Troy Clancy Jewellery

110.3ct "Sun-Drop" Fancy Vivid Yellow Diamond

2011-11-16T13:37:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-03T14:31:00.000-07:00

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"

2011-07-28T16:25:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-25T16:12:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-07-19T17:46:00.001-07:00

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?

2011-07-17T18:13:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-07-13T16:45:00.000-07:00

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!!

Diamond Shapes

2009-03-21T18:23:00.000-07:00

Diamonds come in a variety of shapes. Cut is what determines how well-cut your diamond is, where as diamond shape is the shape it was cut into.

Round Brilliant - Do not confuse with Round. The Round Brilliant is the modern version of the Round which has been refined for maximum shine. The Round Brilliant is by far the most popular and has the best angles to shine maximum brilliance.

Asscher - A square cut similar to an emerald with step facets; however, it is more square rather then rectangular shaped. Like the emerald, it has clipped corners. Recently the Asscher shape has become very popular.

Emerald - A more traditional shape, the Emerald is not as popular as it once was, but still retains its old world elegance.

Oval - Not as popular for solitaires, but very popular for three stone anniversary rings, with two matching diamonds on the sides.

Pear - Mostly used in pendants, the Pear shape diamond is shaped in a tear drop shape and has fairly good proportions to refract light well.

Princess - A square cut diamond that has refractive properties almost near round brilliant. The princess is the preferred square cut shape over Radiant and Asscher

Heart - Hard to find due to low demand, but some people prefer a Heart shape diamond for sentimental purposes.

Marquise - Like the Emerald, the Marquise is a traditional shape. This is probably the fourth most popular shape behind the Round, Princess and Oval.

Radiant - Popular before the Princess shape was around, the Radiant has more facets than a Princess, but has the corners trimmed like the Emerald shape. This shape is not widely popular.

The Diamond 4 C's

2009-03-21T17:54:00.000-07:00

Carat
Carat weight is the weight of the diamond measured in carats. One carat is divided into 100 "points," so that a diamond of 75 points weighs 0.75 carats. Carat weight is the most obvious factor in determining the value of a diamond. But two diamonds of equal carat weights can have very different prices, depending on their quality. Diamonds of high quality can be found in all size ranges.

Since diamonds are measured by carat weight, and not size, two diamonds of the same weight could have different sizes. Why? If a diamond is cut too shallow it will have a larger diameter but a smaller depth. Likewise, if a diamond is cut too deep it will have a smaller diameter and thus appear smaller when viewed from the top.Cut is very important. A properly cut diamond will both yield a good face up size and sparkle well. For example, let's say you're interested in a 1.00ct round diamond. A poorly cut diamond that is really deep would only have a diameter of approximately 6.1mm. So not only are you short changed on the face up size, but you get a diamond that was not cut to it’s full potential and thus does not sparkle like it should.

Diamond Clarity
The Diamond Clarity is a measure of a diamond's internal flaws and impurities. A diamond that is virtually free of interior or exterior inclusions is of the highest quality, for nothing interferes with the passage of light through the diamond. To determine a diamond's clarity, it is viewed under 10 x magnifications by a trained gemmologist. Small inclusions neither mar its beauty nor endanger its durability.

Flawless - No internal or external flaws. Internally Flawless - No internal flaws. Very rare and beautiful diamonds which are quite expensive.

VVS1, VVS2 - Very, Very Slightly Included: Very difficult to see inclusions under 10x magnification. An excellent quality diamond.

VS1, VS2 - Very Slightly Included: Inclusions are typically not visible to the unaided eye. Less expensive than the VVS1 or VVS2 grades. Even properly graded VS2 diamonds can have visible inclusions in very large sizes or diamonds that do not have many facets which make flaws more visible such as an emerald shape.

SI1, SI2 - Slightly Included: Inclusions are typically visible under 10 x magnifications, SI clarity diamonds are usually of the best value since inclusions are not always visible to the naked eye and prices are reasonable when compared to prices of the VS2 clarity and up grades. Some SI clarity diamonds do have visible inclusions and should be evaluated carefully.

SI3 - Slightly Included-Included: SI3 is an EGL grade and is not recognized by GIA or other gemmological institutions. The SI3 clarity grade has been adopted by other labs as well. Typically an SI3 clarity grade would usually be given an I1 grade by the GIA.

