The Diamond Studio Daily 14/01/2014

The Legend of the Burns Supper

In 1801, on the fifth anniversary of the death of Robert Burns, nine men who knew him met for dinner in Burns Cottage in Alloway to celebrate his life and works. The Master of Ceremonies was a local minister a liberal theologian and an equally liberal host. Hamilton Paul and his guests shared Masonic brotherhood with Rabbie and Paul devised an evening which looked a bit like a lodge ceremonial, centred on a fine fat haggis; with recitation and singing of Burns's works and a toast (in verse) to the memory of their friend and hero.

It was such a jolly evening, all agreed to meet again the following January for a Birthday Dinner for the bard, little knowing that they had invented a global phenomenon that we know as the BURNS SUPPER which still broadly follows the Reverend's original plan.

Burns's popularity grew rapidly after his untimely death and the idea of meeting annually to share his poems and songs in the bonds of friendship caught the public imagination. Some Ayrshire merchants in Greenock followed with the first Burns Club Supper in January 1802 and the West coast towns with strong links to Rabbie reached out and joined in the new festival: Paisley, Irvine, Kilmarnock and Dumfries.

Typically, a dozen or more men sat down to dine - as often working men as the middle classes - sometimes in a bar Rab had frequented. But the real link was his poetry with its message of love, freedom and the essential value of humanity. Many early suppers were organised by Burns Clubs who exist today, but a big boost in participation came with the big literary Burns Suppers, the original organised by Sir Walter Scott in Edinburgh in 1815 with Hogg the Ettrick Shepherd giving the Immortal Memory.

Going Global

The first Supper outwith Scotland was at Oxford University in 1806 (hosted by a few Glasgow students) with London seeing its first Bard-day party in 1810. Wherever there were Scots merchants trading in the English county towns, festivals sprung up over the next twenty years.

The format was popular - whether as part of a wider club or an annual combination of party and poetry. In those days many Scots received a good education at home then packed off to foreign climes to seek a fortune (or at least build the empire) and the Burns Supper followed them. Army officers held Indias first supper as early as 1812; traders travelled about the same time to Canada and were Addressing the Haggis in a colder January wind than they'd remembered back home; merchants and ministers (and maybe even a few convicts) carried Burns's works to Australia with Festivals from 1823 and the first formal Burns Supper in 1844; while the poets own nephew helped found the city and Burns Club of Dunedin in New Zealand.

It would be wrong to see the Burns Supper as a purely imperial story. From the early publication of Rabbies works in Philadelphia, America had warmed to his talent and a philosophy which chimed with the new-born Columbia thus bringing the Burns Supper to a wider range of people than just the Diaspora. Similarly, in the twentieth century, Burns and his supper jumped the wall into the two communist superpowers as China and particularly Russia embraced a herald of the poetical red dawn. Even today, Russian Januaries abound with exuberant Burns Suppers! And in terms of cross cultural fertilisation, the modern invention of Gung Haggis Fat Choy combining the Scots and Chinese heritages of Vancouver would be a party that Burns would certainly smile at!

The Legacy of the Burns Supper

It is a unique legacy. No other poet is fêted across the world on his birthday and it is spontaneous - no central body writes the rules, or organises the speakers, or sets the tone. Like Rabbie, the Burns Supper is totally open to all.

In 2009, the Homecoming year - his 250th anniversary - saw hundreds of Burns Suppers as an important part of the special celebration's programme so visitors and residents could join in the fun and festival which is the basis as the First Minister said: to honour Burns himself as well as those who keep his legacy alive in Scotland and across the world today.

So however you celebrate Burns Night, whether you host a grand banquet, or even just have a few friends around the kitchen table: take your haggis, relish his poems and, of course raise a generous toast to his genius and you're sharing in a gift that Scotland has given the whole world - which started simply with nine men in a cottage and now resounds throughout the globe!

A piece from our all new Scotland Collection available now.

The Diamond Studio Daily 04/12/2013

After queuing up to get your turkey, you arrive home only to find the cat has swallowed most of the tinsel and you completely forgot to buy any tangerines.

But have you ever stopped to wonder how these traditions started - why we kiss under the mistletoe, or give each other stockings full of goodies?

Here are 33 festive facts to get you even more in the mood for Christmas...

1 US scientists calculated that Santa would have to visit 822 homes a second to deliver all the world's presents on Christmas Eve, travelling at 650 miles a second.

2 Robins on cards were a joke 150 years ago when postmen wore red tunics and were named after them.

3 Although now mostly vegetarian, in Victorian times, mince pies were made with beef and spices.

4 The tradition of putting tangerines in stockings comes from 12th-century French nuns who left socks full of fruit, nuts and tangerines at the houses of the poor.

