Padparadscha - a marriage between a Ruby and a yellow Sapphire.

A gem stone I want to bring to your attention is the Padparadscha. A sapphire so rare and unique it has it's own name. Derived after the sanskrit 'Lotus colour' and is a reference to the lotus flower colour. 

The Padparadscha is a striking orange/pink colour. Originally mined in Sri Lanka (Ceylon - known for the largest and most unique sapphires).  However fine stones can also be found in Vietnam's Quy Chau district, Tanzania's Tunduru's district and Madagascar. Stones from the latter three can often be heat treated and many purists believe the term should be restricted to stones from Ceylon.

Below is an example of a high quality Padparadscha, which has pink/reddish shine. The exact colour has always been a matter of debate. Perhaps this is because the Lotus blossom comes in a variety of shades. 

Padparadscha's are cleaner than Ruby's. As the stones tend to be pastel shades one should make sure  there are no visible inclusions to the naked eye.  One should view Sapphires with a fluorescent light or under daylight.

Padparadscha's can be bought in a variety of different shapes. Due to the shape of the rough stones 

they are often cut with deep pavilions.  The most common are oval and cushions, with some rounds and emeralds. Slight premiums are paid for the round stones.

A good Padparadscha can reach a similar price to a fine Ruby or an Emerald. Like all gem stones the prices vary according to size and quality.  At the very top end they can reach as much as $30,000 per carat!

Today many Padparadscha's are heat treated to improve their appearance. Untreated stones can fetch a premium that is sometimes 50% or more compared with treated stones of similar quality. A fraudulent treatment that can be used is when a pink stone is irradiated to give it a Padparadscha colour. This colour is unstable and will fade with exposure to the sun. As with all precious gem stones, we advise you have them tested by a reputable lab to determine if the gem has been enhanced.

Please contact SoL if you need some recommendations.

Keep a look out for a new SoL design using a beautiful untreated Padparadscha - coming soon!!

Gold; The New Currency!

I’m sure like us you haven’t been able to miss the huge rise in gold prices.  Many consumers are routing through their air looms and selling their gold whilst designers are having to think up new ways of creating pieces that are affordable for their clients.

We experienced a period of substantial growth in August and September last  year, with gold prices peaking at $1,895/oz however this was followed by a sharp price decline which left it at $1,532/oz at the end of the year.  In the World Gold Council’s Gold Demand Trends report for 2011 it noted that the average gold price for the year was $1,571.52/oz, which was about 28% higher than the 2010 equivalent.  Although we are yet to see if Gold prices will continue to rise at this rate, Thomson Reuter GFMS has forecast that the average price of gold in the first half of 2012 will be $1,640, rising to $1,840 in the second half.

One of the reasons we have seen such an increase in the price of gold is firstly due to investors seeing it as a safe haven in times of economic concern. They are migrating to gold as it’s seen as a store of value.

Secondly, due to central banks such as The Bank of England printing additional money to combat the global economic slump investors are wary of the risk of increasing inflation. Therefor they are avoiding interest-baring assets such as saving accounts and bonds and moving their investments into assets that are seen as inflation linked such as Gold.  Gold has become a currency in it’s own right.

You will find that a lot of people in the trade might highlight that the price of Gold has risen due to increased demand from developing countries such as China and India. However, this can only account for a small proportion for the rise as their populations and incomes have not risen by anywhere near as much as the price of Gold.

Investment is likely to continue to boost the Gold market this year. This is particularly highlighted in Europe with the ongoing economic uncertainty in countries such as Greece and Italy encouraging investment demand.

This is not necessarily bad for the jewellery industry it just means we have to be aware of the change that is occurring and adapt this to our clients needs. We have a lot of experience in buying and selling gold for our clients.  Something that we have being doing a lot more of recently due to the noticeable rise in price.

If you would like a consultation please contact: Louisa@silksoflondon.com

April birthstone - Diamond!!

April birthstone - Diamond!!

