Category: Jewellery

Gems of the Ganges revealed at Christie’s Maharajas and Mughal Magnificence auction

Boasting a staggering array of bejewelled mementos once owned by members of India’s ruling classes, the Christie’s Maharajas and Mughal Magnificence auction was always going to be something truly special.

A a 1912 Belle-Époque Diamond Devant-de-Corsage Cartier Brooch

Hosted at the auctioneer’s New York office, the marathon 12-hour sale raked in a total of US$109 million, making it the second-most valuable private collection ever to go under the gavel – outdone only by the 2011 sale of the gems that once belonged to Elizabeth Taylor, that most beguiling of screen goddesses.

Jigha Turban Ornament

The lead item this time round was a 1912 Belle-Époque Diamond Devant-de-Corsage Cartier Brooch. Eventually sold for US$10.6 million, the horseshoe-shaped, diamond-draped creation featured two wholly unique gemstones – a brilliant-cut, D-colour, 34.08-carat diamond and an oval-shaped 23.55-carat diamond.

Antique Imperial Spinel, Pearl and Emerald Necklace

Among the other highlights of the sale were a dazzling Antique Imperial Spinel, Pearl and Emerald Necklace, which went for an eminently respectable US$3 million, and a gem-studded Jigha turban ornament and the The Taj Mahal Emerald brooch – both of which attracted winning bids of US$1.815 million.

Golden Hour: It’s time to say yes to responsibly sourced gold

“How many carats?” While slightly impertinent, it’s a question that most jewellery aficionados could answer easily enough. Should they, however, be challenged with: “Where does it come from?”, they might be harder pressed to provide a definitive answer.

Indeed, it was a query that even Caroline Scheufele, the Co-President of Chopard, clearly struggled with. When asked that very question at the Academy Awards several years back, her inability to respond prompted her to review the company’s sourcing protocols. Recalling the revelation sparked by the impromptu enquiry, she said: “I really had no idea. As with most jewellers, we tended to buy our gold in bulk and never thought to ask where it actually came from. Once you’ve been made aware of the related issues, however, it’s something you just can’t turn your back on.”

responsibly sourced gold

Indeed, the issues in question are murky, tangled and, all too often, tainted with the blood of innocents. The gold industry is huge, with its mining operations extending across 60 countries and providing employment to over 15 million people. Unfortunately, it’s also known for being the root cause of a vast number of environmental and humanitarian problems, with the workers toiling in the gold mines – many of them underage – being subject to long hours, low pay and dangerous conditions.

In recent years, though, the more conscious customers and jewellers have become only too aware of the problems wrought by the gold industry. This has led many of the most well-known names in the sector – including Chopard, Gucci and Boucheron – to commit to using only eco-friendly or recycled or responsibly sourced gold. This has seen the emergence of several virtuous certification systems of which two – Fairmined Gold and Fairtrade Gold – are well on the way to being recognised as global standards for responsibly sourced gold. Some brands, like Bulgari, meanwhile, also abide by the codes of the Responsible Jewellery Council.

The high profile accorded to such initiatives is, however, unfortunately at odds with their actual success. Indeed, of the 3,300 tonnes of total gold mined every year, only a paltry few 100kg are actually bona fide responsibly sourced.

Text: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay

Princess Layers: Master the fine art of layering jewellery

Layering jewellery is as tricky as layering clothes… too many layers, and you risk looking like a Christmas tree, too little, and all your efforts go to waste. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stack them up, when and how you feel like, because, let’s admit it, if done right, layered jewellery brings out your most chic self. Check out our favourite ways of layering jewellery below:

Huedunnit: Why colourless diamonds are playing second fiddle to coloured diamonds

While translucent diamonds have long been considered elegant and eminently desirable, their multicoloured counterparts have oft been decried as vulgar, trashy and, all together, the kind of gems no truly sophisticated girl would ever acknowledge as even a nodding acquaintance, let alone a best friend. Such, indeed, was the received wisdom, but – whisper it not – this supposedly time-honoured truth is now more than a little out of date.

Cartier Magnitude Equinoxe necklace with yellow diamond

Over the past few years, colour-free diamonds have gradually lost ground to their tinted brethren, with the pastel tones of the latter becoming ever more keenly sought out by gem-loving gentlefolk across the globe. Indeed, far from being inferior to their colour-free cousins, the rarity of these hue-imbued variants renders them far more valuable, with their per carat worth actually several times higher.

Jacob & Co. pink and blue diamond earrings

The belated recognition of this has seen jewellery aficionados across the world become voracious collectors of coloured diamonds. Indeed, according to Knight Frank, the global property consultancy (which also publishes an annual guide to luxury investment trends), demand for multi-spectrum sparklers has surged by some 113% over the last 10 years.

King Fook Jewellery green and pink diamond ring

Explaining this worldwide taste turnaround, Lily Leung, founding chair of the Asia Fancy Color Diamond Association, said: “For many, it’s now comparable to choosing to buy either a black-and-white or a colour TV. Ultimately, multi-hued diamonds are just more dramatic and offer more choice for customers.”

Harry Winston blue and pink diamond ring

As to which colour of gemstone is the most keenly sought out, well, while pink and blue diamonds both have their proponents, it is the red varietal that is by far the most precious. In fact, only 20-30 sumptuously scarlet specimens have ever been uncovered, making carmine-mining just about the most profitable pastime known to personkind.

Text: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay

Pink Rock: Bubble Gum Pink diamond ring took top billing at Christie’s

While the words ‘bubble gum pink’ may not quite segue into the mystique and rarity that characterise haute joaillerie, one particularly stunning rosy-esque diamond ring that more than matched this description took top billing at the recent Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction in Hong Kong, ultimately selling for an eminently wallet-lightening US$7.52 million.

