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Remember my recent post about the incredibly rare 102-carat, D, flawless, type IIa oval-cut diamond Sotheby’s was selling without reserve?...

11 April, 2021

Entirely by chance, Dunstan accidentally chipped the tip-off a gypsum clump. Among the red, brown, dusty rubble of the Australian desert, a small sparkle of fire peeped out. The more he chipped away...

23 October, 2020

Have you ever wondered what the size of a 271-carat rough diamond crystal looks like?  Well, it’s big, as in the size of a small fist. This rough, discovered in 2018 at the Victor Mine in Ontario, is the largest diamond of its kind discovered in North America....

24 September, 2020

The grandeur of ancient Egypt is evident in their jewellery. Egypt had the resources. There was gold, emeralds, turquoise, cornelian and faience. They also had the craftsmen who could produce exquisite work during this time...

14 July, 2020

The oldest emerald mines are located in the Wadi Valley of Sikait which is about halfway between Luxor on the Nile River and Roman-era port city of Berenike on the Red Sea. It’s a barren, no man's land of dry, rocky mountains. Hidden deep in the mounds lies treasures of gold, silver, amethyst and, you guessed it, emeralds. ...

13 May, 2020

Natural pearls are created without human interference. They form when naturally shedding epithelial cells land in an oyster’s soft tissue. The oyster creates a protective sac that secretes nacre which in turn forms a pearl. Natural pearls are found by chance and therefore are very rare, and I mean very, very rare....

26 March, 2020

The colour green is revered in Ireland. When I think of Ireland, I can’t think of any other colour but green. The Emerald Isle with its green rolling green hills, misty, verdant mountains, leprechauns,  four-leaf clovers, shamrocks and the national flag which is partially green. (Actually, it started out as royal blue, but that's another story). ...

17 March, 2020

One of the lesser-known tiaras is Queen Alexandra’s Amethyst “Mystery” Tiara.  It was gifted to her by her brother-in-law Tsar Alexander III. When the Queen died intestate, her jewels were divided among her children. The amethyst tiara went to her eldest daughter...

29 February, 2020

It’s fantastic when women are acknowledged in the male-dominated world of gems, gemmology, mineralogy and geology. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to listen to Dr. Barbara Dutrow speak on tourmalines....

27 February, 2020

It's not every day that I get invited to a high jewellery event, let alone a private one.  So, when I received an invitation to view Van Cleef & Arpels' Time, Nature, Love exhibition at the Palazzo Real in Milan, I was on the next plane....

07 February, 2020

For many of us, including me, grey skies and the permanent mist that clings to my hair and clothes that hangs over me like a dark cloud typifies mid-winter. It doesn’t seem to matter how many layers of clothes I put on, I still have that wet chilly feeling that somehow seeps into my bones....

29 January, 2020

For those of you who are celebrating birthdays this month, look no further than to the garnet, and not just towards the red colour of pyrope, almandine or rhodolite garnets...

27 January, 2020

Since its debut, the Downton Abbey film has achieved over £150 million. The budget was approximately £20 million which is quite an impressive return for a movie based on a TV drama series. Loyal fans have flocked to see it, not once but twice,...

06 November, 2019

To say that I was more than excited when I heard that  Downton Abbey was making its way to the silver screen is an understatement. Since its television debut, Sunday nights were sacred. My mother, who was a bigger fan than I was, would join me in front of a roaring fire my husband had just made....

23 September, 2019
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