The Diamond Studio Daily 08/11/2013

The appetite for coloured gemstones has grown in the UK and globally as consumers seek gems that stand out from the crowd or to own as investments. You only have to step onto Bond Street or peruse the windows of luxury jewellers from Paris to New York right now to spot a recurring theme: coloured gemstones. While gemstones have played a huge part in jewellery design for millennia, there has been a notable renaissance for punchy, juicy coloured stones that consumers are no longer afraid to wear. So what is it about coloured gemstones that is winning the hearts of the consumers? Popular trend and sales are showing gemstones are the new diamond, at least for brides-to-be. Jewellers have noticed an increase in coloured gemstones amongs consumers, especially those who seek alternatives to the traditional diamond engagement ring, Instead of a diamond solitaire or diamond three stone ring they ask for striking green tsavorite garnet and red spinel. Statement necklaces in onyx, coral or amber have been popular, and cluster rings are now very much in demand, as are particular hues of stone such as peach-coloured sapphires and aquamarine. The Gemological Association of America (GIA), while offering training and education for diamonds and stones, also keeps an eye on the evolving markets. Its senior industry analyst Russell Shor agrees that stones considered obscure have become increasingly popular in recent times. “For many years the popular notion of garnet was a brownish-red coloured stone, however garnets come in nearly every colour of the rainbow, and in all price ranges,” he explains. “The popularity of these so-called ‘obscure’ gemstones has increased exponentially in recent years because consumers have come to know their beauty through telvision and the internet. I believe that we have entered into a new era in which colour is going to play an increasing part in our lives, our jewellery and our luxury purchases.”

Today's Diamond of the Day is the Briolette of India a colorless diamond (weighing 90.38 carats) that was found in India. It is cut in a briolette shape, and is a D-coloured (colourless) type diamond. If the fables about it are true, it may be the oldest diamond on record, perhaps older than the Koh-I-Noor Diamond. In the 12th century, Eleanor of Aquitaine, the first Queen of France and later England, brought the stone to England. Her son, Richard the Lionheart, is said to have taken it on the Third Crusade. It next appeared in the 16th century when Henry II of France gave it to his blonde mistress, Diane de Poitiers. It was shown in one of many portraits of her while at Fontainebleau. After disappearing for four centuries, the stone surfaced again in 1950 when the jeweler, Harry Winston, of New York, bought it from an Indian Maharajah. It was sold to Mrs. I.W. Killam and bought back by Mr. Winston, following her death, about 10 years later.


In at number 45 in our Celebrity Engagement ring  is 
Khloe Kardashian Odom.  The 12.5-carat radiant-cut engagement ring from Lamar Odom is worth $850,000.