Big Bulgari Blue Diamond Ring May Earn $12M at Auction

The Bulgari Blue Diamond, circa 1972

Christie's auction house announced that it will offer “The Bulgari Blue Diamond”—a two-stone diamond ring designed by the Italian jewelry company in the 1970s—at its New York headquarters on October 20. The ring features a triangular-shaped, colorless diamond of 9.87 cts. paired with a triangular-shaped fancy vivid blue diamond of 10.95 cts.—the largest fancy vivid blue diamond of this cut ever to be offered at auction.

Fancy vivid blue diamonds of this size are among the rarest of colored diamonds, the auction house said. It is estimated that one in about 10 million diamonds will possess a color pure enough to qualify as “fancy vivid.” The ring will be priced upon request for prospective bidders, but is expected to achieve in excess of $12 million and is positioned to become one of the top-selling diamonds at auction in 2010.

“The appearance of this sensational jewel on the market is causing a huge stir amongst top jewelry collectors worldwide,” said Rahul Kadakia, head of jewelry for Christie’s Americas. “This ring’s exceptional quality, rarity and size combined with the coveted imprimatur of the house of Bulgari make this upcoming sale a truly special event in the world of jewelry and one that is certain to make auction history.”

The ring is being offered by a private European collector who has kept it in his family for almost 40 years. According to family tradition, the ring was given as a gift from the collector to his wife in celebration of the birth of their first baby boy. The final sale price in 1972 was about $1 million, a fortune at the time, Christie’s said.

FT Launches Fashion and Luxury Blog

FT Fashion Editor Vanessa Friedman

The UK business publication, Financial Times, has launched a blog that deals with the fashion and luxury industries from a corporate and consumer point of view, as well as the subject of dress among those in public eye.

The blog, “Material World,” is edited by FT fashion editor Vanessa Friedman, a position she’s held since 2003. Other FT reporters and editors also will contribute posts.

The blog started on September 1 and so far has included the style of President Barack Obama and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, insider perspectives of New York Fashion Week and a scoop about Tom Ford that Friedman learned about while in the doctor’s office.

$1M Rough Diamond Necklace Dazzles at Toronto Film Festival

Allie MacDonald, star of SCORE: A Hockey Musical, walked the red carpet Thursday night wearing a $1 million rough Ontario diamond necklace during opening night at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The 75-ct. rough diamond necklace, contained 27 uncut, unpolished Ontario diamonds valued at $1 million. It was created by Toronto-based jewelry designer Reena Ahluwalia. Its inspiration was the historic Mace of Ontario (Ontario Legislature), also designed by Ahluwalia.

“I wanted to design a statement necklace with an understated natural elegance. Rough diamonds were the perfect choice—understated, pure and just the way nature intended them to be,” Ahluwalia said. “The spiraling form secures the rough diamond gently and is intended to portray social responsibility, signifying the diamond mine and the natural riches of Ontario. The raw brilliance of these rough diamonds is unmatchable. They are organic, inherently one-of-a-kind and make a strong statement about one’s identity, desire to return to nature and of course, diamonds conflict-free origin.”

The event itself was the result of a partnership among luxury jewelry retailer, Birks, diamond company Crossworks Manufacturing and De Beers Canada to promote Ontario diamonds.

Crossworks produced the rough diamonds used for the necklace. It has an exclusive agreement to polish an allocation from the Victor Mine in Ontario and is the only company in the world to provide diamonds that are mined, cut and polished in Ontario. In April 2010, Birks unveiled the first 131 diamonds certified by the Government of Ontario and has been offering a selection of Canadian diamonds in Birks stores ever since. Following the celebrations at the Toronto International Film Festival, the necklace worn by MacDonald will be available for purchase at the Birks store on Bloor Street in Toronto.

Below is a video of MacDonald wearing and talking about the necklace:



 

Hublot, Official Timekeeper of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

Luxury Swiss watch brand Hublot is the official timekeeper of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, September 9-16.

The Geneva-based company will display five wall clocks representing the top fashion cities around the world: New York, London, Milan/Paris and Tokyo. The company also will present the digital clock, its Big Bang Tutti Frutti Orange model (pictured), announcing all shows and their times. It will be timing how close each show truly is to the official start time in a daily feature titled, “How Late is Fashionably Late.”

The brand will be a part of the “Accessories Exhibition” featuring a selection of its latest styles in state of the art interactive displays that will both astound and entertain guests.