5 Carols began as an old English custom called wassailing, toasting neighbours to a long life.

6 Hanging stockings out comes from the Dutch custom of leaving shoes packed with food for St Nicholas's donkeys. He would leave small gifts in return.

7 Nearly 60 million Christmas trees are grown each year in Europe.

8 The word Noel derives from the French expression "les bonnes nouvelles" or "the good news".

9 The chances of a white Christmas are just 1 in 10 for England and Wales, and 1 in 6 for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

10 James Pierpont's 1857 song Jingle Bells was first called One Horse Open Sleigh and was written for Thanksgiving.

11 Before turkey, the traditional Christmas meal in England was a pig's head and mustard.

12 In 1647, after the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell banned festivities. The law wasn't lifted until 1660.

13  In 1999, residents of the state of Maine in America built the world's biggest ever snowman. He stood at 113ft tall.

14 Many parts of the Christmas tree can actually be eaten, with the needles being a good source of Vitamin C.

15 The first commercial Christmas cards were commissioned by civil servant Sir Henry Cole in London in 1843. Featuring a family drinking wine, one sold for £8,469 last year.

16 Hanging presents on trees comes from the Druids who believed the tree was the giver of all good things.

17 The largest Christmas cracker - 45.72m long and 3.04m in diameter - was pulled in Australia in 1991.

18 Santa has different names around the world - Kriss Kringle in Germany, Le Befana in Italy, Pere Noel in France and Deushka Moroz (Grandfather Frost) in Russia.

19 The word Christmas comes from the Old English "Cristes maesse" meaning "Christ's Mass".

20  The bestselling Christmas single ever is Bing Crosby's White Christmas, shifting over 50million copies worldwide since 1942.

21 In Britain, the best-selling festive single is Band Aid's 1984 track, Do They Know It's Christmas?, which sold 3.5million copies. Wham! is next in the same year with Last Christmas, selling 1.4million.

22  Since 1947 Oslo has sent an Christmas tree to London to thank us for our help in the Second World War.

23 Christmas pudding was originally a soup made with raisins and wine.

24 London sweetmaker Tom Smith created the first Christmas crackers in 1847, based on the sweet wrapper design.

25 Boxing Day gets its name from all the money collected in church alms-boxes for the poor.

26 Kissing under the mistletoe is thought to spring from Frigga, the Norse goddess of love, who was associated with the plant.

27 The Beatles hold the record for most Christmas number 1 singles, topping the charts in 1963, 65 and 67.

28 Electric tree lights were invented by Edward Johnson in the US in 1882.

29 The highest-grossing festive movie is 2000's How The Grinch Stole Christmas, which has raked in £175m so far.

30 There are 13 Santas in Iceland, each leaving a gift for children. They come down from the mountain one by one, starting on December 12 and have names like Spoon Licker, Door Sniffer and Meat Hook.

31 Gold-wrapped chocolate coins commemorate St Nicholas who gave bags of gold coins to the poor.

32 The first Christmas celebrated in Britain is thought to have been in York in 521AD.

33 In Greece, Italy, Spain and Germany, workers get a Christmas bonus of one month's salary by law.

Today's Diamond of the Day is known as the "Lucky Diamond," the Great Chrysanthemum Diamond is a beautiful and mysterious 104.6 Carat diamond certified by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).

​The exceptional color of this diamond is a glowing Fancy Orange-brown, the radiant color of fire. It has been described by many as a miracle of nature.

​

This amazing diamond has an unusually high dispersion of light, creating a stunning supernatural appearance of "fire, slowly burning in ice." News Media outlets have described it as "the fire of a joyous and unending sunset." 

in at number 37 in our Celebrity Engagement Ring Countdown is Anne Hathaway. Adam Shulman is an actor but also an accomplished jewelry designer.  He helped to dream up Hathaway’s 6 carat ring, estimated at $150,000. The center diamond is an emerald cut surrounded by a halo of round brilliant cut diamonds.The thin platinum band is also studded with round diamonds.

The Diamond Studio Daily 03/12/2013

Buying jewellery as a gift - The Guide

So you want to give someone special the gift of jewellery but where do you start ? What will they like ? Don't get overwhelmed and hand over money for something you aren't sure of. Use our useful guide to picking jewellery as a gift to avoid what starts out as a thoughtful gesture turning in to a costly nightmare. 

Who is it for ?

This sounds like a simple question but always think about the individual person your buying for and never buy the same piece in mass for example all the lucky ladies in your life wearing the same earrings in different shades most definitely wont make them feel special.

Look for clues.

Once you've decided who you have to buy for look for clues to make your life easier.  

What jewellery do they wear just now ? 

What colours are their favourite ? 

What is their birthstone ? (Again don't panic just ask Uncle Google)

Don't forget to borrow a current ring for sizing.

