110.3ct "Sun-Drop" Fancy Vivid Yellow Diamond

Extremely rare yellow diamond known as the "Sun-Drop" has sold at auction in Geneva for just over US$10.9m.

The Sun-Drop diamond of South Africa, a giant pear-shaped yellow gem weighing 110.3 carats, sold for more than US$10.9 million at auction yesterday, beating records for a jewel of its type. The gem was discovered in South Africa in 2010 and wowed visitors in London's Natural History Museum where it was displayed earlier this year, and also in Hong Kong

The diamond was certified by gemologists as "Fancy Vivid Yellow", the rarest and most desirable colour for a yellow diamond. The intense colour is the result of traces of nitrogen trapped within carbon molecules and hardened over the course of millions of years.

"It's a record for a yellow diamond at auction," said David Bennett, the head of Sotheby's jewellery division. He said it was the eighth most expensive diamond sold at auction.

"It sold for a record for a yellow diamond... It was exactly within our expectation for this spectacular stone," Mr Bennett told reporters after the sale. The diamond had a pre-sale estimate of US$11-15m. With commission and taxes, the buyer paid out US$12.36m.

Luxury iPad worth $7.7Million AUD

iPad made of Gold, Platinum, Diamonds and T-Rex Bone!

With a price-tag of £5 million ($7.7 million AUD), the "iPad2 Gold History Edition" is a luxury iPad that has been designed by British luxury goods specialist Stuart Hughes.

The front frame of the tablet is made from ammolite, a precious Canadian stone that dates back 75 million years.

Fused into the ammolite are 65-million-year-old shavings of fossilised  Tyrannosaurus Rex thighbone, and has been diamond set with a total diamond weight of 12.5 carats of diamonds.

The back of the iPad is made with of pure gold, with the Apple logo made with Internally Flawless diamonds.

Unfortunately they are only going to manufacture only two of the customised iPads...

Jessica Alba's $54,000 "Push Present"

Push presents are taking Hollywood by storm these days and Jessica Alba, definitely isn't willing to be left out!

Jessica has told hubby Cash Warren, that she wants a $54,000 Frank Muller gold and diamond set watch for her "Push Present", but has asked Cash to engrave the watch with a special message to read once she receives the gift.

Push presents are becoming increasingly popular in Hollywood and is spreading rapidly throughout the world as a great idea to reward your partner.

What do you think? If you were a mother to be would you be wanting a Push Present?

Peridot is the Birthstone for August

Peridot is the gem-quality variety of the mineral olivine and has been used as a gemstone for over 3500years. Historically it was first mined on the volcanic Red Sea island of Zebirget (St. John’s Island) off the coast of Egypt. It is presumed that many of the emeralds in Cleopatra’s fabled emerald collection were indeed peridot's from Zebirget. Interestingly, it is one of the few gemstones, which only occur in one colour, and it is the only gemstone found in meteorites.

Today peridot is a popular and relatively inexpensive gemstone available in small to mid-sized calibrated shapes and sizes. However, in 3 carats and above the price of peridot quickly increases exponentially so that high quality pieces in large sized peridot are rare and expensive. Most people are familiar with the pale-ish green stones seen commonly in jewellery, but fewer people are familiar with the truly beautiful and deep colours of larger, high quality stones. To view of a number of excellent peridots make an appointment to come in to our Sydney office.

Some well known peridot producing countries are Pakistan, USA, Myanmar (Burma), China and the original deposits of Zebirget Egypt.

Moh’s Hardness: 6.5-7

Specific Gravity:3.30-3.40

Refractive Index:1.6534-1.710

Birefringence: 0.036

Treatments: Heat-treated

Incidence; Rarely

Purpose: To lighten colour

Durability: Fair to good

Special Care: Sensitive to heat and acids

Synthetics: No

Possible Imitations: CZ, Synthetic Spinel and Glass

The World Most Expensive Diamond!

24.78 carats "Fancy Intense Pink" Diamond

The 24.78 carat pink diamond was sold to a well-known British dealer at auction in Geneva by Sothersby's auction house earlier this year for a record of $46.16 Million USD ($22.49 Million AUD.)

Pink diamonds are extremely rare especially in this size. Fortunately for us here in Australia we are lucky enough to be able to mine the most sort after Argyle Pink Diamonds. Therefore all sizes and shapes will continue to increase in value. Not everyone may be able to afford a pink diamond of that size and colour, but if you are a lover of pink diamonds then please contact Troy Clancy Jewellery for your next purchase. We hold an extensive range of shapes and sizes to suit all budgets.

www.troyclancy.com.au

How much do I spend on an Engagement ring?

It is "traditional" for a man to spend a minimum of 2 months salary on your special ladies engagement ring. We are sure that this would shock both men and women. However these days it really comes down to what you can comfortably afford to spend without re mortgaging your house to get it.

Many people like to make big and bold statement with there engagement ring with getting the biggest diamond as there budget will allow, but for some people to do that the quality of the diamond may suffer to allow for that bigger size. So there starts to become a fine line between big and showy to fractionally smaller but very bright and full of fire.

We here at Troy Clancy Jewellery like to educate our clients by showing you the differences in the quality of each diamond, so that you understand what is good and what it not. This will allow you to make an informed decision on what will suit your budget and what you would like.

There are a few things to consider in deciding your engagement ring.

• Are you a girlie girl or do you like to get your hands dirty? this will determine the appropriate height of the ring.

• Are you planning on wearing it all the time?

• Would you like something 'Uniquely Designed' just for you, so no one else will have the same design?

• Do you like yellow gold, white gold or platinum?

• Will your new ring need maintenance? Like rhodium plating of white gold etc

• Have you thought about Insurance for the ring?

Ladies...Why not say your man is off the market!

ManGagement ring.

One of the hottest trends at the moment is an engagement ring for men.. is a ManGagement ring. Finally there is now equality! And really why not give your special man his own engagement ring to say your man is off the market. He will defiantly put one on your hand to say your mine and now you can do the same. Now we are not saying ladies that you need to apply the same rules as men (although some would like it). We have found it more and more popular for men to want a diamond wedding ring so they are the Alpha male, and now is your chance to put some style and thought into how to tell all the single ladies…. He’s Mine!!