Giving a piece of jewelry containing a birthstone gem is said to bring the wearer good luck and protection.  So for all those men out there who are short for ideas, you cannot go wrong with finding out your ladies birthstone. Not only is it thoughtful but they will LOVE a piece of jewellery. What women doesn’t!? Monthly birthstones symbolize the month of birth according to the Gregorian Calendar.  So if you are April count yourself lucky to be the month of the Diamond. Now let’s remember that this can also include coloured diamonds. {Take a look at SoL’s blog on coloured diamonds for some more info on these}

For those who were born in the month of April the Diamond is the traditional birthstone – said to enhance relationships and increasing inner strength. The Traditional Metaphysical Properties for the April Birthstone Diamond are balance, clarity and abundance. The healing properties of the April birthstone are reputed to be effective for health problems as the Diamond is also used to draw out toxins and therefore was used as a remedy for poison.

Where are the Diamonds found?  Diamonds are thought to have been first recognized and mined in India.  Roughly 49% of diamonds originate from Central and Southern Africa, although significant sources of the mineral have been discovered in Canada, India, Russia, Brazil, and Australia.

Definition of Diamond, the April birth stone: The word Diamond is derived from the Greek word "adamas" which means "hardest metal" which reflect the property of the stone. The diamond is a precious stone or gem excelling in brilliancy and remarkable for its extreme hardness. This gem is a member of the Diamond (Carbon) family. It is the hardest substance known. The diamond as found in nature is known as a rough diamond and from here is cut into forms with many reflecting facets, by which its brilliancy is increased. The crystal structure of the Diamond, the April birthstone, is Isometric.

Various characteristics of diamonds are graded and categorized by the diamond industry. Learning about diamonds is first learning about the "four Cs" of diamonds, which are considered the most important grades and categories:

•   Cut

•   Clarity

•   Color

•   Carat weight

And then there's the "Fifth C":

Certificates.

Keep an eye out for our next blog, which will guide you through all these important grades you should be aware of before you purchase a diamond!

SoL guide to the upcoming major jewellery events

May 1-5

ABU DHABI INTERNATIONAL JEWELLERY SHOW

Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The International Jewellery & Watch Show Abu Dhabi (JWS) is an exclusive and high-end jewellery and watch event.

Through its showcase of the world's leading brands in the world's richest city, Abu Dhabi, JWS is truly a unique exhibition with an extensive showcase of exquisite jewellery and timepieces from all over the world. This event is aimed at the region's most affluent consumers.

May 19-23

VICENZAORO CHARM

Fiera di Vicenza, Vicenza, Italy - International exhibition of gold jewelry, silverware and watches.

This is a great show for those wanting to know the trends in the Italian fashion jewellery.  There is also a mix of silverware and watches. You can also join their seminar programme that includes talks on everything from why India is a growth prospect for the luxury market to what’s new in the world of pearls.

June 1-4

JCK LAS VEGAS

Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, US

This event is seen as the most comprehensive jewellery show in North America, with 2,500 exhibitors from 22 countries and 20,000 visitors.  Representatives from more than 50 major jewellery chains and department stores take part each year. This event offers a unique experience for business and networking.

June 11-17

LONDON JEWELLERY WEEK

Somerset House, London

The week comprises events across the capital to celebrate British jewellery talent. This is a two day trade event and will host an exciting showcase of jewellery in the UK.

July 12

UK JEWELLERY AWARDS

Grosvenor House, London

One of the industry’s most prestigious awards event.  New categories for this year include Marketing Campaign of the Year and Outstanding Contribution to the industry.  It will be a night of glitz and glamour, great gowns and seriously amazing jewellery. One that you won’t want to miss! The annual UK Jewellery Awards is an industry-only awards ceremony for brands and retailers of watches and jewellery.

August 23-27

INDIA INTERNATIONAL JEWELLERY SHOW

Bombay Convention & Exhibition Centre, Mumbai

This is the ideal show for those wanting to find our more about the flourishing growth in the Indian jewellery market. There is a comprehensive seminar programme, catwalk shows and exhibitors from all over the world, as well as from the indian subcontinent.  This year IIJS marks the 29th edition and will be spread over an approximate area of 46,000 sq. mtrs and will have more than 1,800 booths, which would be occupied by an estimated 800+ exhibitors from India as well as overseas.

