba region of Brazil where it was first discovered.  It is the rarest of the fancy color of Tourmaline.  

The significant Paraiba find recently yielded at 191.87 carat oval shaped stone that was mounted in this incredible necklace and given its own name:  Ethereal Carolina Divine Paraiba. 

While not quite as catchy a name as some of the other significant named gems of the century, I think the whimsical design of the necklace fits the stone it was created for.

Shoppers wishing to adorn themselves in this gemstone will have to pay a pretty penny, however, the much more common gemstone Blue Topaz is a good substitute.  

You can read more about this beautiful and significant gem by clicking the link below, and as usual visit us at www.sydneyrosen.com.

Ethereal Carolina Divine Paraiba Tourmaline

Provenance In Jewelry

The recent sale of Kim Kardashian's former engagement ring got me thinking about how "provenance" affects the value of jewelry.  Provenance is used to explain how an piece of jewelry, art, clothing, etc becomes increasingly more valuable because of who the previous owner of the item was.  For example a strand of pearls could be valued at a certain price, but a nearly identical strand of pearls could be worth a considerable amount more had they belong Audrey Hepburn or Jackie Kennedy.  Similarly, an item of jewelry can become much more valuable based on who the designer is.  An antique ring signed by Tiffany's or Cartier is far more valuable than an identical ring that is simply a reproduction.     

  

Kris Humphries reportedly sold Kim Kardashian's former ring at a Christie's auction for close to $750,000.00, however, that value is nearly double the $300,000-$400,000 price it was expected to sell for.  Auctions do tend to be the best place to sell exceptional jewelry, due to the likelihood rival bidders will drive up the price of one of a kind items.  Kim's ring may have sold for more because multiple buyers simply "had to" have it and thus created a bidding war.  More likely though, the Kardashian name itself was enough to convince the buyer that it was worth more than its estimate.  Both her former and current ring (given to her by Kanye West) are from designer Lorraine Schwartz.  Lorraine Schwartz herself is a famous name in celebrity jewelry, so that could have driven the value up as well. 

This is just a modern day example that got me thinking.  Most of the time provenance has to do with signed jewelry from famous design houses like Tiffany's, Cartier, Van Cleef and Arpels, Mikimoto etc, or from famous monarchs or celebrities.  These items are more likely to be found at auction than at a brick and mortar jewelry store like ourselves.  

Nevertheless, feel free to shop our online store to add to your own collection of jewelry.  Who knows, maybe the fact that YOU owned will someday make it more valuable.  

SydneyRosen.com

 

Opal: October's Colorful Birthstone

The birthstone for the month of October is Opal.  Opal is a beautiful mineral that displays the phenomenon known as "play of color", which looks like broad flashes of a rainbow of color across the some or all of the gemstone.  This phenomenon occurs when rainwater seeps into arid ground (mostly in the deserts of Australia) where dissolved silica crystalize in a series of layers that forms Opal.  These layers are oriented in a way that acts like a prism to scatter light so we can see flashes of the spectral colors.  Opal has long been a favorite gemstone of people with unique taste, or those who simply can't pick a favorite color.  Recent Opal discoveries in the African nations of Ethiopia and Namibia have brought this gemstone back into the limelight.  Below are some examples of contemporary Opal jewelry that is very popular today.  

Compliments of JCK Online: 

You can find more Opal jewelry on our website www.sydneyrosen.com under the tab Mother's Ring.  Or simply click the link below....

Birthstone Rings

 

Emmy Awards Jewelry 2013

The jewelry from the 2013 Primetime Emmy Awards truly dazzled this year.  From Sophia Vergara dazzling in Emeralds from her native Colombia to Carrie Underwood needing a security detail to protect yet another multi-million dollar necklace, the stars went above and beyond to impress this time around.  Below is an excerpt from another jewelry blog I follow that details some of the more impressive jewels from this years show.  Courtesy of JCK:

While colored stones and yellow gold took top jewelry honors on Sunday, Sept. 22, at the 65th annual Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, here’s a closer look at the names who helped the stars shine just a little brighter with some well-placed jewels:

A. Jaffe

Lauren Parsekian, wife of Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul, in the $108,018 Magnolia flower diamond necklace with 10 cts. t.w. diamonds (pictured above)

Sofia Vergara (photo: Star Traks/Platinum Guild)

Sofia Vergara in $7 million of platinum jewelry, including earrings with unheated rubies, sapphires, and Columbian emeralds; a 21 ct. t.w. Asscher-cut diamond ring; and a ring with a 40 ct. t.w. Columbian emerald and rose-cut diamonds 

Claire Danes (photo: Star Traks/Platinum Guild International)

Best Actress winner Claire Danes (Homeland) in $150,000 diamond and platinum stud earrings, a $1 million baguette-cut diamond and platinum bracelet, and a $350,000 elongated emerald-cut diamond and platinum ring

Check out the full article here: Who Wore What at the 2013 Emmy's

And as always visit us online at SydneyRosen.com

Who Gets The Ring

When I heard this morning that Kris Humphries (NBA player and former future Mr. Kardashian) is planning to auction off the 20 carat diamond engagement ring gifted to ex-fiance Kim, it brought me back the old debate of who lays claim to the ring when engagements are called off?

One side of the argument would claim that regardless of whether the couple was ever married, the ring is still considered a gift, and therefore should remain the possession of the person to whom it was given. Others would argue that without a binding contract of some kind the ring could still be considered property of the purchaser, and should be returned so that this person can attempt to reconcile the value of his/her purchase.

The case of Kris and Kim is obviously a unique one.  They were only married for 72 days and the relationship was ripe with controversy, mainly the reported tens of millions of dollars the couple made selling the rights to cover their extravagant wedding ceremony and party.  More pedestrian couples usually do not have such controversy surrounding their separation.  