Winslet, Rai Bachchan and Lin Unveil New Longines DolceVita models

From left: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Chi-Ling Lin  and Kate Winslet wearing Longines DolceVita watches.

Longines ambassadors Kate Winslet, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Chi-Ling Lin were in Rome Wednesday to unveil the new additions to the Longines DolceVita collection.

The luxury Swiss watchmaker’s three star ambassadors were wearing the new Longines DolceVita models during a gala evening at the Villa Miani, where a film featuring the three famous faces was premiered.

The new DolceVita models combine steel with different colors of gold, creating a new image to the popular line that was first launched in 1997.

'Have Jewelry, Will Travel'

"Tribal Goddess": A necklace made of hand-strung nylon with pearl shell dagger beads, transparent glass seed beads, shell seed beads, shell marquise beads, tumbled freshwater pearl beads, natural barrel shell beads and silver adjustable lobster-claw clasp. Bond’s inspiration for this piece was the jewelry worn by women of the Masaai tribe in Tanzania. 

In my introduction to this Web site I did promise that I would include the work of promising new jewelry designers. Now it’s time to back that statement.

Chelsea Bond has had an interesting life. She’s traveled extensively throughout the world, including spending more than three months circling the globe for Semester at Sea. Bond, recently married, is now settled in Dallas where she recreates her travel experiences by making hand-made exotic travel-inspired jewelry and selling them through a company she founded, [Red-I] by Chelsea, with the motto, "Have Jewelry, Will Travel."

"South Africa": A wooden cuff bracelet with a hand-painted acrylic design inspired by the vineyards and local marketplaces outside of Cape Town, South Africa.

“My influences and inspirations are every single trip I've taken around this amazing globe,” Bond recently told Jewelry News Network. “I've been privileged enough to view celebrations in India, swim in the Andaman sea and circle the earth on a ship. … The beauty of the earth and unforgettable circumstances all play a part in Red-I.”

She primarily uses organic materials—including stone, semi-precious gems, glass beads, suede, wooden beads and shells—to create her necklaces, bracelets, earrings, barefoot pieces, and other works. Each piece represents a place where she’s visited. 

“I love blending different textures such as the metal and suede to create a unique and sleek, yet still earthy and eclectic feel.”

Bond says those who buy her jewelry have a strong sense of individual style and an adventurous spirit.

“The type of person that buys my jewelry has a unique personality and a zest for life,” she said. “If they have not extensively traveled, they want to. The pieces speak to the places they have been or places they long to reach one day. My clients appreciate detail and craftsmanship and more importantly, want to be the center of attention.”

She adds, “I have a huge passion for this industry and hope to translate this through my own designs.”

She’s certainly on her way.

Additional captions:

"Andaman Coffee Shell and Ocean Glass": Barefoot Jewelry made of hand-strung stretch nylon with transparent glass seed beads, peacock ceramic globe beads, coffee ceramic shell bead and translucent aquamarine plastic gems that takes its inspiration from the turquoise water of the Andaman Sea and the “sugary” beaches and rocks of Kho Phi Phi island, Thailand.

"Azúcar y Mar (Sugar and Sea)": Hand-strung nylon with semi precious tumbled white agate stone beads, mother of pearl marquise pendants, glass seed beads, aquamarine plastic gems, blue shell beads plastic gems, glass seed beads and blue shell beads are the dominate materials for this necklace and earrings set, which takes its inspiration from the sandy beaches and the turquoise Caribbean waters of Riviera Maya, Mexico.

"Flamenco": Hand-strung nylon with turquoise howlite stone beads, coral howlite stone beads, transparent glass seed beads, peacock ceramic globe beads, and turquoise howlite ceramic barrel beads are the dominate materials use for this necklace, bracelet and earrings set, which takes inspiration from the flamenco shows she saw while living in Spain.

Frédérique Constant Sales Up 38%

Luxury Swiss watch brand Frédérique Constant said Wednesday that it has experienced a 38 percent growth in sales, year-over-year, for the six months of 2010. In addition, sales in the first six months of 2010 were 15 percent higher than in the first half of 2008.

“We have seen a significant increase in activity across all of our regions in the first half of 2010,” said Peter Stas, Frederique Constant, founder and CEO. “Russia and Japan returned to sales growth. Strong growth continues in North America and Asia. Europe keeps its solid position in the sales charts. In view of our intensive programs of promotional activities and new product launches, sales growth should continue to accelerate for rest of the year”,

The company said it expects strong sales results for the second half of 2010.