Category: Jewellery

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indeed, was the received wisdom, but – whisper it not – this supposedly time-honoured truth is now more than a little out of date.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.

           

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.

Our top picks from Chopard’s Red Carpet Collection 2019

Swiss luxury brand Chopard has been historically intertwined with the prestigious Cannes International Film Festival ever since Chopard’s co-president Caroline Scheufele designed the festival’s highest prize Palme d’Or in 1997.

Since 1998, Chopard has been the official partner at the Cannes International Film Festival, and every year the haute joaillerie brand’s highly-coveted Red Carpet Collection graces the red carpet of this most high-profile event of the film fraternity.

This year, Caroline Scheufele has chosen the most pure emotion of ‘love’ as her inspiration for the 2019 Red Carpet Collection. As the theme suggests, this year the Red carpet Collection rejoices in all the diverse forms of love. From the people around us to the nature that surrounds us, from our history and culture to research and innovation, love nourishes all, and hence Chopard has paid its respect to this greatest of emotions.

To mark the opening ceremony of the Cannes Festival, Caroline Scheufele has unveiled 72 necklaces, bracelets, rings, brooches and jewellery watches that she has conceptualised for the legendary ‘Montée des Marches’ red carpet ritual: an anthem to vibrant colours and daring shapes, as well as a celebration of precious stones and rich poetic references – all culminating in the universal message of love. Check out our top picks here.

Star Power: Cosmic jewellery in contemporary culture

Despite personkind having first set foot on the moon some 50 years ago, intermittently successful unmanned missions to Mars and, most recently, candid snaps of a black hole at play, outer space remains very much the Great Unknown, a region that fascinates and terrifies mere earthbound mortals in almost equal measure. The Final Frontier, as it was memorably billed by one TV sci-fi franchise, continues to inspire in countless mediums, with its depths explored almost as thoroughly by the human imagination as by any high-tech NASA probe.

Cosmic jewellery pieces

With the night sky seemingly a celestial diamond array, it’s no surprise that haute joaillerie brands have so oft looked to the heavens for inspiration, with the sun, the moon and the stars frequently motifed in cosmic jewellery designs by many of the leading marques. This is evident in such high-end offerings as Cartier’s Les Galaxies de Cartier collection or Piaget’s Sunlight Escape collection.

While some jewellery designers have turned to otherworldly materials to render their works in a truly stellar style – most notably milky quartz, moonstones or rock crystals – others have opted for iconic astral avatars. Of the latter, this has seen Chopard’s Happy Diamonds pendant necklace give the sun star billing, while Buccellati’s black-gold Macri cuff bracelet has more than a little of the night about it.

Of course, given this is the world of haute joaillerie, regardless of any piece’s lunar leanings or solar stylings, the price of any cosmic jewellery, too, is almost guaranteed to be somewhat astronomical.

 

Cannes Film Festival: Our favourite looks from Cannes Red Carpet 2019

Cannes International Film Festival kicked off its 72nd year with plenty of elegant and extravagant looks. Here are our favourites from Cannes red carpet 2019.

Chloë Sevigny

Cannes Red Carpet 2019

American-actress Chloë Sevigny channelled classic Hollywood with this black silk Mugler gown at the premiere of “The Dead Don’t Die“, meanwhile, it was impossible to miss the dazzling cuff bracelet on her left wrist, which is set in 18ct white gold set with diamonds, courtesy of Chopard.

Gong Li

Keeping with the trend of capes at this year’s festival, Chinese-actress Gong Li made her 18th appearance on Cannes Red Carpet for the premiere of “The Dead Don’t Die” in a classic gown from Ralph & Russo.

Elle Fanning

Cannes Red Carpet 2019

Elle Fanning looked like a dream at the premiere of “Les Miserables“, wearing a deep-plunge Valentino botanical gown, complimented by jewels from Chopard. Even the young actresses’ hair was decorated with an array of flowers in a wraparound milkmaid braid.

Liu Tao

Cannes Red Carpet 2019

Chinese-actress Liu Tao stunned the red carpet with an exquisite ivory gown, showing off a deep v-neck and thigh high slit. To compliment the gown’s detailed embroidery, the Cannes first-timer wore an extravagant necklace courtesy of Chopard featuring a huge pear-shaped sapphire, with matching earrings.

Nieves Álvarez

Cannes Red Carpet 2019

Truly earning her keep as the BVLGARI‘s Spanish brand ambassador, Nieves Álvarez dazzled onlookers with her pink gold and coral onyx inserts, paired beautifully with her Elie Saab Haute Couture dress.

Selena Gomez

Cannes Red Carpet 2019

Disney-star gone Hollywood leading-lady Selena Gomez opted for a two-piece Louis Vuitton dress and gorgeous diamond necklace from Bulgari at the premiere of “The Dead Don’t Die“, perhaps she’ll have a chance to wear it again at her wedding to Bill Murray?