Unfortunately there is not established "rule of thumb" as to who gets to keep the ring in broken engagements, and matters such as this need to be evaluated on a case by case basis.    Some breakups are civil and the purchaser of the ring is happy to let their significant other keep the ring or vice versa.  Others are messier and cause serious drama at the end of a relationship, both monetary and emotional.

Either way, it is important to keep situations like this in perspective.  Broken engagements are not a happy time for any parties involved, and the best course of action is generally the one that will lead to both parties leaving the relationship on good terms.  They say love conquers all, but when it doesn't we hope that cooler heads will prevail.

That being said...Visit us online if you are looking for an engagement ring!  

Sydney Rosen Company

Cushion Cuts: Antique versus Modern

Hello Again.  I took a little break from the blog for Labor Day/Rosh Hashanah, but now i'm back with a new topic to discuss...Cushion Cuts!

The Cushion Cut is one of the most popular fancy cuts of diamond in todays engagement market.  I attribute it mainly to the trend of "vintage" style rings made popular by the likes of Tiffany's, Tacori, and Cartier.  

However, some girls today truly want an "antique" engagement ring, which typically contain old mine and old european cut diamonds that lack the precision, symmetry and light performance of modern diamonds, but have an appeal all their own.  Older cushion cuts have a bulkier more "artisanal" appearance that show off the fact that they were almost all cut by hand.  Girls with these rings are typically attracted to the more understated appearance of these stones, and want a ring because of the way it makes them feel, as opposed to something more brilliant to show off.  

On the other hand (pun intended) some girls like the look of older cut diamonds, but still want the sparkle of a modern brilliant cut diamond to show off their engagement.  Modern cushion cuts are faceted using laser technology, so they can obtain the perfect symmetry and light performance desired by the modern bride.  These diamonds, when set in antique style mountings with engraving and filigree, satisfy the desire for something old AND something new in an engagement ring.  

There are plenty of gorgeous antique cushion cuts still in the marketplace today, and thousands of carats of modern cushions are being produced every year.  This trend is certainly here to stay, so search our inventory to see a selection of cushion cuts today!

Diamond Search

Check the box marked "Cushion" to limit the search to only cushion cuts

3 Things To Keep In Mind When Looking At Diamond Grading Reports

If you have shopped for a diamond in the past decade, you have probably realized that there is a big difference between "Certified" diamonds and "Uncertified" diamonds.  Pretty much every diamond for sale in a typical retail store will have some form of laboratory report or certification with detailed information regarding the stones quality.  Only older diamonds or diamonds purchased from estates tend to be uncertified, and this is mainly because they are not cut to meet modern industry standards. This does not mean that these older diamonds are not valuable, they simply would be given low "cut" grades by today's standards and are therefore more marketable as authentic "antique" diamonds than poorly cut modern stones.  

This being said, diamonds that ARE certified by a gemological laboratory still need to be judged with an educated eye to avoid misrepresentation.  Here are 3 areas to keep in mind when looking at diamond certificates to avoid being misled: 

1.  What laboratory is the certification from?

There are many different laboratories that issue Diamond Grading Reports.  The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and the American Gem Society Lab (AGSL) are generally the most accurate reports. These organizations are the originators of the color, clarity, and cut scales that the entire industry uses and therefore grade to the highest standards.  Other laboratories such as the European Gemological Laboratory (EGL) and International Gemological Institute (IGI) use the same nomenclature as the GIA but do not grade to the same standards.  Therefore, diamonds given grades by the EGL and IGI will typically given lower grades if graded by the GIA.  This confuses many shoppers who see two diamonds with similar weight/color/clarity that are significantly different prices because one is GIA and the other is EGL.  In reality, the EGL graded diamond is much lower quality than stated, which explains the difference in price.  

2.  Plots 

Most diamond grading reports (especially those for diamonds 1 carat or larger) will be accompanied by a plot of the inclusions in the diamond.  Regardless of who issued the report, these plots ALWAYS look a lot worse than the inclusions in the actual diamond.  Some websites list their diamonds with a PDF file of the grading report, and many shoppers will eliminate certain diamonds simply because the plot lends them to believe the diamond is more imperfect than it probably is.  As a rule of thumb, plots do not do many diamonds justice and I would recommend that anyone looking for a diamond see the diamond in person if possible, because plots often do not tell the whole story.  

3.  Polish/Symmetry/Fluorescence

The most important aspects to pay attention to on a diamond grading report are the 4 C's.  Carat Weight, Color, Clarity and Cut.  Cut grades often requires a little extra attention since different labs grade cut differently, but in general anything called "Excellent" or "Ideal" should be a nicely cut diamond.  However, there is a fifth category called "finish" which details a diamonds polish (how perfectly each facet is polished) and symmetry (how perfectly the facets are arranged).  These qualities of a diamond are usually invisible to the naked eye, and should NOT affect a purchase decision if they are do not meet excellent or ideal standards.  A diamonds proportions (cut) are far more telling of a diamonds overall brilliance than it's finish. 

 Also, fluorescence gets a bad reputation in the diamond industry, mainly because it is not disclosed.  Many diamonds (especially yellower diamonds) have blue fluorescence under UV light.  From my experience, 99% of diamonds with faint to medium blue fluorescence do not look noticeably different in most lighting environments.  Only diamonds with "Strong" or "Intense" blue fluorescence would ever have a noticeable blue tint in direct sunlight, so do not poo poo any diamond with some degree of fluorescence if everything else about the diamond meets your expectations.  

I hope this helps anyone shopping for a diamond to keep their head in the right places.  We currently have GIA and EGL graded diamonds listed on our website for anyone interested in seeing the comparison.  Click the link below to visit our Diamond Search.  

Diamond Search