September 2-5

INTERNATIONAL JEWELLERY LONDON

Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London

From up-and-coming designers to established brands, there is something for every buyer. New features for 2012 include revamped catwalk shows and free coaches from Hatton Garden and Birmingham’s jewellery district. As the UK's most established, premier jewellery trade event it's the perfect place to find out the latest trends, source new and exciting products, network and attend the industry's leading seminar programme.

September 5-9

HONG KONG WATCH AND CLOCK FAIR

Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

A must for buyers and enthusiasts alike, mixing well-known brands with lesser-known names from Japan, Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland. At the last edition, 700 exhibitors from 14 countries & regions showed collections of the very latest designs in a wide spectrum of market sectors and prices. A total of 16,521 buyers from 97 countries & regions sourced timepieces, ranging from trendy to classical styles, to create their new-season inventories with broad consumer appeal.

September 13-17

BANGKOK GEMS AND JEWELRY FAIR

Impact Exhibition & Convention Center, Bangkok

This international biannual showcase of high-value gemstones and jewellery plays host to 1,200 exhibitors.

Coloured diamonds - an insider's guide

In November 2010 a 24.78-carat pink diamond sold at a Sotheby’s auction in Geneva to diamond dealer Laurence Graff for a record $46.1 million, the highest price paid for any gem or jewel—ever. That was nearly double the previous record of $24.3 million set in 2008 at a Christie’s sale in London, when Graff purchased another legendary stone: a 35.56-carat blue diamond called the Wittelsbach. Prices for coloured diamonds have gone through the roof over the last few years!

In 2009, a five-carat pink diamond sold at Christie’s in Hong Kong for $10.8 million, achieving a world record price per carat of $2.1 million. In October 2010, the Bulgari Blue, a ring with a triangular-cut, 10.95-carat blue diamond, sold at Christie’s New York for $15.7 million, setting a new record price per carat for a blue diamond. And in November 2010, a 14.23-carat pink diamond fetched $23.1 million at Christie’s Hong Kong, the highest price ever paid for a jewel at auction in Asia.  Last year, Christie’s worldwide jewelry sales totaled $426.4 million, an all-time high that led the house to declare 2010 the year of colored diamonds.  Of the millions of diamonds mined each year, the gem industry estimates that one in every 10,000 carats will possess color. Only a handful of those achieve the deeper, more valuable hues described in the industry as “fancy intense” and “fancy vivid.” Of those, an even smaller percentage surpass one carat, let alone five or ten! So you can see how rare these stones!

According to Naval Bhandari of Sotheby’s Diamonds, since record keeping began in the 1970s, colored diamonds have appreciated at about 10 to 15 percent per year. “Yellow diamonds have doubled in value every seven years,” he says. “Reds, blues and greens have seen the greatest appreciation, having quadrupled within the last decade.” 

Robert May, executive director of the Natural Color Diamond Association, cites the growing affluence in emerging markets, like Russia, India, South America and China, as a major factor. “There’s a whole new body of consumers,” he says. “Asia really likes colored diamonds, and they have significantly driven up the price.”

Experts say a watershed moment in the public’s awareness of colored diamonds occurred in 1987, when a .95-carat red diamond fetched $880,000 at Christie’s New York, making headlines around the world. Reportedly purchased for $13,500 in 1956 by Montana gem collector Warren Hancock, the Hancock Red set a new record of nearly $1 million per carat, a benchmark that held until 2007.