Mystery Shop.

If your able to its always a great idea to try and take them in to the store your thinking of buying from or any jewellery shop for that matter just to get a further idea of what they like and don't like. If you cant do this bring along a picture of the person you would be surprised how much it helps us to pick out something that suits once we can put a face to the product. 

Time is of the essence.

If your choosing a ready to wear piece it's not really an issue unless its got to be re-sized to suit or engraved with a personal message which can be done within the week or if its really important on the day. However if you choose to make up a bespoke piece for them it can take between 2-3 weeks from design to finished product. So always think ahead on timescales.

Last step.

You made it ! see it wasn't to bad was it?Now all you have to do is watch them open and enjoy a piece they can keep and cherish forever no more dusty cookbooks and bundles of socks.

Today's Diamond of the Day is the Graff Pink Diamond a rare 24.78 carat pink diamond, once owned by American celebrity jeweler Harry Winston, has been described as "one of the greatest diamonds ever discovered". The diamond, mounted in a ring, was sold by Sotheby's auctioneers. Before its sale, the stone was expected to enter the list of the top ten most expensive diamonds in the world on selling for £29 million.

In at number 38 of our Celebrity Engagement Countdown is Zara Phillips.

The Queen’s oldest grand-daughter, was given a bespoke ring by rugby-playing hubby-to-be Mike Tindall. The sparkling circle solitaire is set in a beautiful band of pavé diamonds, but the value and carat count of the engagement ring has so far been kept schtum. 

The Diamond Studio Daily 02/12/2013

Today at The Diamond Studio we would like to remind our customers about how important it is to Buy Direct from their football clubs officially licensed companies. Not only do we use authorized logo's to exact specifications but all designs are approved by the clubs. Further to this your club receives a percentage of all sales giving profit back to the team. Getting other jewelers to make something up for you means the club receive nothing in return for their long established branding being used on anything and everything. We can create anything you want with the benefit of the club not having to use valuable hours shutting down unlicensed traders. Thank you for your continued support it is very much appreciated see you all next match day in the studio or at the parks ! Accept no imitations.

We pleased to announce that you can now buy gift vouchers online via our website this makes it so much easier if you can't decide what to get or perhaps live far away from your loved ones. The power to pick out something perfect can be given to that someone special this Christmas.







Today's Diamond of the Day is the
Excelsior Diamond. A large diamond weighing 995 carats was found in 1893 by an African mine worker. The name Excelsior, meaning higher, came from the stone's original shape - flat on one side and rising to a peak on the other. It was cut into 21 diamonds, the largest being 69 carats the Excelsior 1 (Pictured here in a bracelet setting). The diamonds were sold to undisclosed parties. The Excelsior 1 was purchased in 1996 by Robert Mouawad.

In at number 39 in our Celebrity Engagement Ring countdown is Megan Fox. Megan's engagement to Brian Austin Green was marked by this three carat ring, set in a platinum diamond collar, and worth and estimated $80,000.

Diamond Studio Daily 29/11/2013

In honour of Black Friday we thought we would give you some information on Black Diamonds a sleek and unique option for those who what to try something other than the usual white. 

1. Black diamonds are also called Carbonado. A name coined by Portuguese because of the diamonds resemblance to porous charcoal.

2. They are found in the Central Africa and Brazil, with Brazil being the major source.

3. The natural colour of a black diamond ranges from black to dark greys.

4. Black diamonds are the rarest among all diamonds.

5. Black diamonds originated on earth 3.5 billion years ago – that’s a mighty long time!

6. Translucent or semi-transparent black diamonds are very rare and naturally they command a very high price.

7. In ancient Italy, black diamonds were thought to represent reconciliation. They believed by touching a black diamond misunderstandings and quarrels can be patched up. 

8. Unlike the traditional diamonds, black diamonds are made up of carbon atoms and

small amounts of hydrogen. This has led some people to believe black diamonds were formed in intersteller space! They theorize that there was an steller supernova explosion and an asteroid crashed into earth about 2.8 million years ago.

Now that you know all the facts, perhaps you’ll add a pair of black diamond earrings, like the DaMarcus ones pictured above, to your wish list this year? ;)

Today's Diamond of the Day is the flawless 43.5 carat diamond, known as the Golden Eye, The FBI seized the remarkable jewel, one of the world's largest yellow diamonds, in an undercover sting. The investigation led to the prosecution and conviction of Ohio businessman and infomercial king Paul Monea for money laundering. It's now being auctioned for an expectd $20 million to recover the money owed by Mr Monea.

In at number 40 in our Celebrity Engagement Ring Countdown is Jessica Alba. Cash Warren lived up to his name by spending $100,000 on Jessica Alba's engagement ring. The five carat diamond was surrounded by pave set diamonds.