Currency debasement around the world has led to the “smart money” seeking hard assets – assets which cannot be created by a printing press or the tap of a keyboard; and it is well known that both literally and figuratively, there are not many assets harder than diamonds. Read More »

The jewelry component of the auction was anticipated to bring proceeds of USD 30 million. Instead, the princely sum of USD 116 million was raised – a new world record for one night of auction receipts. Read More »

The decision was made to re-polish one of the stones won in the 2011 Argyle Pink Diamond Tender. The stone, originally a 1.71-carat, Fancy Intense Purplish Pink, Radiant, is now an amazing 1.68-carat, Fancy Vivid Purplish Pink, Radiant. Read More »

15th November, 2011, Sotheby’s Geneva, 110.3 carats Fancy Vivid Yellow Pear shape that goes by the moniker of the Sun Drop Diamond was for old USD 12.36 million. Read More »

Recent diamond auctions at Sotheby’s, Christies, Bonham’s and others are further proof of the resilience of fancy color diamond prices, with record auction prices achieved for perennial top performing colors. Read More »

I met a great number of people during our media week in New York. I appeared on CNBC with Melissa Lee. I said a number of times in my press appearance that the Fun Factor which drives the fancy color diamond business will be the engine of the Great American Recovery in 2012. Read More »

Of the many AMAZING stones the company has seen, the ten most important diamonds Leibish has sold over the past few years are described below. Read More »

On average, the value of Pink diamonds has shown a consistent annual appreciation. Among other fancy colored diamonds, Pink diamonds remain in high demand and are extremely sought after commodities. Read More »

Collectors of fancy colored diamonds see the world with a 10X magnification loupe, focused only on stones that are missing from their collections. Read More »

Often referred to as “Golconda” diamonds, after one of the first diamond mines discovered in India that supplied the majority of this class, Type IIa stones are the most desirable by collectors. Read More »

Leibish & Co. was delighted to receive word that out of only 55 stones that were sold they walked away with six stones in the 2011 Argyle Pink Diamond Tender. This is consecutively after winning one stone in 2009 and another six stones in 2010. Read More »

Legend has it that the original form of the Hope Diamond was stolen from the forehead or the eye of a sculpted statue of the goddess Sita in a Hindu temple. The temple priests then laid a curse on whoever might possess the missing stone. Read More »

The Ocean Dream Diamond is a 5.51-carat, Fancy Deep Blue-Green, Shield-shaped diamond. Although the Ocean Dream is not very large, as the only natural diamond known to the GIA to possess a blue-green hue, it is among the rarest stones on earth. Read More »

The rough was cut and polished by William Goldberg of the William Goldberg Diamond Corporation. Once the polishing was commenced, an incredibly unique intense orange color was revealed. Read More »

The Heart of Eternity, This 27.64 carat heart-shaped stone is renowned for the intensity of its color, described by experts as "Fancy vivid blue." Read More »

Over 200 carats of rough were removed from the stone to create a beautiful light-yellow, cushion-cut diamond. At 234.65 carats, the De Beers remains the seventh largest polished diamond in the world. Read More »

I was recently told that if you don’t appear on the first page of Google, you simply don’t exist. Not only that, but the conversion rate for sites on the first and ninth placed is vastly different. Read More »

The entire world was waiting for their decision, but Aristotle and Salamitos had a problem of their own and did not understand that everyone was depending on them. Read More »

When Cartier made his legendary Tutti Frutti (or Fruit Salad) Bracelet in Paris in the late 1920’s, he had no digital images he could transmit over the web to his client, Mr. Roy D. Chapin, so the buyer had to travel for 7 days by steamship over high seas to Paris, to see the bracelet in the Cartier atelier. Read More »

I was always an admirer of Warren Buffett, even though I don’t own a single piece of his Berkshire Hathaway stock. In my books, he is cool. I am sure that it is great fun to have lunch with him, despite the stiff price tag in excess of USD2.5 million. Read More »

