Diamonds & Engagement Rings News

A 478-carat diamond was sold for $18.4 million to a unit of the UK-based Graff Diamonds on Tuesday by the government of the southern African Kingdom of Lesotho.

The diamond, which is the 20th largest rough diamond ever discovered, was the named the Light of Letseng, said Gem Diamonds.

The company stated that the diamond was sold in Antwerp for $38,400 per carat, which was beyond the global average diamond price of $90 per carat.

                     

The diamond was originally discovered from a mine in Lesotho controlled by Letseng Diamonds, a 30-70 affiliation between the government of Lesotho and Gem Diamonds.

The Letseng mine is known for producing four of the world’s 20 largest rough diamonds. Of these four diamonds, three have been bought by Graff Diamonds.

Laurence Graff, Chairman of Graff Diamonds, holds an 8.2 percent stake in Gem Diamonds.

The shares of Gem Diamonds were up 0.8 percent at 252 pence at 0808 GMT on Tuesday.

The diamond industry has agreed on stopping to import rough diamonds temporarily in order to limit the crash of the international meltdown on the industry. The Gem & Jewelry Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has made the decision at a meeting a couple days ago.

The council had requested its members to stop importing diamonds for at least five weeks, starting November 25th. Chairman of GJEPC, Vasant Mehta, said, “We have decided not import rough diamonds from November 25 to December 31. We have asked our members to act accordingly.” He explained further that stopping of imports would cause fewer roughs to enter the diamond pipeline, allowing manufacturers an opportunity to clear older stocks.

     

Mehta continues, stating, “It will also help the industry in facing the challenge that has arisen out of the turmoil in the global financial market.” Council officials added that if the situation does not get better by then, then the time of import of diamonds might be extended.

The previous chairman of GJEPC, Sanjay Kothari, said that due to the recession in the U.S. and other major markets, the demand for diamonds was very weak. He concludes by saying, “The liquidity situation is also not very god. We feel that the move to stop imports will help the industry in general.”

Spotted in Miami with five bodyguards surrounding her, Beyonce Knowles heads to the beach where she can soak up some rays with the company of her sister and personal assistant, before heading to her performance at the 2008 Bermuda Music Festival.

                

In April, former Destiny’s Child member married her boyfriend, Shaun Jay-Z Carter after six years of dating. Even though the couple has not publicised their marriage yet, the 18-carat Lorraine Schwartz diamond ring, worth $5 million, speaks much of their relationship.

On November 18th Beyonce plans on releasing a new album. The celebrity had posted a statement on her official website: “I have recorded over seventy songs and have created a sound that reveals all of me. I am in a different place right now and I wanted people to see the many sides of me. I have worked on this album for close to one year. I have poured my heart and soul into it. It is my baby. It is the most time I have spent on any project since my first records as a member of Destiny’s Child.”

                 

Scarlett Johansson has tied the knot with Ryan Reynolds this past weekend in an intimate ceremony outside Vancouver in Canada, where the groom was raised. The two can officially be called husband and wife.

Although the wedding was kept on the down low, a representative of Scarlett had confirmed the wedding did really exist and was attended by her mother, Melanie Sloan and her brother, Adrian Johansson. This is the first wedding for both, Ryan, 31 and Scarlett, 23.

           

The duo began dating in February last year, soon after Ryan broke off his engagement to the singer, Alanis Morissette. Later in May 2008, the pair had announced their engagement. Though accurate details of the engagement date were kept under wrap, Scarlett has been spotted wearing an approximate three-carat stone ring ever since.

All attention was focused on the dazzling, Vanessa Williams, who had brightened the red carpet with the Itay Malkin Jewelry on her while at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards.

The jewelry she was modeling included diamond drop earrings that were a contemporary balance of baguette and emerald cut diamonds, combined with pink and yellow diamonds. The total weight was 12.36-carats set into shining 18-carats white gold. Her bracelet was a fine and beautiful piece of petite, princess-cut diamond rows of 72-carat total weight, set in platinum that suited her customized Kevan Hall printed dress with a mermaid figure of complete perfection.

This has not been Malkin’s first time on the red carpet. Just last week Kim Cattrall wore a stylish pair of black diamond cluster earrings to the DVD premiere of Sex and The City on Thursday, September 18. On the same night, Rachael Ray amazed the “Focus: An Evening of Photography to Benefit City Harvest” wearing a set of earrings, necklace and ring from Itay Malkin’s premiere, Black Diamond jewelry collection. Sara Jessica Parker, Jessica Simpson, Lindsay Lohan and Adrian Grenier are other celebrities who have dressed in some of Itay Malkin’s jewelry.

In the southern African kingdom of Lesotho, miners from Gem Diamonds mining group have found one of the largest diamonds in the world. The white gem is nearly flawless with a weight of nearly five-hundred carats.

After being discovered in the Letseng Mine on September eight, the gem was taken for examination by experts in Antwerp who stated that the weight was 478 carats with hardly any inclusions and of excellent color and clarity.

The company said, “It has the potential to yield one of the largest flawless D color round polished diamonds in history.”

Letseng is knwon to be one of the most productive mines in history, producing four of the world’s twenty most massive rough diamonds in history, including the three largest found this century.