With the increased visibility of colored diamonds comes a whole new vocabulary. In the ’40s and ’50s, the Gemological Institute of America developed the universal grading system known as the 4Cs, examining carat, color, clarity and cut to evaluate white diamonds. When shopping for colored diamonds, however, the 4Cs become more complex. In 1995, the GIA expanded its system to measure hue, tone, saturation and distribution of color in colored diamonds. “Hue” describes, well, the color and can include a modifier such as purplish-pink. “Tone” refers to the stone’s lightness or darkness, and “saturation” implies strength or purity of color.  The scale begins with “faint” and moves up to “light,” “fancy light,” “fancy,” “fancy intense” and “fancy vivid,” the last the most valuable. (While fancy colored diamonds do occur naturally, there is also a sizable market for treated and synthetic stones that mimic them—especially in pink, yellow and green diamonds of late. Fortunately, labs can easily identify most treatments and almost all synthetic manufacturers mark their stones for full disclosure.)

So exactly how and why do some diamonds come out looking like a ruby or a sapphire? Colored diamonds result when natural radiation or trace elements such as nitrogen interact with carbon atoms during formation, yielding literally every color of the rainbow. Hues like yellow and brown are more abundant. Purple, orange, green and red are the rarest. “Many jewelers will never see a red diamond in their career,” says Bhandari. John King, GIA Laboratory’s chief quality officer, agrees: “To say a red diamond is one in a million is certainly no stretch.” In fact, the largest natural fancy red diamond known to exist is a relatively diminutive 5.11 carats and is owned by Moussaieff Jewelers in London. It is not for sale.

Silks of London

SoL has worked with coloured diamonds for years.  We have recently designed a stunning yellow diamond engagement ring which will soon be on our website! www.silksoflondon.com

Source: www.departures.com

Leap Year Proposal – how did it come about and what are your thoughts?

Legend has it that St. Brigid of Kildare, a fifth-century Irish nun, asked St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, to grant permission for women to propose marriage after hearing complaints from single women whose suitors were too shy to propose. Initially, he granted women permission to propose only once every seven years, but at Brigid's insistence, he agreed and allowed proposals every leap year day.  Brigid then dropped to a knee and proposed to Patrick that instant, but he refused, kissing her on the cheek and offering a silk gown to soften the blow. The Irish tradition therefore dictates that any man refusing a woman's leap-day proposal must give her a silk gown. Perhaps the most well-known of the leap-year marriage superstitions belongs to Ireland, where, again, women are advised to propose only on Feb. 29 for good luck.

In many European countries, especially in the upper classes of society, tradition dictates that any man who refuses a woman's proposal on February 29 has to buy her 12 pairs of gloves. The intention is that the woman can wear the gloves to hide the embarrassment of not having an engagement ring. Believe it or not during the middle ages there were laws governing this tradition!!

In Greece, getting married in a leap year is considered inauspicious, and the relationship is thought likely to end in divorce. Women in Finland are advised to propose only on leap-year day for good luck. If her boyfriend should refuse, he is required to pay her a "fine": enough fabric to make a skirt. In Scotland, an unmarried Queen Margaret allegedly enacted a law in 1288 allowing women to propose on leap-year day. But there was a catch: The proposer had to wear a red petticoat to warn her intended that she planned to pop the question.

According to recent figures many more women are proposing to their man on a Leap year. You can now read so many articles on how to propose to your man. However, personally, I would forever worry why my man didn’t get there first. Why he couldn’t commit first.  It would ruin it for me…what are your thoughts? 

THE BEAUTY OF BASEL

2012 will be the home of new products and precious stones. Basel trade fair takes place this year on March 8 - 15th. It is an event we look forward to every year as it reminds us of the size of the industry that we work in. It’s enormity and diversity gives us the most incredible experience every year. Over 100,000 visitors from specialist retail and wholesale trading will attend. Around 3000 journalists from all the different continents will also make their way with close to 2000 exhibitors from 45 countries exhibiting their best quality product line at the show. The Silks of London team spend 5 days visiting all the exhibitors, which range from the large brand names to the smaller dealers. (We could spend a good few weeks!). Last year we sourced the most beautiful Burmese rubies, which we used to create this exquisite art deco ring. This was a bespoke engagement ring we made for one lucky lady!

We also made these beautiful Burmese ruby and diamond drop earrings!