There was a deep anxiety in the air that soared through the El Al business lounge. Everyone knew to where they were headed, but exactly what to expect remained unknown. A long journey lay before us to a culture so different from what we were all used to. Read More »

Check out Diane Lane and her platinum chandelier earrings set with white and yellow diamonds, matching white and yellow diamond cocktail ring, and white and yellow diamond bracelets. Read More »

Kardashian is reported to have purchased three Lorraine Schwartz jade and diamond bangle bracelets at the recently held Christie’s New York Elizabeth Taylor Auction for the princely sum of USD 65,000. Read More »

Adam Shulman, who played his part in designing the traditional diamond engagement ring he presented to his new fiancée Anne Hathaway. Read More »

Kristen Stewart, playing Bella in the Twilight Saga series of vampire flicks, walked the red carpet at the L.A. premiere of Breaking Dawn – Part I, the first part of the final instalment of the Twilight Saga series - in an iolite gown. Read More »

It's doubtful that anyone was green with envy when Michael Michele noticed the $250,000 bracelet was missing. Read More »

Leibish & Co. uses only 100% natural fancy colored diamonds. The stones themselves are never enhanced or artificially colored in any way. Modifications to the jewelry itself, for example plating the cup, are necessary and regularly done in order to perfect the finished product. Read More »

Both the Leibish & Co. company logo as well as the metal used to create the jewelry must be engraved into the piece. Whether it is 18-karat gold, 14-karat gold, or platinum medal used, the information must be engraved for authentication purposes. Read More »

Very carefully, the correct sized holes are drilled into the jewelry and the settings are created. Only after all diamonds, other than the center are set, do the jewelers begin working on the center stone. Read More »

This process must be done very carefully and accurately as even the slightest miscalculation can result in a disproportionate piece of jewelry. Each section of jewelry is soldered together and finalized for a perfect piece of jewelry. Read More »

The wax model is attached to a casting tree, where molds for each of the jewelry pieces are created. Each section of the jewelry is created separately so that every piece can be properly prepared for assembly. Read More »

As opposed to colorless stones which contain only different shades graded from D – Z, Fancy Colored Diamonds are found with 12 different colors, over 90 secondary hues, 9 intensity levels, and over 200 color combinations. Read More »

The model must first be thoroughly cleaned and prepared. Once completed, from that incredibly accurate, precisely measured plastic model the jewelry is crafted. Read More »

The Leibish & Co. design team uses the most up-to-date, Rhino technology to create a usable virtual model of the jewelry. Through the model, the team can accurately design each section of the jewelry so that each piece is proportionate. Read More »

One of the most important sections of each model created is the cup, otherwise known as the bath, in which the diamond is placed. The diamond is scanned so that the cup can be made to accurately hold the stone. Read More »

Everything including the metal type and its color needs to be carefully considered in order to compliment the true color of the diamond. Therefore, even with custom designs supplied by the customer, the design team will always suggest any modifications needed to enhance the outcome and final appearance. Read More »

The romantic connotation of Valentine’s Day has seen it become a traditional day for engagement proposals. Documented as early as Roman times but not generally adopted in the Western world till the 13th century. Read More »

Make sure that the stones you are looking at are natural fancy colored diamonds. Artificially colored stones will potentially lose their color and reduce in quality over time. A natural colored diamond on the other hand, will be just as bright and beautiful 100 years from the day it was originally polished. Read More »

The Orapa mine is the largest diamond mine in the world by area, and production from its open pit began in 1971. Situated 50 kilometres from the Orapa mine is the Letlhakane mine, whose production started in 1975. Read More »

London jeweler Laurence Graff bought a rare 3.73 carat fancy vivid blue diamond, mounted in a platinum ring, at Sotheby’s “Magnificent Jewels, Noble Jewels and Jewels from the Collection of Lily Marinho” auction last week for CHF5.201 million ($4.961 million). Read More »