I1 - Included: an I1 clarity diamond will have a visible flaw which can be seen with the naked eye, but there should only be one major flaw which is not too obvious. Overall the diamond should still look nice however I1 clarity grades vary quite a bit so one should be very careful when making a selection. If your budget only allows for an SI3 or I1 clarity diamond, be sure to examine it thoroughly before purchasing and make sure the inclusions do not detract from the overall beauty of the diamond.

I2, I3 - Included: These diamonds will have inclusions visible to the naked eye, and will have many black spots from the black inclusions and/or appear very cloudy or milky from the white inclusions, feathers and cracks.

Diamond colour grading scale
The diamond colour grading scale varies from totally colourless to light yellow. The differences between one diamond colour grade and another are very subtle and difficult to distinguish.

D-F: Colourless: perfect or almost perfect colour.

G-J: Near colourless: good to very good colour and this diamond may "face up" colourless when mounted into a setting, especially in white gold or platinum.

K-M: Light but noticeable yellow or brown tint.

Not recommended for larger diamond stone purchases, especially in engagement rings. Out of the 4 C's, colour and cut are the two most important characteristics of a diamond. Do not compromise on colour.

Diamond Cut
Many people confuse diamond cut with the shape of a diamond. Unlike shape, a diamond cut is the metric used to evaluate the precision and quality of the overall cutting itself. A diamond’s cut is the most complex of the 4 Cs, and not even the major labs agree on how to best measure the quality of a diamond’s cut. Diamond Cut usually takes into consideration 3 criteria: Proportions, Symmetry and Polish. Sometimes Light Performance or other tests can be used to also calculate the precision of the diamond cut.

When a diamond is cut to proper proportions, light is reflected from one facet to another and then dispersed through the top of the stone.

If the cut of the diamond is too deep, some light escapes through the opposite side of the pavilion (base of diamond). This will give minimal sparkle.

If the cut is too shallow, light escapes through the pavilion before it can be reflected. Making the stone look lifeless.

Up until several years ago, evaluating the cut of a diamond was not an easy task. Dimensions and proportions of the diamond as well as its finish (both symmetry and polish) were all the information able to be evaluated; thereby making it difficult for consumers to understand what is described as a well-cut diamond and what is not. Symmetry measures how well the facets match the other facets. A diamond cut with very good or excellent symmetry means that if you were to look at all the facets and compare to one another, they would look very uniform with very little variance. This doesn't mean however the diamond is not cut too deep or too shallow. Polish is a measure of the surface finish. If a diamond is only polished "Fair" or "Good" it does not allow maximum transition of light through the facets, due to its "rough" surface texture. Very Good polish by most lab standards is usually sufficient to get the top cut grade, and excellent/ideal is often preferred. Polish graded above Very Good is not detectable to the naked eye. So while symmetry and polish help you determine if the diamond is cut well, it doesn’t always mean the diamond will perform like a well cut diamond.

Hong Kong Jewellery Fair...Amazing!!

2009-03-11T14:47:00.000-07:00

Wow what a Jewellery Fair...

The Hong Kong trip was a huge success, I have been able to liaise with my current suppliers and make new contacts from all around the world. I can confidently say that now i will be able to supply any gemstone that your heart desires at a cheaper price than any of the suppliers here in Australia. This includes all coloured gemstones and of coarse Diamonds. There were more flawless diamonds there then what have probably been imported into Australia.

There is a lot of new trends and styles that will be hitting the media and markets all around the world, so watch out your going to be really surprised. I will be making a few pieces as i have had a good response to my trip and orders have been placed already. So in saying that if the client agrees i will be uploading photo's to show them off!!

Hong Kong Jewellery Fair!!

2009-03-04T11:49:00.001-08:00

The Hong Kong Jewellery Fair is on at the moment. This is the biggest industry based fair in the world. I leave Sydney today to head to Hong Kong to liaise with suppliers, and look for new unusual gemstones so that i can create new innovative pieces of jewellery. If you are wanting something unique, then follow the link to my website and send me a email through my contacts and I'll certainly enquire and find you the best product and the right price, no matter how small the enquiry is.... there will be diamonds, coloured gemstones, pearls and jewellery pieces.

Web site now online

2009-02-26T22:01:00.000-08:00

This morning was the launch of my new website..... This is very exciting as it was the next step in developing my exposure to my clientele.

www.troyclancy.com.au

I must say it's a must see!!!