Precisely crafted by London-based jeweller Moussaieff, the centrepiece of Bubble Gum Pink’s white gold ring is a 3.43-carat, cushion-cut, internally flawless fancy vivid purplish pink diamond. Surrounding this iridescent gemstone are four D-colour, internally flawless, marquise-cut diamonds and several pear-shaped pink diamonds.

Highlighting the unique nature of this salmonesque showstopper, Francois Curiel, Chairman of Christie’s Europe, said: “It’s probably the strongest pink I have seen in my 50 years as a jewellery specialist. What is particularly rare about it is that it is also internally flawless, meaning it has no imperfections whatsoever.”

Sunlight Collection by Piaget lights up the jewellery scene in Hong Kong

Haute jewellery maison Piaget continues to pay homage to one of nature’s most potent symbols – the sun – with its latest Sunlight Collection of jewellery.

Piaget Sunlight Collection

The brand’s savoir faire for the past six decades, in this collection, Piaget depicts the sun in all its majesty through opal and mother-of-pearl disc pendants from which large crescents of diamond rays radiate outwards.

Piaget Sunlight Collection

Also on offer are a wide range of dazzling earrings – studs with diamond rays, hoops with diamonds that shimmer like sunshine and tassel earrings, whose long chains resemble beams of light. Meant for the women whose warmth equals none other than the sun, what better way to embrace summer that with the radiant Sunlight Collection?

Jacob & Co. hosts Magnificent Timepieces & Jewels Exhibition

Jacob & Co founder Jacob Arabo
Jacob Arabo, founder of Jacob & Co.

Over the course of three days this past weekend, Jacob & Co., the renowned crafter of haute joaillerie and high-end watches, took over The Peninsula Hotel’s Peninsula Suite to host its Magnificent Timepieces & Jewels Exhibition. The unique showcase highlighted the opulent designs that are the crème de la crème of Jacob & Co’s current catalogue.

Jacob & Co hosts Magnificent Timepieces and Jewels Exhibition at The Peninsula Hong Kong

Founded in 1986 by genius designer Jacob Arabo, the brand’s stunning gemstone designs and outré chronograms have long found favour with discerning collectors the world over. At the event, we sat with the man himself to find out more about Jacob & Co. and its unique legacy. Check out the video below to see the full interview.

           

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White gold jewellery: A white hue that may be right for you

Humanity’s love affair with gold predates the dawn of civilisation and stretches back to at least 4000 BC. Historically, it’s always been the pursuit of the shiny yellow incarnation of this most precious of metals that has set brother against brother, toppled dynasties and seen countless thousands perish in search of a promising seam.

white gold

In times more contemporary, however, it seems the metal’s natural lustre may have lost something of its allure. Increasingly, the world’s leading jewellery houses are opting for artfully-rendered alloys, an indulgence that has seen pink and, particularly, white gold become the mainstays of many marques’ latest collections.

white gold
Cartier Magicien Luminance necklace

The ever-wider use of white gold is down to two factors. Firstly, as an alloy made from fusing the relatively softer gold with palladium, a firmer metal, it is stronger than its constituent parts, yet very malleable. It is then coated with rhodium, which enhances both its shine and its strength, making it perfect for fashioning intricately-designed trinkets.

white gold
Chanel Bague Maud ring

Secondly, for the uninitiated, white gold is visibly indistinguishable from platinum, a far rarer metal. This gives white gold jewellery the look and feel of items valued well above its actual price tag.

white gold
Chopard Red Carpet Collection 2019 necklace in 18K ethical white gold

Despite such advantages, there is something of a downside. Over time – and as the rhodium coating begins to wear thin – yellow flecks begin to show through, visually degrading the appeal of any such jewellery pieces. Thankfully, however, a suitably skilled jeweller can reapply a layer of rhodium on them. This not only restores their lustre but also ensures they can be passed down from generation to generation as wholly unblemished heirlooms.

white gold
Piaget Sunlight Collection ring in white gold

Text: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay

Drop Earrings: What celebrities are wearing on red carpets?

If red carpet trends are anything to go by, there’s one look that celebrities the world over seem to be digging these days – haute couture gowns, swept-up hair and drop earrings. Be it at Cannes or charity galas or other high-society events, it’s easy to understand why this look is so popular with A-listers.

At the centre of this look is of course an eye-catching, glittering, twinkling pair of earrings that spells glam all the way. Choose from the high jewellery collections from the acclaimed purveyors of luxury jewellery, from Chopard’s Red Carpet Collection to Chaumet’s Josephine Aigrette earrings, but do remember it’s a fine line between chic and crass, so here’s out top five picks to help you make the right choice every time.

 

Blue Up: New blue-hued gem set to sink pink diamond reign

With pink diamonds currently the only gems any self-respecting member of la beau monde will be seen out and about with, it’s all too easy to forget the allure of the more earthy and calming coloured precious stones, notably those distinctly blue of hue. In fact, given that the largest blue diamond ever to be unearthed in Botswana has just seen the light of day, overlooking such luminescently luxurious items may just have become a degree or two more difficult.

20.46-carat blue diamond

The as-yet-unnamed brilliantly blue diamond was dug up by the Okavango Diamond Company, a state-run jewel mining conglomerate and, even in a country that prides itself in producing the most pristine of precious stones, this 20.46-carat giant of a gem was instantly hailed as Something Very Special Indeed.

Type Ilb Fancy Deep Blue diamond

Estimated to have coalesced into its current form some 500 million to 3 billion years ago, this Type Ilb Fancy Deep Blue boasts one of the most keenly sought-out colour classifications of any blue diamond, leaving any pale pink pretender to the throne looking distinctly pasty by comparison.