It is difficult to value the diamond before it is cut into gems, although a spokesman for Gem Diamonds said a similar weight stone with lesser-wuality color and clarity had lately been sold for $12 million.

Clifford Elphick, chief executive of  Gem Diamonds stated, “Preliminary examination of this remarkable diamond indicates that it will yield a record breaking polished stone of the very best color and clarity.”

Gem diamonds owns 70% of Letseng. The government of Lesotho owns the other thirty percent.

The Cullinan, which was discovered in South Africa i 1905, is still the world’s largest diamond since. The diamond weighed over 1,300 carats before being cut up into over one hundred separate gems. Most of those gems are a part of the British crown jewels.

Rumors have been spreading since the actress, Lindsay Lohan has been spotted sporting a heart-shaped diamond ring.

While attending the DJ gig in New York with her girlfriend, S Ronson, the ring was just recently seen. LiLo’s appearance soon led to several rumors after Ronson allegedly told the people for whom she was performing, “By the end of this year, my love will be Mrs. Ronson.” In addition, Ronson said, “Tonight shows the power of a woman - to underestimate that is to underestimate the world.”

         

Lohan was quoted saying, “I’m really happy. She’s a great person. And she’s a great influence on people around her.” Lindsay Lohan’s certainty is clarified as she goes on saying, “But I think that anything that’s change [in] my life is because of me. I’ve gone through it, and I’ve learned to deal with it and I’ve made the decision to move forward.”

On the other hand, Lindsay’s father does not believe the rumors and claims, “It’s all BS. It’s not true.” A source stated that Lindsay’s mother had apparently been following a similar story saying, “She said it’s just one of Lindsay’s cocktail rings, nothing more. It’s like her own personal joke these days. She slips a ring on that finger, then goes to a party and watches the rumors start to roll. It amuses her.”

Are Lindsay’s parents really right about everything just being a big bluff or is the wedding in the process already? Â

A treasure hunter using a metal detector finds a medieval gold ring with a rare black diamond ring set inside.

A forty-two year old from Hinckley named John Stevens noticed the ring had some lettering after he brushed off the mud signifying that it was of the early medieval period, probably the 11th century.

Not having been valued yet, the ring is presumed to be worth tens of thousands of dollars.

Brett Hammond, a specialist in antiquities said, “It was clearly an important item of treasure, It is a gold ring possibly containing a rare black diamond. It is a beautiful early medieval inscribed finger ring that would have been owned by a very wealthy person, in the church or possibly even royalty.

        

“Common people in that era were not even allowed to own gold, so it must have been owned by a powerful person.”

Since black diamonds are so rare nowadays, coming from Africa, then going back about 1,000 years ago, black diamonds must have been even rarer.

John Stevens states that he was in a ploughed field with a bunch of friends when he came across the ring about five inches deep. He says, “It is boldly inscribed with lettering that certainly looks very early medieval to my untrained eye.

“I don’t know yet what the letters spell out, but if they indicate a royal owner it might be worth tens of thousand of pounds.”

             

Although there are rumors that Hilary might be engaged because of her new bling, there are also many doubts.

The primary reason that Hilary does not seem engaged is because even though she seems like a regular and simple girl does not mean she wouldn’t prefer a multiple carat ring over a plain gold band.

Furthermore, Hilary Duff is known for wearing lots of jewelry, especially rings. The most recent proof of this os on Friday when Hilary was at Katsuya with her boyfriend Mile Combrie she was wearing three different rings on her right hand. Several weeks before that she was seen wearing an enormous and bulging ring on her left hand with a bunch of bracelets added to it.

This is confirmation that Hilary Duff is most probably not engaged and is just having some fun with some more rings and new styles.

      

             

What do you think? Engaged or not?

          

The most essential occasion of their lives had taken place at their luxuriant Los Angeles home. The ceremony of Portia de Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres was very intimate, consisting of close family members of the brides. There was a total of nineteen people reported to attend the wedding. As part of the guest there were DeGeneres’ mother Betty and de Rossi’s mom, Margaret Rogers. Margaret Rogers was flown in from Australia to attend her daughter’s wedding. There were no other celebrities to attend the wedding ceremony.

Both brides wore Zac Posen and the rings, which were exchanged, were signed by Neil Lane. The couple exchanged handwritten vows. According to several reporters, an LA florist named Mark’s Garden adorned the flowers.

A spokesperson at the wedding had confirmed the happy occasion by saying, “Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi were married tonight in an intimate ceremony at their home in Los Angeles.”

Soon after the Supreme court of California permitted the marriages of gays, Portia was spotted sporting a marquis shaped three-carat pink diamond ring on her finger. By that time, DeGeneres was winning her fourth statue for her unbelievable talk show host category. It was reported that Ellen joked that her Emmy trophies would be adorning her wedding cake.

                       

While walking down the red carpet Ellen states, “planning a wedding is very stressful. It is crazy. My gardener is now invited.”

Rumors had it that after the couple had purchased an 8,500 square foot Cabrillo Drive home last year, they were planning on closing off their part of the street, making their home an ultra private dwelling. Their decision was yet to hang on the results of a public hearing. Â